John Milton: Complete Shorter Poems [1 ed.] 1405129263, 9781405129268

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JOHN MILTON

COMPLETE SHORTER POEMS EDITED BY

STELLA P. REVARD GENERAL SERIES EDITOR

BARBARA K. LEWALSKI

LATIN POEMS TRANSLATED BY

LAWRENCE REVARD

A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication

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JOHN MILTON

COMPLETE SHORTER POEMS

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Praise for this edition

A splendid student edition. The editors have chosen to produce an original spelling edition and to indicate specific moments of publication within Milton’s lifetime. This allows them to provide strong historical context as well as specific linguistic guidance for the modern reader. The reading experience is remarkably fresh and uncluttered. Priority goes to the poetry and the decision to return to original spelling proves no hindrance but rather seems to deepen the reader’s engagement with the texts. This is an edition which is easy to handle and to use. It avoids cumbersome editorial headnotes to each poem and chooses instead to provide richly detailed yet widely focussed initial essays: these tie comments on individual poems to the two major moments of publication of Milton’s shorter poetry within his lifetime, 1645 and 1673. Within this edition, Milton’s poems themselves are cleanly set out on the page, with discrete assistance on hand to clarify any unusual vocabulary; the editorial footnotes are exemplary in clarity and depth of reference. Revard also manages to bring the non-English works to life for the student reader making brave use of parallel texts, and setting out the translations as verse. Revard is a classical scholar, a generous teacher, and a subtle close reader; this outstanding edition is deeply rooted in her many years of attention and loving care towards Milton’s poetry. Margaret Kean, St Hilda’s College, University of Oxford

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JOHN MILTON

COMPLETE SHORTER POEMS EDITED BY

STELLA P. REVARD GENERAL SERIES EDITOR

BARBARA K. LEWALSKI

LATIN POEMS TRANSLATED BY

LAWRENCE REVARD

A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication

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This edition first published 2009 © 2009 Stella P. Revard Blackwell Publishing was acquired by John Wiley & Sons in February 2007. Blackwell’s publishing program has been merged with Wiley’s global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business to form Wiley-Blackwell. Registered Office John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom Editorial Offices 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services, and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell. The right of Stella P. Revard to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Milton, John, 1608–1674. [Poems. Selections] Complete shorter poems / John Milton; edited by Stella P. Revard. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4051-2926-8 (hardcover : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-1-4051-2927-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) I. Revard, Stella Purce. II. Title. PR3552.R48 2009 821′.4—dc22 2008024000 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Set in 11/13.5pt Dante by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong Printed and bound in Singapore 1

2009

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Figure 1 Engraved portrait of Milton by William Marshall1 (from the frontispiece of Poems, English and Latin, 1645) 1

William Marshall was one of the most famous and prolific of book illustrators, his work including the portrait of Donne for the second edition of Donne’s Poems and the frontispiece of Charles I praying for Eikon Basilike. While the portrait in Milton’s Poems is said to portray Milton at age 21, it actually makes him look much older. The royalist Marshall may have intentionally distorted Milton’s features, as Richard Johnson argues, in order to present him as a crabbed controversialist rather than as a young pastoral poet. For translation of the epigram see Poems added to Sylvarum Liber in 1673, pp. 342– 4.

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Contents

Note on This Edition Acknowledgments List of Illustrations Chronology Textual Introduction

xii xii xiii xiv xxi

Introduction to the 1645 Volume: Poems of Mr. John Milton ENGLISH AND ITALIAN POEMS The Stationer to the Reader On the morning of CHRISTS Nativity A Paraphrase on Psalm 114 Psalm 136 The Passion On Time Upon the Circumcision At a solemn Musick An Epitaph on the Marchioness of Winchester On May morning On Shakespear On the University Carrier Another on the same L’Allegro Il Penseroso SONNETS I O Nightingale II Donna leggiadra III Qual in colle aspro

1 11 15 16 28 29 32 35 36 38 40 43 44 45 46 48 53 59 59 60 61

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Contents

viii

Canzone IV Diodati, e te’l dirò V Per certo i bei vostr’occhi VI Giovane piano VII How soon hath Time VIII Captain or Colonel, or Knight in Arms IX Lady that in the prime of earliest youth X Daughter to that good Earl Arcades Lycidas A Mask of the Same Author. Title page To the Right Honourable, John Lord Vicount BRACLY The Copy of a Letter Writt’n By Sir HENRY WOOTTON The Persons A MASK Presented At LUDLOW-Castle, 1634 Introduction to the Poemata, 1645 THE POEMATA, 1645

62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 74 81 82 84 87 88 121 125

Translator’s Note: The Latin Poems

127

Testimonia Haec quae sequuntur de Authore testimonia Joannes Baptista Mansus ad Joannem Miltonium Ad Joannem Miltonem Epigramma Joannis Salsilli Ad Joannem Miltonum (Selvaggi) Al Signor Gio. Miltoni (Antonio Francini) JOANNI MILTONI LONDINIENSI (Carolus Datus)

128 130 132 132 132 134 140

ELEGIARUM LIBER PRIMUS

143

Elegia prima ad Carolum Diodatum Elegia secunda. In obitum Præconis Academici Cantabrigiensis Elegia tertia. In obitum Præsulis Wintoniensis Elegia quarta. Ad Thomam Junium Elegia quinta. In adventum veris Elegia sexta. Ad Carolum Diodatum Elegia septima. Haec ego mente [Retraction] In proditionem Bombardicam In eandem In eandem In eandem

144 152 154 158 168 178 186 192 194 195 196 197

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Contents In inventorem Bombardæ Ad Leonoram Romæ cantentem Ad eandem Ad eandem

ix

198 199 200 201 SYLVARUM LIBER

203

In obitum Procancellarii medici In quintum Novembris In obitum Præsulis Eliensis Naturam non pati senium De Idea Platonica Ad Patrem Psalm 114 Philosophus ad regem Ad Salsillum Mansus EPITAPHIUM DAMONIS

204 210 224 230 236 240 248 250 252 256 266

Introduction to Poems, &c. UPON Several Occasions, 1673

284

ENGLISH POEMS ADDED IN 1673 On the Death of a fair Infant dying of a Cough SONNETS XI A Book was writ of late call’d Tetrachordon XII On the same XIII To Mr. H. Lawes, on his Aires XIV [On ye religious memory of Mrs Catharine Thomason] XV (18) On the late Massacher in Piemont XVI (19) When I consider how my light is spent XVII (20) Lawrence of virtuous Father XVIII (21) Cyriack, whose Grandsire XIX (23) Methought I saw The Fifth Ode of Horace. Lib. I Ad PYRRHAM. Ode V At a Vacation Exercise in the Colledge On the new forcers of Conscience under the Long PARLIAMENT PSALMS I II III IV

289 293 297 297 299 300 301 302 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 314 316 316 316 317 318

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V VI VII VIII LXXX LXXXI LXXXII LXXXIII LXXXIV LXXXV LXXXVI LXXXVII LXXXVIII

319 320 321 323 324 326 328 329 330 332 333 335 336

LATIN AND GREEK POEMS ADDED IN 1673 Poem added to Elegiarum Liber in 1673 Apologus de Rustico & Hero POEMS ADDED TO SYLVARUM LIBER IN 1673

339 340 340 342

In Effigiei Ejus Sculptorem Ad Joannem Rousium

342 344

Introduction to the Uncollected Poems

354

SONNETS PUBLISHED IN 1694 To my Lord FAIRFAX To Oliver Cromwell To Sir HENRY VANE To Mr. CYRIAC SKINNER Upon his Blindness UNPUBLISHED LATIN POEMS

357 358 360 362 366 369

Carmina Elegiaca Verses in Lesser Asclepiads (Ignauus Satrapam)

370 372

Introduction to Poems Published in 1671

373

Introduction to Paradise Regained

375

PARADISE REGAINED Book I Book 2

381 385 401

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Contents Book 3 Book 4

xi

416 431

Introduction to Samson Agonistes SAMSON AGONISTES

451 457

Of that sort of Dramatic Poem which is call’d Tragedy. THE ARGUMENT The Persons SAMSON AGONISTES

461 462 463 464

APPENDIX Bridgewater Maske Manuscript of songs by Henry Lawes from A Mask Trinity Manuscript: a page from A Mask

513 515 539 543

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY TEXTUAL NOTES Textual Notes to English and Italian Poems, 1645 Textual Notes to Poemata, 1645 Textual Notes to English Poems Added in 1673 Textual Notes to Sonnets Published in 1694 Textual Notes to Unpublished Poems Textual Notes to Paradise Regained Textual Notes to Samson Agonistes

545 555 557 565 569 572 574 575 577

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Note on This Edition This is one of three volumes presenting the complete poetry and major prose of John Milton in original language and in readily accessible paperbacks. Paradise Lost is edited by Barbara K. Lewalski; the major prose by David Loewenstein.

Acknowledgments The staffs of the British Library in London, the Bodleian Library in Oxford, and the University Library of Cambridge have made available to me copies of the editions of Milton’s Poems, English and Latin, printed in 1645 and 1673, of Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes, as well as Justa Edovardo King Naufrago, Henry Lawes’ 1637 printing of A Mask, and the 1640 printing of Epitaphium Damonis. I am grateful for the opportunity to consult the Trinity Manuscript of Milton’s poems at the Wren Library of Trinity College in Cambridge. I am grateful to the Bodleian Library for permission to reproduce the title pages of the 1645 and 1673 editions of Milton’s Poems, English and Latin as well as the title page of the 1671 edition of Samson Agonistes. I am grateful to the British Library for permission to reproduce the frontispiece of the 1645 edition of Poems, English and Latin, the title page of the 1671 edition of Paradise Regained, and Henry Lawes’ manuscript of the songs from A Mask. I am grateful to the library of Trinity College, Cambridge for permission to reproduce a page of Milton’s autograph copy of A Mask from the Trinity Manuscript of Milton’s poems. The copy text for 1645 is BL Ashley 1179, for 1673 BL 684 d. 34, and for Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes BL 684 d. 33. Our thanks to Dr. John Was for reviewing the translations of the Latin poems, to Professor George Pepe of Washington University, St. Louis for advice on Latin translation, and to Professor Franco Fido and Dr. Annelise Brody for reviewing the Italian translations. Emma Bennett, the literature editor at WileyBlackwell, Louise Butler, Tom Bates and Hannah Morrell have been very helpful in overseeing the progress of this edition. We also appreciate the care of the copyeditor, Juanita Bullough. I am immensely grateful to Barbara Lewalski, the editor of the companion volume of Paradise Lost and the general editor of the series, who has provided invaluable assistance and counsel. She reviewed the entire edition and has offered meticulous comments and suggestions. David Loewenstein, the editor of the companion volume on Milton’s prose, has offered advice on bibliography.

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List of Illustrations

1

2

3

4

5 6 7

8

Engraved portrait of Milton. From the frontispiece to Poems of Mr. John Milton, Both English and Latin, 1645 (William Marshall). © British Library Board. All Rights Reserved, Shelfmark Ashley. 1179. Title page to Poems of Mr. John Milton, Both English and Latin, 1645. The Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, Shelfmark Arch. G. f. 17, Title Page. Title page to Joannis Miltoni Londinensis Poemata, 1645. The Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, Shelfmark Arch. G. f. 17, 2nd Title Page. Title page to Poems, &c. UPON Several Occasions By John Milton, 1673. The Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, Shelfmark Vet. A3 e. 1874, Title page. Title page to Paradise Regained, 1671. © British Library Board. All Rights Reserved, Shelfmark Ashley 1184. Title page to Samson Agonistes, 1671. The Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, Shelfmark 8oO 44 (1) Art, Title Page. Manuscript of songs by Henry Lawes from A Mask Presented at Ludlow-Castle. © British Library Board. All Rights Reserved, Shelfmark Add 11518. Page from the Trinity Manuscript illustrating Milton’s autograph corrections of A Mask. Reproduced by permission of Trinity College Library, Cambridge, Shelfmark R.3.4., f.23.

v

13

128

291 383 459

539

544

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Chronology

Milton’s Life Dec. 9, born in Bread Street, Cheapside London, to John and Sarah Milton.

Historical and Literary Events 1608 1611

Educated by private tutors, including the Presbyterian cleric, Thomas Young.

King James (“Authorized”) Bible.

1614–20

Brother Christopher born. 1615

Portrait at age 10 painted by Cornelius Janssen. Begins to attend St. Paul’s School; friendship with Charles Diodati begins. (?)

1616

Death of Shakespeare. Ben Jonson’s Works published.

1618

Beginning of the Thirty Years War.

1620

1621

Donne appointed Dean of St. Paul’s.

1623

Shakespeare’s First Folio published.

First known poems, paraphrases of Psalms 114 and 136.

1623–4

Admitted to Christ’s College, Cambridge (Feb. 12).

1625

Death of James I; accession of Charles I. Outbreak of plague.

Writes funeral elegies, “In quintum Novembris,” verse epistles, and Prolusions in Latin; “On the Death of a Fair Infant,” “At a Vacation Exercise” in English.

1626–8

William Laud made Bishop of London.

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Chronology Milton’s Life

xv Historical and Literary Events

Sends Elegia Quarta to Thomas Young in Hamburg. Takes BA degree (March). Writes Elegia Quinta (spring). Writes “On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity” (Dec.). Writes Elegia Sexta to Diodati.

1627

Writes “L’Allegro” and “Il Penseroso”(?). “On Shakespeare” published in the Second Folio of Shakespeare’s plays. Admitted to MA degree ( July 3). Writes Arcades, entertainment for the Countess of Derby(?). Writes sonnet “How soon hath Time” (Dec.). Starts to live with his family at Hammersmith. Writes “On Time,” “At a Solemn Music”(?).

1631

1629

Charles I dissolves Parliament.

1630

Birth of Prince Charles, the future Charles II.

1632

Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems published in Italian.

1633

Donne’s Poems and Herbert’s The Temple published. Laud made Archbishop of Canterbury.

A Maske (Comus) performed at Ludlow with music by Henry Lawes (Sept. 29). Moves with his family to Horton, Buckinghamshire. Begins notes on his reading in Commonplace Book. Publication of A Maske. Mother dies (April 3). Writes “Lycidas.”

1634

Carew’s masque, Coelum Britannicum.

“Lycidas” published in collection of elegies for Edward King. Begins Continental tour (May 1638); meets Grotius, Gallileo, Cardinal Barberini, Manso; visits Academies in Florence and Rome; visits Vatican Library; visits Naples, Venice, and Geneva. Writes “Mansus,” “Ad Salsillum,” epigrams to Leonora Baroni.

1638

1635

1637

1638–9

Trial and punishment of Puritans William Prynne, John Bastwick, and Henry Burton. Descartes, Discourse on Method. Corneille, Le Cid.

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Chronology

Milton’s Life

Historical and Literary Events

Learns of Charles Diodati’s death. Returns to England ( July). Takes lodgings in Fleet Street. Begins teaching nephews Edward and John Phillips and a few others.

1639

First Bishops’ War with Scotland.

Writes Epitaphium Dæmonis (epitaph for Charles Diodati). Begins work on Accidence Commenc’t Grammar, Art of Logic, Christian Doctrine(?).

1640

Long Parliament convened (Nov. 3); impeachment of Laud. George Thomason, London bookseller, begins his collection of tracts and books. Ben Jonson’s Works (second folio).

Publishes anti-episcopal tracts: Of Reformation; Of Prelatical Episcopacy; Animadversions upon the Remonstrants Defense.

1641

Impeachment and execution of Strafford (May) Root and Branch Bill abolishing bishops. Irish rebellion breaks out (Oct.).

Publishes The Reason of Churchgovernment and An Apology [for] . . . Smectymnuus Marries Mary Powell (May?), who returns (Aug.?) to her royalist family near Oxford. Writes sonnet, “Captain or Colonel” when royalist attack on London expected.

1642

Civil War begins (Aug. 22). Royalists win Battle of Edgehill. Closing of theaters.

Publishes Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce (Aug.).

1643

Westminster Assembly of Divines to reform Church. Solemn League and Covenant subscribed. Louis XIV becomes king of France. Thomas Browne, Religio Medici.

Publishes second edition of Doctrine and Discipline; Of Education ( June); The Judgement of Martin Bucer concerning Divorce (Aug.); Areopagitica (Nov.).

1644

Royalists defeated at Battle of Marston Moor ( July 2).

Publishes Tetrachordon and Colasterion on the divorce question. Mary Powell returns. Moves to a large house in the Barbican.

1645

Execution of Laud. New Model Army wins decisive victory at Naseby ( June). Edmund Waller, Poems.

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Chronology Milton’s Life

xvii Historical and Literary Events

Poems of Mr. John Milton published ( Jan., dated 1645). Writes sonnet to Lawes. Writes sonnet on the death of Catherine Thomason, wife of George Thomason, bookseller and collector of contemporary pamphlets to whose collection Milton contributed. Daughter Anne born ( July 29).

1646

Father dies; moves to High Holborn. Begins writing History of Britain(?). Composes “Ad Joannem Rousium” ( Jan.) and sends it to Rouse with a replacement copy of the 1645 Poems.

1647

Daughter Mary born (Oct. 26). Writes sonnet to Lord General Fairfax. Translates Psalms 80–88.

1648

Second Civil War. Pride’s Purge (Dec.) expels many Presbyterians from Parliament, leaving c.150 members of the House of Commons (the Rump). Peace of Westphalia, ending Thirty Years War. Robert Herrick, Hesperides.

Publishes Tenure of Kings and Magistrates (Feb.). Appointed Secretary for Foreign Tongues to the Council of State (March 15). Publishes Observations on Irish documents; Eikonoklastes (“The Idol Smasher”) (Oct.). Given lodgings in Scotland Yard

1649

Trial of Charles I, executed Jan. 30. Eikon Basilike (“The Royal Image”) published in many editions. A republic without King or House of Lords proclaimed (Feb.). Salmasius, Defensio Regia. Richard Lovelace, Lucasta.

1650

Marvell, Horatian Ode upon Cromwell’s Return from Ireland. Vaughan, Silex Scintillans (Part 1).

1651

Hobbes, Leviathan.

Publishes Defensio pro populo Anglicano in reply to Salmasius (Feb. 24). Birth of son, John (March 16). Moves to Petty France, near St. James Park.

First Civil War ends. Crashaw, Steps to the Temple.

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Chronology

Milton’s Life

Historical and Literary Events

Milton totally blind. Writes sonnet, “When I consider how my light is spent”(?) and sonnets to Cromwell and Sir Henry Vane. Daughter Deborah born (May 2). Mary Powell Milton dies (May 5). Son John dies ( June).

1652

Regii Sanguinis Clamor (“Cry of the Royal Blood”), answer to Milton’s Defensio, published. First Dutch War (to 1654).

Translates Psalms 1–8.

1653

Cromwell dissolves Rump Parliament (April 20). “Barebones” Parliament. Cromwell made Lord Protector (Dec.), under Constitution, “Instrument of Government.”

Publishes Defensio Secunda (“A Second Defense of the English People”), answer to Regii Sanguinis (May 30).

1654

Writes sonnet, “Avenge O Lord thy Slaughter’d Saints.” Publishes Pro Se Defensio (“Defense of Himself”) (Aug.). Works on Christian Doctrine(?).

1655

Massacre of the Protestant Vaudois on order of the Prince of Savoy (April). Andrew Marvell, The First Anniversary of the Government under O. C.

Marries Katherine Woodcock (Nov. 12).

1656

James Harrington, Oceana, published. Abraham Cowley, Poems including Pindarique Odes.

Daughter Katherine born (Oct. 10). Marvell appointed his assistant in Secretariat for Foreign Languages.

1657

“Humble Petition and Advice,” constitution establishing more conservative government.

Katherine Woodcock Milton dies (Feb. 3). Daughter Katherine dies (March 17). New edition of Milton’s Defensio.

1658

Death of Oliver Cromwell (Sept. 3). Richard Cromwell becomes Protector.

Publishes A Treatise of Civil Power in Ecclesiastical Causes (Feb.); The Likeliest Means to Remove Hirelings out of the Church (Aug.).

1659

Richard Cromwell deposed by army; Rump Parliament recalled; Rump deposed and again restored.

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Chronology Milton’s Life

xix Historical and Literary Events

Publishes The Readie and Easie Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth (Feb.); 2nd edition (April); Brief Notes upon a Late Sermon (April). In hiding (May); his books burned (Aug.); imprisoned (Oct.?); released (Dec.).

1660

Long Parliament restored; New Parliament called (April). Charles II restored, enters London (May). Dryden, Astraea Redux. Bunyan imprisoned (until 1671).

At work on Paradise Lost, Christian Doctrine(?).

1661

Regicides imprisoned, ten executed. Repression of dissenters. Louis XIV assumes control of kingship after death of Mazarin.

Marries Elizabeth Minshull (Feb.). Moves to Bunhill Fields.

1663

Butler, Hudibras, Part I.

1664

Butler, Hudibras, Part II; Molière, Tartuffe.

1665

Bubonic plague kills 70,000 in London. Second Dutch War.

1666

Great Fire of London (Sept. 2–6). Bunyan, Grace Abounding.

1667

Dryden, Annus Mirabilis; Of Dramatick Poesie. Katherine Philips, Poems.

1668

Dryden made Poet Laureate. The Works of Abraham Cowley. Racine, Andromaque.

Quaker Thomas Ellwood finds house for Milton at Chalfont St. Giles to escape plague.

Paradise Lost published.

Publishes Accidence Commenc’t Grammar.

1669

Publishes History of Britain, with William Faithorne’s engraved portrait.

1670

Publishes Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes.

1671

Publishes Art of Logic.

1672

Charles II Declaration of Indulgence. Marvell, Rehearsal Transprosed. Third Dutch War.

Publishes Of True Religion, Heresy, Schism and Toleration; publishes new edition of Poems (1645).

1673

Test Act passed.

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xx

Chronology

Milton’s Life Publishes Familiar Letters and Prolusions. Publishes 2nd. edition of Paradise Lost. Death (Nov. 8–10?); burial at St. Giles, Cripplegate (Nov. 12).

4th (Folio) edition of Paradise Lost: illustrations chiefly by Juan Baptista de Medina, engraved chiefly by Michael Burghers.

Milton’s Letters of State published, with Edward Phillips’ Life of Milton and four sonnets – to Fairfax, Cromwell, Vane, and Cyriack Skinner (#2) – omitted from 1673 Poems.

Historical and Literary Events 1674

Dryden’s rhymed drama The State of Innocence, registered (published 1677).

1678

Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress.

1681

Miscellaneous Poems of Andrew Marvell. Dryden, Absalom and Achitophel.

1684

Death of Charles II; accession of James II.

1688

Deposition of James II (Glorious Revolution).

1689

Accession of William III and Mary II. Act of Toleration. Bill of Rights.

1694

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Textual Introduction

The text of Poems of Mr. John Milton, Both English and Latin, is based on the 1645 edition printed by Humphrey Moseley (copy text. BL Ashley 1179). I have used the 1645 edition both for the language and for the accidentals (spelling, punctuation, capitalization, italics). On a few occasions, where warranted by obvious mistakes or probable printers’ oversights, I have supplied superior readings from the other sources that have textual authority: the 1673 version of Poems &c. upon Several Occasions and the Trinity Manuscript, or in the case of Lycidas, A Mask, and Epitaphium Damonis, earlier printings. The text for poems added after 1645 is based on the 1673 version of Poems &c. upon Several Occasions. By Mr. John Milton: Both English and Latin (copy text, BL 684 d. 34). For the sonnets to Fairfax, Cromwell, Vane, and Skinner, first printed in Letters of State (1694), I have supplied both the versions in Letters of State (copy text, BL 599 b. 15) as well as the versions in the Trinity Manuscript. The 1645 edition of Poems is an attractive octavo, with ornamental borders at the tops of pages and elsewhere as well as decorated capitals at the beginning of the preface and testimonia. Humphrey Moseley contributed a short preface: The Stationer to the Reader. There is a separate title page for A Mask of the same Author Presented at Ludlow-Castle, 1634, followed by a letter by Henry Lawes to John Lord Viscount Brackley and one by Henry Wotton to Milton, thanking Milton for a copy of A Mask and advising him on his forthcoming journey to Italy. The second volume of the 1645 Poems, the Poemata, has its own title page, followed by a brief prefatory note in Latin by Milton and a group of testimonia in verse and prose addressed to Milton by Italian friends and acquaintances. Page numbers appear in parenthesis at the top of pages. The 1673 octavo of Poems, &C. Upon Several Occasions is an attractive though more modest volume than 1645; it also has ornamental borders and a few decorated capitals. Page numbers appear as in 1645 (in parenthesis) at the top of the page. There is an errata page after the tables of contents. Both Moseley’s preface and the

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Textual Introduction

prefatory material to A Mask, including a list of its dramatis personae, are dropped from the 1673 edition of Poems. The Poemata retains its separate title page and both Milton’s Latin note and the testimonia. Added to the 1673 volume is a small Tractate of Education to Mr. Hartlib. Two title pages exist of the 1673 edition that list the different locations at which the book was available. The book was printed by Thomas Dring either at the White Lion next Chancery Lane or alternately at the Blew Anchor next Mitre Court over against Fetter Lane in Fleetstreet. The texts of Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes are based on the 1671 version of Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is added Samson Agonistes (copy text. BL 684. d. 33). The book is a simple octavo with large capitals beginning each book of Paradise Regained and the beginning of Samson Agonistes and ornamental borders at the top of the page beginning Samson Agonistes. Both poems have page and line numbers. The line numbers are sometimes incorrect. The title page reads Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is added Samson Agonistes. Milton is identified as author and John Starkey at the Mitre in Fleetstreet as publisher. Paradise Regained appears without introductory material. Samson Agonistes has its own title page, also listing author and publisher, an extended preface by Milton (“Of that sort of Dramatic Poem which is call’d Tragedy”), together with The Argument and The Persons (a list of dramatis personae). An errata page is supplied for both poems. A page of Omissa is added at the end of the text of Samson Agonistes. I have examined copies of the 1645 and 1673 Poems and copies of the 1671 Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes at the British Library, the Bodleian Library, and the Newberry Library, Chicago. Punctuation and orthography in the copy texts have been followed in most cases. When a reading is used from other sources, such as the Trinity Manuscript or the 1673 edition of Poems, for example, or when I have supplied an emendation, these are noted in the textual apparatus. The textual notes record these differences in spelling, punctuation, and capitalization that seem significant, but not all variants are noted. Printing irregularities and obvious typesetting errors are silently corrected; for notation of these, readers should consult Fletcher’s edition of Poems (1645 and 1673) and Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes. Line numbers have been added. Our goal in these editions is to provide useful marginal glosses and footnotes without overwhelming the poetic text with a burdensome apparatus and without dictating interpretation of particular passages. Unfamiliar words are glossed in the margins; biblical citations are supplied. Biblical and classical echoes are identified as well as unfamiliar names and places, but necessarily not every possible allusion has been noted. Paraphrases are provided for passages with syntactical complexities.

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Introduction to the 1645 Volume: Poems of Mr. John Milton In 1645, Milton published most but not all of the poems he had composed by that date. The publisher Humphrey Moseley had begun to bring out volumes of lyric poetry by royalist poets such as Edmund Waller, and it was likely, as he claims in the introduction to the volume, that he approached Milton and encouraged him to publish his verse. Moseley also arranged for the engraved portrait of Milton by William Marshall (see Figure 1), beneath which Milton, who considered the engraving unflattering, placed a witty Greek epigram ridiculing it in a language that probably neither Marshall nor Moseley understood. Unlike most contemporary poets, Milton neither wrote a preface, solicited commendatory poems, nor acknowledged a patron. He organized his volume more or less chronologically, thus displaying his poetic development, but also carefully grouped together poems of similar themes and genres. With the Latin tag from Virgil’s Eclogues on the title page (“Baccare frontem / Cingite, ne vati noceat mala lingua futuro” – “Bind my forehead with foxglove, lest evil tongues harm the future bard”), he promises future poems on even greater themes. In the Latin ode sent with a replacement copy of the volume to John Rouse, librarian of the Bodleian Library at Oxford, Milton describes the 1645 volume as a “twin book, rejoicing in a single cover, but with a double title page.” The first section of the volume presents his vernacular poems (mostly in English, but also including a mini-sonnet sequence in Italian), and concludes with A MASK Presented At LUDLOWCastle. The second section of the volume, entitled Poemata, contains his Latin poems, with a few in Greek. The Poemata is prefaced by a series of tributes from friends and fellow poets he met while traveling in Italy in 1638–9. Some of his own Latin poems are tributes to Italian friends, but others are Juvenilia, college poems dated (sometimes inaccurately) to emphasize the poet’s precocity. Because Milton so carefully designed the 1645 volume to present himself as a learned and wide-ranging poet who reinvents many of the genres he employs, we present the book, as Milton envisioned it, as an entity. Facing translations of the Italian, Latin, and Greek poems are added for the convenience of the reader.

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English and Italian Poems The first volume of the 1645 Poems is a miscellany made up mostly of poems composed between the late 1620s and the early 1640s. They are metrically experimental and incorporate a variety of genres, though odes of several types predominate. Milton introduces himself to the reader with the ode “On the morning of CHRISTS Nativity,” composed at Christmastide shortly after his twenty-first birthday and universally regarded by critics as his coming-of-age poem. In a Latin verse letter to his close friend Charles Diodati (“Elegia sexta”) he terms this poem his gift “for Christ’s birth” written at daybreak on Christmas morning. It is an occasional poem of a well-established poetic type in which the poet imagines himself welcoming the Christ Child, as the shepherds of the Nativity had, and dismissing the pagan gods, now dislodged from worship by the arrival of the true god. Both Mantuan and Torquato Tasso had written Nativity odes that dismiss the pagan gods, but the length of Milton’s passage may register Puritan anxieties about what many saw as contemporary forms of idolatry in the English Church. The ode also alludes to Virgil’s Fourth Eclogue, which celebrates the return of the Golden Age with the birth (probably) of the Roman Consul Pollio’s son, but which was generally thought by Christians to prophesy the coming of the true Messiah, who alone could restore the Golden Age. As the proem to the ode indicates, Milton presents Christ’s birth as a cosmic event wherein the Son of God puts aside the glorious form of divinity to inhabit a “darksom House of mortal Clay.” As a poet Milton joins his voice with the heavenly choir of angels to celebrate the entry of Christ into the natural order and to proclaim an event that is comparable only to the Creation and the Last Judgment. In the four-stanza proem of the ode Milton adapts rhyme royal but employs in the hymn proper an elegant stanzaic pattern with lines of varying length and an intricate, interlaced rhyme scheme with a concluding alexandrine. A Spenserian presence can be detected throughout the 1645 Poems, particularly in the Nativity Ode and in the Ludlow Mask. Milton personifies Nature as an attendant goddess and invokes Peace, Truth, Justice, and Mercy as allegorical presences to return to earth in preparation for the Second Coming. He accompanies allusion to the music of the spheres with musical effects and anticipates the Last Judgment and the dismissal of the pagan gods with dissonance. Alluding to the silencing of the oracles at the birth of Christ, Milton describes Apollo, the god of prophecy, as the first pagan deity to flee from his shrine. Typhon, a monster often identified with Satan, is the last to be dislodged by Christ, who is characterized as an infant Hercules controlling the damned crew. Not until the last stanza does Milton return to the scene at the stable where the Virgin lays her babe to rest. This early poem already displays qualities that remain constants in Milton’s poetry: allusiveness, revisionism, mixing of genres, cosmic scope, and prophetic voice. Milton may have envisioned the Nativity ode as the first of a sequence of religious odes on liturgical events. After two Psalm paraphrases identified in a headnote as

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written “at age fifteen” he presents an incomplete and unsuccessful ode, “The Passion,” using the stanzaic verse form of the Nativity proem; an endnote explains that he left it unfinished because he found the subject “above the yeers he had.” In the ode “Upon the Circumcision” he invokes the power of music to mourn rather than to rejoice. Two other odes – “On Time” and “At a solemn Musick” – also treat religious themes. The first is structured as an invocation, with Time apostrophized at the beginning and the end. In the latter Milton invokes the Sirens, Voice and Verse, as personifications of sacred vocal music and poetry. The ode is set in antiphonal form with the second part responding to the first. Like the Nativity ode, these brief odes have apocalyptic overtones and depict present time in relation to eternal time. The epitaph/ode on the death of the Marchioness of Winchester that follows employs, as do the other odes, metaphysical themes. It may have been composed for inclusion in a Cambridge commemorative volume that never materialized. As a lament for the death of a young mother in childbirth, it exploits the paradoxes of birth and death, flowering and untimely plucking. With its conventional opening it reads like an inscription on a monument and resembles the epigrammatical epitaphs of Ben Jonson. Like “L’Allegro” and “Il Penseroso,” its octosyllabic and heptasyllabic couplets have complex shifts between iambic and trochaic rhythms. The epitaph “On Shakespear,” dated 1630, was Milton’s first published poem, appearing initially in the second folio edition of Shakespeare’s plays (1632). Composed in iambic pentameter couplets, the poem reworks the conventional epitaph into a tribute that not only makes the poet’s works his best monument, but also turns his readers to “Marble” in “wonder and astonishment,” impressing his “Delphick lines” on their hearts. The two epitaphs on Hobson are of a different sort. Composed on the occasion of the death of the carrier Hobson who transported students and mail between London and Cambridge, they appeared in Cambridge collections and miscellanies of wit. Though irreverent and filled with puns and paradoxes, they resemble in some ways the Latin funera (included in the Poemata) that Milton wrote for Cambridge dignitaries, as they allow the poet to exercise his pungent wit with one conceit after another that allude to Hobson’s occupation. The graceful, urbane, fanciful twin odes, “L’Allegro” and “Il Penseroso,” are organized as hymnic addresses to classical deities – the Grace Euphrosyne (Mirth) and a muse-like Melancholy. After a ten-line introduction in which the wrong kind of melancholy and joy are dismissed, Milton introduces the patron goddesses as daughters of appropriate parents – Mirth of Venus and Bacchus (or alternately Zephyr and Aurora); Melancholy of Saturn and Vesta. Both goddesses are patrons of poetry, and the title characters – the cheerful and the pensive man – request from them not only pleasures appropriate to each, but also the kind of inspiration specifically due the poet. Each poem is cast chiefly in octosyllabic couplets, but from that verse form Milton elicits completely different tonal effects and tempi: a lilting, dancing quality in the first, and a sober stateliness in the second. L’Allegro embodies pleasure, free

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from blame and care, but also jest and jollity; Il Penseroso, solitary contemplation. The title character of the first ode hears the lark, the second the nightingale. The landscapes through which each wanders are rural, but Allegro mixes with plowmen, shepherds and shepherdesses, and the countryfolk of a pastoral England as they work or as they enjoy their sunny holidays. Penseroso wanders alone through a solitary landscape with “twilight groves” and “shadows brown,” observing only the moon and the constellations of the nocturnal sky. Towered cities and the busy hum of men please Allegro, as well as jousts, masques, and pageants; Penseroso seeks the quiet of studious cloisters and peaceful hermitages. The literary tastes of these opposing personae are also opposite. Allegro enjoys Jonson’s “learned Sock” and Shakespeare’s “native Wood–notes wilde,” but Penseroso admires Plato and Hermes Trismegistus, romances like Chaucer’s unfinished Squire’s Tale, and the Greek tragedies about Thebes and Troy. Orpheus, the supreme poet, is invoked by both Allegro and Penseroso, perhaps as the epitome of their own poetic aspirations. Although some sections of Il Penseroso are slightly longer, structurally, the two poems are parallel. However, Il Penseroso concludes with a ten-line coda that praises the old age that will bring knowledge and “somthing like Prophetic strain.” Each ode ends with an appeal to the patron goddess to grant those pleasures in her provenance and to accept Allegro or Penseroso as her devotee. Sonnets in Italian and English form an important group in the 1645 volume, to which Milton adds in the second edition of 1673. The sonnets include Milton’s most personal poetry – the Italian sonnets his only amatory verse and his only verse in that language. All follow the Petrarchan rhyme scheme with the conventional division into octave and sestet. Milton had purchased a copy of Giovanni Della Casa’s Rime e Prose (1563) in 1629, and his annotations indicate his close study of the text. In An Apology for Smectymnuus, Milton records his admiration for Dante and Petrarch and their poems of devotion to Beatrice and Laura. The opening of his first English sonnet, a wistful love poem to the Nightingale, may even echo the first line of one of Bembo’s sonnets. This opening sonnet is followed by the mini-sequence in Italian – five sonnets and a canzone – in which Milton addresses a dark Italian lady and confides his love for her to the confidant of the Latin elegies, Charles Diodati. The style and even the verbal echoes recall the tradition of the Italian sonnet in which a lover addresses a distant beauty. The four sonnets that follow are diverse, two recording Milton’s devotion to the vocation of poetry, the other two expressing his admiration for two women. Sonnet 7 explores the spiritual crisis occasioned by the end of his twenty-third year and his approaching twenty-fourth birthday. Although he regrets that he has not yet attained the accomplishment that should attend maturity as a poet, Milton determines to leave to God the taskmaster the fulfillment of the lot God has ordained for him. Sonnet 8 fuses personal experience with a contemporary political event – a threatened attack on London in 1642. It combines an anxiety that the Civil War will disrupt, as indeed it would, the vocation of poetry, with a conviction that poetry (as two classical

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allusions illustrate) has a power to transcend politics. Milton alludes both to Alexander’s sparing the house of the poet Pindar at the siege of Thebes and to the Spartans’ sparing the Athenian walls upon hearing the recitation of Euripides’ chorus from Electra. The other two sonnets contrast with the Italian sonnets in expressing not love but friendship for two exemplary women. Sonnet 9 is to an unknown young lady whose piety Milton illustrates by biblical allusion: like Mary and Ruth she has chosen the better part and, like the virgins awaiting the bridegroom Christ, she has kept the lamp of her devotion ever lit. Sonnet 10 is both a tribute to Milton’s neighbor Margaret Ley, who embodies her father’s noble virtues, and a recollection of her father, who died not long after Charles I’s breaking of the English Parliament in 1629. Milton compares Ley to Isocrates, who reportedly chose to starve to death after Philip of Macedon’s “dishonest” victory at Charonaea rather than witness the end of Athenian democracy. Arcades, presented at Harefield (probably in 1632), to celebrate its matriarch Alice, the dowager Countess of Derby, is a poetic entertainment with music. It compliments an aristocratic lady, who was a relative by marriage to the Egertons, the family for whom Milton would two years later compose the Ludlow Mask. The Countess does not take part in the entertainment, however, but is the figure before whom it is presented. She sits in majesty while the Genius of the Wood and the chorus (which included several of her grandchildren) commend her virtues and compare her to the classical goddesses Latona and Cybele. As in the Ludlow Mask the principal speaker is a daemon, an intermediary between heaven and earth, who celebrates the fertility of the wood in his charge and mediates between the music of the spheres and earthly music. The role was probably performed by Henry Lawes, the music tutor of the Egerton children, who also probably commissioned Milton to compose both Arcades and the Ludlow Mask. Lycidas, placed last of the English lyrical poems, is the most ambitious ode of the first book. Commonly referred to as a funeral elegy, Lycidas was designated in 1645 by Milton as a monody, an ode for a single voice. The poem had previously been published in a slightly different version in 1638, as the final poem in a memorial volume – of Latin, Greek, and English poems – by friends and associates of Edward King at Cambridge University, Justa Edovardo King naufrago. King had been a fellow student with Milton at Christ’s College, Cambridge, a minor poet and an ordained minister, who was drowned in the Irish Sea off Chester while on his way to visit relatives in Ireland. In the headnote added in 1645, Milton refers to King as a learned friend whom he bewails, but also notes that the poem “by occasion fortels the ruine of our corrupted Clergy then in their height.” Even as it laments the good pastor struck down in his prime, it excoriates the bad pastors left in his place. Although occasioned by the death of King, Lycidas transcends the poetry of personal grief. King and Milton were not close friends, so the sense of personal loss that characterizes Epitaphium Damonis, Milton’s lament for Charles Diodati, is missing from Lycidas. In its place Milton expresses anxiety about early death, questions his own calling

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as poet, voices concern for the state of the Church, and finds consolation in the Christian’s reward after death. The poem’s achievement is partly due to its experimental form, part pastoral eclogue, part ode or monody. With its elaborate opening figure – the image of the shattered garland – its complex mythic allusions, its digressions, and its abrupt shifts in theme and direction, it owes something to Pindaric ode, a form Milton was proposing at the time to imitate. Like Pindaric ode, Lycidas is a poem whose principal aim – to lament the death of Edward King – combines with other aims – to defend the vocation of poetry, to indict the bad pastors, who are also bad poets (lines 124–5), and generally to explore the meaning of life and death. It also borrows many devices from Theocritean idyll and Virgilian pastoral – invocation of the muses, a mini-refrain, a procession of mourners, and a closing pastoral frame. As in Theocritus’ first idyll and Virgil’s Eclogue 10, a shepherd-swain who is the principal speaker mourns a fellow poet, regretfully recalling the “Rural ditties” once enjoyed by the community of fellow shepherds. Although the pastoral mode was out of fashion for funeral poems when Milton wrote Lycidas (his is the only pastoral in the Cambridge memorial volume), Milton may deliberately be harking back to the earlier tradition, wherein Latin pastorals mourn the Elizabethan poet Sir Philip Sidney both as Daphnis and Lycidas. Also, the classical tradition of the shepherd-poet relates intimately to the Christian tradition of the shepherd-pastor/minister (Christ as Good Shepherd), the biblical tradition of the shepherd-prophet, and the biblical denunciation of bad shepherds. Classical and Christian appear side by side in Lycidas, with appeals to the muses and classical deities and mythic references interlaced with Christian allusions. In the central long section of the poem the speaker moves from his lament for Lycidas to pose questions about the poet’s untimely demise and about poetic vocation itself. Querying why the deities of nature as well as the Muse should abandon the poet, the swain alludes to the Muse’s son, the archetypal poet Orpheus, torn apart by the Bacchantes, and complains that sudden and perhaps savage death await those devoted to poetry. To refute the swain’s complaints of the Muse’s thanklessness, Milton introduces the god Phoebus Apollo, who reassures him of the ultimate reward for the poet – from the all-judging eyes of Jove. Other mythic figures appear on the scene and attempt to exonerate nature; Triton, Aeolus, and the sea nymphs assert that the sea and winds were calm and that the cause of the shipwreck was in the world of men – the “fatall and perfidious Bark / Built in th’eclipse and rigg’d with curses dark.” The river god Camus, the personification of Cambridge University, comes to lament the loss of his dearest pledge, together with St. Peter, who delivers a stinging denunciation of the bad shepherds, promising ultimate justice in the form of a two-handed engine at the door that “stands ready to smite once, and smite no more.” The consolatory movement begins with the recalling of the pastoral figures Alpheus and Arethuse, and the framing of a floral tribute for Lycidas – “Flourets of a thousand hues” to strew his “Laureate Herse.” But that consolation is illusory, for Lycidas’ dead body is absent, hurled about in the seas, where he perhaps visits “the

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bottom of the monstrous world.” It requires the agency of the angel Michael, who stands guardian at the Mount on the Cornish coast, to call Lycidas home, wafted to shore by classical dolphins. Christian and classical blend in the final consolation. The shepherd-swain bids the other shepherds to weep no more. Lycidas is not dead, but alive through the power of Christ, here referred to metaphorically as the day-star who sinks and rises again and as the one “that walk’d the waves.” Other groves and other streams await Lycidas in a Christian heaven, where he hears the “unexpressive nuptiall Song” of the Lamb. Water is the transforming medium throughout the poem: the water that drowned Lycidas, the watery tears – melodious and lamenting – for Lycidas, the inspiring water of the muses’ sacred well, the freshwater stream that bears Orpheus’ head in contrast to Alpheus’ amorous stream that pursues the nymph Arethusa and mingles its waters with hers, the water on which Christ triumphantly walks, the water of other streams in heaven, and finally the watery tears forever wiped from Lycidas’ eyes. The resurrected Lycidas not only enjoys the society of the saints in heaven, but becomes also a protective “Genius of the shore,” beckoning home all those who “wander in that perilous flood.” In the final coda another voice describes how the uncouth swain who has warbled this “Dorick” lay gathers his mantle about himself and departs for “fresh Woods, and Pastures new,” thereby signaling perhaps Milton’s own move from pastoral to higher genres. Milton’s Mask Presented At Ludlow-Castle is placed last in the English volume, with a separate title page and prefatory material by Henry Lawes and Henry Wotton setting it apart from the rest of the volume. The Mask was popularly titled Comus throughout the eighteenth century and well into the twentieth century. It exists in five different versions: the Bridgewater MS, which is probably close to the acting version (a copy is included in the Appendix of this edition); a version in the Trinity MS in Milton’s hand (with corrections); a version printed by Henry Lawes in 1637 (to which Milton declined to affix his name), and almost identical versions in Milton’s 1645 and 1673 Poems. The Mask was performed in the great hall of Ludlow Castle on Michaelmas night (September 29, 1634) to celebrate the appointment of the Earl of Bridgewater as Lord President of the Council of Wales. Its principal characters are the Earl’s three unmarried children – Lady Alice Egerton (age 15), the heir John, Lord Brackley (age 11), and Thomas Egerton (age 9). The masque takes advantage of the specific occasion – the journey of the Earl’s three children to Ludlow to celebrate their father’s appointment. Henry Lawes, the children’s own music tutor, took the part of the Attendant Spirit or Daemon, sent to guard them from the dangers and seductions of Comus. He takes on the disguise of Thyrsis, a shepherd-servant of the household. The Attendant Spirit has the first and the last words in the masque and performs four of the five extant songs. (A copy of Lawes’ music for the songs is included in this edition). Unlike most masques of the period, the Ludlow Mask has more extensive dialogue, a more complex plot, and characters that evince some development and conflict.

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However, it retains the song and dance central to most court masques – the antic dances of Comus’s rout (the antimasque), the rustic dances of the shepherds, the stately masque dances at Ludlow castle. Milton’s masque requires no elaborate machinery or sets, its principal spectacle consisting of Sabrina’s rising from the Severn river with her attendants. The plot is derived from Homer’s account of Circe’s transformation of Odysseus’ companions into swine, a circumstance imitated in the Renaissance notably in Ariosto’s, Tasso’s, and Spenser’s epic romances, where a sorceress entraps or seduces a heroic male. In Milton’s masque, however, a male rather than a female entraps his victim, recalling Busirane’s detaining of Amoret in book 3 of The Faerie Queene. In making Comus a male version of his mother Circe and a reveler like his father Bacchus, Milton is original. In most plays and masques in which the Comus figure appears, he is simply a figure of revelry or drunkenness and not a sorcerer, and though connected with Bacchus, he is neither his nor Circe’s son, a parentage uniquely invented by Milton. Comus also embodies a contemporary cultural type: the refined, dissolute, licentious courtier, who possesses the seductive power of false rhetoric. The Attendant Spirit takes over the Homeric role of Hermes, warning the brothers of the wiles of Comus and providing them with haemony, a herb, which, like the moly of the Odyssey, protects them from enchantment. But Milton makes the Attendant Spirit more than the messenger god of the Odyssey. As a protective deity he oversees the rescue of the Lady, informing the brothers of her danger, guiding them to her, escorting the three to Ludlow castle, and also providing most of the music of the masque. Although the Attendant Spirit is the masque’s principal speaker, its main debates occur between the brothers and between the Lady and Comus – and they concern the masque’s theme – the trial of virtue. The brothers debate whether the Lady’s chastity possesses a kind of magical power (like Diana’s or Minerva’s) that will be sufficient to protect her or whether (as the younger brother fears) her beauty will attract and make her inevitably the prey of some evil predator. The Lady, bound to a chair by Comus’ spells, claims only the ability to preserve the freedom of her mind. However, she undertakes to refute Comus’ specious carpe diem arguments and to argue temperance and moderation as better guides for life than Comus’ advocation of the incessant consumption of nature’s goods. Nonetheless, when the brothers permit the sorcerer to escape, the Lady is unable to rise from Comus’ chair. The pastoralism of the masque is reinforced with the summoning of the nymph Sabrina. The erstwhile daughter of the British king Locrine, she died, escaping pursuit, by throwing herself into the Severn river and was thereafter transformed into the goddess of the river. The Attendant Spirit invokes her and her attendant water deities to secure the release of the Lady. As a virgin, Sabrina serves as the counterpart of the Lady, introduces a feminizing presence into the masque, and balances Comus’ seductive magic with her own chaste spells. At length the Attendant Spirit escorts the three children to Ludlow castle where they celebrate the triumph of virtue over sensual folly and intemperance.

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For the printed editions of A Mask Milton balances the Attendant Spirit’s speech of descent at the beginning of the masque with an epilogue at the end in which the Spirit proposes to reascend to his own regions. Some of the material for the final speech was used in the opening speech of the acting version (compare Bridgewater MS, pp. 516–18), but the final epilogue of the printed versions ends with a mythic rhapsody on the loves of Venus and Adonis in the Garden of the Hesperides and on the union of Cupid and Psyche. Milton’s masque on the triumph of chastity concludes with the celestial lovers Cupid and Psyche bringing forth Youth and Joy rather than Pleasure, the offspring traditionally attributed to them. As he returns above, his task fulfilled, the Attendant Spirit invites all who would follow him to love Virtue.

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ENGLISH AND ITALIAN POEMS

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Figure 2

Title page to Poems of Mr. John Milton, Both English and Latin, 1645

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THE STATIONER TO THE READER. It is not any private respect of gain, Gentle Reader, for the slightest Pamphlet is nowadays more vendible then the Works of learnedest men; but it is the love I have to our own Language that hath made me diligent to collect, and set forth such Peeces both in Prose and Vers, as may renew the wonted honour and esteem of our English tongue: and it’s the worth of these both English and Latin Poems, not the flourish of any prefixed encomions that can invite thee to buy them, though these are not without the highest Commendations and Applause of the learnedst Academicks, both domestick and forrein: And amongst those of our own Countrey, the unparallel’d attestation of that renowned Provost of Eaton, Sir Henry Wootton1: I know not thy palat how it relishes such dainties, nor how harmonious thy soul is; perhaps more trivial Airs may please thee better. But howsoever thy opinion is spent upon these, that incouragement I have already received from the most ingenious men in their clear and courteous entertainment of Mr. Wallers2 late choice Peeces, hath once more made me adventure into the World, presenting it with these ever-green, and not to be blasted Laurels. The Authors more peculiar excellency in these studies, was too well known to conceal his Papers, or to keep me from attempting to sollicit them from him. Let the event guide it self which way it will, I shall deserve of the age, by bringing into the Light as true a Birth, as the Muses have brought forth since our famous Spencer3 wrote; whose Poems in these English ones are as rarely imitated, as sweetly excell’d. Reader if thou art Eagle-eied to censure their worth, I am not fearful to expose them to thy exactest perusal. Thine to command

HUMPH. MOSELEY.

1 See Sir Henry Wotton’s letter to Milton, included in the prefatory material to A Mask. 2 Edmund Waller’s Poems was the book that Moseley had printed immediately before printing Milton’s Poems. 3 The poet Edmund Spenser.

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On the morning of CHRISTS Nativity. Compos’d 1629. I.1 This is the Month, and this the happy morn Wherin the Son of Heav’ns eternal King, Of wedded Maid, and Virgin Mother born, Our great redemption from above did bring; 5 For so the holy sages° once did sing, That he our deadly forfeit° should release, And with his Father work us a perpetual peace.

Hebrew prophets penalty of death

II. That glorious Form, that Light unsufferable,° And that far-beaming blaze of Majesty, 10 Wherwith he wont° at Heav’ns high Councel-Table, To sit the midst of Trinal Unity,2 He laid aside; and here with us to be, Forsook the Courts of everlasting Day, And chose with us a darksom House of mortal Clay.°

unendurable was accustomed

the human body

III. 15 Say Heav’nly Muse,° shall not thy sacred vein°

inspirer of Christian poetry / style

Afford a present to the Infant God? Hast thou no vers, no hymn, or solemn strein, To welcom him to this his new abode, Now while the Heav’n by the Suns team3 untrod, 20 Hath took no print of the approching light, And all the spangled host° keep watch in squadrons bright?

1

angels or stars

The meter used in the first four introductory stanzas is a variation of rhyme royal (decasyllables with a final alexandrine), previously used by Milton in “Fair Infant” (p. 293). 2 Joined as one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. 3 The horses that (in myth) drive the chariot of the sun god Apollo.

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IV. See how from far upon the Eastern rode° The Star-led Wisards° haste with odours° sweet: O run, prevent° them with thy humble ode, 25 And lay it lowly at his blessed feet; Have thou the honour first, thy Lord to greet, And joyn thy voice unto the Angel Quire,° From out his secret Altar toucht with hallow’d fire.4

road toward Bethlehem the Magi / spices arrive before

chorus

The Hymn.5 I. It was the Winter wilde, While the Heav’n-born-childe, 30 All meanly wrapt in the rude manger lies; Nature in aw to him Had doff ’t her gawdy trim,° With her great Master so to sympathize: It was no season° then for her 35 To wanton with the Sun her lusty Paramour.6

shed her foliage time of year or occasion

II. Onely with speeches fair She woo’s the gentle Air To hide her guilty front° with innocent Snow, And on her naked shame, 40 Pollute° with sinfull blame,7 The Saintly Vail of Maiden white° to throw, Confounded,° that her Makers eyes Should look so neer upon her foul deformities.

4

forehead polluted covering of snow put to shame

Called as a prophet like Isaiah, whose lips had been touched by a seraph with a burning coal from the altar. See Isa. 6.6–7. 5 For the Hymn proper, Milton introduces a different stanzaic pattern, based perhaps on the Italian canzone he was studying during this period. The stanza for the Hymn alternates short and long lines but retains the final alexandrine. 6 Cf. Earth’s courtship of Phoebus-Sun as lover in Elegia 5.55–95. 7 Nature has been polluted as a consequence of Man’s sin.

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III. 45 But he her fears to cease,

Sent down the meek-eyd Peace, She crown’d with Olive green, came softly sliding Down through the turning sphear8 His ready Harbinger,° 50 With Turtle° wing the amorous clouds dividing, And waving wide her mirtle wand,9 She strikes a universall Peace10 through Sea and Land.

forerunner turtle dove

IV. No War, or Battails sound Was heard the World around: 55 The idle spear and shield were high up hung; The hooked Chariot11 stood Unstain’d with hostile blood, The Trumpet spake not to the armed throng, And Kings sate still with awfull° eye, 60 As if they surely knew their sovran Lord was by.

awestruck

V. But peacefull was the night Wherin the Prince of light His raign of peace upon the earth began: The Windes with wonder whist,° 65 Smoothly the waters kist, Whispering new joyes to the milde Ocean, Who now hath quite forgot to rave, While Birds of Calm sit brooding on the charmed wave.12 8 9

quiet or still

The planetary spheres in the Ptolemaic system turn or revolve about the earth. Peace assumes the olive crown (from Pallas Athene), bears like a herald the myrtle branch (from Venus), and is accompanied by a turtle dove as symbol of constancy. 10 Perhaps an allusion to Augustus’ Pax Romana that prevailed at the time of Christ’s birth, but here attributed not to Augustus but to the coming of Christ. 11 A war chariot with hooks or blades protruding from the wheels. 12 Birds of calm are the kingfishers or halcyons. According to ancient belief, the sea, as though under a spell or charm, remains calm during the time when the halcyons build their nests.

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VI. The Stars with deep amaze 70 Stand fixt in stedfast gaze,

Bending one way their pretious influence,13 And will not take their flight, For all° the morning light, Or Lucifer° that often warn’d them thence; 75 But in their glimmering Orbs14 did glow, Untill their Lord himself bespake,° and bid them go.

in spite of the morning star, i.e., light-bearer spoke out

VII. And though the shady gloom° Had given day her room, The Sun himself with-held his wonted speed, 80 And hid his head for shame, As° his inferiour flame, The new-enlightn’d world no more should need; He saw a greater Sun15 appear Then his bright Throne, or burning Axletree16 could bear.

darkness

as if

VIII. 85 The Shepherds17 on the Lawn,°

Or ere° the point of dawn, Sate simply chatting in a rustick row; Full little thought they than, That the mighty Pan18 90 Was kindly° com to live with them below; Perhaps their loves, or els their sheep, Was all that did their silly° thoughts so busie keep. 13 14 15

open space before

with love toward one of their kind simple, rustic

Influence refers to that power over human destiny that the stars were thought to exert. In the Ptolemaic system, orbs or hollow spheres carry the planets around the earth. Christ – the Son of God – is metaphorically a greater sun or source of light than Phoebus Apollo with his sun chariot. Mal. 4.2 refers to the arising of the Messiah as the Sun of righteousness. 16 The axle of the Sun’s chariot. 17 See Luke 2.8–16. 18 A conflation of Pan, the shepherd god of the pastoral tradition, and Pan the universal god of Nature (pan means “all” in Greek). Spenser refers to Christ as the “great Pan” in Shepheards Calender, May.54).

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IX. When such musick sweet° harp playing of the angelic chorus Their hearts and ears did greet, 95 struck As never was by mortall finger strook,° Divinely-warbled° voice melodiously sung Answering the stringed noise,° sound As all their souls in blisfull rapture took:° captivated The Air such pleasure loth to lose, 100 With thousand echo’s still prolongs each heav’nly close.° end of a musical phrase

X. Nature that heard such sound Beneath the hollow round sphere of the moon / delighting, piercing Of Cynthia’s seat,° the Airy region thrilling,° Now was almost won° persuaded 105 To think her part was don, And that her raign had here its last fulfilling; She knew such harmony alone Could hold all Heav’n and Earth in happier union.19

XI. At last surrounds their sight 110 A Globe,° of circular light,

That with long beams the shame-fac’d night array’d, The helmed Cherubim And sworded Seraphim, Are seen in glittering ranks with wings displaid,° 115 Harping in loud and solemn quire, With unexpressive° notes to Heav’ns new-born Heir.

19

sphere of light or troop of angels

unfolded inexpressible

Nature is amazed to hear the music of the spheres, heard only in the region above middle air and not below the moon. She believes the Last Judgment is at hand, when with the reunion of earth and heaven the music of the spheres will once more be heard on earth.

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XII. Such Musick20 (as ’tis said) Before was never made, But when of old the sons of morning° sung, 120 While the Creator Great His constellations set, And the well-ballanc’t world on hinges° hung, And cast the dark foundations deep,21 And bid the weltring° waves their oozy° channel keep.

angels

poles of the earth’s axis tumbling or tossing / muddy

XIII. 125 Ring out ye Crystall sphears,

Once° bless our human ears, (If ye have power to touch our senses so) And let your silver chime Move in melodious time; 130 And let the Base22 of Heav’ns deep Organ blow, And with your ninefold harmony23 Make up full consort° to th’Angelike symphony.

only

accord of several voices or instruments

XIV. For if such holy Song Enwrap our fancy long, 135 Time will run back, and fetch the age of gold,24

20 21 22

Like the music that accompanied the work of Creation. Echoes Job 38.4–7 and Ps. 104.5. The base, the lowest note of celestial music, is sounded by the earth, the center or lowest planet of the Ptolemaic system, which has not since the Fall taken part in the music of the spheres. 23 According to the Pythagorean theory of the music of the spheres, Sirens sit upon each of the spheres that circle the earth, each sounding a single note, which, when combined, results in ninefold harmony. See Arcades 63. The music of the spheres would combine with the symphony of the angels, also arranged in nine orders, who sing in harmony together. 24 The Age of Gold was the first of the four ages of the earth when the god Saturn (Cronos) ruled the world in primal innocence. See Ovid, Met. 1.89–112. In Eclogue 4.6–10 Virgil predicted the restoration of the Age of Gold with the birth of a child (probably the Roman Consul Pollio’s son), a prediction that early Christians connected with the prophecy of Christ’s birth in scriptures.

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And speckl’d° vanity Will sicken soon and die, And leprous° sin will melt from earthly mould,° And Hell it self will pass away,25 140 And leave her dolorous mansions to the peering° day.

spotted or blemished contaminated, sick / material appearing or looking into

XV. Yea Truth, and Justice26 then Will down return to men, Th’enameld Arras° of the Rainbow wearing,27 And Mercy set between,28 145 Thron’d in Celestiall sheen, With radiant feet the tissued° clouds down stearing, And Heav’n as at som festivall, Will open wide the Gates of her high Palace Hall.

tapestry, bright fabric

laced with silver and gold

XVI. But wisest Fate sayes no, 150 This must not yet be so, The Babe lies yet in smiling Infancy, That on the bitter cross Must redeem our loss; So both himself and us to glorifie: 155 Yet first to those ychain’d in sleep, The wakefull° trump of doom° must thunder through the deep,29 rousing / judgment

25 26

After the Last Judgment Hell will be closed and will burn. Astrea, the classical goddess of Justice, was the last of the immortals to leave the earth and will be the first to return (Ovid, Met. 1.149–50). 27 Lines 143–4 of 1673 read as follows: “Orbed in a rainbow, and like glories wearing / Mercy will sit between.” 28 The trinity of goddesses – Truth, Justice, and Mercy – are analogous to the Greek Horae – Law, Justice, and Peace (Eunomia, Dike, Eirene). Also see Ps. 85.10–11: “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven.” Peace, Truth, Justice, and Mercy are sometimes allegorized in medieval drama as the four daughters of God. 29 The trumpet announcing the Last Judgment must sound before earth can be restored to its pristine state and the souls sleeping in death be awakened.

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XVII. With such a horrid clang As on mount Sinai rang While the red fire, and smouldring° clouds out brake:30 160 The aged Earth agast With terrour of that blast,° Shall from the surface to the center shake; When at the worlds last session,° The dreadfull Judge in middle Air shall spread his throne.31

smoke-filled trumpet of doom sitting of a court of justice

XVIII. 165 And then at last our bliss

Full and perfect° is, But now begins; for from this happy day Th’old Dragon° under ground In straiter° limits bound, 170 Not half so far casts his usurped sway,32 And wroth° to see his Kingdom fail, Swindges° the scaly Horrour of his foulded tail.

complete Satan, the Dragon of Revelation 12.9 narrower angry lashes

XIX. The Oracles33 are dumm,° No voice or hideous humm 175 Runs through the arched roof in words deceiving. 30

silent

The tablets of the law, the Ten Commandments, were delivered on Mount Sinai with thunder, lightning, and cloud, such as will accompany the Last Judgment. See Exod. 19.16–18. 31 Christ is the dreadful judge who, at the Second Coming, will appear from the clouds. See Dan. 7.13; Matt. 24.30–1; 1 Thess. 4.17. 32 With Christ’s birth, Satan (the Dragon) is more closely bound. Milton perhaps anticipates Rev. 20.1–3: the chaining of the Dragon at the beginning of the millennium (Christ’s thousand-year reign). Some commentators date the millennium at the birth of Christ, others at Christ’s resurrection, and still others from a date still to come. 33 The Greek historian Plutarch reported the cessation of the oracles (De Defectu Oraculorum), a report that early Christian writers such as Eusebius, Lactantius, and Prudentius attributed to the effect of Christ’s coming. Celebration of the departure of the pagan gods from their shrines became a feature of Christian poetry, particularly poetry celebrating the Nativity. See Baptista Mantuanus, “De Nativitate Domini” in Fastorum Libri Duodecimi (1518) and Torquato Tasso, “In lode del Presepio di Nostro Signore nella Capella di Sisto V” in Rime (1608).

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Apollo from his shrine Can no more divine,° With hollow shreik the steep of Delphos° leaving. No nightly° trance, or breathed spell,34 180 Inspires the pale-ey’d Priest from the prophetic cell.

prophesy Delphi nocturnal

XX. The lonely mountains o’re, And the resounding shore, A voice of weeping heard, and loud lament;35 From haunted spring, and dale 185 Edg’d with poplar pale, The parting Genius° is with sighing sent, With flowre-inwov’n tresses torn The Nimphs° in twilight shade of tangled thickets mourn.

a classical deity of place forest deities

XXI. In consecrated Earth, 190 And on the holy Hearth, The Lars, and Lemures36 moan with midnight plaint, In Urns, and Altars round, A drear, and dying sound Affrights the Flamins37 at their service quaint;° 195 And the chill Marble seems to sweat,38 While each peculiar power forgoes his wonted seat.

34

strange

The trances that the Pythia at Delphi or the Sibyl at Cumae fell into before delivering the oracles were perhaps caused by breathing in the toxic fumes at the sites. 35 Plutarch relates the tale of a pilot of a ship who, having been told by a voice from the island of Paxi to proclaim the death of Pan, once he reached Pelodes heard many voices weeping (De Defectu Oraculorum, 17). 36 Lars and Lemures were household and tutelary gods of the Romans. The Lemures, spirits of the dead, were enshrined in urns. 37 An order of Roman priests. 38 The sweating of marble, ivory, or bronze was considered a bad omen. See Virgil, Georgics 1.480; Ovid, Met. 15.792.

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XXII. Peor, and Baalim,39 Forsake their Temples dim, With that twise-batter’d god of Palestine,40 200 And mooned Ashtaroth,° the Phoenician moon goddess Astarte Heav’ns Queen and Mother both,° titles both of Astarte and the Virgin Mary Now sits not girt with Tapers holy shine,° radiance The Libyc Hammon° shrinks his horn, a ram-headed Egyptian deity In vain the Tyrian° Maids their wounded Thamuz41 mourn. Phoenician

XXIII. 205 And sullen° Moloch° fled,

baleful / an Ammonite fire god

Hath left in shadows dred, His burning Idol all of blackest hue, In vain with Cymbals ring,42 They call the grisly king,° 210 In dismall dance about the furnace blue; The brutish gods of Nile° as fast, Isis and Orus, and the Dog Anubis hast.43

Moloch = Hebrew for king Egyptian gods with animal heads or bodies

XXIV. Nor is Osiris seen In Memphian Grove, or Green, 215 Trampling the unshowr’d Grasse with lowings loud:44 Nor can he be at rest 39 Peor and Baalim (plural of Baal) were Canaanite deities, Peor the Canaanite sun god. See Num. 25.3. 40 Dagon is twice battered, since when the Philistines placed the ark of the Hebrews in the temple of Dagon, the idol twice fell on his face during the night. See l Sam. 5.2–4. 41 Thammuz was the equivalent of the Greek Adonis, the lover of Venus (Aphrodite), who was killed prematurely. Loved and mourned by the Phoenician goddess Astarte, he was celebrated in spring festivals, attended primarily by young women. 42 Moloch’s rites involved child sacrifice. The cries of the children were drowned out by the clang of cymbals, as the children were passed into Moloch’s brass idol, a furnace filled with fire. 43 Isis, goddess of the moon, often depicted with the horns of a cow, was the sister-wife of Osiris and mother of the hawk-headed Horus (Orus). Anubis, son of Osiris, had the head of a jackal or dog. 44 Osiris, sun god and god of the dead, was worshiped in the form of a bull. He was tricked into entering a sacred chest and was killed by his brother Set. Set later dismembered his body and scattered its parts, which were found and reassembled by Osiris’ wife Isis.

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Within his sacred chest, dwelling-place Naught but profoundest Hell can be his shroud,° In vain with Timbrel’d Anthems° dark songs accompanied by rattles or tambourines 220 The sable-stoled° Sorcerers bear his worshipt Ark.45 robed in black

XXV. He° feels from Juda’s Land° The dredded Infants hand, The rayes of Bethlehem blind his dusky eyn;° Nor all the gods beside, 225 Longer dare abide, Not Typhon46 huge ending in snaky twine: Our Babe to shew his Godhead true, Can in his swadling bands controul the damned crew.47

Osiris / Palestine eyes

XXVI. So when the Sun in bed, 230 Curtain’d with cloudy red, eastern Pillows his chin upon an Orient° wave, The flocking shadows pale, Troop to th’infernall jail, Each fetter’d Ghost48 slips to his severall grave, 235 And the yellow-skirted Fayes,°49 fairies Fly after the Night-steeds,° leaving their Moon-lov’d maze.° Night’s horses / fairy rings

45

According to Herodotus (2.60–3), the priests of Osiris sounded timbrels or tambourines as they carried his image about in a wooden casket or ark. 46 Typhon was the gigantic serpentine son of Earth, who, according to Hesiod (Theogony 820–5), warred against Zeus and was imprisoned by Zeus under Aetna. He was identified with Satan by Christian commentators, who regarded his war against Zeus as an imperfect pagan version of Satan’s war in Heaven. Typhon was sometimes conflated with the Egyptian Typhon or Set, the killer of Osiris. 47 The infant Christ in his swaddling bands is implicitly compared to the newborn Hercules, yet in swaddling bands, who strangled the two serpents sent by Hera ( Juno) to kill him. See Pindar, Nemean 1.33–59. Hercules was often associated with Christ as a god’s son, who performed miraculous acts. The damned crew refers both to the pagan gods, here dismissed, and Satan and his devils. 48 A ghost still tied or bound to the body and its interests. 49 Shades, ghosts, and spirits such as fairies depart with the approaching dawn.

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XXVII. But see the Virgin blest, Hath laid her Babe to rest. Time is our tedious Song should here have ending, 240 Heav’ns youngest teemed° Star, Hath fixt her polisht Car,° Her sleeping Lord with Handmaid Lamp attending.50 And all about the Courtly Stable, Bright-harnest° Angels sit in order serviceable.°

50

latest born gleaming chariot

bright-armored / ready to serve

The star of Bethlehem that guided the Magi has come to rest over the stable and provides a light or lamp for Christ.

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A Paraphrase on Psalm 114.1 This and the following Psalm were don by the Author at fifteen yeers old. When the blest seed° of Terah’s faithfull Son,2 After long toil their liberty had won,3 And past from Pharian fields° to Canaan Land, Led by the strength of the Almighties hand, 5 Jehovah’s wonders were in Israel shown, His praise and glory was in Israel known. That saw the troubl’d Sea,° and shivering fled,4 And sought to hide his froth-becurled head Low in the earth, Jordans° clear streams recoil, 10 As a faint host that hath receiv’d the foil.° The high, huge-bellied Mountains skip like Rams Amongst their Ews, the little Hills like Lambs. Why fled the Ocean? And why skipt the Mountains? Why turned Jordan toward his Crystall Fountains? 15 Shake earth, and at the presence be agast Of him that ever was, and ay shall last, That glassy flouds from rugged rocks can crush, And make soft rills from fiery flint-stones gush.

1

Abraham Egypt

Red Sea, parted by Moses the Jordan river defeat

Composed probably in 1623–4 as a school exercise, translated from Latin or possibly Hebrew. Metrical versions of the psalms were often composed for musical setting. Milton’s father had set six psalms to music for Thomas Ravenscroft’s The Whole Book of Psalms, but he did not set these psalms of his son. 2 Not a direct translation. The psalm alludes to Israel as the seed of Jacob. Milton changes this to the seed of Terah’s son in order to distinguish Abraham, an exemplar of faith, from his father Terah, who was an idolater. See Heb. 11.8–9. 3 Line added, not in the original psalm. 4 Lines 7–12 cite examples of miracles worked by Jehovah (line 5).

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Psalm 136.1 Let us with a gladsom mind Praise the Lord, for he is kind, For his mercies ay° endure, Ever faithfull, ever sure.

always

5 Let us blaze his Name abroad,

For of gods he is the God; For, &c. O let us his praises tell, 10 That doth the wrathfull tyrants2 quell.

For, &c. That with his miracles doth make Amazed Heav’n and Earth to shake. 15 For, &c. That by his wisdom did create The painted° Heav’ns so full of state.° 19 For his, &c.

brightly adorned / stateliness, majesty

That did the solid Earth ordain To rise above the watry plain. For his, &c. 25 That by his all-commanding might,

Did fill the new-made world with light. For his, &c. And caus’d the Golden-tressed Sun, 30 All the day long his cours to run.

For his, &c. The horned Moon to shine by night, Amongst her spangled sisters bright. 35 For his, &c. 1 2

Composed in 1623–4, probably at the same time as the translation of the previous psalm. The “wrathfull tyrants” is Milton’s addition.

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He with his thunder-clasping hand, [S]mote the first-born of Egypt Land. 39 For his, &c. And in despight of Pharao fell,° He brought from thence his Israel. For, &c. 45 The ruddy waves° he cleft in twain,

Of the Erythræan° main. For, &c. The floods stood still like Walls of Glass,°

cruel

the Red Sea red, from the Greek erythros

the Red’s Sea’s divided waters

50 While the Hebrew Bands did pass.

For, &c. But full soon they did devour The Tawny King° with all his power. 55 For, &c.

Pharaoh

His chosen people he did bless In the wastfull Wildernes. 59 For, &c. In bloody battail he brought down Kings of prowess and renown. For, &c. 65 He foild bold Seon° and his host,

That rul’d the Amorrean° coast. For, &c. And large-lim’d Og° he did subdue,

Sihon, king of the Amorites (Num. 21.21–4) Amorite

King of Bashan, killed by Moses (Num 21.33–5)

70 With all his over-hardy crew.

For, &c. And to his servant Israel,° He gave their Land therin to dwell. 75 For, &c. He hath with a piteous eye Beheld us in our misery. 79 For, &c.

Jacob (Gen. 35.10–11)

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Psalm 136 And freed us from the slavery Of the invading enimy. For, &c. 85 All living creatures he doth feed,

And with full hand supplies their need. For, &c. Let us therfore warble forth 90 His mighty Majesty and worth.

For, &c. That his mansion hath on high Above the reach of mortall ey. 95 For his mercies ay endure, Ever faithfull, ever sure.

31

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The Passion.1 I. Ere-while° of Musick, and Ethereal mirth,° Wherwith the stage of Ayr and Earth did ring, And joyous news of heav’nly Infants birth, My muse with Angels did divide° to sing;2 5 But headlong joy is ever on the wing, In Wintry solstice like the shortn’d light Soon swallow’d up in dark and long out-living night.

formerly / heavenly joy

execute a variation of melody

II. For now to sorrow must I tune my song, And set my Harpe to notes of saddest wo, 10 Which on our dearest Lord did sease° er’e long, Dangers, and snares, and wrongs, and worse then so, Which he for us did freely undergo. Most perfect Heroe, try’d in heaviest plight Of labours huge and hard,3 too hard for human wight.°

seize

creature

III. 15 He sov’ran Priest stooping his regall head4

That dropt with odorous oil5 down his fair eyes, Poor fleshly Tabernacle6 entered,

1 Composed probably as an Eastertide piece in spring 1630 after composition of the Nativity Ode at Christmas 1629. Possibly intended as part of a projected sequence of poems celebrating the festivals of the Christian calendar. The meter and rhyme scheme are those of the introductory stanzas of the Nativity Ode. 2 Allusion to the composition of the Nativity Ode and especially the prominence of music within that ode. 3 “Labours huge” suggest Christ’s connection with Hercules, who performed tasks or labors that other human beings were incapable of performing. See the allusion to Hercules in “On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity,” 227–8. 4 Alludes to two of Christ’s offices: priest (Heb. 2.17) and king; his third office was prophet. 5 See Matt. 26.7, where a woman anoints Jesus with oil. Christ in Greek and Messiah in Hebrew mean the anointed one. The offices of priest and king were both consecrated through anointing. 6 The body is the tabernacle or dwelling place of the spirit (2 Cor. 5.1; 2 Pet. 1.13–14). For Christ’s body as a tabernacle, see Heb. 9. 11–12.

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The Passion His starry front° low-rooft beneath the skies; O what a Mask was there, what a disguise! 20 Yet more; the stroke of death he must abide, Then lies him meekly down fast by his Brethrens7 side.

33 forehead

IV. These latter scenes confine my roving vers, To this Horizon is my Phœbus8 bound, His Godlike acts, and his temptations fierce, 25 And former sufferings other where are found; Loud o’re the rest Cremona’s Trump9 doth sound; Me softer airs befit, and softer strings Of Lute, or Viol still,° more apt for mournful things.

quiet

V. Befriend me night best Patroness of grief, 30 Over the Pole° thy thickest mantle throw,

the sky

And work my flatter’d fancy to belief, That Heav’n and Earth are colour’d with my wo; My sorrows are too dark for day to know: The leaves should all be black wheron I write,10 35 And letters where my tears have washt a wannish white.

VI. See see the Chariot, and those rushing wheels, That whirl’d the Prophet up at Chebar flood,11 My spirit som transporting Cherub12 feels, 7

Jesus refers to his brethren as those who do God’s will (Matt. 12.50). Paul identifies Christ’s brethren as those whose nature he took on and for whom he died (Heb. 2.11–17). 8 Milton takes Phoebus, the god of poetry and sun god, as a symbol of his commitment to compose a poem on Christ’s acts. 9 Marco Girolamo Vida, born in Cremona, composed The Christiad (1535), a brief Latin epic in six books on Christ’s life, with a particular focus on Christ’s passion. 10 Funeral elegies often had pages edged in black. 11 By the Chebar river the prophet Ezekiel had a vision of a chariot manifesting God’s glory (Ezek. 1.1–10). 12 The chariot was made up of four living creatures, identified as cherubim.

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To bear me where the Towers of Salem° stood,

Jerusalem

40 Once glorious Towers, now sunk in guiltles blood;

There doth my soul in holy vision sit In pensive trance, and anguish, and ecstatick fit.°

an out-of-body state

VII. Mine eye hath found that sad Sepulchral rock° That was the Casket° of Heav’ns richest store,° 45 And here though grief my feeble hands up-lock, Yet on the softned Quarry would I score My plaining° vers as lively° as before; For sure so well instructed are my tears, That they would fitly fall in order’d Characters.°

the tomb of Jesus chest or coffin / treasure

mourning, complaining / vividly letters or engravings

VIII. 50 Or should I thence hurried on viewles° wing,

Take up a weeping on the Mountains wilde,13 The gentle neighbourhood of grove and spring Would soon unboosom all thir Echoes milde, And I (for grief is easily beguild)° 55 Might think th’infection of my sorrows loud, Had got° a race of mourners on som pregnant cloud.14

invisible

diverted begot

This Subject the Author finding to be above the yeers he had, when he wrote it, and nothing satisfi’d with what was begun, left it unfinisht.

13 14

See Jer. 9.10: “For the mountains will I take up a weeping.” An allusion to the cloud-image of Hera, created by Zeus to delude the amorous Ixion. Ixion impregnated the cloud-image, thus begetting the race of centaurs. See Pindar, Pythian 2.26–49.

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On Time.1

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Fly envious Time, till thou run out thy race, driven by a lead-weighted cord Call on the lazy leaden-stepping° hours, Whose speed is but the heavy Plummets° pace;2 lead weight of a clock And glut thy self with what thy womb° devours, stomach Which is no more then what is false and vain, And meerly mortal dross; So little is our loss, So little is thy gain. when For when as° each thing bad thou hast entomb’d, And last of all, thy greedy self consum’d, Then long Eternity shall greet our bliss inseparable, hence everlasting With an individual° kiss; And Joy shall overtake us as a flood, wholly When every thing that is sincerely° good And perfectly divine, With Truth, and Peace, and Love shall ever shine About the supreme Throne beatific vision of God Of him, t’whose happy-making sight° alone, When once our heav’nly-guided soul shall clime, left behind Then all this Earthy grosnes quit,° Attir’d° with Stars, we shall for ever sit, crowned (as in Rev. 12.1) Triumphing over Death, and Chance, and thee O Time.

1

Date of composition unknown, but usually assigned to 1631–3. In the Trinity MS Milton wrote but later deleted the following subtitle: “To be set on a clock case.” The verse form is adapted from the Italian canzone. 2 Controlled by the clock’s leaden plummet.

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Upon the Circumcision.1

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Ye flaming Powers,2 and winged Warriours bright, That erst° with Musick, and triumphant song First heard by happy watchful Shepherds ear, So sweetly sung your Joy the Clouds along Through the soft silence of the list’ning night; Now mourn, and if sad share with us to bear Your fiery essence can distill no tear, Burn in your sighs, and borrow Seas wept from our deep sorrow,3 He who with all Heav’ns heraldry° whileare° Enter’d the world, now bleeds to give us ease; Alas, how soon our sin Sore doth begin His Infancy to sease!°4 O more exceeding love or law more just? Just law indeed, but more exceeding love! For we by rightfull doom° remediles Were lost in death, till he that dwelt above High thron’d in secret° bliss, for us frail dust Emptied his glory, ev’n to nakednes;5 And that great Cov’nant6 which we still transgress 1

2 3 4

5 6

formerly

heraldic pomp / a while ago

seize

judgment hidden

Date of composition unknown, but usually assigned to 1631–3. Perhaps a continuation of the odes written for days in the liturgical calendar, begun with the Nativity Ode and The Passion. The feast of the Circumcision falls on January 1. Like most poets and commentators, Milton regards the circumcision as the first letting of Jesus’ blood and thus a foreshadowing of the crucifixion. The verse form is adapted from the Italian canzone or madrigal. Milton attributes to Powers, the sixth order of angels, the flaming quality associated with seraphs. The angels of this ode are armed, as in the Nativity Ode. The angels, being composed of fire, would be unable to weep; however, their fiery sighs would draw up moisture from the seas of tears wept on earth. Seize is a legal term, meaning to take possession of or to be the forfeit in a legal process. Circumcision, instituted as a sign of God’s covenant with Abraham and his children (Gen. 17.11–14), would satisfy the old law (the covenant of works) as well as signal that Christ would later, with his death, pay for sin and institute humankind’s new covenant with God, the covenant of faith, which is symbolized by the circumcision of the heart (Rom. 2.28–9). Refers to the doctrine of kenosis, wherein Christ emptied himself of his divine nature or glory in order to assume human form. See Phil. 2.6–8. The great Covenant is the Mosaic Law, the covenant of works, but Milton here seems also to allude to God’s covenant with Adam and Eve, which they transgressed on eating the fruit. Through his obedience and death on the Cross, Christ would pay for their sin, satisfying God’s justice and establishing a new covenant with humankind.

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Upon the Circumcision Intirely satisfi’d, And the full wrath beside Of vengeful Justice bore for our excess,° 25 And seals obedience first with wounding smart This day, but O ere long Huge pangs° and strong Will pierce7 more neer his heart.

7

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sin, violation of law

suffering on the Cross

Possibly a reference to the spear that pierced Christ’s side when he was on the Cross.

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At a solemn Musick.1

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Blest pair of Sirens, pledges° of Heav’ns joy, Sphear-born2 harmonious Sisters, Voice, and Vers, Wed your divine sounds,° and mixt power employ Dead things with inbreath’d° sense able to pierce,3 And to our high-rais’d phantasie° present, That undisturbed Song of pure concent,° Ay sung before the saphire-colour’d throne4 To him that sits theron With Saintly shout, and solemn Jubily, Where the bright Seraphim° in burning row Their loud up-lifted Angel trumpets blow, And the Cherubick host° in thousand quires Touch their immortal Harps of golden wires,5 With those just Spirits that wear victorious Palms, Hymns devout and holy Psalms Singing everlastingly;6 That° we on Earth with undiscording voice May rightly answer that melodious noise;° As once we did, till disproportion’d° sin Jarr’d against natures chime,° and with harsh din Broke the fair musick that all creatures made To their great Lord, whose love their motion sway’d° In perfect Diapason,7 whilst they stood In first obedience, and their state of good.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

offspring or assurance of heaven join music and poetry inspired state of ecstasy or rapture harmony, concord

fiery order of angels another order of angels

so that sound unharmonious broke natural order ruled

Date of composition unknown, but usually assigned to 1631–3. The title refers to a concert of sacred music, either instrumental or vocal. The verse form Milton uses indicates the influence of Italian canzone. Born (borne) might signify either having a nativity from the sphere or carried with the revolution of the sphere about earth. To enliven rocks and other objects of nature, as Orpheus had with his music. Ezekiel describes the throne of the chariot as sapphire-colored (Ezek. 1.26; 10.1). See the description of heavenly harp-playing in Rev. 14.2. The just who stand before the Lamb’s throne are dressed in white and carry palms (Rev. 7.9). In Pythagorean theory, diapason indicates the concord of notes in the musical octave. Thus it represents the restoration of harmony between earth and heaven.

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At a solemn Musick

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25 O may we soon again renew that Song,

And keep in tune with Heav’n, till God ere long To his celestial consort° us unite, To live with him, and sing in endles morn of light.

a company of musicians or singers

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An Epitaph on the Marchioness of Winchester.1

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This rich Marble° doth enterr marble tomb The honour’d Wife of Winchester,° John Paulet, Marquis of Winchester A Vicounts daughter,° an Earls heir,° Thomas, Viscount Savage / Thomas Darcy, Earl Rivers Besides what her vertues fair Added to her noble birth, More then she could own from Earth. age twenty-three Summers three times eight save one° She had told,° alas too soon, counted After so short time of breath, To house with darknes, and with death. Yet had the number of her days Bin as compleat as was her praise, Nature and fate had had no strife In giving limit to her life.2 Her high birth, and her graces sweet, Quickly found a lover meet; bridesmaids / invoke The virgin quire° for her request° The God° that sits at marriage feast; Hymen, god of marriage He at their invoking came But with a scarce-wel-lighted flame;3 And in his Garland as he stood, Ye might discern a Cipress bud.4 Once had the early Matrons° run midwives 5 To greet her° of a lovely son, congratulate And now with second hope she goes, Roman goddess of childbirth / pangs of childbirth And calls Lucina° to her throws;° But whether by mischance or blame° fault Atropos° for Lucina came; the third Fate, who cuts the thread of life

1

2 3 4 5

Composed 1631–2 and possibly intended for a collection of verse in the Marchioness’ honor to be published by Cambridge University. Jane Paulet, Marchioness of Winchester, died on April 15, 1631 at the age of twenty-three, after giving birth to a second child, a stillborn son. No connection is known between Milton and the Catholic Marchioness or her family. Jonson, Davenant, and other poets also wrote eulogies on her death. If her years had been as many or as complete as the number of praises awarded her, she would have seemed long-lived to both nature and fate. The sputtering of Hymen’s torch was a bad omen. Cypress, used for funeral garlands, would be an inappropriate and ill-omened inclusion in a wedding bouquet. Jane had married John Paulet in 1622 at the age of fourteen. Charles, Duke of Bolton, born 1629.

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An Epitaph on the Marchioness of Winchester

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And with remorsles cruelty, 30 Spoil’d at once both fruit and tree:6

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The haples Babe before his birth Had burial, yet not laid in earth,7 And the languisht Mothers Womb Was not long a living Tomb. So have I seen som tender slip° Sav’d with care from Winters nip, The pride of her carnation train, Pluck’t up by som unheedy swain, Who onely thought to crop the flowr New shot up from vernall showr;8 But the fair blossom hangs the head Side-ways as on a dying bed, And those Pearls of dew she wears, Prove to be presaging tears Which the sad morn had let fall9 On her hast’ning funerall. Gentle Lady may thy grave Peace and quiet ever have; After this thy travail° sore Sweet rest sease° thee evermore, That to give the world encrease, Shortned hast thy own lives° lease, Here besides the sorrowing That thy noble House° doth bring, Here be tears of perfect moan Weept for thee in Helicon,10 And som Flowers, and som Bays° For thy Hears to strew the ways, Sent thee from the banks of Came,° Devoted to thy vertuous name; Whilst thou bright Saint high sit’st in glory, Next her much like to thee in story,

6 7 8

cutting of a plant

labor, including the labor of childbirth take or establish life’s family

laurel (emblematic of poetry) the Cam river at Cambridge

Killed both the tree (the mother) and the fruit (the child). The child was stillborn. Jane is the slip, or cutting, that has lived through the winter and produced a flower, the child. The passing swain (that is, Death) unintentionally plucks both flower and parent slip. 9 The dew that the plant wears resembles the tears or dew that Aurora-Dawn lets fall in grief over the death of her son, Memnon. 10 By the Muses, whose sacred mountain was Helicon, hence the poetry produced to mourn her.

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That fair Syrian Shepherdess, Who after yeers of barrennes, 65 The highly favour’d Joseph bore To him° that serv’d for her before, And at her next birth much like thee, Through pangs fled to felicity,11 Far within the boosom bright 70 Of blazing Majesty and Light, There with thee, new welcom Saint, Like fortunes may her soul acquaint, With thee there clad in radiant sheen, No Marchioness, but now a Queen.12

11

Rachel Gen. 30.22–4 Jacob (Gen. 29.18–28)

Jacob’s wife Rachel (for whom he served fourteen years) gave birth to Joseph after years of childlessness, then died giving birth to her second child, Benjamin (Gen. 35.16–19). 12 Dante included Rachel with Beatrice in the beatific rose of the Virgin Mary, the Queen of Heaven (Paradiso 32.7–9). Milton seems to assign the Marchioness a comparable place.

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SONG1 On May morning. Now the bright morning Star,° Dayes harbinger,° Comes dancing from the East, and leads with her The Flowry May, who from her green lap throws The yellow Cowslip, and the pale Primrose. 5 Hail bounteous May that dost inspire Mirth and youth, and warm desire, Woods and Groves, are of thy dressing, Hill and Dale, doth boast thy blessing. Thus we salute thee with our early Song, 10 And welcom thee, and wish thee long.

1

Date of composition unknown.

the planet Venus / forerunner

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On Shakespear. 1630.1 What needs my Shakespear for his honour’d Bones, The labour of an age in piled Stones, Or that his hallow’d reliques should be hid Under a Star-ypointing° Pyramid? 5 Dear son of memory,2 great heir of Fame, What need’st thou such weak witnes of thy name? Thou in our wonder and astonishment Hast built thy self a live-long° Monument. For whilst to th’shame of slow-endeavouring art, 10 Thy easie numbers° flow, and that each heart Hath from the leaves of thy unvalu’d° Book, Those Delphick lines3 with deep impression took, Then thou our fancy of it self bereaving, Dost make us Marble° with too much conceaving;° 15 And so Sepulcher’d in such pomp dost lie, That Kings for such a Tomb would wish to die.

1

pointing to the stars

lasting, enduring easily composed verse invaluable

turn to stone / imagining

Composed 1630, first printed anonymously as “An Epitaph on the admirable Dramaticke Poet, W. Shakespeare” in the Second Folio of Shakespeare’s Works, 1632; reprinted with initials J. M. in Poems; Written by Wil Shakespeare, 1640. This is Milton’s first published poem. 2 Memory (Mnesynome) was the mother of the Muses. 3 Inspired or oracular, as coming from the oracle at Delphi.

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On the University Carrier who sickn’d in the time of his vacancy, being forbid to go to London, by reason of the Plague.1 Here lies old Hobson, Death hath broke his girt,2 And here alas, hath laid him in the dirt, Or els the ways being foul, twenty to one, He’s here stuck in a slough, and overthrown. 5 ’Twas such a shifter,° that if truth were known, Death was half glad when he had got him down; For he had any time this ten yeers full, Dodg’d° with him, betwixt Cambridge and the Bull.3 And surely, Death could never have prevail’d, 10 Had not his weekly cours of carriage° fail’d;4 But lately finding him so long at home, And thinking now his journeys end was come, And that he had tane up his latest Inne,5 In the kind office of a Chamberlin° 15 Shew’d him his room where he must lodge that night, Pull’d off his Boots, and took away the light: If any ask for him, it shall be sed, Hobson has supt, and’s newly gon to bed.

1

2 3 4 5

trickster, dodger

used evasions to try to catch him conveyance or behavior

attendant at an inn

Composed at Cambridge in 1631; reprinted anonymously in an imperfect copy in Wit Restored (1658). The university carrier, Thomas Hobson (1544?–1631), hired horses, mostly to students, and drove a weekly coach between Cambridge and London. His death in January1631 occasioned a number of verses, most of them comic. The phrase “Hobson’s choice,” which became proverbial, was occasioned by his insistence that his customers take the horse nearest the door. Girt signifies both large size (girth) and a belt for securing the saddle to the horse. The Bull Inn, Bishopsgate, Hobson’s stopping place in London. Hobson’s weekly carriage trips were halted when the university closed in 1630 because of the plague. Come to his last inn or dwelling place before dying.

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Another on the same.1

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Here lieth one who did most truly prove, That he could never die while he could move, So hung his destiny never to rot While he might still jogg on, and keep his trot,° Made of sphear-metal, never to decay Untill his revolution was at stay.2 Time numbers motion, yet (without a crime ’Gainst old truth)° motion number’d out his time;3 And like an Engin° mov’d with wheel and waight, His principles4 being ceast, he ended strait,° Rest that gives all men life, gave him his death, And too much breathing put him out of breath;° Nor were it contradiction to affirm Too long vacation hastned on his term.5 Meerly to drive° the time away he sickn’d, Fainted, and died, nor would with Ale be quickn’d;° Nay, quoth he, on his swooning bed outstretch’d, If I may not carry, sure Ile ne’re be fetch’d,6 But vow though the cross Doctors all stood hearers,7 For one Carrier put down to make six bearers.8 Ease was his chief disease, and to judge right, He di’d for heavines° that his Cart went light, His leasure told him that his time was com, And lack of load, made his life burdensom,9

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9

jog-trot = a slow pace

without violating a commonplace a clock immediately breathing space, rest

to banish, to depart restored to life or accelerated

his cart’s weight or sadness

Composed at Cambridge in 1631. Imperfect versions were printed in A Banquet of Jests (1640) and Wit Restored (1658). The metal of which the celestial spheres were composed was in perpetual motion, hence indestructible until the end of time. According to Aristotle, time is measured by motion (Physics 4.11–12). Pun on principles as either rules for behavior or forces that move a machine or a clock. Another pun. Vacation signifies a rest from business as well as the university’s vacation, the period between school terms at Cambridge. Term signifies an end or cessation, as well as the university’s session. Fetch and carry refers to Hobson’s former occupation with the pun on fetch as restored to consciousness or summoned by death. Either the university doctors stood cross, i.e., opposed to Hobson’s continued journeys to London, or the doctors attendant at Hobson’s sickbed were cross because unable to cure him. The doctors would also be the hearers of his deathbed speech, just quoted. Put down: deposed from service or killed. Bearers: porters of the university or pallbearers at a funeral. Lack of load (burden), i.e., business, was a burden for him.

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Another on the same

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25 That even to his last breath (ther be that say’t)

As he were prest to death, he cry’d more waight;10 But had his doings lasted as they were, He had bin an immortall Carrier. Obedient to the Moon he spent his date 30 In cours reciprocal, and had his fate Linkt to the mutual flowing of the Seas,11 Yet (strange to think) his wain was his increase:12 His Letters are deliver’d all and gon, address on a letter or inscription on a gravestone Onely remains this superscription.°

10

Pressed here signifies either summoned to service or pressed to death. Criminals, who were being executed through being pressed with a board, frequently asked for more weight to hasten their death. Also a pun on weight and wait: Hobson waits for business, i.e., for weight for his cart. 11 Hobson, who spent his days in a repeated motion (going back and forth), imitated the tides of the sea and, like them, was governed by the moon. Continuation of this repeated motion would have rendered him immortal, like the sea. 12 Pun on wane (to decrease) and wain (a cart). Paradoxically, Hobson’s wain (his cart), unlike the moon’s wane, was not the means of decrease, but of increase, i.e., of income.

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L’Allegro.1 Hence loathed Melancholy2 Of Cerberus,° and blackest midnight born, dog who guards the underworld In Stygian Cave° forlorn a cave near the Styx river ’Mongst horrid shapes, and shreiks, and sights unholy,3 5 Find out som uncouth° cell, desolate Wher brooding° darknes spreads his jealous wings, hovering And the night-Raven° sings; an owl or night-heron There under Ebon° shades,° and low-brow’d Rocks, dark, black / trees As ragged as thy Locks, 10 a remote dark land (Ody. 11.13–19) In dark Cimmerian° desert ever dwell.4 But com thou Goddes fair and free,° In Heav’n ycleap’d° Euphrosyne,5 And by men, heart-easing6 Mirth, Whom lovely Venus at a birth° 15 With two sister Graces more To Ivy-crowned Bacchus bore;7 Or whether (as som Sager sing) The frolick° Wind that breathes° the Spring, Zephir° with Aurora° playing,8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8

well-born, generous named at one birth

joyous, sportive / exhales the west wind / Dawn

Composed probably at Hammersmith or Horton (1631–8). In Italian the title means the happy or cheerful man. The banishment of melancholy of the morbid kind (caused, according to Galen, by an excess of black bile) is balanced with banishment of frivolous joy in the companion poem, Il Penseroso. Possibly a reference to the sights and sounds Aeneas encounters on entering the underworld (Aen. 6.426–9). The opening ten lines of L’Allegro and Il Penseroso are identical in rhyme scheme (abbacddeec) and meter (excluding feminine endings, the syllables alternate 6 and 10). One of the three Graces, Euphrosyne, symbolizes joy and mirth. Her sisters are Aglaia (splendor, beauty) and Thalia (bloom, cheer). Heart easing, a characteristic of the Graces, contrasts with heart devouring (ker-borous), an etymology of Cerberus’ name. The traditional parents of the Graces were Zeus (Jupiter) and Eurynome (Hesiod, Theogony 907–9; Pindar, Olympian 14.14–15). Renaissance mythographers such as Cartari and Gyraldus allowed a second genealogy – Bacchus and Venus (Cartari, “Gratiae,” Le Imagine de I Dei de gli Antichi; Gyraldus, Syntagma 13, De Deis Gentium). Spenser cites both genealogies (FQ 6.10.22–3; 2.8.6). Aphrodite (Venus) is an associate of the Graces (Pindar, Pythian 6.1–3; Homeric Hymn to Pythian Apollo 3.194–6; Horace, Odes 1.4.5–7; 3.21; 2.1–2). The Graces were also closely associated with the Muses who, like them, were sired by Zeus ( Jupiter). Both are patronesses of poetry who sing in accompaniment to Apollo’s lyre at the festivals on Olympus (Homer, Il. 1.603–4; Pindar, Olympian 14.9–12). Milton invents the alternate parentage for Mirth. Zephyr, usually called the son of Aurora, was often portrayed as courting Flora or Chloris, goddess of the springtime, as in Botticelli’s Primavera.

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L’Allegro

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20 As he met her once a Maying,9

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There on Beds of Violets blew, And fresh-blown Roses washt in dew, Fill’d her with thee a daughter fair, So bucksom, blith, and debonair.° Haste thee nymph, and bring with thee Jest and youthful Jollity, Quips and Cranks,° and wanton Wiles, Nods, and Becks,° and Wreathed Smiles, Such as hang on Hebe’s° cheek, And love to live in dimple sleek; Sport that wrincled Care derides, And Laughter holding both his sides. Com, and trip° it as ye go On the light fantastick° toe, And in thy right hand lead with thee, The Mountain Nymph, sweet Liberty; And if I give thee honour due, Mirth, admit me of thy crue° To live with her, and live with thee, In unreproved° pleasures free; To hear the Lark begin his flight, And singing startle the dull night, From his watch-towre in the skies, Till the dappled° dawn doth rise; Then to com in spight of° sorrow, And at my window bid good morrow, Through the Sweet-Briar, or the Vine, Or the twisted Eglantine.° While the Cock with lively din, Scatters the rear10 of darknes thin, And to the stack, or the Barn dore, Stoutly struts his Dames before, Oft list’ning how the Hounds and horn, Chearly rouse the slumbring morn, From the side of som Hoar° Hill, Through the high wood echoing shrill. Som time walking not unseen By Hedge-row Elms, on Hillocks green,

compliant, carefree, and affable

witty savings or verbal tricks gestures of greeting goddess of Youth

move lightly, dance making elaborate motions

crew, company blameless

multicolored in defiance of

a plant like honeysuckle

gray, as with mist

9 Celebration of springtime rites on the first of May was a well-known rural pastime in Milton’s England. 10 A military metaphor.

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Right against the Eastern gate, 60 Wher the great Sun begins his state,°

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Rob’d in flames, and Amber light, The clouds in thousand Liveries° dight.° While the Plowman neer at hand, Whistles ore the Furrow’d Land,° And the Milkmaid singeth blithe, And the Mower whets his sithe, And every Shepherd tells his tale° Under the Hawthorn in the dale. Streit mine eye hath caught new pleasures Whilst the Lantskip round it measures, Russet Lawns,° and Fallows° Gray, Where the nibling flocks do stray, Mountains on whose barren brest The labouring° clouds do often rest: Meadows trim with Daisies pide,° Shallow Brooks, and Rivers wide. Towers, and Battlements it sees Boosom’d high in tufted° Trees, Wher perhaps som beauty lies, The Cynosure° of neighbouring eyes. Hard by, a Cottage chimney smokes, From betwixt two aged Okes, Where Corydon and Thyrsis met,11 Are at their savory dinner set Of Hearbs, and other Country Messes, Which the neat-handed Phillis° dresses; And then in haste her Bowre° she leaves, With Thestylis12 to bind the Sheaves; Or if the earlier season lead To the tann’d° Haycock in the Mead, Som times with secure° delight The up-land Hamlets will invite, When the merry Bells ring round, And the jocond rebecks° sound To many a youth, and many a maid, Dancing in the Chequer’d shade; And young and old com forth to play 11 12

stately march or progress uniforms / clothed plowed land

tells his story; also numbers his flock

grassland scorched by sun / plowed land

moving slowly variegated

growing in clusters the center of attraction

common name for a shepherdess cottage

sun-dried carefree

stringed instruments

Names of classical shepherds. See Thyrsis in Theocritus 1, Corydon and Thyrsis in Virgil, Ecl. 7. Thestylis in Virgil (Ecl. 2.10–11) is a shepherdess who prepares dinner.

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L’Allegro

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On a Sunshine Holyday, Till the live-long day-light fail, Then to the Spicy Nut-brown Ale, With stories told of many a feat, How Faery Mab° the junkets° eat,° She° was pincht, and pull’d she sed, And he° by Friars Lanthorn13 led Tells how the drudging Goblin° swet, To ern his Cream-bowle duly set,14 When in one night, ere glimps of morn, His shadowy Flale hath thresh’d the Corn That ten day-labourers could not end,15 Then lies him down the Lubbar Fend.° And stretch’d out all the Chimney’s° length, Basks at the fire his hairy strength; And Crop-full° out of dores he flings,° Ere the first Cock his Mattin rings. Thus don the Tales, to bed they creep, By whispering Windes soon lull’d asleep. Towred Cities please us then, And the busie humm of men, Where throngs of Knights and Barons bold, In weeds° of Peace high triumphs° hold, With store of° Ladies, whose bright eies Rain influence,16 and judge the prise Of Wit, or Arms, while both contend To win her Grace, whom all commend. There let Hymen° oft appear In Saffron robe, with Taper clear,17 And pomp, and feast, and revelry, With mask, and antique° Pageantry, Such sights as youthfull Poets dream On Summer eeves by haunted stream. Then to the well-trod stage anon,°

13

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queen of the Fairies / cream cheeses / ate one storyteller another storyteller Robin Goodfellow

the goblin hearth or fireplace completely full / rushes

clothes / pageants, spectacles many

god of marriage

ancient or antic

immediately

Jack o’ Lantern or will o’ the wisp is a phosphorescent light seen in marshy places at night, caused by spontaneous combustion of gases emitted by decomposing organic matter. 14 Robin’s traditional reward for his labor. 15 Robin Goodfellow threshes more grain in one night than ten men could stack in a day. 16 The ladies’ eyes, like stars, control the destinies of those whom they look on. 17 The yellow robe and brightly burning taper (torch) are attributes of Hymen. When the torch burns brightly, it is a good omen for the marriage.

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If Jonsons learned Sock18 be on, Or sweetest Shakespear fancies childe, Warble his native Wood-notes wilde, And ever against eating Cares,19 Lap° me in soft Lydian20 Aires, Married to immortal verse Such as the meeting° soul may pierce In notes, with many a winding bout° Of lincked sweetnes long drawn out, With wanton heed, and giddy cunning, The melting° voice through mazes running: Untwisting all the chains that ty° The hidden soul of harmony. That Orpheus self may heave his head From golden slumber on a bed Of heapt Elysian° flowres, and hear Such streins as would have won the ear Of Pluto, to have quite set free His half regain’d Eurydice.21 These delights, if thou canst give, Mirth with thee, I mean to live.22

enfold welcoming circuit, orbit

delicately modulated connect notes by a tie or ligature

realm of the blessed dead

18 Jonson, in his comedies, imitated the ancient comedy of Greece and Rome, where the sock, a low-heeled shoe, was worn by comic actors. 19 For eating cares (“curas educis”) see Horace, Odes 2.11.18. 20 According to the classical theory Lydian music was cheerful and relaxing and differed from the Dorian mode (preferred by Plato), which inspired heroic conduct. In Olympian 14.17–18. Pindar congratulates the young victor with Lydian strains. 21 Orpheus descended to the underworld to plead for the return of his dead wife Eurydice. Moved by his song, Pluto and Proserpina granted his request on condition that he not look back on Eurydice before they arrived in the upper world. Orpheus violated the condition and lost Eurydice for a second time. In Ovid’s version Orpheus was reunited with Eurydice in Elysium after his own death (Ovid, Met. 10.11–63; 11.61–66. Also see Virgil, Georgics 4.467–506). 22 Milton echoes the conclusion of Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to his Love” (1599): “If these delights thy mind may move, / Then live with me, and be my love.”

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Il Penseroso.1 Hence vain deluding joyes,2 The brood of folly without father bred, How little you bested,° Or fill the fixed mind with all your toyes;° 5 Dwell in som idle brain, And fancies fond° with gaudy shapes possess,° As thick and numberless As the gay motes that people the Sun Beams, Or likest hovering dreams 10 The fickle Pensioners° of Morpheus° train. But hail thou Goddes, sage and holy, Hail divinest Melancholy,3 Whose Saintly visage is too bright To hit° the Sense of human sight; 15 And therfore to our weaker view, Ore laid with black staid Wisdoms hue.4 Black, but such as in esteem, Prince Memnons sister5 might beseem, Or that Starr’d Ethiope Queen° that strove 20 To set her beauties praise above The Sea Nymphs, and their powers offended.6 Yet thou art higher far descended, Thee bright-hair’d Vesta7 long of yore,

1 2 3

4 5 6 7

help idle entertainments foolish / occupy the thoughts

royal retainers / god of sleep

strike

Cassiopeia

Composed probably at Hammersmith or Horton (1631– 8). The title means the thoughtful or pensive man. Compare Joshua Sylvester, The Trophies of Henry the Great: “Hence, hence false Pleasures, momentary Ioyes / Mocke vs no more with your illuding Toyes” (1084–5). Aristotle associated melancholy with poetry and poetic inspiration. Robert Burton praised the joys of Melancholy: “All my joyes to this are folly, / None so divine as Melancholy” (The Authors Abstract of Melancholy in The Anatomy of Melancholy [1621]). Melancholy was thought to be caused by an excess of black bile and the influence of the planet Saturn. Memnon’s sister, Himera, would have been black like her brother Memnon, an Ethiopian king, who fought for the Trojans and was killed by Achilles. In the version of the myth Milton cites here Cassiopeia was turned into a constellation as punishment for boasting that she was more beautiful than the Nereids. See Hyginus, Astronomica 2.10. Saturn’s daughter Vesta was revered by the Romans as the virgin goddess of the hearth. Milton apparently invents her liaison with her father, excusing it as having taken place during the golden age, before sexual unions of this sort would have been censured.

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To solitary Saturn bore; 25 His daughter she (in Saturns raign,°

30

35

40

45

50

Such mixture was not held a stain) Oft in glimmering Bowres, and glades He met her, and in secret shades° Of woody Ida’s8 inmost grove, While yet there was no fear of Jove.9 Com pensive Nun,10 devout and pure, Sober, stedfast, and demure, All in a robe of darkest grain,° Flowing with majestick train, And sable stole° of Cipres Lawn,° Over thy decent° shoulders drawn. Com, but keep thy wonted° state, With eev’n step, and musing gate, And looks commercing° with the skies,11 Thy rapt soul sitting in thine eyes: There held in holy passion still, Forget thy self to Marble,° till With a sad° Leaden12 downward cast,° Thou fix them on the earth as fast.° And joyn with thee calm Peace, and Quiet, Spare Fast, that oft with gods doth diet, And hears the Muses in a ring, Ay° round about Joves Altar sing.13 And adde to these retired leasure, That in trim Gardens takes his pleasure; But first, and chiefest, with thee bring, Him that yon soars on golden wing, Guiding the fiery-wheeled throne,14 The Cherub Contemplation,15

the golden age

groves of trees

dye, color long robe / dark-colored linen comely, modest accustomed communicating

like a marble monument sober / expression securely, fixedly

continually

8 Mount Ida in Crete, the site of Jove’s upbringing. 9 Jupiter overthrew his father Saturn, establishing his reign on Olympus and ending Saturn’s rule. 10 Priestess or woman devoted to religious contemplation. 11 Melancholy resembles the Muse Urania, who was depicted looking at the heavens. Also Dürer’s Melancholy, pictured gazing fixedly at the heavens. 12 Melancholy, as Saturn’s daughter, would have been associated, as he was, with lead. 13 Hesiod told how he heard the Muses on Mount Helicon singing as they circled the altar of Jove (Theogony 1–11). 14 Referring to cherubim that upheld the throne seen by the prophet Ezekiel (Ezek. 1.5–28; 10.1–7). Cf. “The Passion,” 36–7. 15 In the pseudo-Dionysian writings, cherubim were associated with the contemplative faculty.

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Il Penseroso

55

55 And the mute Silence hist along,16

60

65

70

75

80

85

’Less Philomel° will daign a Song, In her sweetest, saddest plight,17 Smoothing the rugged brow of night, While Cynthia° checks her Dragon yoke,18 Gently o’re th’accustom’d Oke; Sweet Bird° that shunn’st the noise of folly, Most musicall, most melancholy! Thee Chauntress° oft the Woods among, I woo to hear thy eeven-Song; And missing thee, I walk unseen On the dry smooth-shaven Green, To behold the wandring Moon, Riding neer her highest noon, Like one that had bin led astray Through the Heav’ns wide pathles way; And oft, as if her head she bow’d, Stooping through a fleecy cloud. Oft on a Plat° of rising ground, I hear the far-off Curfeu sound, Over som wide-water’d shoar, Swinging slow with sullen° roar; Or if the Ayr° will not permit, Som still removed place will fit, Where glowing Embers through the room Teach light to counterfeit a gloom, Far from all resort of mirth, Save the Cricket on the hearth, Or the Belmans drousie charm,° To bless° the dores from nightly harm: Or let my Lamp at midnight hour, Be seen in som high lonely Towr, Where I may oft out-watch the Bear,19 With thrice great Hermes,20 or unsphear° 16 17

the nightingale

goddess of the moon nightingale singer

plot

low, mournful weather

the night-watchman’s chant protect

call down from the sphere

Summon silently or with a “hist” sound. Possibly a reference to the nightingale singing as her breast was pressed against a thorn, or to Philomela (after her transformation into the nightingale) lamenting her rape by her brother-in-law Tereus. 18 The moon goddess Cynthia, in her third aspect as Hecate, had a dragon chariot. 19 The constellation, the Bear or Ursa Major, never sets, hence to outwatch the Bear means to stay up all night. 20 Hermes Trismegistus (Thrice Great Hermes) was the alleged author of a collection of occult works, the Corpus Hermeticum, composed in Greek in Alexandria in the second and third centuries AD.

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The spirit of Plato21 to unfold What Worlds, or what vast Regions hold The immortal mind that hath forsook Her mansion in this fleshly nook: And of those Dæmons22 that are found In fire, air, flood, or under ground, Whose power hath a true consent° With Planet, or with Element. Som time let Gorgeous Tragedy In Scepter’d Pall° com sweeping by, Presenting Thebs,23 or Pelops line,24 Or the tale of Troy25 divine. Or what (though rare) of later age, Ennobled hath the Buskind26 stage. But, O sad Virgin, that thy power Might raise Musæus27 from his bower, Or bid the soul of Orpheus sing Such notes as warbled to the string, Drew Iron tears down Pluto’s cheek, And made Hell grant what Love did seek.28 Or call up him° that left half told The story of Cambuscan bold,29 Of Camball, and of Algarsife, And who had Canace to wife, That own’d the vertuous° Ring and Glass, And of the wondrous Hors of Brass, On which the Tartar King did ride; And if ought° els, great Bards beside, 21

harmonic accord

a tragic actor’s mantle or robe

Chaucer

possessing magical powers

aught

Probably includes not only Plato’s works – such as Timaeus, Phaedo, and Phaedrus – that concern the soul, but also the Neoplatonic writings derived from them. 22 Daemons are semi-divine spirits that are intermediaries between earth and heaven. 23 Thebes is the scene of Sophocles’ tragedies, Oedipus Tyrannos and Antigone; also Euripides’ tragedies, The Bacchae, The Suppliants, and The Phoenician Women; and Aeschylus’ Seven Against Thebes. 24 Pelops was the ancestor of Agamemnon, so probably Milton is referring to Aeschylus’ trilogy, The Oresteia, which deals with the curse laid upon the family. He might also be alluding to the tragedies that concern Agamemnon’s children: Sophocles’ Electra, Euripides’ Electra, Iphigenia at Aulis, Iphigenia in Tauros, and Orestes. 25 Tragedies dealing with Troy include Euripides’ Trojan Women and Hecuba; and Sophocles’ Ajax and Philoctetes. 26 Buskined, hence tragic, from the name of the boot worn by tragic actors in the ancient theaters. 27 A mythic Greek poet regarded in the Renaissance as the pupil of Orpheus. 28 The soul of Orpheus is asked to sing again the song that persuaded Pluto and Perserpina to release Eurydice from the underworld (Ovid, Met. 10.16 –50). See L’Allegro, 145–50. 29 Milton alludes to the principal characters and devices of the story of Cambuscan that Chaucer left unfinished in The Squire’s Tale.

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Il Penseroso

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125

130

135

140

145

150

155

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In sage and solemn tunes have sung, tournaments Of Turneys° and of Trophies hung;30 Of Forests, and inchantments drear, Where more is meant then meets the ear. moonlit course Thus night oft see me in thy pale career,° Till civil-suited° Morn° appeer, soberly clothed / Aurora Not trickt and frounc’t° as she was wont,° elaborately adorned with curled hair / accustomed With the Attick Boy° to hunt, Cephalus, Aurora’s lover But Cherchef ’t in a comly Cloud, While rocking Winds are Piping loud, quiet or gentle Or usher’d with a shower still,° When the gust hath blown his fill, Ending on the russling Leaves, slowly falling With minute° drops from off the Eaves. And when the Sun begins to fling His flaring beams, me Goddes bring To arched walks of twilight groves, god of the woods And shadows brown that Sylvan° loves Of Pine, or monumental Oake, Where the rude Ax with heaved stroke, Was never heard the Nymphs to daunt, Or fright them from their hallow’d haunt. There in close covert by som Brook, Where no profaner eye may look, Hide me from Day’s garish eie, thigh While the Bee with Honied thie,° That at her flowry work doth sing, And the Waters murmuring musical harmony With such consort° as they keep, Entice the dewy-feather’d Sleep; And let som strange mysterious dream, Sleep’s Wave at his° Wings in Airy stream, Of lively portrature display’d, Softly on my eye-lids laid. And as I wake, sweet musick breath Above, about, or underneath, Sent by som spirit to mortals good, divinity of place Or th’unseen Genius of the Wood.° But let my due° feet never fail, dutiful To walk the studious Cloysters pale,° enclosed courtyard 30

Alluding probably to the chivalric epics of Boiardo, Ariosto, Tasso, and Spenser.

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And love the high embowed° Roof, With antick° Pillars massy proof,° And storied Windows richly dight,° Casting a dimm religious light. There let the pealing Organ blow, To the full voic’d Quire below, In Service high, and Anthems cleer,31 As may with sweetnes, through mine ear, Dissolve me into extasies, And bring all Heav’n before mine eyes. And may at last my weary age Find out the peacefull hermitage, The Hairy Gown° and Mossy Cell, Where I may sit and rightly spell,° Of every Star that Heav’n doth shew, And every Herb that sips the dew; Till old experience do attain To somthing like Prophetic strain. These pleasures Melancholy give, And I with thee will choose to live.

31

vaulted or arched old, grotesque / supported, buttressed stained glass depicting biblical stories

traditional clothes of a hermit or ascetic study, learn of, interpret

Refers to the music of the church service, the settings of canticles and anthems.

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SONNETS.

I.1 O Nightingale, that on yon bloomy Spray Warbl’st at eeve, when all the Woods are still,° Thou with fresh hope the Lovers heart dost fill, While the jolly° hours2 lead on propitious May, 5 Thy liquid notes that close the eye of Day, First heard before the shallow° Cuccoo’s bill3 Portend success in love; O if Jove’s will Have linkt that amorous power to thy soft lay, Now timely sing, ere the rude° Bird of Hate4 10 Foretell my hopeles doom in som Grove ny°: As thou from yeer to yeer hast sung too late For my relief; yet hadst no reason why, Whether the Muse, or Love call thee his mate,° Both them I serve, and of their train am I.

1

quiet joyous shrill

unmusical nigh

companion

The sonnet on the nightingale was probably composed 1628–30. All of Milton’s sonnets, except the later sonnet to Cromwell, are composed on the Italian model, with an octave (usually rhyming abba, abba) and a sestet (rhyming either cdcdcd or cdecde). 2 The classical Horae, or goddesses of the seasons. 3 A superstition going back to medieval romances such as The Cuckoo and the Nightingale that to hear the nightingale sing before the cuckoo was a favorable sign for the lover. 4 The cuckoo was called the bird of hate because its cry was associated with cuckoldry. See Shakespeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost 5.2.898–902.

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II.1 Donna leggiadra il cui bel nome2 honora L’herbosa val di Rheno, e il nobil varco,° Ben è colui d’ogni valore scarco Qual tuo spirto gentil non innamora, Che dolcemente mostra si di fuora De suoi atti soavi giamai parco, E i don’, che son d’amor saette ed arco, La° onde l’alta tua virtù s’infiora. Quando tu vaga parli, o lieta canti Che mover possa duro alpestre legno,3 Guardi ciascun a gli occhi, ed a gli orecchi L’entrata, chi di te si truova indegno;4 Gratia sola di sù gli vaglia, inanti Che’l disio amoroso al cuor s’invecchi. Beautiful lady, whose becoming name2 honors Reno’s green glen and famous ford,° truly he is devoid of any worth whom your noble spirit fails to charm which sweetly shows itself in outward ways by never sparing of its gentle gaze and gifts, which are love’s bow and arrow, whereby your high virtue comes to bloom. When you talk softly or you sing with joy (which could stir hardwood in the Alpine heights),3 let him guard entry to his ears and eyes4 who does not find himself deserving you. For him, only a grace from above cures before love’s yearning at his heart matures.

1

the Rubicon

there (in her eyes)

the Rubicon

This sonnet and the sonnets and canzone in Italian following were probably composed in 1628–30. Translations are by Lawrence Revard. 2 Smart argues that Milton identifies the lady’s name as Emilia by associating her with the Aemilian province of Italy through which the Reno and the Rubicon flow (121–4). The “nobil varco” (famous ford) is the Rubicon river. 3 The lady, like Orpheus, can make trees move with her voice. 4 Like Odysseus, on hearing the Sirens, the poet must guard eyes and ears against the beauty and sirenlike voice of the Lady.

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III. Qual in colle aspro, al imbrunir di sera L’avezza1 giovinetta pastorella Va bagnando l’herbetta strana e bella Che mal si spande a disusata spera 5 Fuor di sua natía alma primavera, Cosi Amor meco insù la lingua snella Desta il fior novo de strania favella, Mentre io di te, vezzosamente altera, Canto, dal mio buon popol non inteso 10 E’l bel Tamigi cangio col bel Arno.2 Amor lo volse, ed io a l’altrui peso Seppi ch’Amor cosa mai volse indarno. Deh! Foss’il mio cuor lento e’l duro seno A chi pianta dal ciel si buon terreno. As on a bitter ridge with evening dimming a shepherdess, adapted1 there and young, goes watering an odd, small, lovely plant growing weakly in the strange environment (out of its springtime, native and nutritive), just so with me: above my quick tongue, love wakes the fresh flower of foreign idiom while I sing of you (charmingly aloof ), not heard by my good people, and exchange the lovely Thames with the lovely Arno.2 Love willed it, and, from others’ suffering, I learned Love never willed a futile thing; Deh! That my sluggish heart and stone chest were good countryside for heaven’s gardener.

1 2

Avezza, translated adapted, indicates that the shepherdess, like the plant, is not native to the place. To change the English Thames for the Florentine Arno signifies changing the English language for the Tuscan dialect of Italian.

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Canzone.1 Ridonsi donne e giovani amorosi M’accostandosi attorno, e perche scrivi, Perche tu scrivi in lingua ignota e strana Verseggiando d’amor, e come t’osi? 5 Dinne, se la tua speme sia mai vana, E de pensieri lo miglior t’arrivi; Cosi mi van burlando, altri rivi Altri lidi t’aspettan, & altre onde2 Nelle cui verdi sponde 10 Spuntati ad hor, ad hor a la tua chioma L’immortal guiderdon d’eterne frondi Perche alle spalle tue soverchia soma? Canzon dirotti,3 e tu per me rispondi Dice mia Donna, e’l suo dir, è il mio cuore Questa è lingua di cui si vanta Amore. In love, women and young men laugh and press around me: “So why is it that you compose – that is, why write a strange tongue no one knows, scribbling love’s verses? How are you so daring? Tell of it, that your hope is not despairing – and the better of your wishes come to pass.” And so they tease: “Different shores and streams2 are yet awaiting you – and different seas at whose green sides is sprouting at this hour an everlasting garland’s deathless prize – at this hour it is sprouting to crown your hair, why on your shoulders weights so oversized?” Canzone, I’ll tell you,3 you will voice my part: My lady speaks, and her word is my heart: “This is the tongue of which Love itself boasts.”

1

A canzone is a song or ode, usually in stanzas with irregular long and short lines. Milton’s canzone has only one stanza, with a concluding envoy. 2 Other rivers, banks, and waves are metaphors for the other kinds of poetry his friends are urging that he should be writing instead of the Italian love sonnets – poetry which will bestow on him the garland of everlasting fame. 3 In the envoy the poet addresses his own song, telling it to go to his lady.

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IV. Diodati,1 e te’l dirò con maraviglia, Quel ritroso io ch’amor spreggiar soléa E de suoi lacci spesso mi redéa Gia caddi, ov’huom dabben talhor s’impiglia. 5 Ne treccie d’oro, ne guancia vermiglia M’abbaglian sì, ma sotto nova idea2 Pellegrina bellezza che’l cuor bea, Portamenti alti honesti, e nelle ciglia Quel sereno fulgor d’amabil nero, 10 Parole adorne di lingua piu d’una, E’l cantar che di mezzo l’hemispero Traviar ben può la faticosa Luna,3 E degli occhi suoi auventa si gran fuoco Che l’incerar gli orecchi me sia poco.4 And Diodati – 1 I’ll tell you with surprise – that shy me used to looking down on love and often laughing at his snares, I have now fallen where sometimes a good man’s caught. Some golden braids and blushing cheeks did not dazzle me; rather, under a new style,2 a foreign beauty which delights my heart, a lofty and pure air, and from her glance such black, serene, and lovely radiance, and ornamented by the words from more than one tongue, and her singing that could steer the weary moon down from mid-hemisphere,3 and from her eyes she flashes such great fires it will be little help to seal my ears.4

1

Milton addresses Charles Diodati in Italian, because Diodati was an intimate friend of Italian heritage. It is a common practice during the Renaissance in both vernacular and neo-Latin poetry to address a friend when confiding feelings about a real or imagined beloved. 2 Idea (style) includes the Platonic sense of idea or image. 3 Either to eclipse the moon or, as in Virgil (Ecl. 8.69), to draw the moon down from the heavens with song. 4 Milton comments that it would not help him to seal his ears with wax, as Odysseus had sealed his sailors’ ears from the Sirens’ voices, since he would be overcome by the fire flashing from the lady’s eyes. See Homer, Ody. 12.173–200.

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V. Per certo i bei vostr’occhi Donna mia Esser non puo che non sian lo mio sole Si mi percuoton forte, come ei suole Per l’arene di Libia chi s’invia, 5 Mentre un caldo vapor (ne sentì pria) Da quel lato1 si spinge ove mi duole, Che forse amanti nelle lor parole Chiaman sospir; io non so che si sia: Parte rinchiusa, e turbida si cela 10 Scosso mi il petto, e poi n’uscendo poco Quivi d’attorno o s’agghiaccia, o s’ingiela; Ma quanto a gli occhi giunge a trovar loco Tutte le notti a me suol far piovose2 Finche mia Alba rivien colma di rose. Certainly, my lady, it could not be your lovely eyes were other than my sun, they strike so harshly on me, as usually on someone traveling through the Libyan sands. Meanwhile, a searing breath not felt before puts pressure on the side1 I feel the pain – it is what lovers in their language call a sigh, perhaps. I don’t know at all. Some pent-up, angry part, it hides and rattles my chest, at some point getting free a little, just where it freezes or it ices over. That much which comes to find my eyes, however, makes each one of my nights a rainy one2 till – full of roses – she returns, my Dawn.

1 2

The left side, where the heart is. To make my nights rainy = makes me weep every night.

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VI. Giovane piano, e semplicetto amante Poi che fuggir me stesso in dubbio sono,1 Madonna a voi del mio cuor l’humil dono Farò divoto; io certo a prove tante 5 L’hebbi fedele, intrepido, costante, De pensieri leggiadro, accorto, e buono; Quando rugge il gran mondo, e scocca il tuono, S’arma di se, e d’intero diamante, Tanto del forse, e d’invidia sicuro, 10 Di timori, e speranze al popol use Quanto d’ingegno, e d’alto valor vago, E di cetra sonora, e delle muse: Sol troverete in tal parte men duro Ove Amor mise l’insanabil ago. The young, kind, simple lover that I am, since I doubt how to escape myself,1 my Lady, I’ll make my ordinary heart your gift devotedly. I’ve had it proven steadfast, faithful, fearless, gracious in its feelings, alert, and good. Whenever this great world roars and the thunder strikes, it takes to arms within itself, and becomes a flawless diamond as much secure against misfortune, envy, fear and desire so usual to people as fond of genius and deep, gentle valor and of the resonating lyre and Muses: you’ll find it weaker in one place alone where Love has located its fatal thorn.

1

Petrarch expresses the wish to flee from himself and his thoughts (Canzoniere 234.9–10).

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VII.1 How soon hath Time the suttle theef of youth, Stoln on his wing my three and twentith yeer! My hasting° dayes flie on with full career,° But my late spring no bud or blossom shew’th. 5 Perhaps my semblance° might deceive the truth, That I to manhood am arriv’d so near, And inward ripenes doth much less appear, That som more timely-happy spirits indu’th.° Yet be it less or more, or soon or slow, 10 It shall be still° in strictest measure eev’n, To that same lot, however mean,° or high, Toward which Time leads me, and the will of Heav’n;2 All is, if° I have grace to use it so, As ever in my great task Masters3 eye.

1

speeding / full speed outward appearance

clothed always low all depends on whether

Composed either in December 1631, Milton’s twenty-third birthday, or a year later in 1632, at the end of his twenty-third year. 2 Milton is perhaps imitating Pindar’s Nemean 4.41–3: “Whatever excellence / my lordly lot has given me, / I know well that time, moving slowly, / will fulfill the thing destined.” 3 In the parable of the vineyard (Matt. 20.1–16) the master awards the same wages to those who begin late as to those who have begun early.

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VIII.1 Captain or Colonel, or Knight in Arms, Whose chance on these defenceless dores may sease,° If ever deed of honour did thee please, Guard them, and him within protect from harms, 5 He can requite thee, for he knows the charms° That call Fame on such gentle° acts as these, And he can spred thy Name o’re Lands and Seas, What ever clime the Suns bright circle warms. Lift not thy spear against the Muses Bowre, 10 The great Emathian Conqueror° bid spare The house of Pindarus, when Temple and Towre Went to the ground:2 And the repeated air° Of sad Electra’s Poet° had the power To save th’Athenian Walls from ruine bare.3

1

seize

songs or spells courteous

Alexander the Great the choral ode Euripides

Composed November 1642. The Trinity MS includes the following headnote in Milton’s hand: “When the assault was intended to the City,” followed by the date 1642 crossed out. After the first battle of the Civil War the Parliamentary Army retreated, leaving the road to London unprotected. The Royalist forces advanced toward the city in November 1642 and defensive forces were hastily drawn up. Charles I ordered a retreat on November 13. Milton was living at Aldersgate Street at the time. 2 When Alexander the Great sacked the city of Thebes he told his soldiers not to destroy the house of the poet Pindar or harm his descendants. See Plutarch, Life of Alexander 11; 6; Arrian, Anab. 1.9.9. Emathia was a district in Macedonia where Alexander was native. 3 At the conclusion of the Peloponnesian Wars, an envoy from Thebes proposed that the city of Athens be razed, and its long walls and city walls pulled down. On hearing the singing of the first choral ode from Euripides’ Electra, the conquerors were moved to spare the city that had produced such men. Only Athens’ long walls were torn down (Plutarch, Life of Lysander 14–15).

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IX.1 Lady2 that in the prime of earliest youth, Wisely hast shun’d the broad way and the green,3 And with those few art eminently seen, That labour up the Hill of heav’nly Truth,4 5 The better part with Mary, and with Ruth,5 Chosen thou hast, and they that overween,° And at thy growing vertues fret their spleen,° No anger find in thee, but pity and ruth.° Thy care is fixt, and zealously attends 10 To fill thy odorous Lamp with deeds of light,6 And Hope that reaps not shame.7 Therefore be sure Thou, when the Bridegroom with his feastfull° friends Passes to bliss at the mid hour of night, Hast gain’d thy entrance,° Virgin wise and pure.

are presumptuous are consumed with anger compassion

festive to the marriage feast

1 Composed c.1642–5. 2 The Lady’s identity is unknown. 3 See Matt. 7.13: “Broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction.” 4 Truth was often depicted as a mountain to be climbed. 5 Martha, Mary’s sister, scolded her for sitting at Jesus’ feet while Martha attended to the household chores, but Jesus commended Mary for choosing the good part (Luke 10.38–42). Ruth’s fidelity was commended when she chose to stay with her mother-in-law, Naomi, rather than to return to her tribe after the death of her husband (Ruth 1.6–22). 6 Unlike the foolish virgins who let their lamps go out, the wise virgins filled their lamps with sufficient oil to last until the bridegroom (i.e., the returned Christ) appeared to take them to the marriage feast (Matt. 25.1–13). Also see Rev. 19.7–9. 7 See Rom. 5.5: “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.”

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X.1 Daughter to that good Earl, once President Of Englands Counsel, and her Treasury,2 Who liv’d in both, unstain’d with gold or fee,° And left them both, more in himself content, 5 Till the sad breaking° of that Parlament3 Broke him, as that dishonest° victory At Chæronéa, fatal to liberty,4 Kil’d with report that Old man° eloquent,5 Though later born,6 then to have known the dayes 10 Wherin your Father flourisht, yet by you Madam, me thinks I see him living yet; So well your words his noble vertues praise, That all both judge you to relate them true, And to possess them, Honour’d Margaret.

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bribe dissolving shameful Isocrates

Composed c.1642–5. Entitled in Trinity Ms. “To ye Lady Margaret Ley.” Margaret Ley was the daughter of James Ley, Earl of Marlborough (1550–1629). Lady Margaret and her husband, Captain John Hobson, were Milton’s near neighbors in Aldersgate Street, London and, like him, sympathizers with the Parliamentary cause, for which Hobson fought. Made Lord Chief Justice in 1622, James Ley became Lord High Treasurer in 1624 but resigned to assume the post of Lord President of the Council, from which he retired in December 1628. He died in March 1629, shortly after Charles I had dissolved Parliament. Charles I dissolved Parliament in March 1629 amid the protest of its members against the King’s policies and ruled for eleven years without calling another parliament. Milton attributes the Earl’s death to his reaction to the event. Philip of Macedon defeated the Thebans and the Athenians at the Battle of Charonea in 338 BC, ending the independence of the Greek city-states. The Athenian orator Isocrates died at age 98, shortly after Philip’s victory at Charonea. In a letter attributed to him but not known by Milton, Isocrates urged Philip to unite Greece. According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Isocrates was so affected by the end of Athenian liberty that he decided to starve himself to death (“Isocrates,” On the Ancient Orators 6.1). Margaret was born when the Earl was in his sixties and so may not have remembered these events.

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Arcades.1 Part of an entertainment presented to the Countess Dowager of Darby at Harefield, by som Noble persons of her Family, who appear on the Scene in pastoral habit, moving toward the seat of State, with this Song.

1. SONG. Look Nymphs, and Shepherds look, What sudden blaze of majesty Is that which we from hence descry Too divine to be mistook: 5 This this is she To whom our vows° and wishes bend, Heer our solemn search hath end. Fame that her high worth to raise,° Seem’d erst° so lavish and profuse, 10 We may justly now accuse Of detraction from her praise, Less then half we find exprest,2 Envy bid conceal the rest. Mark what radiant state she spreds, 15 In circle° round her shining throne, Shooting her beams like silver threds,

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prayers

extol formerly

canopy over the Countess’ throne

Composed c.1632–3. Arcades are the inhabitants of Arcadia, a rural district in southern Greece, famous as a pastoral setting for Theocritus and Virgil and more recently for Sannazaro and Sidney. In Caroline masques Arcadia was associated with Charles I’s court. This pastoral entertainment Arcades was performed in the early 1630s for Alice, Dowager Countess of Derby, at her estate of Harefield near Uxbridge. The Countess (b. 1559) was a patroness of the arts, celebrated by Spenser, who dedicated Teares of the Muses to her. Marston had composed a masque for her, and she had participated in masques by Jonson. Her second husband was Sir Thomas Egerton, whose son John the Countess’ daughter Frances married. John became Earl of Bridgewater and their three children appeared in the Mask at Ludlow-Castle in 1634. Henry Lawes, music master to the Earl’s children, may have managed the performance of Arcades and performed the part of Genius. 2 Less than half. See 1 Kings 10.7: “However, I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me.”

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This this is she alone, Sitting like a Goddes bright, In the center of her light. 20 Might she the wise Latona° be,

Or the towred Cybele,3 Mother of a hunderd gods; Juno° dare’s not give her odds;° Who had thought this clime° had held 25 A deity so unparalel’d? As they com forward, the Genius of the Wood° appears, and turning toward them, speaks.

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Gen. Stay gentle Swains,° for though in this disguise, I see bright honour sparkle through your eyes, Of famous Arcady ye are, and sprung Of that renowned flood,° so often sung, Divine Alpheus,° who by secret sluse,° Stole under Seas to meet his Arethuse;4 And ye the breathing° Roses of the Wood, Fair silver-buskind° Nymphs as great and good, I know this quest of yours, and free° intent Was all in honour and devotion ment To the great Mistres of yon princely shrine, Whom with low reverence° I adore as mine, And with all helpful service will comply To further this nights glad solemnity;° And lead ye where ye may more neer behold What shallow-searching° Fame hath left untold; Which I full oft amidst these shades° alone Have sate to wonder at, and gaze upon: For know by lot° from Jove I am the powr° Of this fair Wood, and live in Oak’n bowr, To nurse the Saplings tall, and curl the grove With Ringlets quaint, and wanton windings wove. And all my Plants I save from nightly ill, 3 4

mother of Apollo and Diana

Jove’s wife / compare with her the northern clime

protective woodland god

shepherds of Arcadia

river a river in Arcadia / passage emitting fragrance wearing high, silver shoes noble, generous

deep bow festival superficially searching trees destiny / god

Cybele, a Phrygian goddess, identified with Saturn’s wife Rhea, wore a towered headdress. The river god Alpheus fell in love with the nymph Arethusa, who fled under the sea to Ortygia, near Syracuse, and was transformed into a fountain. Alpheus followed her under the sea and mingled his waters with hers. See Ovid, Met. 5.573–641; Virgil, Aen. 3.694–6; Pindar, Nemean 1.1–3.

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Of noisom° winds, and blasting° vapours chill. 50 And from the Boughs brush off the evil dew,°

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And heal the harms of thwarting° thunder blew, Or what the cross° dire-looking Planet° smites, Or hurtfull Worm with canker’d venom° bites. When Eev’ning gray° doth rise, I fetch my round° Over the mount, and all this hallow’d ground, And early ere the odorous breath of morn Awakes the slumbring leaves, or tasseld horn° Shakes the high thicket, haste I all about, Number my ranks,° and visit every sprout With puissant words, and murmurs° made to bless, But els in deep of night when drowsines Hath lockt up mortal sense, then listen I To the celestial Sirens harmony,5 That sit upon the nine enfolded° Sphears, And sing to those° that hold the vital shears, And turn the Adamantine spindle round, On which the fate of gods and men is wound. Such sweet compulsion doth in musick ly, To lull the daughters of Necessity,° And keep unsteddy Nature to her law, And the low world in measur’d° motion draw After the heavenly tune, which none can hear Of human mould with grosse unpurged ear;6 And yet such musick worthiest were to blaze° The peerles height of her immortal praise, Whose lustre leads us, and for her most fit, If my inferior hand or voice could hit° Inimitable sounds, yet as we go, What ere the skill of lesser gods can show, I will assay, her worth to celebrate, And so attend ye toward her glittering state;° 5

injurious / withering mildew cross-streaked adverse / Saturn venom of cankerworm mist / walk my circuit

hunting horn rows of trees or plants charms

concentric the Fates

the Fates musically marked

proclaim

imitate

chair of state

According to Platonic theory (Republic 10.616C–17D), the celestial Sirens sit on eight concentric whorls or spheres, threaded on a spindle of adamant. Milton raises the number of spheres to nine, perhaps to suggest a correspondence of the Sirens to the muses. The spindle rests on the knees of Necessity, whose daughters, the Fates – Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos – rotate the spheres and measure the thread of life. Atropos (line 65) holds the “vital shears” that cut life’s thread. As the whorls or spheres rotate, the Siren who sits on each sings a single note, which, when blended with the notes the others sing, creates a harmony, hence producing the music of the spheres. See “At a solemn Musick,” 1–2; Nativity Ode, 131, Prolusion 2, “On the Music of the Spheres.” 6 Since the Fall human beings cannot hear the music of the spheres.

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Where ye may all that are of noble stemm° Approach, and kiss her sacred vestures hemm.

descent, family line

2. SONG. O’re the smooth enameld° green Where no print of step hath been, Follow me as I sing, And touch the warbled string. Under the shady roof Of branching Elm Star-proof.° Follow me, I will bring you where she sits, Clad in splendor as befits Her deity. Such a rural Queen° All Arcadia hath not seen.

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the Countess

3. SONG. Nymphs and Shepherds dance no more By sandy Ladons° Lillied banks. On old Lycæus° or Cyllene° hoar,° Trip° no more in twilight ranks, 100 Though Erymanth° your loss deplore, A better soyl shall give ye thanks. From the stony Mænalus,° Bring your Flocks, and live with us, Here ye shall have greater grace, 105 To serve the Lady° of this place. Though Syrinx7 your Pans Mistres were, Yet Syrinx well might wait on her. Such a rural Queen All Arcadia hath not seen.

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river in Arcadia mountains in Arcadia / white with snow dance mountain in Arcadia mountain in Arcadia associated with Pan

the Countess

After rejecting Pan, Syrinx was transformed into a reed, which Pan plucked for his pipe. In some Caroline masques Syrinx was identified with Henrietta Maria and Pan with Charles I.

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Lycidas.1 In this Monody2 the Author bewails a learned Friend, unfortunatly drown’d in his Passage from Chester on the Irish Seas, 1637. And by occasion fortels the ruine of our corrupted Clergy then in their height.3

Yet once more,4 O ye Laurels, and once more Ye Myrtles brown, with Ivy5 never-sear,° I com to pluck your Berries harsh and crude,° And with forc’d fingers rude,° 5 Shatter your leaves before the mellowing° year. Bitter constraint, and sad occasion dear, Compels me to disturb your season due: For Lycidas is dead, dead ere his prime6 Young Lycidas, and hath not left his peer: 10 Who would not sing for Lycidas?7 he knew Himself to sing,8 and build9 the lofty rhyme.

never withered unripe unskilled ripening

1 Composed in 1637 for a commemorative volume, Justa Edovardo King naufrago, published in 1638 by Cambridge University, honoring Milton’s former classmate, Edward King, a fellow of Christ’s College, Cambridge, who had been drowned in the Irish Sea off Chester. “Lycidas” was the final poem in Obsequies to the Memorie of Mr. Edward King, the English section of the volume and was signed only J. M. Justa contains thirty-six poems: twenty in Latin, three in Greek, and thirteen in English. “Lycidas” was reprinted with minor revisions in 1645 and 1673. 2 A monody is an ode composed for a single voice. Both Scaliger and Puttenham define a monody as a funeral song. Puttenham elaborates: “Such funerall songs were called Epicedia if they were song by many, and Monodia if they were vttered by one alone” ( J. C. Scaliger, Poetices Libri Septem (1581), 129; [George Puttenham], The Arte of English Poesie (London, 1589), 39). 3 Milton added this headnote to “Lycidas” in 1645 that identified King as a learned friend. The “corrupted Clergy,” whose ruin Milton claims to have predicted, were the bishops of the Church of England excluded from the House of Lords in 1642, and the clergy expelled by the Long Parliament from their livings after 1643. 4 An echo of Heb. 12.26–7: “Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.” 5 Laurel (sacred to Apollo), myrtle (sacred to Venus), and ivy (sacred to Bacchus) are the three leaves that make up the poet’s crown, to which the speaker here aspires. Renaissance poets, such as Petrarch, had been crowned with laurel, myrtle, and ivy. They are evergreen (they never wither), as a sign of immortality. Ivy is an emblem of learning. 6 King was twenty-five years old. Both Theocritus and Virgil have shepherds named Lycidas (Idyll 7; Ecl. 9), but the name also appears in many Renaissance pastorals. 7 Echoes Virgil, Ecl. 10.3: “neget quis carmina Gallo?” (“Who would refuse songs for Gallus?”) 8 King had written Latin verse. 9 Both Pindar and Horace refer to building verse (Pythian 3.113; Horace, Epistles 1.3.24).

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He must not flote upon his watry bear° bier Unwept, and welter° to the parching° wind, tossed on the waves / drying Without the meed° of som melodious tear.10 reward 11 12 Begin then, Sisters° of the sacred well, the Muses That from beneath the seat of Jove° doth spring, the altar on Helicon Begin, and somwhat loudly sweep the string. quiet, reserved Hence with denial vain, and coy° excuse, So may som gentle Muse° fellow poet With lucky° words favour my destin’d Urn, auspicious And as he passes turn, black And bid fair peace be to my sable° shrowd. 13 For we were nurst upon the self-same hill, Fed the same flock, by fountain, shade, and rill. open spaces in woods Together both, ere the high Lawns° appear’d Under the opening eye-lids of the morn, We drove a field, and both together heard What time° the Gray-fly° winds° her sultry horn, when / an insect that buzzes / sounds Batt’ning° our flocks with the fresh dews of night, fattening Oft till the Star° that rose, at Ev’ning, bright Hesperus Toward Heav’ns descent had slop’d his westering wheel. Mean while the Rural ditties were not mute, Temper’d to th’Oaten Flute, Rough Satyrs danc’d, and Fauns with clov’n heel,14 From the glad sound would not be absent long, And old Damœtas15 lov’d to hear our song. But O the heavy change, now thou art gon, Now thou art gon, and never must return! Thee Shepherd, thee the Woods, and desert Caves, straggling With wilde Thyme and the gadding° Vine o’regrown, And all their echoes mourn. The Willows, and the Hazle Copses green, Shall now no more be seen, Fanning their joyous Leaves to thy soft layes. cankerworm As killing as the Canker° to the Rose, 10 Collections of elegiac verse were often called Tears or Lacrymae. 11 Refrains of pastoral poetry often asked the Muses to begin the song. See Theocritus 1.64; Moschus’ Epitaph for Bion. 8; and Virgil, Ecl. 10.6. 12 One of the springs of the Muses on Helicon – either Aganippe or Hippocrene. 13 A metaphor for Christ’s College, Cambridge, where both Milton and King were students. 14 Satyrs and fauns were attendants on Dionysus and Pan at pastoral festivities and here represent Cambridge undergraduates. 15 Damoetas, a traditional pastoral name, may signify one of the tutors at Cambridge.

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Or Taint-worm° to the weanling° Herds that graze, internal parasite / recently weaned Or Frost to Flowers, that their gay wardrop° wear, wardrobe When first the White thorn° blows;° hawthorn / blooms Such, Lycidas, thy loss to Shepherds ear. Where were ye Nymphs16 when the remorseless deep Clos’d o’re the head of your lov’d Lycidas? mountain slope For neither were ye playing on the steep,° Where your old Bards, the famous Druids ly,17 Nor on the shaggy top of Mona° high, Anglesey Nor yet where Deva° spreads her wisard stream: Dee river near Chester Ay me, I fondly dream! Had ye bin there – for what could that have don? Calliope What could the Muse° her self that Orpheus bore, The Muse her self, for her inchanting° son he who charms with his music Whom Universal nature did lament, the Bacchantes, Maenads When by the rout° that made the hideous roar, His goary visage down the stream was sent, Down the swift Hebrus to the Lesbian shore.18 Alas! What boots° it with uncessant care avails, profits To tend the homely° slighted Shepherds trade,° simple / poetry And strictly meditate the thankles Muse,19 Were it not better don as others use, common name for a shepherdess To sport with Amaryllis° in the shade, Or with the tangles of Neæra’s° hair?20 Fame is the spur that the clear° spirit doth raise noble (That last infirmity of Noble mind) To scorn delights, and live laborious dayes; reward But the fair Guerdon° when we hope to find, And think to burst out into sudden blaze, Comes the blind Fury with th’abhorred shears,21 And slits° the thin-spun life. But not the praise, severs

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Both Theocritus and Virgil pose similar questions. See Theocritus 1.66–9; Virgil, Ecl. 10.9–12. Most likely Holyhead, which was associated with the ancient Druids, Celtic poet-priests. Orpheus angered the Bacchantes when he withdrew from the society of women after losing Eurydice. In vengeance they tore him apart and threw his head into the Hebrus river, which bore it to the island of Lesbos (See Ovid, Met. 11.1–57; Virgil, Georgics 4.520–7). 19 To meditate the Muse (compose poetry) imitates Virgil, Ecl. 1.2; 6.8. 20 Neaera is a common name for a mistress among classical poets such as Horace (Odes 3.14), but even more popular in the Renaissance with neo-Latin poets such as Marullus, Secundus, and Buchanan. 21 Milton conflates the Fury, the Erynnis who stalks a man, with the Fate Atropos, who cuts the thread of life.

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Phœbus repli’d, and touch’d my trembling ears;22 Fame is no plant that grows on mortal soil, Nor in the glistering foil° Set off to th’world, nor in broad rumour lies, But lives and spreds aloft by those pure eyes, And perfet witnes of all judging Jove;23 As he pronounces lastly on each deed, Of so much fame in Heav’n expect thy meed. O Fountain Arethuse, and thou honour’d floud, Smooth-sliding Mincius, crown’d with vocall reeds,24 That strain I heard was of a higher mood:° But now my Oate° proceeds, And listens to the Herald of the Sea° That came in Neptune’s plea,25 He ask’d the Waves, and ask’d the Fellon° winds, What hard mishap hath doom’d this gentle swain? And question’d every gust of rugged° wings That blows from off each beaked Promontory, They knew not of his story, And sage Hippotades° their answer brings, That not a blast was from his dungeon° stray’d, The Ayr was calm, and on the level brine, Sleek Panope° with all her sisters play’d. It was that fatall and perfidious Bark° Built in th’eclipse,° and rigg’d with curses dark, That sunk so low that sacred head of thine. Next Camus,26 reverend Sire, went footing slow, His Mantle hairy, and his Bonnet sedge,° Inwrought with figures dim, and on the edge Like to that sanguine flower inscrib’d with woe.27

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gold leaf to set off a jewel

musical term, i.e., mode a shepherd’s pipe Triton savage, wild stormy

Aeolus, god of winds cave of winds one of the Nereids ship ill-omened

made of the reeds from the river

Phoebus Apollo here represents both the god of shepherds and of poets. Virgil’s Apollo touches the swain’s ear to get his attention. See Ecl. 6.3–4. 23 See, for example, Pindar, Nemean 7.31–2: “Honor grows for those whose fame the god augments, even after they have died.” 24 Arethusa, a spring on the island of Ortygia near Syracuse, represents Theocritean pastoral; Mincius, the river in Mantua, Virgil’s birthplace, represents Virgilian pastoral. By invoking them Milton signals the return to the pastoral mode after the “higher” style of Phoebus Apollo’s speech. 25 Triton, Neptune’s herald, comes to plead the god’s case that the turbulence of the sea was not to blame for Lycidas’ drowning. 26 Camus, god of the Cam river, represents Cambridge University, Milton’s and King’s university. 27 On being accidentally killed by Apollo, the youth Hyacinth was turned into a crimson flower, the petals of which resemble the lament ai.

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Ah! Who hath reft (quoth he) my dearest pledge?° child, alumnus Last came, and last did go, St. Peter The Pilot° of the Galilean lake,28 29 Two massy Keyes he bore of metals twain, (The Golden opes, the Iron shuts amain°) with full force He shook his Miter’d locks,30 and stern bespake,° spoke out How well could I have spar’d for thee young swain.° shepherd Anow° of such as for their bellies sake, enough 31 Creep and intrude, and climb into the fold? Of other care they little reck’ning° make, account, computation of sum due Then how to scramble at the shearers feast, And shove away the worthy bidden guest. Blind mouthes!32 that scarce themselves know how to hold A Sheep-hook, or have learn’d ought els the least That to the faithfull Herdmans art belongs! What recks it them?° What need they? They are sped;° Why should they care? / satisfied And when they list,° their lean° and flashy° songs desire / thin / trifling Grate on their scrannel° Pipes of wretched straw, weak, unmelodious The hungry Sheep look up, and are not fed, sheep rot / inhale But swoln with wind,° and the rank mist they draw,° Rot inwardly, and foul contagion spread: Besides what the grim Woolf with privy paw33 Daily devours apace, and nothing sed, But that two-handed engine at the door, Stands ready to smite once, and smite no more.34 Return Alpheus, the dread voice is past,

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Perhaps this refers to the incident in Matt. 14.25–31 when Peter pilots a ship on the sea of Galilee and sees Jesus walking on the waves. 29 Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 16.19). 30 Peter wears a miter, the headpiece of a bishop, signifying his headship over the Christian community. 31 See John 10.1 for reference to those who intrude into the sheepfold; Ezek. 34.1–10 for the indictment of the shepherds who feed themselves and not their flocks. 32 “Blind mouthes” defines the failure of shepherds (pastors) to tend to the welfare of their flocks. Those who should oversee them are blind; those who should feed them feed themselves. See Ruskin, Sesame and Lilies 1.22. 33 The grim wolf is the Roman Catholic Church, especially the Jesuits, who worked covertly within England to convert English Protestants to Catholicism. 34 The two-handed engine is an instrument of sudden retribution that is ready to strike. Often identified as a biblical sword, particularly the two-handed sword of Michael. Other suggestions: the keys to the kingdom, the executioner’s ax, a winnowing fan that separates the chaff from the grain.

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That shrunk thy streams;35 Return Sicilian Muse,36 And call the Vales, and bid them hither cast bell-shaped blossoms Their Bels,° and Flourets of a thousand hues. Ye valleys low where the milde whispers use,° habitually go Of shades° and wanton winds, and gushing brooks, tree-shaded places On whose fresh lap the swart Star37 sparely° looks, seldom Throw hither all your quaint enameld° eyes, attractively colored That on the green terf suck the honied showres, And purple all the ground with vernal flowres. early Bring the rathe° Primrose that forsaken dies. The tufted° Crow-toe,° and pale Gessamine,° growing in clusters / wild hyacinth / jasmine The white Pink, and the Pansie freakt with jeat,° streaked or spotted with black The glowing Violet. honeysuckle The Musk-rose, and the well attir’d Woodbine,° With Cowslips wan° that hang the pensive hed, pale And every flower that sad° embroidery wears: sober, serious Bid Amaranthus° all his beauty shed, the so-called immortal flower And Daffadillies fill their cups with tears, platform adorned with laurel or verses To strew the Laureat Herse° where Lycid lies. For so to interpose a little ease, Let our frail thoughts dally with false surmise. Ay me! Whilst thee the shores, and sounding Seas Wash far away, where ere thy bones are hurld, islands off the west coast of Scotland Whether beyond the stormy Hebrides,° Where thou perhaps under the whelming tide domain of sea monsters Visit’st the bottom of the monstrous world;° Or whether thou to our moist vows° deny’d, tearful prayers Sleep’st by the fable of Bellerus old,° giant associated with Land’s End (Bellerium) Where the great vision of the guarded Mount38 Looks toward Namancos and Bayona’s hold;39 Look homeward Angel° now, and melt with ruth.° St. Michael / pity And, O ye Dolphins, waft° the haples youth.40 carry safely by water

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The river god Alpheus successfully followed the nymph Arethusa under the sea to mingle his waters with hers in Sicily. Pindar referred to Sicily as the sacred breathing-place of Alpheus (Nemean 1.1–3). Renaissance mythographers regarded the account as a symbol of purification and rebirth (Comes, Mythologiae 8.22). 36 Either Arethusa, identified at line 85 with Theocritean pastoral, or Proserpina, the patron goddess of Sicily. 37 The dog star, Sirius, was associated with summer heat, hence called swart, or blackened. 38 The angel Michael on St. Michael’s mount in Cornwall, England. 39 The stronghold Bayona and the mountains of Namancos in Spain represent the Catholicism against which the angel Michael guards. 40 In classical legend dolphins carried poets such as Arion to safely. See Herodotus 1.24.

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Weep no more, woful Shepherds weep no more, For Lycidas your sorrow is not dead, Sunk though he be beneath the watry floar, the sun, also a name for Christ So sinks the day-star° in the Ocean bed, And yet anon repairs his drooping head, adorns / gold And tricks° his beams, and with new-spangled Ore,° Flames in the forehead of the morning sky: So Lycidas sunk low, but mounted high, Through the dear might of him that walk’d the waves;41 Where other groves, and other streams along,° Rev. 22.1–2 With Nectar pure42 his oozy Lock’s he laves,° washes, bathes And hears the unexpressive° nuptiall Song,° inexpressible / of the Lamb (Rev. 19.7–9) In the blest Kingdoms meek of joy and love. There entertain him all the Saints above, In solemn troops, and sweet Societies That sing, and singing in their glory move, Isa. 25.8; Rev 7.17; 21.4 And wipe the tears for ever from his eyes.° Now Lycidas the Shepherds weep no more; protective local deity Hence forth thou art the Genius° of the shore, In thy large recompense, and shalt be good To all that wander in that perilous flood. unknown Thus sang the uncouth° Swain to th’Okes and rills;43 While the still morn went out with Sandals gray, He touch’d the tender stops of various Quills,44 With eager thought warbling his Dorick lay:45 And now the Sun had stretch’d out all the hills,46 And now was dropt into the Western bay; pulled close At last he rose, and twitch’d° his Mantle blew: To morrow to fresh Woods, and Pastures new.

41 Jesus walked on the waters of the Sea of Galilee: see Matt. 14. 25–7. 42 Nectar, the drink of the Olympian gods, was used to keep corpses from decaying. See Il. 19.38. 43 The eight-line concluding frame of the poem is in ottava rima. 44 Stops are the finger-holes of the shepherd’s pipe, quills the hollow reeds that make up the pipe. 45 Doric dialect was used by Theocritus, Bion, and Moschus for their pastoral songs. 46 Describing the darkening landscape at sunset where the shadows produce an illusion of elongation. See Virgil, Ecl. 1.83; 2.67.

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A

M A S K Of the same

AUTHOR Presented

At L U D L O W-Castle, 1 6 3 4. Before

The Earl of B r i d g e w a t e r Then President of W a l e s.

Anno Dom. 1645.

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English and Italian Poems To the Right Honourable, JOHN Lord Vicount BRACLY, Son and Heir apparent to the Earl of Bridgewater, &c. MY LORD, This Poem, which receiv’d its first occasion of Birth from your Self,1 and others of your Noble Family, and much honour from your own Person in the performance, now returns again to make a finall Dedication of it self to you. Although not openly acknowledg’d by the Author,2 yet it is a legitimate off-spring,

1

Occasion of birth. Viscount Brackley had been one of the two brothers acting in A Mask at its first presentation in 1634. 2 Milton’s name does not appear on the title page of the 1637 publication.

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To the Right Honourable, John Lord Vicount BRACLY

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so lovely, and so much desired, that the often Copying of it hath tir’d my Pen to give my severall friends satisfaction, and brought me to a necessity of producing it to the publike view; and now to offer it up in all rightfull devotion to those fair Hopes, and rare Endowments of your much-promising Youth, which give a full assurance, to all that know you, of a future excellence. Live sweet Lord to be the honour of your Name, and receive this as your own, from the hands of him, who hath by many favours been long oblig’d to your most honour’d Parents, and as in this representation your attendant Thyrsis, so now in all reall expression Your faithfull, and most humble Servant H. LAWES.3

3

Henry Lawes was music master to the Egerton children and, as the title page of 1645 indicates, also a court musician (“one of his Majesties Private Musick”). He composed the music for the Songs in A Mask (see Appendix, pp. 539–42), and took the part of the Attendant Spirit in A Mask. Lawes published this letter in 1637 as “The Epistle Dedicatorie” to the first printed version of A Mask.

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The Copy of a Letter Writt’n By Sir HENRY WOOTTON,4 To the Author, upon the following Poem. From the Colledge, this 13. of April, 1638. SIR, It was a special favour, when you lately bestowed upon me here, the first taste of your acquaintance, though no longer then to make me know that I wanted more time to value it, and to enjoy it rightly; and in truth, if I could then have imagined your farther stay in these parts, which I understood afterwards by Mr. H.,5 I would have been bold in our vulgar phrase to mend my draught (for you left me with an extreme thirst) and to have begged your conversation again, joyntly with your said learned Friend, at a poor meal or two, that we might have banded together som good Authors of the antient time: Among which, I observed you to have been familiar. Since your going, you have charg’d me with new Obligations, both for a very kinde Letter from you dated the sixth of this Month, and for a dainty peece of entertainment which came therwith.° Wherin I should much commend the Tragical part, if the Lyrical did not ravish me with a certain Dorique delicacy in your Songs and Odes, wherunto I must plainly confess to have seen yet nothing parallel in our Language : Ipsa mollities.° But I must not omit to tell you, that I now onely owe you thanks for intimating unto me (how modestly soever ) the true Artificer. For the work it self, I had view’d som good while before, with singular delight, having receiv’d it from our common Friend Mr. R. in the very close of the late R’s Poems, Printed at 4

the copy of A Mask

itself a delectable thing

Sir Henry Wotton (1568–1639) had been ambassador to Venice. Milton wrote to him asking his advice about the travels on the Continent he intended to undertake in 1638, enclosing with the letter a copy of A Mask (1637). 5 Perhaps John Hales, a fellow of Eton College.

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The Copy of a Letter Writt’n By Sir HENRY WOOTTON Oxford,6 wherunto it was added (as I now suppose) that the Accessory might help out the Principal, according to the Art of Stationers, and to leave the Reader Con la bocca dolce.° Now Sir, concerning your travels, wherin I may chalenge a little more priviledge of Discours with you; I suppose you will not blanch° Paris in your way; therfore I have been bold to trouble you with a few lines to Mr. M. B.7 whom you shall easily find attending the young Lord S.8 as his Governour, and you may surely receive from him good directions for the shaping of your farther journey into Italy, where he did reside by my choice som time for the King, after my own recess° from Venice. I should think that your best Line will be thorow the whole length of France to Marseilles, and thence by Sea to Genoa, whence the passage into Tuscany is as Diurnal° as a Gravesend Barge: I hasten as you do to Florence, or Siena, the rather to tell you a short story from the interest you have given me in your safety. At Siena I was tabled in the House of one Alberto Scipioni an old Roman Courtier in dangerous times, having bin Steward to the Duca di Pagliano, who with all his Family were strangled, save this onely man that escap’d by foresight of the Tempest: With him I had often much chat of those affairs; Into which he took pleasure to look back from his Native Harbour; and at my departure toward Rome (which had been the center of his experience) I had wonn confidence enough to beg his advice, how I might carry my self securely there, without offence of others, or of mine own conscience. Signor Arrigo mio (sayes he) I pensieri stretti, & il viso sciolto° will go safely over the whole World: Of which Delphian Oracle (for so I have found it) 6

85

with the sweet mouth

pass over

departure

daily departure

close thoughts and an open visage

A copy of A Mask had apparently been bound with the poems of Thomas Randolph (1638) and so had come to Wotton’s attention before. 7 Michael Branthwaite, Wotton’s assistant when ambassador to Venice. 8 James Scudamore: son of Viscount John Scudamore, ambassador to the French court.

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your judgement doth need no commentary; and therfore (Sir) I will commit you with it to the best of all securities, Gods dear love, remaining Your Friend as much at command as any of longer date Henry Wootton. Postscript. SIR, I have expressly sent this my Foot-boy to prevent° your departure without som acknowledgement from me of the receipt of your obliging Letter, having my self through som busines, I know not how, neglected the ordinary conveyance. In any part where I shall understand you fixed, I shall be glad, and diligent to entertain you with Home-Novelties; even for som fomentation of our friendship, too soon interrupted in the Cradle.

arrive before

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The Persons

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The Persons.9 The attendant Spirit afterwards in the habit of Thyrsis. Comus with his crew. The Lady. 1. Brother. 2. Brother. Sabrina the Nymph. _______________________________________ The cheif persons which presented, were The Lord Bracly, Mr. Thomas Egerton his Brother, The Lady Alice Egerton.

9

The Lady and her two brothers were performed by the Earl of Bridgewater’s three children: Lady Alice, age fifteen; John Viscount Brackley, age eleven; and Lord Thomas Egerton, age nine. The children had experience performing in masques at court, having taken part in both Tempe Restored and Coelum Britannicum.

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A MASK PRESENTED

At LUDLOW-Castle, 1634· &c.10 ___________________________________________________ The first Scene discovers a wilde Wood. The attendant Spirit11 descends or enters. Before the starry threshold of Joves Court My mansion° is, where those immortal shapes habitation Of bright aëreal Spirits live insphear’d° dwelling in celestial spheres In Regions milde of calm and serene Ayr,° cloudless atmosphere above earth 5 Above the smoak and stirr of this dim spot, Which men call Earth, and with low-thoughted care crowded together / pen for cattle or sheep Confin’d, and pester’d° in this pin-fold° here, Strive to keep up a frail, and Feaverish being° weak and restless existence Unmindfull of the crown12 that Vertue gives 10 After this mortal change,° to her true Servants transition to the afterlife Amongst the enthron’d gods on Sainted seats.13 Yet som there be that by due steps aspire see Lycidas 111 To lay their just hands on that Golden Key That ope’s the Palace of Eternity: 15 To such my errand is, and but for such, immortal clothes I would not soil these pure Ambrosial weeds,° With the rank vapours° of this Sin-worn mould.° foul-smelling air / earthly body

10

Composed in 1634 for presentation at Ludlow Castle on Michaelmas, September 29, 1634, to celebrate the appointment of John Egerton, the Earl of Bridgewater, as Lord President of Wales. Five versions of A Mask survive: the Bridgewater MS (probably close to the acting version composed for presentation at Ludlow Castle, included here as an Appendix); the Trinity MS (it may or may not precede the Bridgewater MS); the first printed edition issued by Henry Lawes (1637); the 1645 version (printed here); and the 1673 version (slightly revised for Poems, 1673). In Poems, 1673 Milton omitted the separate title page, the two letters (from Lawes and Wotton), and also the list of persons that identified the Egerton children as performers in A Mask. 11 The Attendant Spirit, referred to as Daemon in the Bridgewater MS and in the Trinity MS, is a guardian spirit and an intermediary between heaven and earth. See Gyraldus, Syntagma 15, De Deis Gentium. 12 See 1 Cor. 9.24–5 for allusion to the incorruptible crown won by the virtuous. 13 See Rev. 4.4 for a description of elders seated about the throne in the heavens, clothed in white with golden crowns on their heads.

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A MASK Presented At LUDLOW-Castle, 1634

20

25

30

35

40

45

But to my task. Neptune° besides the sway° Of every salt Flood, and each ebbing Stream, Took in by lot14 twixt high,° and neather Jove,° Imperial rule of all the Sea-girt Iles That like to rich, and various gemms inlay The unadorned boosom of the Deep, Which he to grace° his tributary gods° By course° commits to severall goverment, And gives them leave to wear their Saphire crowns, And weild their little tridents, but this Ile° The greatest, and the best of all the main° He quarters° to his blu-hair’d deities, And all this tract° that fronts the falling Sun A noble Peer° of mickle° trust, and power Has in his charge, with temper’d awe° to guide An old, and haughty° Nation° proud in Arms: Where his fair off-spring° nurs’t in Princely lore, Are coming to attend their Fathers state, And new-entrusted Scepter,15 but their way Lies through the perplex’t° paths of this drear Wood, The nodding horror° of whose shady brows° Threats the forlorn and wandring Passinger.° And here their tender age might suffer perill, But that by quick command from Soveran Jove I was dispatcht for their defence, and guard; And listen why, for I will tell ye now What never yet was heard in Tale or Song From old, or modern Bard in Hall, or Bowr. Bacchus that first from out the purple Grape, Crush’t the sweet poyson of mis-used Wine16 After the Tuscan Mariners transform’d17 Coasting the Tyrrhene shore,° as the winds listed,

14

89 god of the sea / rule Jupiter / Pluto

to honor / those who pay tribute by order Britain the high seas assigns the west: Wales and the Marches the Earl of Bridgewater / great well-disposed authority exalted / Wales the Lady and her brothers

entangled bristle / branches traveler

west coast of Italy

After defeating the Titans, Jupiter (Zeus), Neptune (Poseidon), and Pluto (Hades) drew lots for lordship over the heavens, the sea, and the underworld, respectively (Homer, Il. 15.187–93). 15 The Earl of Bridgewater’s children were traveling to attend the ceremonies to celebrate his inauguration as President of Wales. 16 Bacchus (the Greek god Dionysus) invented wine and gave it to humankind to temper cares. Misused, it causes drunkenness and encourages vice, becoming, as Milton notes, “poison.” 17 Dionysus transformed the Tuscan mariners into dolphins as punishment for having kidnapped and abused him. See Homeric Hymn to Dionysus; Ovid, Met. 3.650–90.

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50 On Circes Iland fell (who knows not Circe

55

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The daughter of the Sun? Whose charmed Cup Whoever tasted, lost his upright shape, And downward fell into a groveling Swine)18 This Nymph° that gaz’d upon his clustring locks, With Ivy berries wreath’d, and his blithe youth, Had by him, ere he parted thence, a Son Much like his Father, but his Mother more,19 Whom therfore she brought up and Comus nam’d,20 Who ripe, and frolick° of his full grown age, Roaving° the Celtick,° and Iberian° fields, At last betakes him to this ominous Wood, And in thick shelter of black shades° imbowr’d, Excells his Mother at her mighty Art, Offring to every weary Travailer, His orient° liquor in a Crystal Glasse, To quench the drouth of Phœbus,° which as they taste (For most do taste through fond° intemperate thirst) Soon as the Potion works, their human count’nance, Th’express resemblance of the gods,21 is chang’d Into som brutish form of Woolf, or Bear, Or Ounce,° or Tiger, Hog, or bearded Goat, All other parts remaining as they were,22 And they, so perfect° is their misery, Not once perceive their foul disfigurement, But boast themselves more comely then before23

18

Circe

sportive wandering / French / Spanish trees

shining thirst caused by the sun’s heat foolish

lynx complete

Circe is the daughter of the Sun. Homer describes her as the goddess of an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea that Odysseus and his men come upon. Circe used her charming cup to seduce Odysseus’ men and then turned them into swine with her rod. Odysseus, with Hermes’s aid and the protection of moly, resisted Circe’s charms, overcame her, and made her return his men to human shape (Ody. 10.233–40, 275–399). Also see Ovid, Met. 14.271–307. 19 The designation of Comus as son of Bacchus and Circe is apparently Milton’s invention. 20 The name Comus is from komos, meaning revelry. The Renaissance mythographer Giraldi describes Comus as the god of conviviality. Philostratus (Imagines 1.2) refers to him as a daimon to whom men owe their reveling, a youth and delicate but flushed with wine and overcome by sleep. Ben Jonson associates Comus with Bacchus in Poetaster (1602): “we must live and honour the Gods sometimes, now Bacchus, now Comus, now Priapus” (3.4.114–16). In Jonson’s Pleasure Reconciled to Virtue (performed 1618, printed 1640), Comus, the god of cheer, the Belly-god, appears as a character, riding in triumph with his head crowned with roses. The neo-Latin play Comus (1610) by Erycius Puteanus was acted in Oxford in 1634. 21 Human beings were made in the express image of their creator-God (Gen. 1.27; Heb. 1.3). 22 Unlike Circe, Comus transforms only the head or face of his victims, not their whole bodies. 23 Of Odysseus’ men only Gryllus preferred to remain a hog (see Plutarch, Moralia 985D–992E), also Spenser, FQ 2.12.86–7. The others grieved over their transformation.

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And all their friends, and native home forget24 To roule with pleasure in a sensual stie. Therfore when any favour’d of high Jove, perilous Chances to passe through this adventrous° glade, 80 Swift as the Sparkle of a glancing Star, I shoot from Heav’n to give him safe convoy, As now I do: But first I must put off the fabric of the rainbow These my skie robes spun out of Iris Wooff,° And take the Weeds° and likenes of a Swain,° clothes / shepherd 85 That to the service of this house belongs,25 Who with his soft Pipe, and smooth-dittied Song, knows how to Well knows to° still the wilde winds when they roar, And hush the waving Woods, nor of lesse faith,° no less trustworthy And in this office° of his Mountain watch, occupation 90 Likeliest, and neerest to the present ayd° most likely to give immediate assistance Of this occasion. But I hear the tread invisible Of hatefull steps, I must be viewles° now. Comus enters with a Charming Rod in one hand, his Glass in the other, with him a rout of Monsters headed like sundry sorts of wilde Beasts, but otherwise like Men and Women, their Apparel glistring, they com in making a riotous and unruly noise, with Torches in their hands. Comus. The Star° that bids the Shepherd fold,° Now the top of Heav’n doth hold, 95 And the gilded Car of Day,° His glowing Axle26 doth allay° In the steep° Atlantick stream, And the slope° Sun his upward beam Shoots against the dusky Pole,° 100 Pacing toward the other gole° Of his Chamber in the East.° Mean while welcom Joy, and Feast, Midnight shout, and revelry, Tipsie dance, and Jollity. 24

Hesperus / pen his sheep the sun’s chariot cool down swiftly flowing setting darkening sky goal (beginning of the next day) the cave of Dawn

They resemble Odysseus’ men who, after eating the sweet fruit of the lotus, no longer wish to return to their homeland (Homer, Ody. 9. 94–7). 25 The Attendant Spirit assumes the shape of Thyrsis, a shepherd in the service of the Egertons, well known (as Lawes was) for his skill in music. 26 Axle of the sun’s chariot (see Ovid, Met. 2.107–10).

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105 Braid your Locks with rosie Twine°

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garlands of roses

Dropping odours, dropping Wine. Rigor now is gon to bed, And Advice with scrupulous head, sour Strict Age, and sowre° Severity, With their grave Saws° in slumber ly. maxims We that are of purer fire Imitate the Starry Quire, Who in their nightly watchfull Sphears, Lead in swift round the Months and Years.27 The Sounds,° and Seas with all their finny drove° straits / fish Now to the Moon in wavering Morrice° move, morris (or Moorish) dance And on the Tawny° Sands and Shelves,° yellow / sandbanks Trip° the pert° Fairies and the dapper Elves; dance / sprightly By dimpled Brook, and Fountain brim, The Wood-Nymphs deckt with Daisies trim, revels Their merry wakes° and pastimes keep: What hath night to do with sleep? Night hath better sweets to prove, Venus now wakes, and wak’ns Love. rites Com let us our rights° begin, Tis onely day-light that makes Sin Which these dun shades will ne’re report. Hail Goddesse of Nocturnal sport Dark vaild Cotytto28 t’whom the secret flame Of mid-night Torches burns; mysterious Dame womb That ne’re art call’d, but when the Dragon woom° Of Stygian darknes spets° her thickest gloom, spits And makes one blot of all the ayr, black (as ebony) Stay thy cloudy Ebon° chair, 29 Wherin thou rid’st with Hecat’, and befriend priests of Cotytto, who lead her rites Us thy vow’d Priests,° till utmost end Of all thy dues be done, and none left out, the sun Ere the blabbing Eastern scout,° The nice° Morn on th’Indian steep° precise / mountains, perhaps the Himalayas From her cabin’d loop hole° peep, a small port-window

27

Comus’ band aspires to imitate the motion or dance of the fixed stars and planets in their spheres as they revolve about the earth. See Plato, Timaeus 40C–D. 28 Cotytto was a Thracian goddess, whose licentious rites were held at night (Juvenal, Satires 2.91–2). 29 Hecate is the infernal aspect of the triple goddess Diana, associated in the Renaissance with the rites of witches. She drove a chariot drawn by dragons (Ovid, Met. 7.218–19).

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A MASK Presented At LUDLOW-Castle, 1634 And to the tel-tale Sun discry° Our conceal’d Solemnity.° Com, knit hands, and beat the ground, In a light fantastick round.° The Measure.°

93 reveal ceremony a ring-dance dance or song

145 Break off, break off, I feel the different pace,

150

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160

165

Of som chast footing neer about this ground. hiding-places / thickets Run to your shrouds,° within these Brakes° and Trees, Our number may affright: Som Virgin sure (For so I can distinguish by mine Art) Benighted in these Woods. Now to my charms, alluring devices And to my wily trains,° I shall e’re long Be well stock’t with as fair a herd as graz’d About my Mother Circe. Thus I hurl absorbent My dazling Spells30 into the spungy° ayr, Of power to cheat the eye with blear° illusion, dim And give it false presentments,° lest the place misleading appearances And my quaint habits° breed astonishment, unfamiliar garments And put the Damsel to suspicious flight, Which must not be, for that’s against my course; I under fair pretence of friendly ends, flattering And well plac’t words of glozing° courtesie Baited with reasons not unplausible insinuate myself / easily moved to trust Wind me° into the easie-hearted° man, And hugg him into snares. When once her eye power Hath met the vertue° of this Magick dust, I shall appear som harmles Villager31 Whom thrift keeps up about his Country gear,32 But here she comes, I fairly° step aside quietly And hearken, if I may, her busines here. The Lady enters.

170 This way the noise was, if mine ear be true,

My best guide now, me thought it was the sound 30 Comus throws some kind of sparkling powder into the air. 31 Comus does not change his clothes, as the Attendant Spirit has, but lets the magic dust deceive the Lady’s eye so that she thinks him a shepherd or villager. 32 Line 167 is omitted in the 1673 text.

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Of Riot,° and ill-manag’d Merriment, Such as the jocund Flute, or gamesom Pipe Stirs up among the loose unleter’d Hinds,° When for their teeming° Flocks, and granges° full In wanton dance they praise the bounteous Pan,° And thank the gods amiss.° I should be loath To meet the rudenesse, and swill’d° insolence Of such late Wassailers;° yet O where els Shall I inform° my unacquainted feet In the blind mazes of this tangl’d Wood? My Brothers when they saw me wearied out With this long way, resolving here to lodge Under the spreading favour of these Pines, Stept as they se’d° to the next Thicket side To bring me Berries, or such cooling fruit As the kind hospitable Woods provide. They left me then, when the gray-hooded Eev’n° Like a sad° Votarist33 in Palmers weed° Rose from the hindmost wheels of Phœbus wain.° But where they are, and why they came not back, Is now the labour of my thoughts, ’tis likeliest They had ingag’d their wandring steps too far, And envious darknes, e’re they could return, Had stoln them from me, els O theevish Night Why shouldst thou, but for som fellonious end, In thy dark lantern34 thus close up the Stars, That nature hung in Heav’n, and fill’d their Lamps° With everlasting oil, to give due light To the misled and lonely Travailer? This is the place, as well as I may guess, Whence eev’n now the tumult of loud Mirth Was rife,° and perfet° in my list’ning ear, Yet nought but single° darknes do I find. What might this be? A thousand fantasies Begin to throng into my memory Of calling shapes, and beckning shadows dire, And airy tongues, that syllable mens names On Sands, and Shoars, and desert Wildernesses. 33 34

revelry dissolute, illiterate country-laborers breeding / granaries, barns the Greek god of shepherds in the wrong way drunken revelers direct

said

evening serious / pilgrim’s clothes the sun’s chariot

the stars’ vessels

loud / clearly heard absolute

One who has taken a vow. Night is compared to a highwayman holding the kind of lantern where the light may be closed off with a shutter.

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A MASK Presented At LUDLOW-Castle, 1634 210 These thoughts may startle well, but not astound°

The vertuous mind, that ever walks attended By a strong siding° champion Conscience.——— O welcom pure-ey’d Faith, white-handed Hope, Thou hovering Angel girt with golden wings, 215 And thou unblemish’t form of Chastity,35 I see ye visibly, and now beleeve That he, the Supreme good, t’whom all things ill Are but as slavish officers of vengeance, Would send a glistring Guardian if need were 220 To keep my life and honour unassail’d. Was I deceiv’d,36 or did a sable cloud Turn forth her silver lining on the night? I did not err, there does a sable cloud Turn forth her silver lining on the night, 225 And casts a gleam over this tufted Grove. I cannot hallow to my Brothers, but Such noise as I can make to be heard farthest Ile venter, for my new enliv’n’d spirits Prompt me; and they perhaps are not far off.

95 stupefy taking the side of, assisting

SONG. Sweet Echo,37 sweetest Nymph that liv’st unseen Within thy airy shell° By slow Meander’s38 margent° green, And in the violet-imbroider’d vale39 Where the love-lorn Nightingale40

230

35

vault of the sky bank

Charity is usually the third virtue invoked after Faith and Hope. See 1 Cor. 13.13. In FQ 3 Spenser celebrates various forms of chastity and their relationship to charity as love. 36 The idiom, “was I deceived,” resembles the Latin fallor, which Milton imitates from Ovid. See Ovid, Amores 3.1.34; Fasti 5.549; Milton, Elegia Quinta 5. 37 Milton’s Echo seems to be both the inhabitant of a heavenly sphere (an airy shell) and the classical nymph who, in unrequited love for Narcissus, pined away to become only a responding voice. See the description of Echo as a heavenly nymph in Stephanus’ Dictionary. 38 Menander is a winding river in Phrygia. 39 Milton may have taken the epithet violet-embroidered from Pindar’s description of violet-crowned Athens (Fragment, dithyramb 76). 40 The love-lorn nightingale is Philomela, whose sad song mourns her ravishment by her brother-in-law Tereus. Love-lorn here signifies ruined, rather than abandoned by love.

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Nightly to thee her sad Song mourneth well. Canst thou not tell me of a gentle Pair That likest thy Narcissus° are? Echo’s beloved, transformed into a flower O if thou have Hid them in som flowry Cave, Tell me but where speech Sweet Queen of Parly,° Daughter of the Sphear,41 So maist thou be translated to the skies, And give resounding grace to all Heav’ns Harmonies.

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Com. Can any mortal mixture of Earths mould° a body made of earthly clay Breath such Divine inchanting ravishment? Sure somthing holy lodges in that brest, And with these raptures moves the vocal air its To testifie his° hidd’n residence; How sweetly did they° float upon the wings the sounds Of silence, through the empty-vaulted night cadence At every fall° smoothing the Raven doune Of darknes42 till it smil’d; I have oft heard My Mother Circe with the Sirens three, wearing flowery skirts / water nymphs Amidst the flowry-kirtl’d° Naiades° Culling their Potent hearbs, and balefull drugs,43 Who as they sung, would take the prison’d soul, And lap it in Elysium, Scylla wept, And chid her barking waves into attention, And fell Charybdis murmur’d soft applause:44 Yet they in pleasing slumber lull’d the sense, And in sweet madnes rob’d it of it self, 41

The Lady expresses the wish that Echo may be elevated from a lower to a higher sphere to dwell with the heavenly Sirens, who respond to earth by echoing heavenly harmonies (see Arcades 63 and At a Solemn Musick). 42 Darkness is conceived of as a black bird with feathers such as the raven. 43 Homer numbers the Sirens as two and tells how, promising hidden knowledge, they attempt to shipwreck Odysseus and his companions (Ody. 12.166–200). The Renaissance mythographer Cartari numbers the Sirens as three – Parthenope, Leucosia, and Ligia – the daughters of the river god Achelous and the muse Calliope (“Neptune,” Le Imagine de i Dei de gli Antichi). Circe’s attendants in Ovid are Nereids and nymphs, who gather and sort flowers and herbs (Met. 14.264–7). In Browne’s Inner Temple Masque, two Sirens are attendants on Circe and lure Ulysses to her by singing. 44 Scylla, a monster with barking dogs from the waist down (hidden in the waves), and the whirlpool Charybdis, occupy opposite sides of the Sicilian straits through which Odysseus and his men, after passing the Sirens, must steer (Homer, Ody. 12.234–57). Ovid describes how Circe transformed Scylla with baleful herbs and drugs (Met. 14.40–67). Milton places Scylla and Charybdis in proximity to the Sirens, remarking how they listen with rapt attention to the Sirens’ song.

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But such a sacred, and home-felt° delight, Such sober certainty of waking bliss I never heard till now. Ile speak to her And she shall be my Queen. Hail forren wonder45 Whom certain these rough shades° did never breed Unlesse° the Goddes that in rurall shrine Dwell’st here with Pan,° or Silvan,° by blest Song Forbidding every bleak unkindly Fog To touch the prosperous growth of this tall Wood.46 La. Nay gentle Shepherd ill is lost that praise That is addrest to unattending° Ears, Not any boast of skill, but extreme shift° How to regain my sever’d company Compell’d me to awake the courteous Echo To give me answer from her mossie Couch. Co. What chance good Lady hath bereft you thus?47 La. Dim darknes, and this heavy Labyrinth. Co. Could that divide you from neer-ushering guides? La. They left me weary on a grassie terf. Co. By falshood, or discourtesie, or why? La. To seek i’th vally som cool friendly Spring. Co. And left your fair side all unguarded, Lady? La. They were but twain, and purpos’d quick return. Co. Perhaps fore-stalling night prevented them. La. How easie my misfortune is to hit!° Co. Imports their loss,° beside the present need? La. No less then if I should my brothers loose.° Co. Were they of manly prime, or youthful bloom? La. As smooth as Hebe’s° their unrazor’d lips. Co. Two such I saw, what time° the labour’d Oxe In his loose traces° from the furrow came, And the swink’t hedger° at his Supper sate; I saw them under a green mantling° vine That crawls along the side of yon small hill, Plucking ripe clusters from the tender shoots, Their port° was more then human,° as they stood;

97 intimately felt

woods unless you are classical gods of the woods

inattentive circumstances

to conjecture correctly, guess Is their loss important? lose goddess of youth at the time when (sunset) straps laborer weary from work spreading

bearing / like gods

45 Milton echoes Ferdinand’s words on first seeing Miranda (Tempest 1.2.22–7). 46 Milton makes Comus attribute to the Lady the power to dispel unkindly influences in nature that Shakespeare in Midsummer Night’s Dream attributes to deities such a Titania and Oberon. 47 This dialogue between the Lady and Comus, comprising single-line responses, imitates the stichomythia commonly used in Greek drama for quick exchanges between characters.

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I took it for a faëry vision Of som gay creatures of the element° That in the colours of the Rainbow live And play i’th plighted° clouds. I was aw-strook, And as I past, I worshipt; if those you seek It were a journey like the path to Heav’n, To help you find them. La. Gentle villager What readiest way would bring me to that place? Co. Due west it rises from this shrubby point. La. To find out that, good Shepherd, I suppose, In such a scant allowance of Star-light, Would overtask the best Land-Pilots art, Without the sure guess of well-practiz’d feet. Co. I know each lane, and every alley° green Dingle,° or bushy dell of this wilde Wood, And every bosky bourn° from side to side My daily walks and ancient° neighbourhood, And if your stray attendance° be yet lodg’d, Or shroud° within these limits, I shall know Ere morrow wake, or the low roosted lark From her thach’t pallat° rowse, if otherwise° I can conduct you Lady to a low But loyal cottage, where you may be safe Till further quest’. La. Shepherd I take thy word, And trust thy honest offer’d courtesie, Which oft is sooner found in lowly sheds With smoaky rafters, then in tapstry Halls And Courts of Princes, where it first was nam’d,48 And yet is most pretended: In a place Less warranted° then this, or less secure I cannot be, that I should fear to change it, Eie me° blest Providence, and square° my triall To my proportion’d strength. Shepherd lead on.—

the air or sky folded

path a deep wooded valley stream overhung with bushes familiar attendants seek shelter nest of straw / if you prefer

protected from danger watch over me / adjust

The two Brothers. Eld. Bro. Unmuffle° ye faint stars, and thou fair Moon That wontst° to love the travailers benizon,°

remove the cover is used to / blessing

48 The word and concept of courtesy derives from the court (FQ 6.1.1). However, both Ariosto and Spenser contend that true courtesy (implying care for others) is more often found among shepherds or country folk than at court (Ariosto, Orl. Fur. 14.62; FQ 6.5). This is a Renaissance commonplace, particularly in pastoral literature.

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Stoop thy pale visage° through an amber cloud, bend the head And disinherit° Chaos, that raigns here dispossess In double night of darknes, and of shades;° trees Or if your influence° be quite damm’d up astral influence With black usurping mists, som gentle taper window Though a rush Candle from the wicker hole° 49 Of som clay habitation° visit us peasant house With thy long levell’d rule of streaming light, And thou shalt be our star of Arcady,50 Or Tyrian Cynosure.51 2 Bro. Or if our eyes Be barr’d that happines, might we but hear sheepfolds made of branches The folded flocks pen’d in their watled cotes,° Or sound of pastoral reed° with oaten stops,° shepherd’s pipe / finger-holes for stops Or whistle from the Lodge, or village cock Count the night watches to his feathery Dames, ’Twould be som solace yet, som little chearing confined / boughs In this close° dungeon of innumerous bowes.° But O that haples virgin our lost sister Where may she wander now, whether betake her From the chill dew, amongst rude burrs and thistles? pillow Perhaps som cold bank is her boulster° now Or ’gainst the rugged bark of som broad Elm Leans her unpillow’d head fraught with sad fears. frenzy What if in wild amazement,° and affright, Or while we speak within the direfull grasp Of Savage hunger, or of Savage heat?52 Eld. Bro. Peace brother, be not over-exquisite° too subtle, over precise To cast° the fashion of uncertain evils; forecast For grant they be so, while they rest unknown, What need a man forestall his date of grief, And run to meet what he would most avoid? Or if they be but false alarms of Fear, How bitter is such self-delusion? at a loss I do not think my sister so to seek,° Or so unprincipl’d° in vertues book, not instructed in right principles 49

The Elder Brother alludes to the rural setting, where rush candles (rushes dipped in tallow) would provide the light for a peasant’s house. Such a house, made with wattle plastered with clay, would have a peephole or window, covered with wicker instead of glass. 50 Arcturus was the stellification of Arcas, son of Callisto, grandson of the king of Arcady, hence the star of Arcady. 51 The North Star in Ursa Minor, by which the Tyrian (Phoenician) sailors navigated. 52 Perhaps in the grasp of wild animals hungry for prey or savage men possessed with lust.

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And the sweet peace that goodnes boosoms° ever, As that the single° want of light and noise (Not being in danger, as I trust she is not) Could stir the constant mood of her calm thoughts, And put them into mis-becoming° plight. Vertue could see to do what vertue would By her own radiant light,53 though Sun and Moon Were in the flat Sea sunk. And Wisdoms self Oft seeks to° sweet retired Solitude, Where with her best nurse Contemplation54 She° plumes° her feathers, and lets grow her wings55 That in the various bussle of resort° Were all to ruffl’d,° and somtimes impair’d. He that has light within his own cleer brest May sit i’th center,° and enjoy bright day, But he that hides a dark soul, and foul thoughts Benighted walks under the mid-day Sun; Himself is his own dungeon. 2. Bro. Tis most true That musing meditation most affects° The Pensive secrecy° of desert cell, Far from the cheerfull haunt of men, and herds, And sits as safe as in a Senat house,° For who would rob a Hermit of his Weeds,° His few Books, or his Beads,° or Maple Dish,° Or do his gray hairs any violence? But beauty like the fair Hesperian Tree56 Laden with blooming gold, had need the guard Of dragon watch with uninchanted eye,57 To save her blossoms, and defend her fruit From the rash hand of bold Incontinence. You may as well spred out the unsun’d° heaps Of Misers treasure by an out-laws den,

53

holds in her bosom mere

unbecoming

often resorts to Wisdom / preens concourse with people bedraggled like a bird’s feathers of the earth

is drawn to seclusion place protected by law clothing rosary / wooden bowl

hidden

See Spenser, FQ 1.1.12.9: “Vertue giues her selfe light, through darkenesse for to wade.” Possibly also echoes Romeo and Juliet 3.2.8–9: “Lovers can see to do their amorous rites / By their own beauties.” 54 For the Cherub Contemplation, see Il Penseroso 54. 55 The soul in solitude was often compared to a bird preparing for flight. See, for example, Marvell, The Garden 52–6. 56 The tree with golden apples in the garden of the Hesperides was tended by the daughters of Hesperus and guarded by a dragon (Ovid Met. 4.637–8, 646–8). 57 Hercules put the dragon to sleep before killing it and taking the golden apples.

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Danger will wink on° Opportunity, And let a single helpless maiden pass Uninjur’d in this wilde surrounding wast. Of night, or lonelines it recks me not,° I fear the dred events that dog them both, Lest som ill greeting touch attempt the person Of our unowned° sister. Eld. Bro. I do not, brother, Inferr,° as if I thought my sisters state Secure without° all doubt, or controversie: Yet where an equall poise° of hope and fear Does arbitrate th’event,° my nature is That I encline to hope, rather then fear, And gladly banish squint° suspicion. My sister is not so defenceless left As you imagine, she has a hidden strength Which you remember not. 2. Bro. What hidden strength, Unless the strength of Heav’n, if you mean that? Eld. Bro. I mean that too, but yet a hidden strength Which if° Heav’n gave it, may be term’d her own: ’Tis chastity, my brother, chastity: She that has that, is clad in compleat steel,° And like a quiver’d Nymph with Arrows keen May trace° huge Forests, and unharbour’d° Heaths, Infamous Hills, and sandy perilous wildes, Where through the sacred rayes of Chastity, No savage fierce, Bandite, or mountaneer° Will dare to soyl° her Virgin purity, Yea there, where very desolation dwels By grots, and caverns shag’d with horrid shades,° She may pass on with unblench’t° majesty, Be it not don in pride, or in presumption. Som say no evil thing that walks by night In fog, or fire,° by lake, or moorish° fen, Blew meager Hag,° or stubborn unlaid° ghost, That breaks his magick chains at curfeu time,58 No goblin, or swart° Faëry of the mine,

58

overlook

it makes no difference to me

unaccompanied, unprotected draw the conclusion beyond balance or equilibrium judge the outcome looking askance, squinting

even if fully armed traverse / without shelter

mountain outlaw pollute made rough with bristling shrubs undismayed

will-o’-the wisp / marshy witch, evil spirit / unexorcised black

From dusk (curfew time) until dawn evil spirits, ghosts, goblins, and fairies have leave to wander freely.

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Hath hurtfull power o’re true virginity. Do ye beleeve me yet, or shall I call Antiquity from the old Schools of Greece59 To testifie the arms of Chastity? Hence had the huntress Dian her dred bow60 Fair silver-shafted° Queen for ever chaste, armed with silver arrows, shining with silver light Wherwith she tam’d the brinded° lioness tawny And spotted mountain pard,° but set at nought leopard The frivolous bolt of Cupid,° gods and men arrow that inspires sexual passion Fear’d her stern frown,61 and she was queen oth’Woods. What was that snaky-headed Gorgon sheild62 That wise Minerva wore, unconquer’d Virgin, Wherwith she freez’d her foes to congeal’d stone? But rigid looks of Chast austerity, And noble grace that dash’t brute violence pure, absolute With sudden adoration, and blank° aw.63 So dear to Heav’n is Saintly chastity, That when a soul is found sincerely so, A thousand liveried Angels lacky her,64 Driving far off each thing of sin and guilt, And in cleer dream, and solemn vision Tell her of things that no gross ear can hear, communion with Till oft convers with° heav’nly habitants Begin to cast a beam on th’outward shape, John 2.21; 1 Cor. 3.16 The unpolluted temple of the mind,° And turns it by degrees to the souls essence, Till all be made immortal:65 but when lust By unchaste looks, loose gestures, and foul talk, lascivious But most by leud and lavish° act of sin, Lets in defilement to the inward parts, 59

Greek philosophers. Milton may be alluding to the Platonic belief that no harm can befall a person who is truly good. 60 Diana’s bow (441) and Minerva’s shield (447), the arms that protect virgin goddesses, are symbols of the power chastity possesses to defend itself. 61 Diana severely punished those, such as the hunter Actaeon, who intruded on her privacy. 62 Minerva’s (Athene’s) shield, or aegis, with the head of the gorgon Medusa on it, possessed the power to turn enemies to stone. Athene employed it in battle to terrify her enemies (Il. 5.738–42). Also see Comes, Mythologiae 4.5.20–6; 7.11. 63 Milton transfers the power to freeze enemies from the gorgon’s gaze to Minerva’s own looks of chaste austerity. 64 Angels, in the uniform of servants, protect the virtuous. 65 The Neoplatonic notion that through converse with spiritual things the body may turn to spirit. See Hermetica 10.6.

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The soul grows clotted° by contagion, thick Imbodies, and imbrutes,° till she° quite loose° grows bestial / the soul / lose The divine property of her first being.66 Such are those thick and gloomy shadows damp Oft seen in Charnell vaults, and Sepulchers Lingering, and sitting by a new made grave, As loath to leave the body that it lov’d,67 And link’t it self by carnal sensualty To a degenerate and degraded state. 2. Bro. How charming is divine Philosophy! Not harsh, and crabbed as dull fools suppose, But musical as is Apollo’s lute, sweet as nectar, the drink of the gods And a perpetual feast of nectar’d° sweets, Where no crude° surfet raigns. Eld. Bro. List, list, I hear indigestible Som far off hallow° break the silent Air. call or cry 2. Bro. Me thought so too; what should it be? Eld. Bro. For certain encumbered by darkness Either som one like us night-founder’d° here, Or els som neighbour Wood-man,° or at worst, forester Som roaving Robber calling to his fellows. 2. Bro. Heav’n keep my sister, agen agen and neer, draw your sword Best draw,° and stand upon our guard. Eld. Bro. Ile hallow,° call out If he be friendly he comes well, if not, being prepared for defense Defence° is a good cause, and Heav’n be for us. The attendant Spirit habited° like a Shepherd.

clothed

490 That hallow I should know, what are you? speak;

Com not too neer, you fall on iron stakes° else. Spir. What voice is that, my young Lord? speak agen. 2. Bro. O brother, ’tis my fathers Shepherd sure. Eld. Bro. Thyrsis?68 Whose artful strains have oft delaid° 495 The huddling° brook to hear his madrigal,69 66

swords

delayed, suspended pressing in its flow

The soul loses its spiritual essence if a human being indulges in carnal lust and acts of sin. See Plato, Phaedo 81E. 67 Carnal lusts make the soul, after death, unwilling to leave the body and unable to resume its original spiritual purity. 68 Thyrsis is a common pastoral name, used by Theocritus in Idyll 1, Virgil in Eclogue 7, and later adopted by Milton as his persona in Epitaphium Damonis. Milton shifts from blank verse into couplets for the conversation between Thyrsis and the brothers. 69 Thyrsis is praised as having the power, like Orpheus, to make streams pause to listen to his songs.

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And sweeten’d every muskrose of the dale, How cam’st thou here good Swain?° hath any ram Slip’t from the fold, or young Kid lost his dam, Or straggling weather° the pen’t flock forsook? How couldst thou find this dark sequester’d nook? Spir. O my lov’d masters heir, and his next° joy, I came not here on such a trivial toy° As a stray’d Ewe, or to pursue the stealth Of pilfering Woolf, not all the fleecy wealth That doth enrich these Downs, is worth a thought To this° my errand, and the care it brought. But O my Virgin Lady, where is she? How chance° she is not in your company? Eld. Bro. To tell thee sadly° Shepherd, without blame, Or our neglect, we lost her as we came. Spirit. Ay me unhappy then my fears are true. El. Bro. What fears good Thyrsis? Prethee briefly shew. Spir. Ile tell ye, ’tis not vain, or fabulous, (Though so esteem’d by shallow ignorance) What the sage Poëts taught by th’heav’nly Muse, Storied° of old in high immortal vers Of dire Chimera’s70 and inchanted Iles, And rifted° Rocks whose entrance leads to hell, For such there be, but unbelief is blind.71 Within the navil° of this hideous Wood, Immur’d in cypress shades a Sorcerer dwels Of Bacchus, and of Circe born, great Comus, Deep skill’d in all his mothers witcheries, And here to every thirsty wanderer, By sly enticement gives his banefull cup, With many murmurs° mixt, whose pleasing poison The visage quite transforms of him that drinks, And the inglorious likenes of a beast Fixes instead, unmoulding reasons mintage Character’d° in the face; this have I learn’t Tending my flocks hard by i’th hilly crofts,° That brow° this bottom glade, whence night by night He and his monstrous rout are heard to howl Like stabl’d wolves, or tigers at their prey,

shepherd wether = a castrated ram

70 The chimera is part lion, part goat, and part dragon (Hesiod, Theogony 319–24). 71 Skepticism makes one blind to the actual existence of fabled creatures.

nearest trifling matter

compared with this How does it happen? seriously

narrated split center

incantations

printed enclosed ground overlook

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In their obscured haunts of inmost bowres. Yet have they many baits, and guilefull spells To inveigle and invite° th’unwary sense Of them that pass unweeting° by the way. This evening late by then° the chewing flocks Had ta’n their supper on the savoury Herb Of Knot-grass dew-besprent,° and were in fold, I sate me down to watch upon a bank With Ivy canopied, and interwove With flaunting° Hony-suckle, and began Wrapt in a pleasing fit of melancholy° To meditate my rural minstrelsie,° Till fancy had her fill, but ere a close° The wonted roar was up amidst the Woods, And fill’d the Air with barbarous dissonance, At which I ceas’t, and listen’d them a while, Till an unusuall stop° of sudden silence Gave respit to° the drowsie frighted steeds That draw the litter of close-curtain’d sleep.72 At last a soft and solemn breathing sound° Rose like a steam of rich distill’d Perfumes, And stole upon the Air, that even Silence Was took° e’re she was ware, and wish’t she might Deny her nature, and be never more Still to be so displac’t.73 I was all eare, And took in strains that might create a soul Under the ribs of Death, but O ere long Too well I did perceive it was the voice Of my most honour’d Lady, your dear sister. Amaz’d I stood, harrow’d with grief and fear, And O poor hapless Nightingale74 thought I, How sweet thou sing’st, how neer the deadly snare! Then down the Lawns° I ran with headlong hast Through paths, and turnings oft’n trod by day, 72 73

105 goddess of witchcraft

to deceive and attract unsuspecting at the time when sprinkled with dew

waving contemplative mood to improvise a pastoral melody conclusion of a musical phrase

pause gave a rest to the Lady’s song

captivated

grassy open places in woods

Refers to the horses of the chariot of Night, which inspire sleep. Silence, personified, is pleased by the sound of the Lady’s singing, even though the singing displaces her own “silence.” 74 The nightingale here is the Lady. However, like the Lady in her song, the Attendant Spirit indirectly evokes the story of Philomela, who, taken into the woods on a pretext, was raped by her brother-in-law Tereus. She filled the woods with her lament before Tereus cut out her tongue. She was later transformed into the nightingale (Ovid, Met. 6.451–670).

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Where that damn’d wisard hid in sly disguise (For so by certain signes I knew) had met arrive before Already, ere my best speed could prævent,° The aidless° innocent Lady his wish’t prey, without help Who gently ask’t if he had seen such two, Supposing him som neighbour villager; Longer I durst not stay, but soon I guess’t Ye were the two she mean’t, with that I sprung Into swift flight, till I had found you here, But furder know I not. 2. Bro. O night and shades, How are ye joyn’d with hell in triple knot Against th’unarmed weakness of one Virgin Alone, and helpless! Is this the confidence You gave me Brother? Eld. Bro. Yes, and keep it still, sentence Lean on it safely, not a period° Shall be unsaid for me:° against the threats on my part Of malice or of sorcery, or that power Which erring men call Chance, this I hold firm, Vertue may be assail’d, but never hurt, Surpriz’d by unjust force, but not enthrall’d, Yea even that which mischief meant most harm, Shall in the happy trial prove most glory. But evil on it self shall back recoyl, And mix no more with goodness, when at last Gather’d like scum, and setl’d to it self It shall be in eternal restless change Self-fed, and self-consum’d, if this fail, the pillars of heaven (Job 26.11) The pillar’d firmament° is rott’nness, And earths base built on stubble.° But com let’s on. short stalks of grain left after reaping Against th’opposing will and arm of Heav’n May never this just sword be lifted up, But for that damn’d magician, let him be girt With all the greisly legions that troop river of sorrow in the classical underworld Under the sooty flag of Acheron,° 75 Harpyies and Hydra’s, or all the monstrous forms India ’Twixt Africa, and Inde,° Ile find him out, And force him to restore his purchase° back, booty (i.e., the Lady) 75

Harpies, Hydras, and other monstrous forms inhabit the classical underworld. Harpies are the foul birds with women’s heads and bird talons (Aen. 3.211–18); Hydras are serpent-like monsters with fifty heads like the one Hercules killed (Aen. 6.576).

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Or drag him by the curls, to a foul death, Curs’d as his life. Spir. Alas good ventrous youth, I love thy courage yet, and bold Emprise,° But here thy sword can do thee little stead,° Farr other arms, and other weapons must Be those that quell the might of hellish charms, He with his bare wand can unthred° thy joynts, And crumble all thy sinews. Eld. Bro. Why prethee Shepherd How durst thou then thy self approach so neer As to make this relation?° Spir. Care and utmost shifts How to secure the Lady from surprisal,° Brought to my mind a certain Shepherd Lad Of small regard to see to,° yet well skill’d In every vertuous° plant and healing herb That spreds her verdant leaf to th’morning ray, He lov’d me well, and oft would beg me sing, Which when I did, he on the tender grass Would sit, and hearken even to extasie, And in requitall ope his leather’n scrip,° And shew me simples° of a thousand names Telling their strange and vigorous faculties; Amongst the rest a small unsightly root, But of divine effect, he cull’d me out; The leaf was darkish, and had prickles on it, But in another Countrey,76 as he said, Bore a bright golden flowre, but not in this soyl: Unknown, and like esteem’d, and the dull swayn° Treads on it daily with his clouted shoon,° And yet more med’cinal is it then that Moly That Hermes once to wise Ulysses gave;77 He call’d it Hæmony,78 and gave it me, And bad me keep it as of sovran use ’Gainst all inchantments, mildew blast,° or damp° Or gastly furies apparition;° 76 77

107

enterprise small advantage

dislocate

report surprise to look at efficacious

a bag carried by shepherds medicinal herbs

shepherd shoes patched or studded with nails

infection / noxious vapor evil spirits

Another country is perhaps paradise or heaven. Intercepting him on his way to rescue his men, Hermes gives Odysseus the herb moly (a black root with white flowers) to protect him against Circe’s charms (Homer, Ody, 10.302–6). 78 Haemony takes its name perhaps from Haemonia, a district in Thessaly noted for its magic herbs.

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I purs’t it up,° but little reck’ning made,° Till now that this extremity compell’d, But now I find it true; for by this means 645 I knew the foul inchanter though disguis’d, Enter’d the very lime-twigs79 of his spells, And yet came off: if you have this about you (As I will give you when we go) you may Boldly assault the necromancers hall; 650 Where if he be, with dauntless hardihood,° And brandish’t blade° rush on him, break his glass, And shed the lushious liquor on the ground,80 But sease° his wand, though he and his curst crew Feirce signe of battail make, and menace high, 655 Or like the sons of Vulcan vomit smoak,81 Yet will they soon retire, if he but shrink. Eld. Bro. Thyrsis lead on apace, Ile follow thee, And som good angel bear a sheild before us.

put it in my purse / took little notice

courage drawn sword seize

The Scene changes to a stately Palace, set out with all manner of deliciousness: soft Musick, Tables spred with all dainties. Comus appears with his rabble, and the Lady set in an inchanted Chair, to whom he offers his Glass, which she puts by, and goes about to rise. Comus.

Nay Lady sit; if I but wave this wand,

660 Your nervs° are all chain’d up in Alabaster,

And you a statue; or as Daphne was Root-bound, that fled Apollo.82 La. Fool do not boast, Thou canst not touch the freedom of my minde83 With all thy charms, although this corporal rinde°

79 80

sinews

the body

Comus’s spells entrap the unsuspecting just as sticky lime spread on twigs catches unsuspecting birds. Odysseus, protected by moly, draws his sword and subdues Circe, eventually forcing her to release his men from enchantment. See Ody. 10.233–40, 316–24, 386–99; Ovid, Met. 14.291–307. Spenser’s Guyon, when offered a cup by Excess, breaks the glass (FQ 2.12.57). 81 Cacus, the son of Vulcan, vomited smoke when challenged by Hercules (Aen. 8.252–5). 82 Daphne, fleeing from the pursuit of Apollo, was transformed at her request into a laurel tree (Met. 1.546–52). 83 The principle of the unfettered mind is found in Cicero, De Finibus 3.22.75 or in Augustine, City of God 1.18.

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665 Thou haste immanacl’d, while Heav’n sees good.

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Co. Why are you vext Lady? why do you frown? Here dwel no frowns, nor anger, from these gates Sorrow flies farr: See here be all the pleasures That fancy can beget on youthfull thoughts, revives When the fresh blood grows lively, and returns° Brisk as the April buds in Primrose-season. refreshing drink And first behold this cordial Julep° here That flames, and dances in his crystal bounds° crystal cup With spirits of balm,° and fragrant Syrops mixt. aromatic fragrance Not that Nepenthes which the wife of Thone, In Egypt gave to Jove-born Helena84 Is of such power to stir up joy as this, To life so friendly, or so cool to thirst. Why should you be so cruel to your self, And to those dainty limms which nature lent pampered luxury For gentle usage, and soft delicacy?° But you invert the cov’nants° of her trust, legal agreements And harshly deal like an ill borrower With that which you receiv’d on other terms,85 Scorning the unexempt condition° condition from which no one is exempt By which all mortal frailty must subsist, Refreshment after toil, ease after pain, That have been tir’d all day without repast, And timely rest have wanted, but fair Virgin This will restore all soon. La. ’Twill not, false traitor, ’Twill not restore the truth and honesty That thou hast banish’t from thy tongue with lies, Was this the cottage, and the safe abode faces, looks Thou told’st me of ? What grim aspects° are these, These oughly-headed° Monsters? Mercy guard me! ugly-headed Hence with thy brew’d inchantments, foul deceiver, Hast thou betrai’d my credulous innocence masked / deceit With visor’d° falshood, and base forgery,° And wouldst thou seek again to trap me here

84 Thone’s wife Polydamna gave the drug Nepenthes to Helen when Helen and Menelaus stopped in Egypt on the return journey to Sparta after the Trojan War. Helen puts it into the drinks given to Menelaus and her guests to dispel the memory of past sorrows (Homer, Ody. 4.219–32). 85 By refusing refreshment the Lady becomes (according to Comus) like a borrower who reneges on a contract to pay a debt, here to Nature.

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700 With lickerish° baits fit to ensnare a brute?

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pleasant tasting, lustful

Were it a draft° for Juno when she banquets, drink I would not taste thy treasonous offer; none But such as are good men can give good things,86 And that which is not good, is not delicious To a wel-govern’d and wise appetite. Co. O foolishness of men! that lend their ears To those budge doctors of the Stoick Furr,87 And fetch their precepts from the Cynick Tub,88 Praising the lean and sallow Abstinence. pour Wherefore did Nature powre° her bounties forth, With such a full and unwithdrawing hand, Covering the earth with odours, fruits, and flocks, Thronging the Seas with spawn innumerable, satisfy / fastidious But all to please, and sate° the curious° taste? And set to work millions of spinning Worms,° silkworms That in their green shops° weave the smooth-hair’d silk workshops, i.e., mulberry trees To deck° her Sons, and that no corner might adorn Be vacant of her plenty, in her own loyns stored as in a hutch She hutch’t° th’all-worshipt ore, and precious gems To store° her children with; if all the world furnish Should in a pet of temperance feed on Pulse,° beans, lentils, peas (Dan. 1.8–16) Drink the clear stream, and nothing wear but Frieze,° coarse woolen cloth Th’all-giver would be unthank’t, would be unprais’d, Not half his riches known, and yet despis’d, And we should serve him as a grudging master, As a penurious niggard of his wealth, And live like Natures bastards, not her sons, overburdened Who would be quite surcharg’d° with her own weight, And strangl’d with her waste fertility; wings of birds Th’earth cumber’d, and the wing’d air dark’t with plumes,° The herds would over-multitude their Lords, overstocked with fish The Sea o’refraught° would swell, & th’unsought diamonds Would so emblaze the forhead of the Deep, And so bestudd with Stars, that they below

86 An inversion of the dictum in Euripides’ Medea (618): a bad man’s gifts convey no benefit. 87 Budge doctors are pompous academics who trim their academic gowns with fur (budge). 88 Followers of the philosophy of the Stoics and Cynics. The Stoics (followers of Zeno, c.300 BC) scorned luxury as indulging the body at the expense of the soul, which was imprisoned within it. Cynics (Antisthenes, Crates, Diogenes the philosopher [fourth century BC]) scorned riches, advocating poverty as promoting the quest for self-knowledge.

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To gaze upon the Sun with shameless brows.89 List Lady be not coy,° and be not cosen’d° shy, restrained / tricked With that same vaunted° name Virginity, boasted Beauty is nature’s coyn, must not be hoorded, in circulation But must be currant,° and the good thereof Consists in mutual and partak’n bliss, Unsavoury in th’injoyment of it self [.] If you let slip time, like a neglected rose It withers on the stalk with languish’t head. show, display, boast Beauty is natures brag,° and must be shown In courts, at feasts, and high solemnities° festivals Where most may wonder at the workmanship; plain It is for homely° features to keep home, They had their name thence; coarse complexions poor color / work at And cheeks of sorry grain° will serve to ply° The sampler,° and to teize° the huswifes wooll. embroidery / tease, comb before spinning What need a vermeil-tinctur’d° lip for that red (vermilion) Love-darting eyes, or tresses like the Morn? There was another meaning in these gifts, Think what, and be adviz’d, you are but young yet.90 La. I had not thought to have unlockt my lips conjurer, trickster In this unhallow’d air, but that this Jugler° Would think to charm my judgement, as mine eyes maxims / dressed up Obtruding false rules° pranckt° in reasons garb. I hate when vice can bolt° her arguments, secure, sift to a fine texture And vertue has no tongue to check her pride: Impostor do not charge most innocent nature, overindulgent As if she would her children should be riotous° With her abundance, she good cateress° careful manager Means her provision onely to the good That live according to her sober laws, economical And holy dictate of spare° Temperance: If every just man that now pines with want Had but a moderate and beseeming share overindulged Of that which lewdly-pamper’d° Luxury Now heaps upon som few with vast excess, 89

Dwellers in caves would look on diamonds, left in the earth (the deep) above them, as stars and would scorn the real stars and sun. 90 Comus echoes the advice of classical poets such as the Greek epigrammatist Asclepiades to the reluctant virgin (AP 5.85) or Horace to seize the day, “carpe diem” (Odes 1.11.8).

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Natures full blessings would be well dispenc’t In unsuperfluous eeven proportion, And she no whit encomber’d with her store, And then the giver would be better thank’t, His praise due paid, for swinish gluttony Ne’re looks to Heav’n amidst his gorgeous feast, But with besotted° base ingratitude Cramms, and blasphemes his feeder.° Shall I go on? Or have I said anough?° To him that dares Arm his profane tongue with contemptuous words Against the Sun-clad power of Chastity, Fain would I somthing say, yet to what end? Thou hast nor Eare, nor Soul to apprehend The sublime notion, and high mystery That must be utter’d to unfold the sage° And serious doctrine of Virginity,91 And thou art worthy that thou shouldst not know More happines then this thy present lot. Enjoy your deer Wit, and gay Rhetorick° That hath so well been taught her dazling fence,° Thou art not fit to hear thy self convinc’t; Yet should I try, the uncontrouled° worth Of this pure cause would kindle my rap’t° spirits To such a flame of sacred vehemence, That dumb things would be mov’d to sympathize, And the brute Earth would lend her nerves,° and shake, Till all thy magick structures rear’d so high, Were shatter’d into heaps o’re thy false head.92 Co. She fables not, I feel that I do fear Her words set off by som superior power; And though not mortal,93 yet a cold shuddring dew Dips me all o’re,° as when the wrath of Jove Speaks thunder, and the chains of Erebus

91

morally stupefied or blinded the one who feeds him enough

wise

showy wordplay skill as in verbal fencing uncontrollable transported

sinews

suffuses with cold sweat

The Lady refers to both Chastity and Virginity, terms related but not identical. Virginity is appropriate to her present state as a young unmarried woman. Chastity includes both virginity in the unmarried and fidelity to one’s spouse in the married state. There is no reason to assume that the Lady is defending the state of perpetual virginity as an ideal or doctrine. 92 The Lady’s “sacred vehemence” would have a power to move in sympathy dumb (unspeaking) things in nature to shatter or destroy false or illusory structures. 93 Comus is a demigod.

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805 To som of Saturn’s crew.94 I must dissemble,

And try her yet more strongly. Com, no more, nonsense This is meer moral babble,° and direct Against the canon laws° of our foundation; rules of a religious or scholastic council I must not suffer° this, yet ’tis but the lees tolerate 810 And setlings of a melancholy blood;95 But this will cure all streight, one sip of this Will bathe the drooping spirits in delight Beyond the bliss of dreams. Be wise, and taste.—— The Brothers rush in with Swords drawn, wrest his Glass out of his hand, and break it against the ground; his rout make signe of resistance, but are all driven in; The attendant Spirit comes in. Spir.

What, have you let the false enchanter scape?°

escape

815 O ye mistook, ye should have snatcht his wand

And bound him fast; without his rod revers’t, And backward mutters° of dissevering power, We cannot free the Lady that sits here96 In stony fetters fixt, and motionless; 820 Yet stay, be not disturb’d, now I bethink me, Som other means I have which may be us’d, Which once of Melibœus97 old I learnt The soothest° Shepherd that ere pip’t on plains. There is a gentle Nymph not farr from hence, 825 That with moist curb sways° the smooth Severn stream, Sabrina98 is her name, a Virgin pure,

94

spells

most truthful rules

The Lady’s word has a power like the thunderbolt Jove used to defeat the Titans led by Cronos (Saturn) and to keep them in awe chained in the underworld (Erebus) (Hesiod, Theogony 687–90, 729–31). 95 The dominance of melancholic humor in the blood is, according to Comus, like the dregs or lees in wine. 96 The Brothers must capture Comus’ rod in order to reverse his spell on the Lady. Circe employed a rod reversed to free Ulysses’ men from enchantment (Ovid, Met. 14.300). Britomart forced the sorcerer Busirane to free Amoret from the pillar to which she was bound by making him reverse his charm (FQ 3.12.30–36). 97 Meliboeus is a common pastoral name, used in Virgil (Ecl. 1, 3, 5) and Spenser (FQ 6.9.16). 98 Sabrina is both the name for the nymph and for the Severn river, the principal river of Wales, which flowed some miles distant from Ludlow.

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Whilom° she was the daughter of Locrine,99 formerly That had the Scepter from his father Brute.° descendant of Aeneas who founded Britain She guiltless damsell flying the mad pursuit Of her enraged stepdam Guendolen, Commended her fair innocence to the flood That stay’d her flight with his cross-flowing course, played The water Nymphs that in the bottom plaid,° Held up their pearled wrists and took her in, father of the Nereids Bearing her straight to aged Nereus° Hall, Who piteous of her woes, rear’d her lank° head, drooping And gave her to his daughters to imbathe vessels In nectar’d lavers° strew’d with Asphodil,100 And through the porch and inlet of each sense Dropt in Ambrosial Oils101 till she reviv’d, sudden, also live And underwent a quick° immortal change Made Goddess of the River; still she retains Her maid’n gentlenes, and oft at Eeve Visits the herds along the twilight meadows, curing mischievous infections Helping all urchin blasts,° and ill luck signes That the shrewd medling Elfe° delights to make, Robin Goodfellow (Puck) Which she with pretious viold liquors° heals. potions in vials For which the Shepherds at their festivals sing / rural songs Carrol° her goodnes lowd in rustick layes,° And throw sweet garland wreaths into her stream Of pancies, pinks, and gaudy Daffadils. Meliboeus And, as the old Swain° said, she can unlock The clasping charm, and thaw the numming spell, If she be right invok’t in warbled Song, For maid’nhood she loves, and will be swift To aid a Virgin, such as was her self 102 In hard besetting need, this will I try entreating And adde the power of som adjuring° verse. 99

Milton takes the story of Sabrina’s birth, parentage, and death from Spenser (FQ 2.10.12–19); Drayton, Polyolbion 6.130–78; and Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae, 2.1–5. In Geoffrey’s account Locrine’s wife Guendolen defeats the king in battle and has Sabrina and her mother Estrildis (Locrine’s mistress) drowned. Milton has Sabrina drown in the river while fleeing from Guendolen. 100 A flower that grows in Elysium (Ody. 11. 539). 101 Aphrodite uses ambrosial oils to preserve the body of Patroclus (Il. 23.186–7). The account of the rescue of Sabrina by the Nereids and transformation into a goddess resembles the story of Cadmus’ daughter Ino, who, escaping her husband’s murderous anger, drowned, but was rescued by the Nereids and turned into the sea goddess Leucothea (See Pindar, Oly. 2.28–30). 102 Like Fletcher’s Clorin in The Faithful Shepherdess, Sabrina has a special concern to assist virgins.

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Sabrina fair Listen where thou art sitting Under the glassie, cool, translucent wave, In twisted braids of Lillies knitting° The loose train of thy amber-dropping° hair, Listen for dear honours sake, Goddess of the silver lake,° Listen and save. Listen and appear to us In name of great Oceanus,° By the earth-shaking Neptune’s° mace,° And Tethys° grave majestick pace, By hoary Nereus° wrincled look, And the Carpathian wisards° hook, By scaly Tritons winding shell,° And old sooth-saying Glaucus° spell, By Leucothea’s lovely hands, And her son that rules the strands,103 By Thetis tinsel-slipper’d feet, And the Songs of Sirens° sweet, By dead Parthenope’s dear tomb,104 And fair Ligea’s golden comb, Wherwith she sits on diamond rocks Sleeking her soft alluring locks,105 By all the Nymphs that nightly dance Upon thy streams with wily glance, Rise, rise, and heave thy rosie head From thy coral-pav’n bed, And bridle in thy headlong wave, Till thou our summons answer’d have. Listen and save.

braiding, plaiting ambergris, so-called liquid amber, perfume river, i.e., the Severn

god of rivers god of the sea / trident Oceanus’ consort Old Man of the Sea, father of the Nereids Proteus, herdsman of Neptune’s seals herald of the sea with his conch-shell horn mortal turned into a sea-god

the silver-footed Nereid, Achilles’ mother the daughters of the river god Archelous

103 Cadmus’ daugher Ino and her son Melicertes were transformed into the sea deities Leucothea and Palaemon, god of harbors (Ovid, Met. 4.512–42). Leucothea aided Odysseus when his raft was split by Poseidon by giving him a magic veil to convey him to safety (Homer, Ody. 5.333–55, 458–62). 104 One of the Sirens and the patron goddess of Naples. Parthenope’s dead body was found on the shore by the founders of Naples, who entombed her there and bestowed her name on the city. See Milton’s epigram to Leonora Baroni (In eadem). 105 Ligea is the second of the three Siren daughters of the river god Achelous and the muse Calliope. Virgil refers to her shining hair (Georgics 4.336) The third Siren was Leucosia. Milton names the two Sirens here without suggesting a baleful influence on human beings or a connection with Circe (see 253–7).

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Sabrina rises, attended by water-Nymphes, and sings. 890

By the rushy-fringed bank, Where grows the Willow and the Osier dank, My sliding Chariot stayes, Thick set with Agat, and the azurn° sheen Of Turkis° blew, and Emrauld green 895 That in the channell strayes, Whilst from off the waters fleet Thus I set my printless° feet O’re the Cowslips Velvet head, That bends not as I tread, 900 Gentle swain at thy request I am here.

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Spir. Goddess dear We implore thy powerful hand To undoe the charmed band° Of true Virgin here distrest, Through the force, and through the wile Of unblest inchanter vile. Sab. Shepherd ’tis my office best To help insnared chastity; Brightest Lady look on me, Thus I sprinkle on thy brest Drops that from my fountain pure, I have kept of pretious cure, Thrice upon thy fingers tip, Thrice upon thy rubied lip, Next this marble venom’d seat Smear’d with gumms of glutenous heat106 I touch with chaste palms moist and cold, Now the spell hath lost his hold; And I must haste ere morning hour To wait in Amphitrite’s° bow’r.

azure turquoise

leaving no footprints

magic bond

consort of Neptune

106 The chair in which the Lady sits has been envenomed (poisoned) by gums or glue, something like bird-lime. Critics assign the “gumms of glutenous heat” sometimes to Comus, sometimes to the Lady. The cold moist touch of Sabrina’s hands is necessary to cool the seat and break the spell.

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Sabrina descends, and the Lady rises out of her seat. Spir. Virgin, daughter of Locrine Sprung of old Anchises line,107 May thy brimmed waves for this 925 Their full tribute never miss From a thousand petty rills, That tumble down the snowy hills: Summer drouth, or singed° air Never scorch thy tresses fair, 930 Nor wet Octobers torrent flood Thy molten crystal° fill with mudd, May thy billows rowl ashoar The beryl, and the golden ore, May thy lofty head° be crown’d 935 With many a tower and terrass round, And here and there thy banks upon With Groves of myrrhe, and cinnamon.° Com Lady while Heaven lends us grace, Let us fly this cursed place, 940 Lest the Sorcerer us intice With som other new device.° Not a waste,° or needless sound Till we com to holier ground, I shall be your faithfull guide 945 Through this gloomy covert wide, And not many furlongs thence Is your Fathers residence, Where this night are met in state Many a friend to gratulate° 950 His wish’t presence, and beside All the Swains° that there abide, With Jiggs, and rural dance resort, We shall catch them at their sport, And our sudden coming there

burning, scorching

clear, flowing stream

head or source of the Severn river

precious spices

trick wasted

congratulate, welcome shepherds

107 As daughter of the king Locrine Sabrina is descended from Brute, the traditional founder of Britain, himself the descendant through Aeneas of Anchises, Aeneas’ father.

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955 Will double all their mirth and chere;

Com let us haste, the Stars grow high, But night sits monarch yet in the mid sky. The Scene changes presenting Ludlow Town and the Presidents Castle, then com in CountreyDancers, after them the attendant Spirit, with the two Brothers and the Lady.

SONG. .

960

965

Spir. Back Shepherds, back, anough° your play, Till next Sun-shine holiday, Here be without duck or nod° Other trippings° to betrod Of lighter toes, and such Court guise° As Mercury did first devise With the mincing108 Dryades° On the Lawns, and on the Leas.°

enough curtsy and bow dance steps courtly manners forest nymphs open grassy places and meadows

This second Song presents them to their father and mother.

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975

Noble Lord, and Lady bright, I have brought ye new delight, Here behold so goodly grown Three fair branches of your own, Heav’n hath timely° tri’d their youth, Their faith, their patience,° and their truth, And sent them here through hard assays° With a crown of deathless Praise, To triumph in victorious dance O’re sensual Folly, and Intemperance.

early endurance trials

The dances ended, the Spirit Epiloguizes.

108 Mincing is a dance term for doubling within a prescribed time the number of dance steps in a musical measure.

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Spir. To the Ocean109 now I fly, And those happy climes that ly Where day never shuts his eye,110 Up in the broad fields of the sky: There I suck° the liquid° ayr All amidst the Gardens fair Of Hesperus, and his daughters three That sing about the golden tree:111 Along the crisped shades° and bowres Revels the spruce° and jocond Spring, The Graces, and the rosie-boosom’d Howres,112 Thither all their bounties bring, That there eternal Summer dwels, And West winds, with musky° wing About the cedar’n alleys° fling Nard, and Cassia’s° balmy smels. Iris° there with humid bow, Waters the odorous banks that blow° Flowers of more mingled hew Then her purfl’d scarf° can shew, And drenches with Elysian dew (List mortals, if your ears be true) Beds of Hyacinth, and roses Where young Adonis oft reposes, Waxing° well of his deep wound113

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trees with wavy foliage lively

smelling of musk walks lined with cedar trees aromatic plants goddess of the rainbow cause to bloom the many-colored rainbow

growing

109 Ocean is the freshwater stream that, according to the ancients, surrounds the terrestrial earth, beyond which are located Elysium and the garden of the Hesperides. Plato describes Ocean as the greatest and outermost stream that circles the earth (Phaedo 112E). 110 A region beyond earth’s shadow where there is eternal daylight. 111 Hesperus is the brother of Atlas; his three daughters (the Hesperides) tend the tree with the golden apples (which confer immortality). The garden of the Hesperides was sometimes located in the Atlas Mountains, but by Milton in the west beyond the stream of Ocean. The garden of the Hesperides was often associated with and sometimes conflated with Elysium and the Isles of the Blest. 112 The coming of spring was depicted in classical hymn and Renaissance painting as the dance of the Graces with the Hours (the Horae or Seasons). The three Graces – Aglaia, Thalia, and Euphrosyne – were the daughters of Zeus (Jupiter) and the goddess Eurynome and were described as conferring good gifts on humankind (Hesiod, Theogony, 907–9; Pindar, Olympian 14.5–7, 12). The Graces were especially connected with Venus. The Horae – Law, Justice, and Peace – were the daughters of Zeus (Jupiter) and Themis and conferred order and good government on humankind (Hesiod, Theogony 901–3; Pindar, Olympian 13.6–8). The Horae are called rosy-bosomed perhaps because of their association with Dawn. In the Homeric Hymn to Pythian Apollo the Graces and the Horae dance together with linked hands (194–6). Also see PL 4.267. 113 Venus’ beloved Adonis, wounded by a boar when hunting, was in some accounts of the myth restored to life and transported to the garden of the Hesperides or to Elysium at Venus’ request. See, e.g., Giovanni Pontano, De Hortis Hesperidum (1505).

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In slumber soft, and on the ground Sadly sits th’Assyrian Queen;° But farr above in spangled sheen Celestial Cupid her fam’d son advanc’t,° Holds his dear Psyche sweet intranc’t After her wandring labours long, Till free consent the gods among Make her his eternal Bride,114 And from her fair unspotted side Two blissful twins are to be born, Youth and Joy;115 so Jove hath sworn. But now my task is smoothly don, I can fly, or I can run Quickly to the green earths end, Where the bow’d welkin° slow doth bend, And from thence can soar as soon To the corners of the Moon. Mortals that would follow me, Love vertue, she alone is free, She can teach ye how to clime Higher then the Spheary chime;° Or if Vertue feeble were, Heav’n it self would stoop to her.

Venus elevated

curved vault of the sky

above the music of the spheres

The End

114 Cupid loved the mortal Psyche whom he wooed secretly at night, but fled from when she discovered his identity. Cupid’s mother Venus made Psyche undergo many trials before she was made immortal and married to Cupid. See Apuleius, Metamorphoses (The Golden Ass) 4.28–6.24). The myth was allegorized as the union of the soul with divine love (see Boccaccio, Genealogiae Deorum Gentilium 5.22). 115 Traditionally the child of Cupid and Psyche was called Pleasure (Voluptas). See Apuleius, Metamorphoses 6.24. Two sixteenth-century Italian poets – Boiardo and Correggio – name him Diletto (Delight), which is closer to Milton’s Joy. See Boiardo, Apolecio volgare (Venice, 1523) Hiiiiv: “di lor nacque quello figliolo che dileto è chiamato” (from them that little son was born who is called delight); (Niccolo da Correggio, Inamoramento di Cupido, et di Psyche (Venice, 1553), sig, Dii: “Psyche diuenne mia, com’ io t’ho detto / & grauida di noi nacque il diletto” (Psyche becomes mine, as I have told you, and pregnant by us is born delight).

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Introduction to the Poemata, 1645 The second volume of Milton’s 1645 Poems, the Poemata – Latin and Greek poems – is divided into two books, Elegiarum Liber and Sylvarum Liber. The division is dictated, as is common in neo-Latin books, by metrical types. The poems of Elegiarum Liber – seven elegies and eight epigrams – are composed in elegiac couplets; the poems of Sylvarum Liber, as the term sylvae (woods) indicates, are in various verse forms, ranging from hexameters to stanzas. Both books are arranged in more or less chronological order, moving from early Latin exercises to mature poems. However, as in the English collection, Milton carefully arranges the sequence of elegies and odes. The first elegy, like the Nativity Ode that opens the English volume, is an expansive and ambitious poem that showcases Milton’s early virtuosity as a poet. In contrast to the Nativity Ode, however, “Elegia prima” is a personal poem addressed to Charles Diodati, his closest friend, the addressee of other epistle-type poems. Milton commemorates Diodati’s death in the last item in the 1645 Poemata, Epitaphium Damonis, a pastoral lament like Lycidas, which closes the lyrical section of the vernacular volume. The elegies of the Poemata (composed during Milton’s university years) comprise the three types most popular with neo-Latin poets of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The first is the verse letter, a form that Ovid more or less invented in the Tristia for communication with his wife and several friends in Rome from his exile in Tomis. Milton imitates Ovid’s plaintive tone most closely in “Elegia quarta,” which he addressed to his former tutor, Thomas Young, then resident in Hamburg, who in exile from an increasingly intolerant England was facing the dangers of the Thirty Years War. Like many English Protestants, Milton displays clear sympathy for reformist Protestants on the Continent engulfed in the struggles against Catholics. In contrast, “Elegia prima” and “Elegia sexta,” the verse epistles to Charles Diodati, are more sportive. They have the Ovid of the Amores as a model and range over topics from taste in books to the pleasures of girl-watching. “Elegia prima” contrasts Ovid’s exile in Tomis with Milton’s own brief rustication from Cambridge that afforded him the opportunity to enjoy the delights of London.

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Like Amores 3.1, “Elegia sexta” contrasts elegy with more serious poetry, attributing a taste for the former to Diodati and the latter to Milton himself, who had recently composed the Nativity Ode and was looking forward to epic. “Elegia quinta” and “Elegia septima” are also Ovidian. In “Elegia quinta” (on the coming of spring) Milton rejoices in the return of poetic inspiration, describing the revival of the earth in springtime in terms of amorous desire. In “Elegia septima” he records an encounter with the Roman love god Cupid, who directs his arrows against him and makes him fall in love with a girl who appears to him briefly and then disappears. “Elegia secunda” and “Elegia tertia” comprise a third type of elegy – funera – also very popular with neo-Latin poets. They lament the deaths in 1626 of a beadle of Cambridge University and the bishop of Winchester, Lancelot Andrewes. These two elegies are closely connected with an ode and iambic verses from Sylvarum Liber, for, like them, they were composed in the plague year of 1626 and commemorate the deaths of prominent men associated with Cambridge University – the ode on the Vice-Chancellor of the University, and iambic verses on Nicholas Felton, Bishop of Ely. That these poems, so closely related in subject and tone, occur in different books of the Poemata points out to us the importance of attending to the connections between the two books and not merely to the strict order of poems of the Elegiarum and Sylvarum Liber. The elegies that form a group with the funera of Sylvarum Liber share poetic attitudes and techniques, including clever wordplay. They complain to the gods of the underworld and allude to mythic characters from Hercules through Medea. Both the funera to Andrewes and Felton also contains visions of the respective bishops being translated to a very classical heaven. A comparable case can be made for the epigrams that close the book of elegies – both those on the Gunpowder Plot and those addressed to Leonora Baroni. The epigrams on the Gunpowder Plot were probably composed at about the same time as the second item of Sylvarum Liber, “In quintum Novembris” – the long narrative mini-epic in Latin hexameters on the same subject. Milton dates “In quintum Novembris” at age 17, that is, in 1625 or 1626, and the epigrams allude to James I’s recent death in 1625. The mini-epic narrates the development of the Gunpowder Plot. Satan, the originator of the plot and the poem’s principal character, inspires the pope to move the conspirators to action. The pope and the conspirators are treated as semi-comic characters, and their actions are held up to derision. The five epigrams on the plot are sharply ironic in tone and display the mordant wit that is so often characteristic of classical and neo-Latin epigram. Like “In quintum Novembris,” they allude to the hellish origin of gunpowder, and while they revile the pope and the Catholic conspirators as the agents of Satan, they also ridicule them for their foolish supposition that they might overcome the English nation and King James, so favored and protected by God. One epigram even wryly exults that James has recently been transported to heaven without the use of gunpowder. The mini-epic concludes with rejoicing at the discovery of the plot and the institution of the celebrations for the fifth of November.

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Similarly, the final epigrams of Elegiarum Liber, addressed to Leonora Baroni, a singer Milton heard in Rome in 1638/9, have much in common with the final poems of Sylvarum Liber – those addressed to Giovanni Salzilli and Giovanni Battista Manso, Milton’s Italian acquaintances. Densely allusive and sometimes playful, the three epigrams to Leonora Baroni permit Milton to display a humanistic wit, unique to the poetry composed during his Italian journey in 1638–9. In the first Leonora resembles the muse-like Sirens of “At a solemn Musick,” for her voice brings the very essence of heaven to the hearer. Milton quips in the second that had Tasso heard her he would have been saved from the madness that another Leonora inspired. In the last he declares that in her the Neapolitan Siren still lives, holding men and gods spellbound by her voice. Comparing the Gunpowder Plot epigrams to those composed for Leonora Baroni permits us to assess the difference between Milton at the beginning and at the end of his career as a neo-Latin poet. In the elegies and the Gunpowder Plot epigrams of Elegiarum Liber Milton closely imitates the sardonic wit of his Latin and neo-Latin predecessors. In the epigrams to Leonora Baroni and the mature Latin poems of his Italian sojourn, he displays a self-assured urbane manner, creating works that were his best in his adopted classical language and among his crowning achievements as a poet. The poetry of Sylvarum Liber is truly miscellaneous. It includes two Greek poems: a moral epigram, and an elegant rendering of Psalm 114, the very psalm that Milton had first paraphrased into English as a schoolboy. The Greek epigram (the advice of the philosopher to the king) is probably a schoolboy exercise; its academic tone has something in common with “Naturam non pati senium” and “De Idea Platonica,” two Latin poems that also confront moral and intellectual dilemmas. These Latin poems were composed at Cambridge, one of them probably for an official occasion; both share the scholastic attitude of some of the Latin prose prolusions Milton composed at Cambridge, which he was to publish in 1674. In both poems Milton sets up a philosophical idea, almost as a jeu d’esprit, and then proceeds to develop it in an academic fashion. In “De Idea Platonica” Milton, posing as an Aristotelian, critiques in a sportive way the Platonic theory of ideal forms. In “Naturam non pati senium” he passionately defends the theory that earth’s resources are continually renewed and nature eternally young. The concluding poems of Sylvarum Liber are among the most intimate of Milton’s poetry, presenting a poet who speaks openly in his own person in a way that he rarely does in his English poetry and prose. The dating of “Ad Patrem” is problematical: it may have been composed as early as 1632, but was probably written in 1637 or 1638, on the eve of Milton’s departure for Italy. As a poem addressed to a living person, it shares much with the elegies to Diodati and the poems to Salzilli and Manso composed during the Italian journey. “Ad Patrem” comes as close as Milton ever came to an apology for poetry. While thanking his father for his education in languages and other disciplines, and for his indulgence in not requiring him to enter professions uncongenial to him, he passionately defends poetry as a vocation. Apollo is

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the ruling deity of the poem, and Milton, in a graceful gesture to his father’s avocation as a musician and a composer, wittily proposes that father and son have divided the god’s patronage between them. But Milton also takes the opportunity to excoriate those who merely pile up riches, and in the final lines to address his poetry, hoping that it might survive oblivion, thus preserving this tribute to his father. The final Latin poems of the volume, those composed in Italy and after Milton’s return to England, also concern poetry and confide his future plans as a poet. In the scanzons to Salzilli and the hexameter poem to Manso, even while offering thanks for hospitality and friendship extended during his sojourn in Italy, he once again invokes Apollo as a patron. For Salzilli he calls upon Apollo as god of healing and poetry to bring health to the ailing Roman poet who had in an epigram extravagantly praised Milton as the equal of Homer, Virgil, and Tasso. His poem to Manso thanks the elderly Marchese di Villa, patron and biographer of Tasso and Marino, for his kindness, comparing him to the biographer of Homer and also to the classical hero Admetus, who had played host to Apollo, as Manso had hosted Tasso, Marino, and now Milton. More importantly, Milton discloses his plans to compose an English epic, praising the deeds of King Arthur, a work that might be comparable to Tasso’s great epic, Gerusalemme Liberata. Although Epitaphium Damonis is primarily a pastoral lament for the death of Milton’s closest friend, Charles Diodati, it also affectionately remembers Manso and Milton’s Florentine friends while confiding his plans to his dead friend for undertaking an epic for the English people about an English hero. More overtly than in Lycidas, his English pastoral, and with a more passionate expression of personal grief, in Epitaphium Damonis Milton adopts the conventions of the classical idylls of Theocritus and eclogues of Virgil. The poem begins with a frame in which the dead shepherd Damon is identified as Diodati and the speaker Thyrsis as Milton. Like many pastoral poems, it uses a repeated refrain in which Thyrsis underlines his grief and marks his reviving spirits. At the conclusion of the lament Milton blends classical and Christian to effect a final consolation. Referring to two cups (books) that Manso gave him, one depicting the phoenix, the other Amor, Milton transforms the legend of the phoenix and the ascent of the classical god of love to a classical-Christian heaven into a tribute for his dead friend. He imagines Damon-Diodati in heaven taking part in a festal celebration that joins a Bacchic frenzy to the marriage feast of the Lamb. Although these poems composed during and immediately after the Italian journey mark Milton’s most impressive achievement as a Latin poet, they also signal his determination to turn to a higher form – the epic – and to render it in his native language as an English poet.

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THE POEMATA, 1645

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Translator’s Note: The Latin Poems Readers should be aware of a few distinctive features of this translation. First, the names of gods, patronymics, and place-names in Latin largely remain the same in the English translation. This makes the poetry more cryptic (please consult the glosses and the notes for explanations), but such a quality was clearly part of neo-Latin imitatio and key to the works’ intended reception. That is, readers were meant to face the challenge of deciphering highly specific cultural references. Second, I have also kept the exclamations – “heu” and “hei,” among others – in their original form. The emotional force in such terms least requires translation and can be best understood from the context, while their mere presence preserves a consciousness of the complex historical relations between English and neo-Latin. To be sure, the tone of the work suffers a little for these kinds of strategies. Shifts in levels of formality in my translations do not always match the decorous style of Milton’s neo-Latin. Finally, as much as possible, I balanced a fidelity to the Latin sentence structures and expressions with the development of poetic momentum and rhythm in English. Although the English line lengths do not always correspond to the Latin ones, the two often match and, when they do not, conspicuous enjambments reveal it. It is my hope that such strategies will prove usefully literal for readers and reveal some poetic nuances of the works that other translations may have missed. LR

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Figure 3

Title page to Joannis Miltoni Londinensis Poemata, 1645

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Testimonia

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Testimonia

Haec quæ sequuntur de Authore testimonia,1 tametsi ipse intelligebat non tam de se quàm supra se esse dicta, eò quòd preclaro ingenio viri, nec non amici ita fere solent laudare, ut omnia suis potius virtutibus, quàm veritati congruentia nimis cupidè affingant, noluit tamen horum egregiam in se voluntatem non esse notam; Cum alii præsertim ut id faceret magnopere suaderent. Dum enim nimiæ laudis invidiam totis ab se viribus amolitur, sibique quod plus æquo est non attributum esse mavult, judicium interim hominum cordatorum atque illustrium quin summo sibi honori ducat, negare non potest.

1

The testimonials were all composed by men whom Milton met during his sojourn in Italy in 1638 –9.

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Here follow testimonials1 concerning the author – though he himself understood them spoken not so much about him as above him – for men of outstanding genius as well as personal friends, are generally accustomed to include in their eulogies all the qualities which attach to their own virtues rather than those which correspond to the truth; however, he did not wish that the exceptional goodwill that these men displayed towards him not be recorded, particularly since others strongly urged him to do so. For while he strives with all his powers to avoid the jealousy engendered by excessive praise and would rather not receive a higher commendation than is his by right, still he cannot deny that he esteems the opinion of wise and illustrious men to constitute the highest of compliments to himself.

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Testimonia

Joannes Baptista Mansus,2 Marchio Villensis Neapolitanus ad Joannem Miltonium Anglum. Ut mens, forma, decor, facies, mos, si pietas3 sic, Non Anglus, verùm herclè Angelus4 ipse fores.

Ad Joannem Miltonem Anglum triplici poeseos laureâ coronandum Græcâ nimirum, Latinâ, atque Hetruscâ, Epigramma Joannis Salsilli Romani.5 Cede Meles, cedat depressa Mincius urna; Sebetus Tassum desinat usque loqui;6 At Thamesis victor cunctis ferat altior undas Nam per te Milto par tribus unus erit.

Ad Joannem Miltonum. Græcia Mæonidem,° jactet sibi Roma Maronem,° Anglia Miltonum jactat utrique parem. Selvaggi.7 2

3 4 5

6 7

Homer / Virgil

Giovanni Battista Manso was a well-known Neapolitan statesman, patron, and poet whom Milton visited during his sojourn in Naples (1638 –9). Manso composed the above epigram in Milton’s honor, and Milton reciprocated by writing the Latin poem Mansus to thank Manso for his hospitality. See Mansus. Religious principle is meant here, i.e., Milton’s Protestantism. According to Bede in the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Pope Gregory the Great made a similar pun on angle and angel on first viewing the fair-haired English slaves. Giovanni Salzilli was a lyric poet, whose Italian poems appeared in 1637 in a volume of verse published by the members of the Roman Academy, the Fantastici. Milton probably met him in the fall of 1638. See Ad Salsillam, the poem Milton wrote in reply to the above epigram. The three rivers are associated with the three most prominent epic poets: Meles with Homer, Mincius with Virgil, and Sebetus with Tasso. Matteo Selvaggio (Selvaggi) was the Italian alias of the English Benedictine David Cadner whom Milton probably met when he dined in October 1638 at the English Jesuit College in Rome.

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Giovanni Battista Manso,2 Marquis of Villa, Neapolitan to John Milton, Englishman. If your piety3 were such as your mind, figure, grace, appearance, manners, then not an Angle but, by Hercules, an angel4 you would be.

To John Milton, Englishman, deserving to be crowned with the triple laurel of poetry, namely Greek, Latin, and Italian, an epigram of Giovanni Salzilli, Roman.5 Let Meles yield, let Mincius yield with lowered urn, Let Sebetus cease to speak continuously of Tasso;6 But let Thames victorious bear its waves higher than all these, For through you, Milton, it singly will be a match for those three.

To John Milton Let Greece boast of Maeonides,° Rome of Maro,° England boasts Milton equal to either. Selvaggi.7

Homer / Virgil

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Al Signor Gio. Miltoni Nobile Inglese. ODE. Ergimi all’ Etra ò Clio° Perche di stelle intreccierò corona Non più del Biondo Dio La Fronde eterna in Pindo, e in Elicona,° 5 Diensi a merto maggior, maggiori i fregi, A’celeste virtù celesti pregi.

one of the Muses

mountains sacred to the Muses

Non puo del tempo edace Rimaner preda, eterno alto valore Non può l’oblio rapace 10 Furar delle memorie eccelso onore, Su l’arco di mia cetra un dardo forte Virtù m’adatti, e ferirò la morte. Del Ocean profondo Cinta dagli ampi gorghi Anglia risiede 15 Separata dal mondo, Però che il suo valor l’umano eccede: Questa feconda sà produrre Eroi, Ch’ hanno a ragion del souruman tra noi. Alla virtù sbandita 20 Danno ne i petti lor fido ricetto,

Quella gli è sol gradita, Perche in lei san trovar gioia, e diletto; Ridillo tu Giovanni e mostra in tanto Con tua vera virtù, vero il mio Canto. 25 Lungi dal Patrio lido

Spinse Zeusi8 l’industre ardente bramà; Ch’udio d’Helena il grido

8

Zeuxis was a Sicilian painter (c.468 BC) famed for his lifelike representations. One of his most celebrated paintings was of Helen of Troy. Commissioned by the people of Crotona to paint a representation of the most beautiful woman in the world, he chose the best features from five women sent to him as models.

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To Mr. John Milton English Gentleman ODE. Raise me to heaven, Clio,° So that I may weave a crown of stars; No longer are the leaves of the blond god On Pindus° or on Helicon;° 5 Due for greater merit are greater ornaments, For celestial virtue, celestial rewards. It is not possible for devouring time To hold as spoil high eternal valor; Rapacious oblivion cannot steal 10 From memories highest honor; To the bow of my lyre let virtue adapt A strong dart, and I shall wound death. Girt about with the wide streams Of deep Ocean rests England, 15 Separated from the world, Because her valor exceeds the human, This fecund land knows how to produce heroes Who with reason are deemed superhuman by us. To abandoned virtue 20 They give faithful shelter in their breasts,

Such as is alone received with pleasure Because in her they know how to find joy and delight; You, Giovanni, show by your true virtue That my song is true. 25 Far from the shores of his fatherland

Ardent industrious desire carried Zeuxis,8 Who heard Fame sound with her

one of the Muses

mountains sacred to the Muses

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Con aurea tromba rimbombar la fama, E per poterla effigiare al paro 30 Dalle più belle Idee trasse il priù [più] raro. Cosi l’ Ape Ingegnosa Trae con industria il suo liquor pregiato Dal giglio e dalla rosa, E quanti vaghi fiori ornano il prato; 35 Formano un dolce suon [a] diverse Chorde, Fan varie voci melodia concorde. Di bella gloria amante Milton dal Ciel natío per varie parti Le peregrine piante 40 Volgesti a ricercar scienze, ed arti; Del Gallo regnator vedesti i Regni, E dell’ Italia ancor gl’Eroi piu degni. Fabro quasi divino Sol virtù rintracciando il tuo pensiero 45 Vide in ogni confino Chi di nobil valor calca il sentiero; L’ ottimo dal miglior dopo scegliea Per fabbricar d’ogni virtu l’Idea. Quanti nacquero in Flora 50 O in lei del parlar Tosco appreser l’arte,

La cui memoria onora Il mondo fatta eterna in dotte carte, Volesti ricercar per tuo tesoro, E parlasti con lor nell’ opre loro. 55 Nell’ altera Babelle

Per te il parlar confuse Giove in vano, Che per varie favelle Di se stessa trofeo cadde su’l piano: Ch’ Ode oltr’[ad] Anglia il suo piu degno Idioma 60 Spagna, Francia, Toscana, e Grecia e Roma. I piu profondi arcani Ch’ occulta la natura e in cielo e in terra Ch’á Ingegni sourumani

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Al Signor Gio. Miltoni (Antonio Francini) Golden trumpet Helen’s cry; To be able to match her likeness 30 From the most beautiful ideas he sought the most rare. So the ingenious bee Draws with industry her most precious liquid, From the lily and the rose, And from how many lovely flowers that adorn the garden; 35 Likewise diverse strings form a sweet sound, And various voices a concording melody. A lover of beautiful glory, Milton, from your native sky to various parts You took your pilgrim feet 40 To search for science and the arts; You saw the realms of the French king And also the most worthy heroes of Italy. Craftsman almost divine, Your thought searching only virtue, 45 Saw in every region Those who tread the path of noble valor; Then it [your thought] culled the best from the better To make the Idea of each virtue. All those who were born in Florence 50 Or who in her learned the art of speaking Tuscan,

Whose memory, made eternal in learned pages, The world honors, You wish to seek out through your treasure And you spoke with them through their works. 55 For you in high Babel

Did Jove in vain confuse speech, That with various languages The trophy of itself fell to the ground; That besides England hears your most worthy idiom: 60 Spain, France, Tuscany, and Greece and Rome. The most profound secrets That Nature hides in heaven and in earth, As she too avariciously often

137

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Troppo avara tal’hor gli chiude, e serra, 65 Chiaramente conosci, e giungi al fine

Della moral virtude al gran confine. Non batta il Tempo l’ale, Fermisi immoto, e in un fermin si gl’anni, Che di virtù immortale 70 Scorron di troppo ingiuriosi a i danni; Che s’opre degne di Poema o storia Furon gia, l’hai presenti alla memoria. Dammi tua dolce Cetra Se vuoi ch’io dica del tuo dolce canto, 75 Ch’ inalzandoti all’ Etra Di farti huomo celeste ottiene il vanto, Il Tamigi il dirà che gl’ è concesso Per te suo cigno pareggiar Permesso.° Io che in riva del Arno ° 80 Tento spiegar tuo merto alto, e preclaro So che fatico indarno, E ad ammirar, non a lodarlo imparo; Freno dunque la lingua, e ascolto il core Che ti prende a lodar con lo stupore.

river on Helicon sacred to the Muses river in Florence

Del sig. Antonio Francini9 gentilhuomo Fiorentino.

9

Antonio Francini was an Italian poet whom Milton mentioned among his particular friends in Florence. He is cited by name in Epitaphium Damonis and sent affectionate greetings in a letter to Carlo Dati in 1647.

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Shuts and closes them to superhuman genius, 65 You clearly know and at last reach

The great boundary of moral virtue. Let Time not beat its wing And pause immobile, and with it let the years stop, Which glide too fast to injurious destruction; 70 Since ever there were the worthy works of poem and story That you have present in the memory. Give me your sweet lyre, If you wish that I might tell of your sweet song, That lifting you to heaven 75 Accomplishes the boast of making you a celestial man. The Thames will say that it is granted river on Helicon sacred to the Muses Through you, its swan, to equal Permessus° I on the banks of Arno,° Who try to tell of your high and illustrious merit, 80 Know that the labor is vain, And I learn to admire, rather than to praise; I restrain therefore my tongue and listen to my heart That sets out to praise you with wonder. Antonio Francini,9 Florentine gentleman

river in Florence

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JOANNI MILTONI LONDINIENSI. Juveni Patria, virtutibus eximio, Viro qui multa peregrinatione, studio cuncta orbis terrararum loca perplexit, ut novus Ulysses omnia ubique ab omnibus apprehenderet. Polyglotto, in cujus ore linguæ jam deperditæ sic reviviscunt, ut idiomata omnia sint in ejus laudibus infacunda; Et jure ea percallet ut admirationes & plausus populorum ab propria sapientia excitatos, intelligat. Illi, cujus animi dotes corporisque, sensus ad admirationem commovent, & per ipsam motum cuique auferunt; cujus opera ad plausus hortantur, sed vastitate vocem laudatoribus adimunt. Cui in Memoria totus Orbis: In intellectu Sapientia. in voluntate ardor gloriæ. in ore Eloquentia: Harmoni cos celestium Sphærarum sonitus Astronomia Duce audienti, Characteres mirabilium naturæ per quos Dei magnitudo describitur magistra Philosophia legenti; Antiquitatum latebras, vetustatis excidia, eruditionis ambages comite assidua autorum Lectione. Exquirenti, restauranti, percurrenti. At cur nitor in arduum? Illi in cujus virtutibus evulgandis ora Famæ non sufficiant, nec hominum stupor in laudandis satis est, Reverentiæ & amoris ergo hoc ejus meritis debitum admirationis tributum offert Carolus Datus Patricius Florentinus.10 Tanto homini servus, tantæ virtutis amator.

10

Carlo Dati was apparently Milton’s closest friend in Florence, with whom he maintained a correspondence after his return to England in 1639 and to whom he sent copies of his Latin poems published in 1645/6. Only nineteen when Milton first met him, Dati was at that time secretary of the Academy, the Apatisti, whose meetings Milton attended. Dati was later appointed chair and lecturer of humane letters at the Florentine Academy. Milton cites Dati by name in Epitaphium Damonis.

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JOANNI MILTONI LONDINIENSI (Carolus Datus)

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To John Milton, Londoner. A young man distinguished by his native land and by his virtues, A man who has encompassed many areas of the globe by his travels, all of them by his learning, so that, like a new Ulysses, he might in all places learn all things of all people. A polyglot, in whose mouth dead languages revive again, yet in such a way that their locutions lack eloquence to sing his praises, and he is right to master these tongues, that he may understand the expressions of admiration and compliments from different peoples which his own wisdom engenders. One whose endowments of mind and body provoke admiration when they are perceived and which render everyone motionless on account of that very admiration, and whose achievements inspire compliments, yet by their great extent would deprive of speech those who would praise him. One who holds the whole world in his memory, wisdom in his intellect, ardor for glory in his will, eloquence in his mouth, who listens to the harmonious sound of the celestial spheres through the guidance of astronomy, who by the teachings of philosophy reads the traces of those miracles of nature through which the magnitude of God is described, and who, taking the conscientious reading of authors as his companion, investigates the obscurities of antiquity, restores the knowledge that has perished with time, and works his way through the roundabout ways of scholarship Seeking, restoring, researching, Why do I labor in this arduous task? One for whom the mouths of Fame would be inadequate to proclaim his virtues, and for whom the amazement of men at his praiseworthy attributes is insufficient, To him, then, this tribute of admiration, the just rewards of his achievements, Carlo Dati,10 a Florentine nobleman, offers in reverence and love. The servant of so great a man, the lover of such great virtue.

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ELEGIARUM LIBER PRIMUS

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ELEGIARUM Liber primus.

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Elegia prima ad Carolum Diodatum.2

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Tandem, chare, tuæ mihi pervenere tabellæ, Pertulit & voces nuntia charta tuas, the Dee river near Chester Pertulit occiduâ Devæ° Cestrensis ab orâ Vergivium°prono quâ petit amne salum. the Irish Sea Multùm crede juvat terras aluisse remotas Pectus amans nostri, tamque fidele caput, Quòdque mihi lepidum tellus longinqua sodalem Debet, at unde brevi reddere jussa velit. Me tenet urbs refluâ quam Thamesis alluit undâ, Meque nec invitum patria dulcis habet. the Cam river at Cambridge Jam nec arundiferum mihi cura revisere Camum,° Nec dudum vetiti me laris angit amor. Nuda nec arva placent, umbrasque negantia molles, poets as worshipers of Phoebus Quàm male Phœbicolis° convenit ille locus! Nec duri libet usque minas perferre magistri Cæteraque ingenio non subeunda meo, Si sit hoc exilium patrios adiisse penates, Et vacuum curis otia grata sequi, Non ego vel profugi nomen, sortemve recuso, Lætus & exilii conditione fruor. Ovid, banished to Tomis O utinam vates° nunquam graviora tulisset Ille Tomitano flebilis exul agro; Smyrna, alleged Ionian birthplace of Homer Non tunc Jonio° quicquam cessisset Homero Neve foret victo laus tibi prima Maro.° Virgil 1

The book of elegies is composed of poems in elegiac couplets (alternating lines of hexameter and pentameter). 2 Composed when Milton was in London, having apparently been rusticated from Cambridge in spring 1626 as a result of some altercation with his first tutor, William Chappell. Sent to Charles Diodati, his boyhood friend at St. Paul’s School, who had been in Chester during the Christmas holidays.

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Book One of the Elegies1

Elegy 1 to Charles Diodati2

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At last, my friend, your letters made it through to me; the telling pages carried forth your words, carried clear from the western shore of Dee by Chester where the stream falls headlong to the Irish Sea. Trust me, it pleases me much that distant lands sustained a loving heart and so faithful a mind – that a far land borrowed a charming friend from me, and yet quickly and willingly lends him back when asked. That city keeps me which the tides of Thames lap at. This sweet homeland holds me – not unwillingly. Now I’ve no care to revisit reedy Cam, nor am I pained by a love for a hearth long denied. Stripped fields without gentle shade displease. That place, how poorly it suits followers of Phoebus!° It’s no good to bear out a hard teacher’s endless menace, and other things intolerable to my genius. If exile means to go back to my father’s home to be carefree, pursuing pleasant leisure, then I don’t shun the name or lot of fugitive, and, happy, I enjoy the exile’s state. O that the poet,° exile, miserable, had borne no worse in the fields of Tomis – he’d then have ceded nothing to Ionian Homer;° and to you, defeated Maro,° there’d be no first honors!

poets

Ovid, exiled to Tomis born in Smyrna, Ionia Virgil

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25 Tempora nam licet hîc placidis dare libera Musis,

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Et totum rapiunt me mea vita libri. Excipit hinc fessum sinuosi pompa theatri,3 Et vocat ad plausus garrula scena suos. Seu catus auditur senior, seu prodigus hæres, Seu procus, aut positâ casside miles adest, Sive decennali fœcundus lite patronus Detonat inculto barbara verba foro, Sæpe vafer gnato succurrit servus amanti, Et nasum rigidi fallit ubique Patris; Sæpe novos illic virgo mirata calores Quid sit amor nescit, dum quoque nescit, amat.4 Sive cruentatum furiosa Tragœdia5 sceptrum Quassat, & effusis crinibus ora rotat, Et dolet, & specto, juvat & spectasse dolendo, Interdum & lacrymis dulcis amaror inest: Seu puer infelix indelibata reliquit Gaudia, & abrupto flendus amore cadit, Seu ferus e tenebris iterat Styga criminis ultor Conscia funereo pectora torre movens, Seu mæret Pelopeia domus, seu nobilis Ili,° Aut luit incestos aula Creontis avos.6 Sed neque sub tecto semper nec in urbe latemus, Irrita nec nobis tempora veris eunt. Nos quoque lucus habet vicinâ consitus ulmo Atque suburbani nobilis umbra loci. Sæpius hic blandas spirantia sydera flammas Virgineos videas præteriisse choros. Ah quoties dignæ stupui miracula formæ Quæ possit senium vel reparare Iovis; Ah quoties vidi superantia lumina gemmas, Atque faces quotquot volvit uterque polus;

mythical founder of Troy

3 Both Ovid and Propertius describe the splendor of the Roman theaters. See Ovid, Ars Amatoria 1.89; Propertius 4.1.15. 4 Milton alludes to the standard type characters in the Roman comedies of Plautus and Terence – the old man, the spendthrift heir, the soldier, the lawyer, the clever slave, and the lovers. 5 The personification of Tragedy is probably borrowed from Ovid (Amores 3.1.11–14). 6 Milton is probably alluding to the various cycles of Greek plays: the Oresteia by Aeschylus, which recounts the expiation of sin by Pelops’ descendants, Agamemnon and his children Orestes and Electra; the Oedipus plays of Sophocles, particularly Antigone, which features Creon, and Euripides’ plays, which deal with the aftermath of the expedition to Troy and various episodes in the Theban cycle. Creon’s incestuous relatives are his sister Jocasta and her son Oedipus.

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25 For here one may give free hours to tranquil Muses,

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and books, my life, possess me wholly. Here the winding theater’s parade welcomes the weary;3 the voluble stage calls for its due applause. A shrewd old man or prodigal heir is heard; a suitor or a soldier (dropping his helmet) enters. Or an attorney – whom one suit’s fattened ten years running – booms jabber in a country court. Often a quick slave helps a lover-boy, and tricks a stiff-necked father everywhere under his nose. Often a girl, astounded by new passions, does not know love, but while she does not know, she loves.4 Or there mad Tragedy5 rattles a bloody scepter and whirls her head with its flowing locks – and pains, and I watch, and it pleases to have watched with suffering – as there is sweet bitterness in tears. Sometimes a luckless boy loses joys he has yet to feel, and falls crying, his love cut short. Sometimes from shadows crime’s wild avenger crosses Styx, stirring guilty hearts with a funeral torch. Sometimes Pelops’ house mourns, or Ilus’s° noble house, or Creon’s halls make good for familial incests.6 But I don’t always lie shut indoors or in the city. My springtime’s hours don’t pass uselessly. The wood planted with close-packed elm and the lofty shade of a suburban neighborhood keep me. Here more often you may see stars breathing gentle flames and virgin girls go passing by in groups. How often I’ve been stunned by the wonder of a figure which could repair even the old age of Jove. How often I have seen eyes superior to gems and to all the stars circling both poles;

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Collaque bis vivi Pelopis quæ brachia vincant,7 Quæque fluit puro nectare tincta via,° Et decus eximium frontis, tremulosque capillos, Aurea quæ fallax retia tendit Amor. Pellacesque genas, ad quas hyacinthina sordet Purpura, & ipse tui floris, Adoni, rubor.8 Cedite laudatæ toties Heroides olim,9 Et quæcunque vagum cepit amica Jovem. Cedite Achæmeniæ° turritâ fronte puellæ,10 Et quot Susa colunt, Memnoniamque Ninon.11 Vos etiam Danaæ° fasces submittite Nymphæ, Et vos Iliacæ, Romuleæque nurus.° Nec Pompeianas Tarpëia Musa° columnas Jactet, & Ausoniis° plena theatra stolis.12 Gloria Virginibus debetur prima Britannis, Extera sat tibi sit fœmina posse sequi. Tuque urbs Dardaniis13Londinum structa colonis Turrigerum latè conspicienda caput, Tu nimium felix intra tua mœnia claudis Quicquid formosi pendulus orbis habet. Non tibi tot cælo scintillant astra sereno Endymioneæ14 turba ministra deæ, Quot tibi conspicuæ formáque auróque puellæ Per medias radiant turba videnda vias. Creditur huc geminis venisse invecta columbis Alma pharetrigero milite cincta Venus, Huic Cnidon, & riguas Simoentis flumine valles, Huic Paphon, & roseam posthabitura Cypron.15 7

the Milky Way

Persian Greek girls from Greece, Troy, and Rome Ovid Italian or Roman

Pelops’ ivory shoulder is referred to by Pindar (Olympian 1.23–7) and Ovid (Met. 6.403–11). Allegedly, Tantalus served his son Pelops in a feast to the gods, and since Demeter had eaten part of one shoulder, a substitute in ivory was required when Pelops was restored to life. 8 At his death Venus transformed Adonis into a crimson anemone. Hycinthus, the beloved of Apollo, was also transformed into a flower at his untimely death. 9 An allusion to Ovid’s Heroides, a collection of portraits of famous women of history and literature. 10 Alludes to the towered headdresses that both women in antiquity and seventeenth-century women wore. 11 Susa was a Persian city allegedly founded by Memnon’s father; Ninos (Nineveh) the capital of Assyria, also associated with Memnon. 12 Ovid was called the Tarpeian Muse because his residence was near the Tarpeian Rock in Rome. He described Pompey’s Colonnade and the theaters of Rome as good places to view and to meet Roman girls. See Ars Amatoria 1.67–72, 79–92; 3.387–94. 13 Traditionally, Trojan exiles (led by Brutus) colonized London. 14 Endymion was the beloved of the moon goddess Selene or Cynthia. 15 Cnidos, Paphos, and Cyprus are all places sacred to Venus. The Simois flows by Mount Ida where Venus won the golden apple from Paris.

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and necks which could outdo even twice-lived Pelops’ arms –7 a way° imbued with nectar flowing pure – a rare distinction in a brow, and waving locks, the gold nets that deceitful Love spreads out. Seductive cheeks beside which purple hyacinth and a red flower too – your flower,8 Adonis – dims. Give way, Heroides,9 much praised once, and whichever girl took the roving Jove’s fancy. Give way, Achaemenian° girls with turreted brows,10 or those who dwell in Susa or Memnonian Ninos.11 And you – Danaan nymphs, even Romulan daughters and Trojan girls – lay down your signs of power. Let the Tarpeian muse° not boast of Pompey’s colonnade and the theaters filled with Ausonian° dresses.12 First glory should go to British girls; foreign woman, let it be enough for you to follow. And then you, city of London, built by Dardanian° colonists,13 your turreted crown widely visible, you very happily enclose inside your walls whatever beauty the pendent world contains. The stars that shine on you from a calm sky – the goddess14 of Endymion’s companion crowd – are fewer than the crowd of girls outstanding for their beauty and gold ornament conspicuously shining amid your streets. It’s thought kind Venus came here, traveling with paired doves, escorted by her quiver-bearing guard, preferring here to Cnidos, richly-watered glens of Simois, Paphos and even rosy Cyprus.15

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the Milky Way

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Trojan

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85 Ast ego, dum pueri° sinit indulgentia cæci,

Cupid

Mœnia quàm subitò linquere fausta paro; Et vitare procul malefidæ infamia Circes Atria, divini Molyos usus ope.16 Stat quoque juncosas Cami remeare paludes, 90 Atque iterum raucæ murmur adire Scholæ. Interea fidi parvum cape munus amici, Paucaque in alternos verba coacta modos.17

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Moly was the herb given to Odysseus by Hermes that made him impervious to the drugs used by Circe to transform men into beasts. See Ody. 10.302–6; Mask at Ludlow-Castle, 636–7. 17 Alternating verse refers to the alternation of hexameter and pentameter in the elegiac couplets, here used by Milton.

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Elegia prima ad Carolum Diodatum 85 Yet I prepare, while the indulgence of the blind boy°

permits, to leave my favorite city at once, ready to evade deceiving Circe’s infamous house, using the power of sacred Moly.16 It’s settled, too, that I go back to Cam’s reedy bogs, 90 to visit the babble of raucous School again. So meanwhile take this, poor gift of a loyal friend, and a few words driven in these alternating measures.17

151 Cupid

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Elegia secunda, Anno ætatis 17. In obitum Præconis Academici Cantabrigiensis.1

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Te, qui conspicuus baculo° fulgente solebas Palladium toties ore ciere gregem,2 Ultima præconum præconem te quoque sæva Mors rapit, officio nec favet ipsa suo. Candidiora licet fuerint tibi tempora plumis Sub quibus accipimus delituisse Jovem,3 O dignus tamen Hæmonio juvenescere succo, Dignus in Æsonios vivere posse dies,4 Dignus quem Stygiis medicâ revocaret ab undis Arte Coronides,° sæpe rogante dea.5 Tu si jussus eras acies accire togatas, Et celer a Phœbo° nuntius ire tuo Talis in Iliacâ stabat Cyllenius° aula Alipes, æthereâ missus ab arce Patris.6 Talis & Eurybates7 ante ora furentis Achillei Rettulit Atridæ° jussa severa ducis. Magna sepulchrorum regina,° satelles Averni8 Sæva nimis Musis, Palladi sæva nimis, Quin illos rapias qui pondus inutile terræ, Turba quidem est telis ista petenda tuis. Vestibus hunc igitur pullis Academia luge, Et madeant lachrymis nigra feretra tuis. Fundat & ipsa modos querebunda Elegëia9 tristes, Personet & totis nænia mœsta scholiis.

mace carried by the beadle

Asculapius the Vice-Chancellor Mercury, born on Mount Cyllene

Agamemnon, son of Atreus Death

1 Composed probably in the fall of 1626 to commemorate the death of Robert Ridding, the beadle of Cambridge University. 2 The beadle, or crier, was the marshal of university processions and assembled for the university’s official assemblies the students, here called the flock of Pallas (Minerva), the goddess known for her learning. 3 Plumage like that Jove acquired when, to court Leda, he transformed himself into a swan. Ovid compares his own whitening hair to a swan’s plumage (Tristia 4.8.1). 4 Medea rejuvenated aged Aeson by dipping his severed limbs into a brew made from herbs gathered in the Harmonian valley in Thessaly. See Ovid, Met. 7.251–93. 5 At the request of the goddess Artemis (Diana), the physician Asculapius (the son of Coronis and Apollo) restored Hippolytus to life (Ovid, Fasti 6.743–56). Asculapius was struck dead by Zeus because of his presumption. 6 Zeus sent Hermes (Mercury) to Troy in order to lead Priam to Achilles’ tent, where he requested the return of Hector’s body (Homer, Il. 24.336 – 467). 7 One of the two heralds sent by Agamemnon to take Briseis away from Achilles (Il. 1.320–3). 8 Lake near Naples, the entrance to the underworld. 9 Elegy, here personified, takes the place of the beadle in proclaiming his death.

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Elegy 2, In his seventeenth year. On the Death of the Beadle of Cambridge University1

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Conspicuous with your bright staff,° you, who used mace carried by the beadle 2 to call the Palladian flock so often, that last beadle of beadles, cruel Death, took you too, a beadle, and does not favor her own post. Though your temples were whiter than the feathers which we learn that Jove disguised himself beneath,3 you were worthy to renew youth by an Haemonian drug,4 worthy to live to Aesonian days, and worthy Asculapius that Coronis’ son° call you from Styx’s waves by medical 5 art at a goddess’s insistent requests. – If ordered to summon the gowned ranks, to go, a fast courier from your Phoebus, you were just like Mercury, born on Mount Cyllene Cyllenius° who stood wing-footed in Ilium’s palaces, sent from the ethereal fortress of his father.6 And like Eurybates7 who brought stern orders from the general, Agamemnon Atreus’ son,° before crazed Achilles’ face. Great queen of graves,° the servant of Avernus,8 too cruel Death toward the Muses, and too cruel toward Pallas, you should snatch up that useless load on the earth, that mob who really should be hunted by your weapons. In somber clothes, mourn him, then, Academy. Let the black hearse be wet with your tears. Let lamenting Elegy9 herself pour forth sad measures and mournful dirge sound throughout the schools.

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Elegia tertia, Anno ætatis 17. In obitum Præsulis Wintoniensis.1

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Mœstus eram, & tacitus nullo comitante sedebam, Hærebantque animo tristia plura meo, Protinus en subiit funestæ cladis imago Italian goddess of corpses Fecit in Angliaco quam Libitina° solo; Dum procerum ingressa est splendentes marmore turres Dira sepulchrali mors metuenda face;2 Pulsavitque auro gravidos & jaspide muros, Nec metuit satrapum sternere falce greges. Tunc memini clarique ducis, fratrisque verendi3 Intempestivis ossa cremata rogis. Et memini Heroum quos vidit ad æthera raptos, Flevit & amissos Belgia tota duces.4 At te præcipuè luxi dignissime præsul, Wintoniæque olim gloria magna tuæ; Delicui fletu, & tristi sic ore querebar, Pluto Mors fera Tartareo diva secunda Jovi,° Nonne satis quod sylva tuas persentiat iras, Et quod in herbosos jus tibi detur agros, Quodque afflata tuo marcescant lilia tabo, Et crocus, & pulchræ Cypridi5 sacra rosa, Nec sinis ut semper fluvio contermina quercus Miretur lapsus prætereuntis aquæ? Et tibi succumbit liquido quæ plurima cælo the eagle Evehitur pennis quamlibet augur avis,° Et quæ mille nigris errant animalia sylvis, Neptune’s seals, herded by Proteus Et quod alunt mutum Proteos antra pecus.° Invida, tanta tibi° cum sit concessa potestas; Death Quid juvat humanâ tingere cæde manus? Nobileque in pectus certas acuisse sagittas, Semideamque animam sede fugâsse suâ? 1 2 3 4 5

Composed in fall 1626 to mourn the death of the popular preacher, Lancelot Andrewes, formerly master of Pembroke College, Cambridge, and afterward Bishop of Winchester. Over 35,000 Londoners died of the plague in 1625. Protestant supporters of the Palatine Elector in the Thirty Years War, the heroes are probably Count Ernst von Mansfeld and Duke Christian of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, both of whom died in 1626. Other Protestant leaders who died in Belgia (the Low Countries) include Prince Maurice of Orange, and the Earls of Southampton and Oxford. Venus (called Cypris from her association with Cyprus).

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Elegy 3, In his seventeenth year. On the Death of the Bishop of Winchester.1

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Despondent, silent, without company, I sat, and much sadness lingered in my spirit. Lo, at once an image of fatal disaster rose Italian goddess of corpses (one Libitina° raised on the English soil) when, holding a funeral torch, fearful death stormed the glittering marble forts of our leaders2 and sacked their walls, heavy with gold and jasper, fearing not to level groups of princes with her scythe. I recall that famous leader and his reverend brother, their bones burned in untimely funeral pyres.3 And I recall the heroes whom all Belgia saw taken to heaven, lost leaders it wept for.4 But mainly I grieved you, finest Bishop, once great glory of your house of Winchester. Dissolved in tears, with such sad speech I moaned: “Fierce death, Pluto a goddess second to Tartarean Jove,° is it not enough the very forests deeply feel your anger, that your law rules grassy fields, and that lilies breathed on by your plague wilt – even crocus and the sacred rose of lovely Cypris?5 You do not let the oak beside the stream admire the fall of passing waters Death for ever. Most under clear skies give in to you°, even the vatic bird° borne up on wings, the eagle and some thousand creatures wandering dark woods, Neptune’s seals, herded by Proteus even the mute herd° the caves of Proteus pasture. When such great power, envious one,° is granted you, Death why does it please you to stain your hands with human slaughter? Or to sharpen deadly arrows for a noble heart? Or to chase the half-

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Talia dum lacrymans alto sub pectore volvo, the evening star Roscidus occiduis Hesperus° exit aquis, Et Tartessiaco° submerserat æquore currum the Atlantic Ocean Phœbus ab eöo littore mensus iter. Nec mora, membra cavo posui refovenda cubili, Condiderant oculos noxque soporque meos. Cum mihi visus eram lato spatiarier agro, Heu nequit ingenium visa referre meum. Illic puniceâ radiabant omnia luce, Ut matutino cum juga sole rubent. Iris, goddess of the rainbow Ac veluti cum pandit opes Thaumantia proles,° Vestitu nituit multicolore solum. Non dea tam variis ornavit floribus hortos described by Homer (Ody. 7.112–32) Alcinoi,° Zephyro Chloris6 amata levi. Flumina vernantes lambunt argentea campos, Iberian river famed for its golden sands Ditior Hesperio flavet arena Tago.° Serpit odoriferas per opes levis aura Favoni,° the west wind, Zephyr Aura sub innumeris humida nata rosis. Talis in extremis terræ Gangetidis oris palace of the sun (Ovid, Met. 2.1–5) Luciferi regis fingitur esse domus.° Ipse racemiteris dum densas vitibus umbras Et pellucentes miror ubique locos, Ecce mihi subito præsul Wintonius astat, shining like Moses’ face (Exod. 34.29–35) Sydereum nitido fulsit in ore jubar;° Vestis ad auratos defluxit candida talos, Infula divinum cinxerat alba caput. Dumque senex tali incedit venerandus amictu, Intremuit læto florea terra sono. Agmina gemmatis plaudunt cælestia pennis, Pura triumphali personat æthra tubâ. Quisque novum amplexu comitem cantuque salutat, Hosque aliquis placido misit ab ore sonos; Nate veni, & patrii felix cape gaudia regni, Semper ab hinc duro, nate, labore vaca.7 Dixit, & aligeræ tetigerunt nablia turmæ,8 At mihi cum tenebris aurea pulsa quies. Aurora (Dawn), lover of Cephalus Flebam turbatos Cephaleiâ° pellice somnos, Talia contingant somnia sæpe mihi.9 6 7 8 9

The goddess of flowers, Chloris, became Flora, after being wooed by Zephyr. Echoes God’s commendation of his faithful servants who rest from their labors (Rev. 14.13; Matt. 25.21). For the harp playing in heaven about the faithful, see Rev. 14.2. Milton here paraphrases the last line of the elegy in which Ovid describes his dream of a sexual encounter with his mistress Corinna (Amores 1.5.26).

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divine soul from its place?” As I churned these thoughts the evening star in my heart, weeping, the dewy Hesperus° left the western waters, and in the Tartessian sea° the Atlantic Ocean Phoebus had sunk his chariot, having measured his route from the eastern coast. Without delay, I laid my limbs in my cradling bed to be revived, and night and sleep buried my eyes. When I saw myself walking broad meadows – heu my self cannot say what it saw. There all glowed rose as mountain ridges redden with morning sun. Iris, goddess of the rainbow Just as the child of Thaumantias° extends her riches, so earth fluoresced in multi-coloured dress. Chloris6 dear to quick Zephyr did not dress the gardens described by Homer (Ody. 7.112–32) of Alcinous° so with different flowers. Silver streams wash spring fields, and their sands grow Iberian river famed for its golden sands more golden than Hesperian Tagus.° The light breath of Favonius° glides on this fragrant wealth, a dewy the west wind, Zephyr breeze born under numberless roses. palace of the Sun (Ovid, Met. 2.1–5) Just so the palace of King Lucifer° is thought to be upon the distant shores of Ganges. I marveled at the ample shades with vines bearing clusters, and pristine fields all around when, lo, there stood Bishop Winchester before me; shining like Moses’ face (Exod. 34.29–35) on his face gleamed a starry radiance;° his white clothing descended to his golden ankles; and a white band ringed his holy head. And as this revered old man walked in such clothes, the flowered earth trembled with joyful sound. The celestial ranks clapped their jeweled wings; pure heaven echoed with triumphant horns. Each with embrace and song welcomes his new friend, and one from calm lips sent these sounds: “Come, happy child and receive your father’s kingdom’s joy; be free for ever from hard labor.”7 And so he spoke. Wing-bearing crowds then touched their lyres,8 but my gold rest was banished with the shadows. I began lamenting Aurora (Dawn) for a sleep broken by the lover of Cephalus° – yet may such dreams frequently come to me.9

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Elegia quarta. Anno ætatis 18. Ad Thomam Junium præceptorem suum apud mercatores Anglicos Hamburgæ agentes Pastoris munere fungentem.1

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Curre per immensum subitò mea littera pontum, I, pete Teutonicos læve per æquor agros, Segnes rumpe moras, & nil, precor, obstet eunti, Et festinantis nil remoretur iter.2 Ipse ego Sicanio° frænantem carcere ventos Sicilian Æolon,° & virides sollicitabo Deos; god of winds Cæruleamque suis comitatam Dorida° Nymphis, Nereus’ wife, mother of the Nereids Ut tibi dent placidam per sua regna viam. At tu, si poteris, celeres tibi sume jugales, Vecta quibus Colchis3 fugit ab ore viri. Aut queis Triptolemus Scythicas devenit in oras Gratus Eleusinâ missus ab urbe puer.4 Atque ubi Germanas flavere videbis arenas Ditis ad Hamburgæ mœnia flecte gradum, mythical Saxon hero killed by a giant Dicitur occiso quæ ducere nomen ab Hamâ,° Cimbrica° quem fertur clava dedisse neci. Danish Vivit ibi antiquæ clarus pietatis honore Præsul Christicolas pascere doctus oves; Ille quidem est animæ plusquam pars altera5 nostræ, Dimidio vitæ vivere cogor ego. Hei mihi quot pelagi, quot montes interjecti Me faciunt aliâ parte carere mei! Socrates Charior ille mihi quam tu doctissime Graium° Cliniadi,° pronepos qui Telamonis erat. Alcibiades, youthful friend of Socrates 1

2 3 4 5

Composed probably in the spring of 1627 and sent to Thomas Young in Hamburg. Young (c.1587–1655) tutored Milton at home, supplementing his formal education at St. Paul’s School from 1618 to 1620, when he moved to Hamburg to serve as chaplain to a community of English merchants. Returning to England in 1628, in the 1640s he became a prominent Presbyterian member of the Westminster Assembly. He is the TY of Milton’s anti-prelatical pamphlet, An Apology for Smectymnuus (1642). In imitation of Ovid (Tristia 3. 7.1–2), Milton tells the letter to seek out Young. After killing their children, Medea, here referred to as the Colchian (from the name of her birthplace), fled from Jason in a chariot drawn by dragons. Demeter sent Triptolemus to Scythia in a dragon-drawn chariot. See Ovid, Met. 5.642–50. In the Symposium Aristophanes refers to a friend as one’s other half. See also Horace’s description of Virgil as “half of my soul” (Carmina 1.3.8).

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Elegy 4, In his eighteenth year. To Thomas Young, his tutor, now performing the duties of pastor among the English merchants living in Hamburg.1

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Run now over the massive sea, my letter, go seek German fields across the level ocean,2 cut out the sluggish lag, I ask, let nothing block your going and slacken your journey of its haste. god of winds I will call on the aquamarine gods myself, Aeolus° (who reins in the winds in a Sicanian° jail) Sicilian and sky-blue Doris° (escorted by her nymphs) so they Nereus’ wife, mother of the Nereids afford you peaceful passage through their realms. And you, if able, pick the quickest teams, the ones the Colchian3 drove and fled her husband’s gaze. Or those with which Triptolemus arrived on Scythian Shores – that welcome boy sent from Eleusis.4 And where you see the golden glow of German sands, turn toward the walls of opulent Hamburg, whose name is reported to derive from Hama,° who mythical Saxon hero killed by a giant was killed – or so it goes – with a Cimbrian° cudgel. Danish There lives a pastor famed with the honor of the faith of old, expert to pasture Christian flocks. Truly this man is more than one half of my soul,5 and I am forced to live but half a life. Hei! me, how many seas and mountains stand between and make me do without my other half. Socrates That man more dear to me than you, wisest of Greeks,° were to Telamon’s grandson (Clinias’ son) –° Alcibiades, youthful friend of Socrates

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25 Quámque Stagirites° generoso magnus alumno,°

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Aristotle / Alexander

Quem peperit Libyco Chaonis alma Jovi.6 Qualis Amyntorides, qualis Philyrëius Heros Myrmidonum regi, talis & ille mihi.7 Primus ego Aonios° illo præeunte recessus near Helicon Lustrabam, & bifidi sacra vireta jugi,° Parnassus Pieriosque hausi latices, Clioque° favente, one of the Muses Castalio sparsi læta ter ora mero.8 Flammeus at signum ter viderat arietis Æthon° one of the horses of the Sun (Met. 2.153) Induxitque auro lanea terga novo, goddess of flowers Bisque novo terram sparsisti Chlori° senilem 9 Gramine, bisque tuas abstulit Auster° opes: the south wind Necdum ejus licuit mihi lumina pascere vultu, Aut linguæ dulces aure bibisse sonos. the east wind Vade igitur, cursuque Eurum° præverte sonorum, Quàm sit opus monitis res docet, ipsa vides. Invenies dulci cum conjuge forte sedentem, Mulcentem gremio pignora chara suo, Forsitan aut veterum prælarga volumina patrum10 Versantem, aut veri biblia sacra Dei. Cælestive animas saturantem rore tenellas, Grande salutiferæ religionis opus. Utque solet, multam, sit dicere cura salutem, Dicere quam decuit, si modo adesset, herum. Hæc quoque paulum oculos in humum defixa modestos, Verba verecundo sis memor ore loqui: Hæc tibi, si teneris vacat inter prælia11 Musis Mittit ab Angliaco littore fida manus. 6 Olympias, born in Chaonia, bore Alexander reputedly to Jupiter Ammon (Libyan Jove). 7 Phoenix, son of Amyntor, and the centaur Chiron, son of Philyra, were both tutors to Achilles, here referred to as the king of the Myrmidons. 8 Conflating several mountains and springs sacred to Apollo and the Muses, Milton here thanks Young for leading him to these so-called poetic retreats. The Aonian retreats are those about Mount Helicon, where the Muses appeared to Hesiod. The mountain with the double ridges is Parnassus, which rises above Delphi in Phocis and has at its foot the Castalian spring. The Pierian springs are those at the base of Mount Pierus in Macedonia, where the Muses were born. Clio is the first Muse named by Hesiod in the catalogue of Muses in the Theogony (77–9) and is sometimes designated as the muse of history or of epic poetry. 9 Signs of the arrival of spring are Aethon, the Sun’s horse, entering the sign of the ram (Aries), Chloris (Flora) renewing the grass, and Auster, the south wind, blowing. 10 Milton, in imagining Young with his children, is imitating Ovid’s letter to Perilla, whom he imagines sitting with her mother (Tristia 3.7.3–4). 11 Battles of the Thirty Years War. Hamburg was in danger of assault in 1626 after Tilly defeated Christian IV of Denmark at Brunswick.

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a kind Chaonian° birthed to Lybian Jove6). Just as Amyntor’s son, as Philyra’s hero to the king of the Myrmidons, just so he is to me.7 I journeyed by his lead first on Aonian paths, and the sacred glens of the twin-peaked mountain.° I drank the Pierian springs with Clio’s favor and splashed my joyful lips three times with pure Castalia.8 Three times flaming Aethon° has seen the sign of the ram and lined his wooly back with some new gold; and twice, you, Chloris,° planted old earth with fresh turf; twice now has Auster° carried your riches away;9 but my eyes are yet forbidden to feed on his expression, my ear to drink the sweet sounds of his speech. Go, then, and in your course outrun the loud Eurus° – The facts make plain the need for work, you see. Maybe you will find he sits by his sweet wife, caressing the tokens of their affection in his lap;10 or meditating the great volumes of ancient fathers, or the holy books of the true God; or sustaining tender souls with heavenly dews – the great work of salvific religion. Be sure, as usual, to greet as fully and fitly as your master, were he there. And likewise, with your modest eyes fixed a little on the ground mind that you speak these words with reverent lips: “Should you have time for kind muses amid those battles,11 a faithful hand sends these from English shores.

161 Aristotle / Alexander the Great Olympias

Parnassus

one of the Sun’s horses goddess of flowers the south wind

the east wind

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Accipe sinceram, quamvis sit sera, salutem; Fiat & hoc ipso gratior illa tibi. Sera quidem, sed vera fuit, quam casta recepit Icaris a lento Penelopeia viro.12 Ast ego quid volui manifestum tollere crimen, Ipse quod ex omni parte levare nequit. Arguitur tardus meritò, noxamque fatetur, Et pudet officium deseruisse suum. Tu modò da veniam fasso, veniamque roganti, Crimina diminui, quæ patuere, solent. Non ferus in pavidos rictus diducit hiantes, Vulnifico pronos nec rapit ungue leo. Sæpe sarissiferi crudelia pectora Thracis Supplicis ad mœstas delicuere preces. Extensæque manus avertunt fulminis ictus, Placat & iratos hostia parva Deos. Jamque diu scripsisse tibi fuit impetus illi, Neve moras ultra ducere passus Amor. Nam vaga Fama refert, heu nuntia vera malorum! In tibi finitimis bella tumere locis, Teque tuàmque urbem truculento milite cingi, Et jam Saxonicos arma parasse duces.13 Te circum latè campos populatur Enyo,° Et sata carne virum jam cruor arva rigat. Germanisque suum concessit Thracia Martem, Illuc Odrysios° Mars pater egit equos. Perpetuóque comans jam deflorescit oliva, Fugit & ærisonam Diva° perosa tubam, Fugit io terris, & jam non ultima virgo Creditur ad superas justa volasse domos.14 Te tamen intereà belli circumsonat horror, Vivis & ignoto solus inópsque solo; Et, tibi quam patrii non exhibuere penates Sede peregrinâ quæris egenus opem. Patria dura parens, & saxis sævior albis Spumea quæ pulsat littoris unda tui,

goddess of war

from Mars’ homeland in Thrace goddess of peace, Eirene

12 Only after he had slain the suitors who were wasting his house did Odysseus reveal his identity to Penelope (Ody. 23.1–230). 13 While the Elector of Saxony, George I, did not actively support the war, the sons of the Duke John of Saxe-Weimar were strong partisans. 14 The virgin goddess of Justice, Astraea, was the last of the immortals to leave the earth at the end of the golden age. Cf. Nativity Ode 141–2; “Fair Infant,” 50 –1.

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Receive this earnest greeting, although it is late. May it be for that reason more pleasing to you. Though late, what Penelope (chaste child of Icarius) received of her long-absent man was true.12 And yet why have I wished to hide its blatant crime, one that the criminal can never lessen? He is justly proven late, confesses guilt, and is ashamed to have neglected duty so. Please pardon the confessed – pardon one who asks – since crimes so admitted merit overlooking. Wild beasts do not bare their teeth to those already trembling, lions do not slash the fallen with their deadly claws. The hard hearts of the Thracian pikemen have often melted for the sorrowful prayer of a supplicant. Hands raised in prayer do turn aside the lightning bolt. A small offering mollifies the angry gods. Already for some time the urge to write to you was there, and Love suffered no more delays. For wandering Rumor tells (heu! a true courier of evil!) wars swell along your borderlands, you and your city now are ringed with hostile troops, and Saxon generals have readied arms;13 far and wide Enyo° despoils the plains and slaughter goddess of war soaks fields planted with the flesh of men. The Thracians have given the Germans their Mars, and father from Mars’ homeland in Thrace Mars driven his Odrysian° horses there. The ever-leafy olive withers now, and the goddess,° goddess of peace hating the brassy trumpet, has fled – Io! has fled the earth – and now it is believed the just Astraea virgin° was not the last one flown to heaven.14 Meanwhile war’s horror sounds all around you and you live both alone and helpless in a strange land. The livelihood your home failed to provide you, you seek, impoverished, in a foreign place. Cruel parent, fatherland, more heartless than the white stones that the foaming waves pound on your shore,

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Siccine te decet innocuos exponere f [œ]tus; Siccine in externam ferrea cogis humum, Et sinis ut terris quærant alimenta remotis Quos tibi prospiciens miserat ipse Deus, Et qui læta ferunt de cælo nuntia, quique Quæ via post cineres ducat ad astra, docent?15 Digna° quidem Stygiis quæ vivas clausa tenebris, Æternâque animæ digna perire fame!16 Haud aliter vates° terræ Thesbitidis olim Pressit inassueto devia tesqua pede, Desertasque Arabum salebras, dum regis Achabi Effugit atque tuas, Sidoni° dira, manus.17 Talis & horrisono laceratus membra flagello, Paulus ab Æmathiâ pellitur urbe Cilix.18 Piscosæque ipsum Gergessæ civis° Jësum Finibus ingratus jussit abire suis.19 At tu° sume animos, nec spes cadat anxia curis Nec tua concutiat decolor ossa metus. Sis etenim quamvis fulgentibus obsitus armis, Intententque tibi millia tela necem, At nullis vel inerme latus violabitur armis, Deque tuo cuspis nulla cruore bibet. Namque eris ipse Dei radiante sub ægide20 tutus, Ille tibi custos, & pugil ille tibi; Ille Sionææ qui tot sub mœnibus arcis Assyrios fudit nocte silente viros;21 Inque fugam vertit quos in Samaritidas oras Misit ab antiquis prisca Damascus agris, Terruit & densas pavido cum rege cohortes, Aere dum vacuo buccina clara sonat, Cornea pulvereum dum verberat ungula campum, Currus arenosam dum quatit actus humum,

addressed to England Elijah

Jezebel

city on the Sea of Galilee Young

15 Milton portrays Young as an exile expelled from England for his Puritan faith. 16 Addressed to the ungrateful homeland which has driven out its deserving ministers and thus itself deserves to perish in spiritual darkness. 17 Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, drove Elijah into the desert (1 Kings 19.1–4). 18 Paul, a native of Tarsus in Cicilia, was scourged and expelled from Philippi, the Emathian city in Macedonia (Acts 16.22–3). 19 The citizens of Gergessa ordered Jesus to leave after he expelled devils from a possessed man (Matt. 8.34). 20 The aegis is a protective garment or shield worn by Zeus or Athene. 21 The angel of the Lord destroyed the Assyrians when Sennacherib attacked Jerusalem (2 Kings 19.35–6).

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is it right to endanger your harmless young? Unfeeling, to drive them to a foreign country so, and leave them there to seek means on those distant lands – these whom foresighted God himself had sent you, who carry joyous messages from heaven and teach what way leads from ashes to the stars?15 You° merit life jailed in the Stygian shades, and then addressed to England death by an endless hunger of the soul.16 Likewise the Tishbite prophet° once, though unaccustomed, Elijah traveled on foot through trackless wastelands, rough Arabian deserts, while fleeing King Ahab’s Jezebel grasp17 – and yours, grim Sidonian Queen.° Just so, limbs ripped by the whistling lash, Cilician Paul was driven out of the Emathian city18 And fishy Gergessa’s° ungrateful people ordered that city on the Sea of Galilee Christ himself depart their territories.19 But you,° take heart. Do not let your weak hope sink in worry Young or a bloodless fear rattle your bones. Though you are overswept by flashing arms, and though a thousand missiles point their murder at you, yet still your unprotected sides will pass unharmed by weapons, still no lance will drink your blood. For you yourself will be safe under God’s bright aegis20 He is your bodyguard, he is your fighter. He of Sion who so many times in silent night laid low the Assyrians by the citadel walls,21 who turned in flight toward Samarian coasts the men that old Damascus sent from its ancient fields, who terrified the packed ranks and the trembling king while the clear trumpet blasted empty air, and while the dull hoof beat the dusty plain, and while the driven chariots shook the sandy soil,

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Auditurque hinnitus equorum ad bella ruentûm, Et strepitus ferri, murmuraque alta virûm.22 Et tu (quod superest miseris) sperare memento, Et tua magnanimo pectore vince mala. 125 Nec dubites quandoque frui melioribus annis, Atque iterum patrios posse videre lares.23

22

Ben Hadad, the king of Damascus, and his army abandoned his siege of Samaria when God made them hear the sound of a great host (2 Kings 7.6–7). 23 Milton suggests that, like Odysseus, Young will see an end to his troubles and return home.

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Elegia quarta. Ad Thomam Junium and one could hear whinnying horses storming to war, the clash of iron, and deep bellows of men.22 And you, remember hope, which remains to the unhappy. Defeat misfortunes with greatness of spirit. 125 Do not doubt you will enjoy much better years in time, able to see your homeland once again.”23

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In se perpetuo Tempus revolubile gyro Jam revocat Zephyros vere tepente novos. Induiturque brevem Tellus reparata juventam, Jamque soluta gelu dulce virescit humus. Fallor? an & nobis redeunt in carmina vires, Ingeniumque mihi munere veris adest? Munere veris adest, iterumque vigescit ab illo (Quis putet) atque aliquod jam sibi poscit opus. spring below Parnassus Castalis° ante oculos, bifidumque cacumen oberrat, Et mihi Pyrenen° somnia nocte ferunt. spring near Corinth sacred to the Muses Concitaque arcano fervent mihi pectora motu, Et furor, & sonitus me sacer intùs agit. Apollo Delius° ipse venit, video Penëide lauro2 Implicitos crines, Delius ipse venit. Jam mihi mens liquidi raptatur in ardua cœli, Perque vagas nubes corpore liber eo. Perque umbras, perque antra feror penetralia vatum, Et mihi fana patent interiora Deûm. Intuiturque animus toto quid agatur Olympo, Nec fugiunt oculos Tartara cæca meos. Quid tam grande sonat distento spiritus ore? Quid parit hæc rabies, quid sacer iste furor? Ver mihi, quod dedit ingenium, cantabitur illo; Profuerint isto reddita dona modo. the nightingale Jam Philomela° tuos foliis adoperta novellis Instituis modulos, dum silet omne nemus. Urbe ego, tu sylvâ simul incipiamus utrique, Et simul adventum veris uterque canat. Veris io rediere vices, celebremus honores Veris, & hoc subeat Musa quotannis3 opus.

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Composed probably in the spring of 1629. Phoebus Apollo wears a crown of laurel leaves in memory of Daphne, the daughter of Peneus, whom he pursued and whom her father, in response to her prayer, transformed into a laurel tree to escape Apollo’s pursuit (Ovid, Met. 1.450–559). 3 Salmasius, in Responsio (1660), published posthumously, found a false quantity in quotannis (last syllable short), and Milton altered the word to perennis in 1673. See textual notes.

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Elegy 5, In his twentieth year. On the Coming of Spring.1

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Time that can turn back on itself in an endless loop now calls new Zephyrs back with warming spring. Restored, the earth puts on brief youth, and then the land, its ice dissolved, grows freshly green. Am I tricked, or does strength, too, come back to my songs? My genius present by a gift of spring? By spring’s gift it is here, and from this thrives again and (who would think?) it requests some task. spring below Parnassus The Castalian fountain° and twin peaks swim in sight and dreams bring Pirene° to me nightly. spring near Corinth sacred to the Muses My stirred heart quickens with a secret impulse – mania – a holy noise within compels me. Apollo The Delian° comes himself. I see his curls wreathed 2 in Penean laurel. The Delian comes himself. My mind is whirled off in the clear sky’s heights. Free of my body, I go through wandering clouds. I am borne through shades and caves, the holy sanctums of poets, and inner shrines of gods stand open to me. My spirit envisions what happens in all Olympus – nor does murky Tartarus escape my vision. What great thing does my soul sing with such open voice? What is born of madness and ritual mania? The spring that gave me this genius will be sung of by it. Her gifts returned this way will have done good. the nightingale Philomela,° now covered with new leaves, you plant your measures of song as the whole grove stills, I in town, you in the woods, let us both start at once and each sing of spring’s arrival. Io! Spring’s change returns, so let us celebrate its honors and let the Muse take up this task each year.

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Jam sol Æthiopas fugiens Tithoniaque arva,4 Flectit ad Arctöas aurea lora plagas. Est breve noctis iter, brevis est mora noctis opacæ Horrida cum tenebris exulat illa suis. Jamque Lycaonius5 plaustrum cæleste Boötes Non longâ sequitur fessus ut ante viâ, Nunc etiam solitas circum Jovis atria toto Excubias agitant sydera rara polo. Nam dolus & cædes, & vis cum nocte recessit, the giants attacked the gods (Ovid, Met. 151–3) Neve Giganteum° Dii timuere scelus. Forte aliquis scopuli recubans in vertice pastor, Roscida cum primo sole rubescit humus, Hac, ait, hac certè caruisti nocte puellâ the sun god Apollo Phœbe° tuâ, celeres quæ retineret equos. Læta suas repetit sylvas, pharetramque resumit Diana the moon goddess, Apollo’s sister Cynthia,° Luciferas ut videt alta rotas, Et tenues ponens radios gaudere videtur Officium fieri tam breve fratris ope. Desere, Phœbus ait, thalamos Aurora seniles,6 Quid juvat effœto procubuisse toro? Cephalus, Aurora’s lover Te manet Æolides° viridi venator in herba, Surge, tuos ignes altus Hymettus° habet. mountain where Aurora first saw Cephalus Flava verecundo dea° crimen in ore fatetur, Aurora (Dawn) Et matutinos ocyus urget equos. Exuit invisam Tellus rediviva senectam, Et cupit amplexus Phœbe subire tuos; Et cupit, & digna est, quid enim formosius illâ, Pandit ut omniferos luxuriosa sinus, Atque Arabum spirat messes, & ab ore venusto Venus’ temple was at Paphos Mitia cum Paphiis° fundit amoma rosis.° Ecce coronatur sacro frons ardua luco, Cingit ut Idæam pinea turris Opim;7 Et vario madidos intexit flore capillos, Floribus & visa est posse placere suis. 4

After the vernal equinox the sun rises above the equator, here referred to as the Ethiopian fields or the bed of Tithonus, Dawn’s husband, hence the east. 5 Lycaon was the father of Callisto, a beloved of Jupiter, who was turned into the constellation Ursa Major. The constellation Boötes is called the Bear-watcher and overlooks the wagon of Ursa Major. 6 Tithonus, the husband of Aurora (Dawn), became old and impotent, having been granted immortality without eternal youth. 7 Ops (Cybele), the Great Mother, wore a turreted headdress. She was associated with the Phrygian mountain Ida near Troy, where her lover Attis had been turned into a pine tree (Ovid, Met. 10.103–5).

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Now the sun, escaping Ethiopians and the fields of Tithonus,4 turns golden reins toward northern reaches. Night’s course is short; black night’s a brief delay; horrid with shadows, it’s now in banishment. Now Lycaonian Bootes5 does not trail the celestial wagon tired as before by the length of the journey. Now too around the halls of Jove in this whole sky few stars keep their customary watch. For with the night, deceit, murder, and force have retreated, and gods lost fear of giants’° wickedness. the giants attacked the gods (Ovid, Met. 151–3) Perhaps a shepherd, reclining in his high lookout, as dewy earth turns red with the first sun, cries out: “Surely last night you were without that girl Apollo the sun god of yours who slows down your fast horses, Phoebus!”° Happily Cynthia° returns to her woods and picks up her quiver, Diana, the moon goddess when she sees the light-bearing wheels high up and dropping her slender beams, seems to rejoice her work is made so brief thanks to her brother’s help. “Give up the Old Man’s marriage bed, Aurora,”6 Phoebus cries. “What use to sleep on impotence’s couch?” Cephalus, Aurora’s lover Aeolides° the hunter waits for you on green grass. Get up, the high Hymettus° keeps your fires.” mountain where Aurora first saw Cephalus The golden goddess° shows her guilt by her shamed face, Aurora (Dawn) and urges morning’s horses yet more swiftly. The Earth, renewed, casts off invidious old age and longs for your embraces, Phoebus – longs and deserves, for what is lovelier than she as she bares outsized, all-sustaining breasts, exhales the harvests of Arabia, and from her charming lips Venus’ temple was at Paphos breathes a soft balsam with Paphian° roses. Lo her high brow is crowned with a holy grove, as a tower of pines rings Idaean Ops.7 She braids dewy hair with varieties of flowers and seems even able to charm with flowers –

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Tænario placuit diva Sicana Deo.8 Aspice Phœbe tibi faciles hortantur amores, Mellitasque movent flamina verna preces. Cinnameâ Zephyrus leve plaudit odorifer alâ, Blanditiasque tibi ferre videntur aves. Nec sine dote tuos temeraria quærit amores Terra, nec optatos poscit egena toros, Alma salutiferum medicos9 tibi gramen in usus Præbet, & hinc titulos adjuvat ipsa tuos. Quòd si te pretium, si te fulgentia tangunt Munera, (muneribus sæpe coemptus Amor) Illa tibi ostentat quascunque sub æquore vasto, Et superinjectis montibus abdit opes. Ah quoties cum tu clivoso fessus Olympo In vespertinas præcipitaris aquas, Cur te, inquit, cursu languentem Phœbe diurno Hesperiis recipit Cærula mater aquis? Quid tibi cum Tethy?° Quid cum Tartesside° lymphâ, Dia quid immundo perluis ora salo? Frigora Phœbe meâ melius captabis in umbrâ, Huc ades, ardentes imbue rore comas. Mollior egelidâ veniet tibi somnus in herbâ, Huc ades, & gremio lumina pone meo. Quáque jaces circum mulcebit lene susurrans Aura per humentes corpora fusa rosas. Nec me (crede mihi) terrent Semelëia fata,10 Nec Phäetontéo11 fumidus axis equo; Cum tu Phœbe tuo sapientius uteris igni, Huc ades & gremio lumina pone meo. Sic Tellus lasciva suos suspirat amores; Matris in exemplum cætera turba ruunt. Nunc etenim toto currit vagus orbe Cupido, Languentesque fovet solis ab igne faces.

Oceanus’ wife / Atlantic Ocean

8 Pluto (Hades) is called the Taenarian god because one of the entrances to the underworld was at Taernarum in Laconia. Proserpina is called the Sicilian goddess since she was abducted by Pluto when gathering flowers in Enna in Sicily. 9 Phoebus Apollo, the god of medicine, receives his healing herbs from the earth goddess. 10 Semele was consumed with fire when at her request her lover Jupiter appeared to her in his immortal form (Ovid, Met. 3.288–309). 11 Phoebus’ son Phaethon was struck dead by Jupiter’s thunderbolt when he endangered the earth by driving his father’s fiery sun-chariot near it (Ovid, Met. 2.31–328).

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with blossoms, charmed the Taenarian god.8 Look now, Phoebus, simple loves encourage you, and the spring winds stir sweet wishes. Scent-bearing Zephyr softly beats cinnamon wings and birds seem to carry compliments to you. Not without dowry does Earth boldly seek your love, no needy Earth demands her chosen union, rather a generous Earth provides you health-bringing herbs for medicinal use,9 and so adds her worth to your glory. But if a price gets you, if shiny gifts so take you (often love is bought with gifts), she offers you whatever wealth she hides beneath vast seas and under mountains piled on top. Ah, how often does she ask, when you drop tired from steep Olympus down to evening waters, “Why does our blue Mother take you in Hesperian waters – O Phoebus, exhausted from your daily course? What’s Tethys° to you, or the Tartessian spring,° and why Oceanus’ wife / Atlantic Ocean wash your heavenly face in foul salt water? You will lay hold of cool better in my shade, Phoebus; come here, wash your blazing hair in dew. Softer sleep will come to you in the chill grass; come, lay your sunlight in my lap; and where you lie down, the murmuring winds will softly touch your body spread out over dewy roses. Believe me, Semele’s fate10 does not frighten me, nor the chariot smoking with Phaethon’s horse.11 As you make use of your fire more wisely, Phoebus, come here and lay your sunlight in my lap.” So playful Earth sighs after her loves. The remaining crowd hurries after their mother’s example. For now over the whole globe wandering Cupid runs and fans dying embers with the sun’s fire. His deadly

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Insonuere novis lethalia cornua nervis, Triste micant ferro tela corusca novo. Jamque vel invictam tentat superasse Dianam, Quæque sedet sacro Vesta pudica foco.12 Ipsa senescentem reparat Venus annua formam, Atque iterum tepido creditur orta mari.13 Marmoreas juvenes clamant Hymenæe14 per urbes, god of marriage Litus io Hymen,° & cava saxa sonant. Cultior ille venit tunicâque decentior aptâ, Puniceum redolet vestis odora crocum. Egrediturque frequens ad amoeni gaudia veris Virgineos auro cincta puella sinus. Votum est cuique suum, votum est tamen omnibus unum, Venus Ut sibi quem cupiat, det Cytherea° virum. Nunc quoque septenâ modulatur arundine pastor, traditional name for a shepherdess Et sua quæ jungat carmina Phyllis° habet. Navita nocturno placat sua sydera cantu, Delphinasque15 leves ad vada summa vocat. Jupiter ipse alto cum conjuge ludit Olympo, Convocat & famulos ad sua festa Deos. Nunc etiam Satyri cum sera crepuscula surgunt, Pervolitant celeri florea rura choro, Sylvanusque suâ Cyparissi fronde revinctus,16 Semicaperque Deus, semideusque caper.17 Quæque sub arboribus Dryades° latuere vetustis wood nymphs Per juga, per solos expatiantur agros. epithet for Pan from Mount Mænalus Per sata luxuriat fruticetaque Mænalius° Pan, Vix Cybele° mater, vix sibi tuta Ceres, Ops, mother of Ceres Atque aliquam cupidus prædatur Oreada° Faunus,° mountain nymph / wood god Consulit in trepidos dum sibi Nympha pedes, Jamque latet, latitansque cupit male tecta videri, Et fugit, & fugiens pervelit ipsa capi.

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As virgin goddesses, Diana and Vesta were impervious to Cupid’s darts. Venus was born from the foam of the sea. The chant of the wedding procession in Catullus’ epithalamia (61–2). The god Hymen is traditionally clad in yellow. 15 Dolphins are reportedly attracted by the songs of poets, as the fable of Arion, saved by dolphins, illustrates. Also see Pliny 9.8.24–8. 16 Sylvanus, the god of the forest and companion of satyrs, wears cypress fronds in memory of his beloved Cyparissus, who died of grief when his pet deer was killed. 17 Line imitated from Ovid, Ars Amatoria 2.24; Fasti 4.752.

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bow hums with new string; with new iron tips his flickering arrows dispatch. He strives to overcome even invincible Diana or chaste Vesta12 who sits at the sacred hearth. Venus herself yearly restores her aging beauty, and is believed, to rise anew out of the warm seas.13 Through marble cities youths cry “Hymen”; shore and stone caves echo, “Io Hymen.”14 More elegant Hymen, god of marriage and tasteful in a fitting shirt he° comes, his clothes redolent of a Punic saffron perfume. A girl who has bound her virgin breasts with gold often steps out into the joys of spring. To each and every one the wish is still but one: whom Venus she wants as hers, Cytherea° will grant that man. And now the shepherd plays his seven-reeded pipe; traditional name for a shepherdess to this Phyllis° joins songs that are her own. The sailor pacifies his stars with nightly song and calls agile dolphins15 to the water’s surface. Jupiter in high Olympus entertains his wife, and calls his serving gods to join the feast. Now when the late twilights rise, the satyrs fly in fast groups through the flowery countryside – and Sylvanus16 also, crowned with his own Cypress, a half-goat god and a half-god goat.17 The dryads° which were once hid in the ancient trees wood nymphs wander through the lonely fields and hills. epithet for Pan from Mount Maenalus Maenalian° Pan revels through crops and thickets, mother Cybele° and Ceres barely safe themselves. Ops, mother of Ceres The lustful Faunus° hunts some Oread,° a nymph wood god / mountain nymph advised in restless feet, who hides, but hides so poorly, clearly wishing to be seen, and flees, but even fleeing wishes herself caught.

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Dii quoque non dubitant cælo præponere sylvas, Et sua quisque sibi numina lucus habet. Et sua quisque diu sibi numina lucus habeto, Nec vos arboreâ dii precor ite domo. 135 Te referant miseris te Jupiter aurea terris Sæcla, quid ad nimbos aspera tela° redis? Tu saltem lentè rapidos age Phœbe jugales Quà potes, & sensim tempora veris eant. Brumaque productas tardè ferat hispida noctes, 140 Ingruat & nostro serior umbra polo.

thunderbolts

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Elegia quinta. In adventum veris Likewise the gods do not doubt their preference for the woods instead of heaven; each grove gets its god. Long may each woodland have its god, nor may you gods, I ask, go from your forest homes. May golden 135 ages bring you, Jupiter, back to these humble lands. Why return to your clouds, your harsh weapons?° Phoebus, at least drive your fast teams as slowly as you can, that springtime may leave gradually, that winter may sluggishly bring on lengthened nights, 140 that shadow later fall upon our sky.

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Elegia sexta.1 Ad Carolum Diodatum ruri commorantem. Qui cum idibus Decemb. scripsisset, & sua carmina excusari postulasset si solito minus essent bona, quòd inter lautitias quibus erat ab amicis exceptus, haud satis felicem operam Musis dare se posse affirmabat, hunc habuit responsum.

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Mitto tibi sanam non pleno ventre salutem, Quâ tu distento forte carere potes. At tua quid nostram prolectat Musa camœnam,° Nec sinit optatas posse sequi tenebras? Carmine scire velis quàm te redamémque colámque, Crede mihi vix hoc carmine scire queas. Nam neque noster amor modulis includitur arctis, Nec venit ad claudos integer ipse pedes.2 Quàm bene solennes epulas, hilaremque Decembrim Festaque cœlifugam quæ coluere Deum,° Deliciasque refers, hyberni gaudia ruris, Haustaque per lepidos Gallica musta focos. Quid quereris refugam vino dapibusque poesin? Carmen amat Bacchum, Carmina Bacchus amat. Nec puduit Phœbum virides gestasse corymbos, Atque hederam lauro præposuisse suæ. Sæpius Aoniis clamavit collibus Euœ° Mista Thyonêo3 turba° novena choro. Naso Corallæis° mala carmina misit ab agris: Non illic epulæ non sata vitis erat. Quid nisi vina, rosasque racemiferumque Lyæum° Cantavit brevibus Tëia Musa° modis?

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Latin equivalent of the Greek Muse

Christ

cry of Bacchus’ followers the Muses Tomis, where Ovid was exiled Bacchus Anacreon of Teos

Composed in 1629–30 in reply to a letter sent by Charles Diodati to Milton. Elegiac verse (alternating hexameter and pentameter lines) is referred to as a limping meter because the second line of the couplet is one foot shorter than the first line. See Ovid, Tristia 3.I.11–12: Amores 3.I.8–10. 3 Name for Bacchus’ throng, taken from Thyone, the name of Bacchus’ mother Semele, after she had been translated to Olympus.

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Elegy 6.1 To Charles Diodati, staying in the country. Who when he wrote on the Ides of December [13 Dec.] asked to be excused if his verses were less good than usual, because he was caught up with the sumptuous receptions by friends and affirmed he was not at all able to devote a happy cultivation to the Muses. He had this response.

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On an empty stomach, I send you a wish for good health that you, with a distended gut, may well lack. But why does your Muse lure my Poetry, forbidding that she hold to her beloved retreats? You want to know in song how much I love and honor you – believe me, you may hardly know it by a song! My love’s not bound by such forced formal measures, being too whole to walk in lame footsteps.2 How well you describe the customary revels, cheerful Christ December, the feasts which have honored God° come down from heaven, the comforts and the joys of country winter and French wines drunk by pleasant firesides. But why complain that poems avoid the wine and parties? Song loves Bacchus; Bacchus loves songs. It was no shame for Phoebus to dress in green ivy and to prefer the ivy to his laurel. Muses Often the crowd of nine,° joining a Thyonian3 chorus, cried Euoi!° on Aonian hills. cry of Bacchus’ followers Naso sent bad poems from the Corallian fields –° Tomis, where Ovid was exiled no banquets there, the vine had not been planted. Anacreon of Teos The Teian muse° sang of what, in his short verse, except roses, wine, and cluster-bearing Lyaeus?° Bacchus

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Pindaricosque inflat numeros Teumesius Euan,° Bacchus (from the cry of his followers) Et redolet sumptum pagina quæque merum. Dum gravis everso currus crepat axe supinus, Et volat Eléo pulvere fuscus eques.4 Quadrimoque madens Lyricen Romanus° Jaccho Horace Dulce canit Glyceran, flavicomamque Chloen,5 Jam quoque lauta tibi generoso mensa paratu, Mentis alit vires, ingeniumque fovet. famous wine from southern Italy Massica° fœcundam despumant pocula venam, Fundis & ex ipso condita metra cado. Addimus his artes, fusumque per intima Phœbum Corda, favent uni Bacchus, Apollo, Ceres. Scilicet haud mirum tam dulcia carmina per te Numine composito tres peperisse Deos. Orpheus’ lyre Nunc quoque Thressa° tibi cælato barbitos auro Insonat argutâ molliter icta manu; the lyre Auditurque chelys° suspensa tapetia circum, Virgineos tremulâ quæ regat arte pedes. Illa tuas saltem teneant spectacula Musas, Et revocent, quantum crapula pellit iners. Crede mihi dum psallit ebur, comitataque plectrum Implet odoratos festa chorea tholos, Percipies tacitum per pectora serpere Phœbum Quale repentinus permeat ossa calor, Perque puellares oculos digitumque sonantem Muse of comedy Irruet in totos lapsa Thalia° sinus. Namque Elegía6 levis multorum cura deorum est, Et vocat ad numeros quemlibet illa suos; Bacchus / Muse of love poetry Liber° adest elegis, Eratoque°, Ceresque, Venusque.7 Et cum purpureâ matre° tenellus Amor.° Venus / Cupid Talibus inde licent convivia larga poetis, Sæpius & veteri commaduisse mero.

4

Elis was the site of the Olympic games, for which Pindar composed one set of his victory odes, notably Olympian 1 for Hieron’s chariot victory. Pindar was born in Thebes in Boeotia, hence appropriately inspired by Teumesian Bacchus. Teumesus is a mountain in Boeotia; Euan the cry of Bacchus’ followers. 5 Names of Horace’s mistresses (Odes 1.19, 23; 3.9). 6 Elegy is here personified as in Ovid, Amores 3.1.7–10. 7 Milton names the deities (Bacchus, the muse Erato, Ceres, Venus) who preside over elegiac verse, comedy, and love lyric, the patrons for Roman poets such as Ovid and Horace.

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Teumanian Euan° breathes in Pindaric tunes and every Boeotian Bacchus page reeks of the unmixed wine imbibed – As the weighty car bangs over on ruined axle, dark with Elean dust, the horseman flies.4 Drunk on the four-year vintage, the Roman lyre player° Horace sings sweetly of Glycera and blonde Chloe5 And so now a splendid table generously spread feeds your mind’s powers, encourages your genius. wine from southern Italy The Massic° cups drop foam off a vital source, and you channel measures preserved inside the very cask. To these we add skills, Phoebus streamed through deep hearts – the one thing favored by Bacchus, Apollo, and Ceres. No wonder that, with their consent combined, the three gods gave birth to such sweet songs through you. Orpheus’ lyre Now the gold-chased Thracian lyre° also plays for you softly strummed by an able hand. Around the lyre suspended tapestries the tortoise shell° is heard to guide the virgins’ steps with vibrant art. May that display attract your Muses and recall whatever lazy drunkenness drives off. Believe me, as the ivory pick strums, and, in time to the beat, the party fills up the perfumed rooms, you’ll feel the silent Phoebus slip into their hearts as if some sudden fire coursed into their bones. Muse of comedy Through girlish looks and playing hands, Thalia will quickly rush in every breast. For Elegy6 the light is loved by many gods and calls into Bacchus her meters whom she pleases. Liber° attends the Elegy – Erato,° Ceres, Venus, too –7 Muse of love poetry beside his rosy mother,° slender Love.° Venus / Cupid Such poets are allowed enormous banquets, then, and frequently to get drunk on vintage wine.

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Heroasque pios, semideosque duces, Et nunc sancta canit superum consulta deorum, Nunc latrata fero regna profunda cane,° Ille quidem parcè Samii pro more magistri8 Vivat, & innocuos præbèat herba cibos; Stet prope fagineo pellucida lympha catillo, Sobriaque è puro pocula fonte bibat. Additur huic scelerisque vacans, & casta juventus, Et rigidi mores, & sine labe manus. Qualis veste nitens sacrâ, & lustralibus undis Surgis ad infensos augur iture Deos. Hoc ritu vixisse ferunt post rapta sagacem Lumina Tiresian, Ogygiumque Linon, Et lare devoto profugum Calchanta,9 senemque Orpheon10 edomitis sola per antra feris; Sic dapis exiguus, sic rivi potor Homerus11 Dulichium vexit per freta longa virum,° Et per monstrificam Perseiæ Phœbados° aulam, Et vada fœmineis insidiosa sonis,° Perque tuas rex° ime domos, ubi sanguine nigro Dicitur umbrarum detinuisse greges.12 Diis etenim sacer est vates, divûmque sacerdos, Spirat & occultum pectus, & ora Jovem. At tu si quid agam, scitabere (si modò saltem Esse putas tanti noscere siquid agam) Paciferum canimus cælesti semine regem,° Faustaque sacratis sæcula pacta libris, Vagitumque Dei, & stabulantem paupere tecto Qui suprema suo cum patre regna colit.

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Cerberus, guardian of the underworld

Odysseus, king of Dulichium Circe, daughter of the Sun and Perseis songs of the Sirens Pluto

Christ

The Samian teacher is Pythagoras, who was a vegetarian and abstained from wine. Tiresias was the Theban prophet blinded by Juno, but granted prophetic powers by Jupiter. Linus was a Theban (Ogygian) bard who taught Orpheus. In Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde Calchas was a Trojan prophet who defected to the Greeks at Troy. In the Iliad Calchas was the seer who came to Troy with the Greeks. 10 In some accounts Orpheus became a solitary hermit after failing to rescue Eurydice from the underworld. See Ovid, Met. 10.78–82. 11 According to the pseudo-Herodotean Life, Homer wandered from land to land, living sparely from alms. In Boccaccio’s De Geneologiae Deorum (14.19) Homer is described as a poet who lived an ascetic life. 12 Odysseus slaughters animals to offer libations of blood to the gods of the underworld (Ody. 11.34– 6).

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of wars, of pious heroes, godlike leaders, and at one time sings of the gods’ sacred plans, and at another infernal kingdoms with their wild howling dog,° Cerberus, guardian of the underworld he should live frugally, in the way of the teacher from Samos,8 and let herbs supply his harmless food. Let clear water stand nearby in a beechwood bowl; let him drink sober cups from a pure spring. And add to this a youth spent chaste and free of crimes – unbending morals, a hand undefiled. Like you, augur, glittering in holy clothes with purifying Waters, as you rise to face the angry gods. They say Tiresias the sage lived by this practice once his eyes were taken, Ogygian Linus as well, Calchas that fled his doomed home,9 and old Orpheus in lonely caves with the beasts he tamed.10 Sparing of feasts, drinking at rivers, Homer11 steered Odysseus, king of Dulichium the Dulichean hero° through vast oceans, the monster-making court of Phoebus’ daughter° by Circe, daughter of the Sun and Perseis Perseis, shoals treacherous with women’s voices,° songs of the Sirens and then your palaces, infernal king,° where he is said Pluto to have detained hordes of shades with black blood.12 For to the gods the poet’s holy, the gods’ own priest. His secret heart and mouth both breathe out Jove. But you will ask if I do something (at least if you think it Important to know if I am doing anything): Christ I sing of the peace-bringing king of heaven’s seed,° the lucky ages promised in sacred books, and the infant cries of God, stabled in a poor house, who inhabits the heavenly kingdoms with his father – the new

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85 Stelliparumque polum, modulantesque æthere turmas,

Et subitò elisos ad sua fana Deos. Dona quidem dedimus Christi natalibus illa, Illa sub auroram lux mihi prima tulit.13 Te quoque pressa manent patriis meditata cicutis, 90 Tu mihi, cui recitem, judicis instar eris.14

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Elegia sexta. Ad Carolum Diodatum 85 star born in heaven, the throng singing in the air,

the gods that instant shattered in their shrines. Indeed we gave these presents for Christ’s birth, these ones dawn’s first light carried to me.13 For you some studies readied on native reeds await as well. 90 When I recite, you will act as judge for me.14

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Nondum blanda tuas leges Amathusia° norâm, Venus (so named after her shrine in Amathus) Et Paphio° vacuum pectus ab igne fuit. Venus’ temple at Paphos in Cyprus Sæpe cupidineas, puerilia tela, sagittas, Atque tuum sprevi maxime, numen, Amor.2 Tu puer imbelles dixi transfige columbas, Conveniunt tenero mollia bella duci. Aut de passeribus tumidos age, parve, triumphos, Hæc sunt militiæ digna trophæa tuæ. In genus humanum quid inania dirigis arma? Non valet in fortes ista pharetra viros. Cupid, son of Cypris (Venus) Non tulit hoc Cyprius,° (neque enim Deus ullus ad iras Promptior) & duplici jam ferus igne calet. Ver erat, & summæ radians per culmina villæ Attulerat primam lux tibi Maie diem: At mihi adhuc refugam quærebant lumina noctem Nec matutinum sustinuere jubar. Astat Amor lecto, pictis Amor impiger alis, Prodidit astantem mota pharetra Deum: Prodidit & facies, & dulce minantis ocelli, Et quicquid puero, dignum & Amore fuit. the Trojan youth Ganymede Talis in æterno juvenis Sigeius° Olympo Miscet amatori pocula plena Jovi; Aut qui formosas pellexit ad oscula nymphas3 Thiodamantæus Naiade raptus Hylas;° Hercules’ friend Addideratque iras, sed & has decuisse putares, Addideratque truces, nec sine felle minas. Et miser exemplo sapuisses tutiùs, inquit, Nunc mea quid possit dextera testis eris. Inter & expertos vires numerabere nostras, Et faciam vero per tua damna fidem. Ipse ego si nescis strato Pythone superbum Edomui Phœbum, cessit & ille mihi;4 1

Composed probably in the spring of 1628 when Milton was nineteen, thus before the elegies numbered 5 and 6. 2 Typically, the poet scorns the power of Love’s (Cupid’s) arrows before he is struck by one. See Ovid, Amores 1.13–26. In Herrick’s The Cheat of Cupid Cupid laughs after he strikes the lover with his arrow (29–36). 3 Hercules’ friend, Hylas, son of Theodamus, was accidentally drowned by water nymphs who had become captivated by his beauty. See Propertius 1.20.6. 4 Phoebus Apollo boasted after he killed the serpent Pytho that he was a better archer than Cupid, who then struck him with an arrow, inspiring the unrequited love for Daphne, Peneus’ daughter (Ovid, Met. 1.452–74).

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Elegy 7, In his nineteenth year.1

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Alluring Amathusia,° I did not yet know Venus (so named after her shrine in Amathus) your rules; my heart was free of Paphian° fire. Venus’ temple at Paphos in Cyprus I often despised these Cupidean arrows as childish Weapons – greatly disdained your power, Love.2 “Boy, put some bolts through peaceful doves,” I said. “Light combat suits so slight a general. Act out your trumped-up victories over sparrows, Tiny, These are worthy spoils of your campaign. Why point your useless weapons at humankind? This quiver of yours is valueless against brave men.” Cupid, son of Cypris (Venus) Cyprius° did not take this – no god is quicker to anger. He heats right up, wild with a doubled fire. It was spring. Shining over the highest villa roof, light had brought a first day to you, May. But my eyes still looked for the fleeing night And could not bear the morning radiance. Love stood by the bed, busy on painted wings – his quiver’s swaying revealed the god standing there. His face and sweetly threatening eyes gave him away and all the traits that match a boy and Love. the Trojan youth Ganymede Such is the great Sigeian youth° who mixes full cups for Jove, his lover in eternal Olympus; or Hylas (Theodamas’ son stolen by a Naiad) who once enticed the gorgeous nymphs to kiss.3 He vented fury, too, (you would think it flattered him) and grim threats not without their bile. He said: “Wretch – safer to have learned by example. Now you will be witness to what my right hand can do, counted among those who have felt my powers. Truly I will gain my credit through your suffering. In case you do not know, after the Python had been killed, I tamed proud Phoebus – he, too, gave in to me4

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ELEGIARUM Liber primus

Et quoties meminit Peneidos,° ipse fatetur Daphne Certiùs & graviùs tela nocere mea. Me nequit adductum curvare peritiùs arcum, Qui post terga solet vincere Parthus eques. Cretan archer Cydoniusque° mihi cedit venator,5 & ille Inscius uxori qui necis author6 erat. Est etiam nobis ingens quoque victus Orion,7 Herculeæque manus, Herculeusque comes.8 Jupiter ipse licet sua fulmina torqueat in me, Hærebunt lateri spicula nostra Jovis. Cætera quæ dubitas meliùs mea tela docebunt, Et tua non leviter corda petenda mihi. Nec te stulte tuae poterunt defendere Musae, Nec tibi Phœbæus porriget anguis9 opem. Dixit, & aurato quatiens mucrone sagittam,10 Evolat in tepidos Cypridos° ille sinus. Venus (from her association with Cyprus) At mihi risuro tonuit ferus ore minaci, Et mihi de puero non metus ullus erat. Et modò quà nostri spatiantur in urbe Quirites Et modò villarum proxima rura placent. Turba frequens, faciéque simillima turba dearum Splendida per medias itque reditque vias. Auctaque luce dies gemino fulgore coruscat, Fallor? an & radios hinc quoque Phœbus habet. Hæc ego non fugi spectacula grata severus, Impetus & quò me fert juvenilis, agor. Lumina luminibus malè providus obvia misi, Neve oculos potui continuisse meos. Unam forte aliis supereminuisse notabam, Principium nostri lux erat illa mali. Sic Venus optaret mortalibus ipsa videri, Juno Sic regina Deûm° conspicienda fuit. Hanc memor objecit nobis malus ille Cupido, Solus & hos nobis texuit antè dolos. 5 Parthians on horseback shot arrows from behind. Cretan archers were famous for their skill. 6 The archer Cephalus accidentally shot his wife Procris (Ovid, Met. 7.835–62). 7 The hunter Orion was punished for his pursuit of the Pleiades by being turned into a constellation. 8 Hercules was famous for his many love affairs. His companion might be Hylas (noted above), Iolaus, Theseus, or Jason, the leader of the Argonauts. 9 Aesculapius, son of Phoebus Apollo, went to Rome in the form of a serpent and dispelled a plague (Ovid, Met. 15.626–744). The serpent is also an emblem for Apollo as healer. 10 Cupid’s golden-tipped arrows inspire love (Ovid, Met. 1.468 –71).

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Whenever he recalls Peneus’ daughter,° he admits my arrows’ harm more serious and sure. The Parthian horseman, used to shooting behind his back, cannot draw the bow taut with more skill than I. The Cydonian hunter° yields to me,5 and he who was the unwitting author of his own wife’s death.6 I conquered not just huge Orion,7 but the mighty Hercules, and Hercules’ friend.8 Though Jove himself should turn his lightning on me, my darts would still stick in his side. For other things you doubt, my arrows will teach you better, and I must hunt your heart down in no casual way. Your muses cannot defend you, stupid, and the serpent of Phoebus9 will not provide you aid.” He spoke, shaking a gold-tipped arrow,10 then he flew off to Cypris’° warm bosom. I was almost laughing as this wild beast with threatening looks thundered at me, and I had no fear of the boy. Sometimes I enjoyed parts of town where citizens walk, other times country farms nearby. A large and splendid crowd comes and goes on these walks, a crowd with looks the like of goddesses. Day shines in doubled glory with their added light. Am I wrong or does Phoebus get his beams from there as well? I am not so uptight that I ran from this pleasant scene – where youthful impulse led, I was drawn. Incautiously I met their glance with mine and was unable to withhold my gaze. By chance I took note of one that stood out from the others – a brightness that was the start of my trouble. Venus herself would choose to look this way to mortals. And so the queen of the gods° must have looked. Bad grudging Cupid cast her in my way. He alone beforehand wove these snares for me. Nearby

189 Daphne

Cretan archer

Venus

Juno

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ELEGIARUM Liber primus

Nec procul ipse vafer latuit, multæque sagittæ, Et facis a tergo grande pependit onus. Nec mora, nunc ciliis hæsit, nunc virginis ori, Insilit hinc labiis, insidet inde genis: Et quascunque agilis partes jaculator oberrat, Hei mihi, mille locis pectus inerme ferit. Protinus insoliti subierunt corda furores, Uror amans intùs, flammaque totus eram. Interea misero quæ jam mihi sola placebat, Ablata est oculis non reditura meis. Ast ego progredior tacitè querebundus, & excors, Et dubius volui sæpe referre pedem. Findor, & hæc remanet, sequitur pars altera votum, Raptaque tàm subitò gaudia flere juvat. Sic dolet amissum proles Junonia cœlum, Inter Lemniacos præcipitata focos.11 Talis & abreptum solem respexit, ad Orcum° Vectus ab attonitis Amphiaraus12 equis. Quid faciam infelix, & luctu victus, amores Nec licet inceptos ponere, neve sequi. O utinam spectare semel mihi detur amatos Vultus, & coràm tristia verba loqui; Forsitan & duro non est adamante creata, Forte nec ad nostras surdeat13 illa preces. Crede mihi nullus sic infeliciter arsit, Ponar in exemplo primus & unus ego. Parce precor teneri cum sis Deus ales amoris, Pugnent officio nec tua facta tuo. Jam tuus O certè est mihi formidabilis arcus, Nate deâ, jaculis nec minus igne potens: Et tua fumabunt nostris altaria donis, Solus & in superis tu mihi summus eris. Deme meos tandem, verùm nec deme furores, Nescio cur, miser est suaviter omnis amans: Tu modo da facilis, posthæc mea siqua futura est, Cuspis amaturos figat ut una duos. 11

the underworld

For accounts of Jupiter hurling Juno’s son Vulcan (Hephaestus) from Olympus, see Homer, Il. 1.590–4; PL 1.739–47. 12 As he was about to be swallowed alive, the seer Amphiaraus gave a last glance at earth. Jupiter, wishing to save him from defeat in the disastrous expedition of the Seven Against Thebes, had opened the earth with a thunderbolt. See Pindar, Olympian 6.13–14; Statius, Thebaid 7.820–3. 13 A neo-Latin coinage from the Latin adjective surdus (deaf ).

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the crafty one himself hid out and hung great stores of arrows and torches at his back. Now he clung to the girl’s eyelashes or mouth, and now leapt to her lips, and now perched upon her cheek Whichever parts the agile marksman strayed, hei me, he hit my defenceless heart in a thousand places. In moments, new passions overcame my heart. I burned with love inside – one total flame. Meanwhile the one who pleased me in my misery was taken from my sight, not to return. But I go on, complaining mutely, mad – unsure, I have often wanted to retrace my steps I’m torn. Half stays, the rest hunts its desire. For joys so quickly stolen, it is helpful to weep. So Juno’s son grieved after losing heaven, fallen among the homes of Lemnos.11 Amphiaraus whose frightened horses dragged him down to Orcus,° looked just this way back at the vanished sun.12 Luckless, what will I do? I am wrecked by grief, the love begun I am not allowed to drop or pursue. If only I could gaze on her beloved features once, and in person speak the sorry words – maybe she is not made of hardened steel, and with some luck may not turn deaf before my prayers. Believe me, no one has been more disastrously inflamed. Let me be made the first and sole example. Please spare me – since you are the winged god of tender Love – do not let your actions undermine your job. O, without doubt, your bow is fearful to me now, Goddess-born, no less empowered with fire than arrows! Your altars will smoke with my sacrifices. You will be my lone top figure among higher powers. Take passions from me – or don’t. since for some reason every lover is happily miserable. Willingly grant, if any girl be mine, your arrow may run through us two would-be loves as one.

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the underworld

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[Retraction]1 Hæc ego mente olim lævâ, studioque supino Nequitiæ posui vana trophæa meæ.2 Scilicet abreptum sic me malus impulit error, Indocilisque ætas prava magistra fuit. 5 Donec Socraticos umbrosa Academia° rivos Præbuit, admissum dedocuitque jugum. Protinus extinctis ex illo tempore flammis, Cincta rigent multo pectora nostra gelu. Unde suis frigus metuit puer° ipse Sagittis, Et Diomedéam vim timet ipsa Venus.3

Plato’s academy

Cupid

1 Date of composition unknown, these verses were added in 1645 after Elegia septima. They probably refer to Elegia septima alone rather than to the Book of Elegies as a collection. However, apologies for supposed youthful trifles or secular poems were common. 2 Nequitiae is possibly an echo of Ovid’s disclaimer of his verses as trifles (Amores 2.2). 3 Venus was disconcerted when Diomedes wounded her as she came to the aid of her son Aeneas. See Il. 5.334–51.

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Hæc ego mente [Retraction]

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[Retraction]1 At that time with capricious thoughts and idle learning I set up these vain trophies of my folly.2 Thus harmful error clearly drove me off course; a naïve age was my perverse mistress 5 until the shady Academy° provided me Socratic streams, and taught me to cast off the yoke I had taken on. From then on, flames extinguished, my heart is frozen, packed in so much ice. so the boy,° arrows and all, took fright at the cold, and Venus herself fears a Diomedean power.3

Plato’s academy

Cupid

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In proditionem Bombardicam.1 Cum simul in regem° nuper satrapasque Britannos Ausus es infandum perfide Fauxe° nefas, Fallor? an & mitis voluisti ex parte videri, Et pensare malâ cum pietate scelus; 5 Scilicet hos alti missurus ad atria cæli, Sulphureo curru flammivolisque rotis. Qualiter ille feris caput2 inviolabile Parcis° Liquit Jördanios turbine raptus agros.

James I Guy Fawkes, the leader of the plot

the Fates

On the Gunpowder Plot.1 When lately, traitor Fawkes,° you dared unspeakable sin against both the King° and British nobles – did you – or am I mistaken? – wish to appear forgiving, to balance out your crime with twisted honor? 5 You almost sent them off to heaven’s halls on a sulfur chariot with wheels of spinning fire. Just so that leader2 untouchable to the wild Parcae° left Jordan’s fields, lifted by a whirlwind.

1

the leader of the plot James I

the Fates

This and the following four epigrams were probably composed in 1625, possibly for the fifth of November celebrations after the death of James earlier that year. The Gunpowder Plot was devised by Guy Fawkes and a group of discontented Catholics, who stored gunpowder under the House of Lords to be exploded when James I opened Parliament on November 5, 1605. The plot was discovered and the danger averted, to general public rejoicing and annual commemoration of the event. 2 That leader is Elijah, who was swept up in a fiery chariot and taken alive to heaven (2 Kings 2.11).

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In eandem. Siccine tentasti cælo donâsse Jäcobum Quæ septemgemino Bellua monte lates?1 Ni meliora tuum poterit dare munera numen, Parce precor donis insidiosa tuis. 5 Ille° quidem sine te consortia serus adivit Astra,2 nec inferni pulveris usus ope. Sic potiùs fœdos in cælum pelle cucullos,° Et quot habet brutos Roma profana Deos,3 Namque hac aut aliâ nisi quemque adjuveris arte, 10 Crede mihi cæli vix bene scandet iter.

James I hoods worn by monks

On the same. Did you try to present James with heaven this way, you monster hiding in the seven hills?1 Unless your godhead can give better gifts, I pray, insidious one, spare us these donations. 5 Indeed, late in life he° has gone among his partner stars2 without you or the use of hellish powder. Better blast your dirty cowls° to heaven – and however many idols3 unholy Rome contains – because, unless you save each by this trick or another, believe me, he’ll hardly make the trip to heaven. 10

1

James I hoods worn by monks

The monster on the seven hills is the pope, whom Protestants often identified with the seven-headed beast of Rev. 13.1. 2 James I died on March 27, 1625. 3 Gods (Deos) signify the statues at altars before which Catholics prayed.

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In eandem. Purgatorem animæ derisit Jäcobus ignem,1 Et sine quo superûm non adeunda domus. Frenduit hoc trinâ monstrum° Latiale° coronâ Movit & horrificùm cornua dena minax.2 5 Et nec inultus ait temnes mea sacra Britanne, Supplicium spretâ relligione dabis. Et si stelligeras unquam penetraveris arces, Non nisi per flammas triste patebit iter. O quàm funesto cecinisti proxima vero, 10 Verbaque ponderibus vix caritura suis! Nam prope Tartareo3 sublime rotatus ab igni° Ibat ad æthereas umbra perusta plagas.

the pope / Latium (Italy)

gunpowder

On the same. James mocked the soul’s fire of purgation,1without which supposedly entry is barred to our home above. At this Latium’s° triple-crowned beast° ground his teeth and stirred his ten horns in horrific threat.2 5 He said, “You will not snub my rites unpunished, Briton; You will pay the penalty for scorning religion. And if you ever manage to reach the starry citadels, the sad way will not be open but through fires.” O, how near fatal truth was your prophecy, the words falling just short of the sense they carried! 10 For he nearly went to ethereal realms whirled aloft by Tartarean3 fire,° a burnt-up ghost.

1

Italy’s / the pope

gunpowder

James I had criticized the idea of Purgatory in the second edition of his tract Promonitium prefaced to the Apology for the Oath of Allegiance (1609). 2 The pope wore a triple crown. He is here identified with the beast with seven heads and ten horns in Rev. 13.1 and the beast with ten horns in Dan. 7.7. 3 Gunpowder was often identified as a Hellish invention.

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In eandem. Quem° modò Roma suis devoverat impia diris, Et Styge damnarât Tænarioque° sinu,1 Hunc vice mutatâ jam tollere gestit ad astra, Et cupit ad superos evehere usque Deos.

James I Hellish

On the same. Whom° godless Rome had just cursed in cruel terms and sentenced to Styx and the Taenarian° gulf,1 it now (position changed) desires to raise up to the stars – and wants him carried even to the gods above.

1

James I Hellish

James I had not been excommunicated by the papacy, as Elizabeth had, but as a Protestant he would have been condemned to Hell. Taenarian comes from the alleged entrance to the underworld at Taenarum.

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In inventorem Bombardæ. Japetionidem° laudavit cæca vetustas, Qui tulit ætheream solis ab axe facem;1 At mihi major erit, qui lurida creditur arma, Et trifidum fulmen surripuisse Jovi.2

Prometheus

On the Inventor of Gunpowder. Blind antiquity praised the son of Iapetus,° who brought the ethereal sun’s torch from the sky.1 To me though, he will be even greater who is thought to have thieved the cloudy arms and three-pronged bolt from Jove.2

1

Prometheus

Prometheus stole fire (the sun’s torch) from the gods in order to confer it as a benefit to human beings (Hesiod, Theog. 562–9). 2 The flash of gunpowder from a cannon was frequently compared to Jupiter’s weapon, the lightning bolt. See PL 6.490–1.

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Ad Leonoram Romæ cantentem.1 Angelus unicuique suus (sic credite gentes) Obtigit æthereis ales ab ordinibus. Quid mirum? Leonora tibi si gloria major, Nam tua præsentem vox sonat ipsa Deum. 5 Aut Deus, aut vacui certè mens tertia cœli2 Per tua secretò guttura serpit agens; Serpit agens, facilisque docet mortalia corda Sensim immortali assuescere posse sono. Quòd si cuncta quidem Deus est, per cunctaque fusus, 10 In te unâ loquitur, cætera mutus habet.

To Leonora Singing in Rome.1 A winged angel from heaven’s ranks itself is made guard to each of us. Believe this, people. What wonder, Leonora, if your glory’s greater, for your voice itself sounds God’s presence. 5 Surely God or an emptied heaven’s third intelligence,2 hidden, empowering, glides through your throat, empowering, glides and simply teaches mortal hearts to grow accustomed to immortal sound. For if God’s all, and fused with all, then within you 10 he speaks as one and, silent, holds the rest.

1

This and the two epigrams following were composed either in late 1638 or early 1639 for the famous Neapolitan singer Leonora Baroni, whom Milton heard sing during one of his visits to Rome. She was later celebrated by Italian poets in a volume of commemorative poetry, Applausi Poetici alle Glorie della Signora Leonora Baroni (Rome, 1639). She was the only female member of the Accademia degli Umoristi, and it is possible, as Estelle Haan argues, that Milton heard Leonora sing at one of its meetings. 2 Third mind. See Ficino’s Commentary on Plato’s Symposium 2.4. Ficino posits three entities; God, Mind, and Soul. Ideas revolve about God, concepts about Mind, and seeds of things about Soul, perhaps equivalent here, as Carey suggests, to the World Soul or Milton’s Third Mind.

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Ad eandem. Altera Torquatum cepit Leonora Poëtam, Cujus ab insano cessit amore furens.1 Ah miser ille tuo quantò feliciùs ævo Perditus, & propter te Leonora foret! 5 Et te Pieriâ° sensisset voce canentem Aurea maternæ fila2 movere lyræ, Quamvis Dircæo° torsisset lumina Pentheo3 Sævior, aut totus desipuisset iners, Tu tamen errantes cæcâ vertigine sensus 10 Voce eadem poteras composuisse tuâ; Et poteras ægro spirans sub corde quietem Flexanimo cantu restituisse sibi.

muse-like Theban

To the same. A different Leonora seized the poet Tasso. For this one he went mad with senseless love.1 Poor wretch. How much happier had he been ruined in your time and for you, Leonora. 5 He would have heard you singing with Pierian° voice, moving gold strings of your mother’s lyre,2 and though he rolled his eyes more wildly than Dircaean° Pentheus,3 or he wasted, wholly drained, yet with your voice you could have calmed those feelings, wandering in their blinded dizziness. 10 Breathing a peace beneath his sickened heart, you could have restored him to himself with soulful song.

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muse-like Theban

The madness of the poet Torquato Tasso was sometimes attributed to his unrequited love for Leonora d’Este, the sister of his patron. 2 Leonora’s mother was a musician who accompanied her daughter’s singing on a harp. 3 Pentheus, the ruler of Thebes, was driven mad by Dionysus when he refused to accept the god’s cult in his city. See Euripides, The Bacchae.

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Ad eandem. Credula quid liquidam Sirena Neapoli jactas, Claraque Parthenopes1 fana Achelöiados, Littoreamque tuâ defunctam Naiada ripâ Corpora Chalcidico2 sacra dedisse rogo? 5 Illa quidem vivitque, & amœnâ Tibridis undâ Mutavit rauci murmura Pausilipi.3 Illic Romulidûm° studiis ornata secundis, Atque homines cantu detinet atque Deos.

the Romans

Elegiarum Finis.

To the same. Credulous Naples, why boast of the fluent Siren, of the famous shrines of Achelous’ daughter, Parthenope,1 that shoreline Naiad who died on your coast, her sacred limbs given to a Chalcidian2 pyre? 5 She lives still; she traded hoarse Posillipo’s roars3 for Tiber’s pleasant wash. And there, adorned by zealous followings of Romulus’ sons,° she keeps both men and gods enthralled with song.

the Romans

The End of the Elegies.

1

Parthenope, identified as one of the Siren daughters of the river-god, Achelous, was the patron goddess of the city Naples, her body allegedly having been found on its shores and enshrined in a tomb there. 2 The inhabitants of Naples were descended from Greek colonists, some from the island of Euboea, whose principal city was Chalcis. Hence they were called Chalcidians. 3 Posillipo is a mountain above Naples pierced by a tunnel with noisy traffic.

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SYLVARUM LIBER

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SYLVARUM LIBER1 Anno ætatis 16. In obitum Procancellarii medici.2 Parére fati discite legibus, Manusque Parcæ° jam date supplices, Qui pendulum telluris orbem Jäpeti colitis nepotes.3 5 Vos si relicto mors vaga Tænaro4 Semel vocârit flebilis, heu moræ Tentantur incassùm dolique; Per tenebras Stygis° ire certum est. Si destinatam pellere dextera 10 Mortem valeret, non ferus Hercules Nessi° venenatus cruore Æmathiâ° jacuisset Oetâ.5

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one of the Fates

river at the boundary of the underworld

centaur killed by Hercules Thessalia

Silvae (the woods) is a title for collections of Latin verse in meters other than the elegiac couplets that Milton used both for the elegies and the epigrams of the previous book. The meters Milton employs in the Sylvarum Liber include hexameters, iambics, and various kinds of Horatian stanzas. The order of poems, as in the book of elegies, is more or less chronological. Composed in fall 1626. John Gostlin, who was the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, as well as Master of Caius College, Cambridge, and Regius Professor of Medicine, died on October 21, 1626. The ode was written in the same year (1626) as the elegies to Andrews and to the beadle of Cambridge University. Milton was actually 17 (not 16) when Gostlin died. The grandchildren of Iapetus are men. Iapetus’ son, Prometheus, created human beings from the clay of the earth. See Hesiod, Theog. 507–10; Ovid, Met. 1.80–8. The mouth of Hades (the underworld) was at Taenarum in Laconia (Ovid, Fasti 4.612). Already in his death throes, Hercules committed suicide on Mount Oeta, poisoned by the centaur Nessus’ blood, applied to a shirt sent him by his wife in the mistaken belief that the blood was a love charm (Ovid, Met. 9.152–81, 229–59).

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At Sixteen Years of Age. On the Death of the Vice-Chancellor, A Doctor2 Learn to obey the laws of fate and lift your hands, appealing to the Parca,° you sons of Iapetus3who dwell on the earth’s suspended sphere.

one of the Fates

5 If once sad and wandering Death, leaving

Taenarum,4 addresses you, Heu! delays and trickeries are empty effort. Going through Styx’s° darkness is sure.

river at the boundary of the underworld

If the right arm were strong enough to defeat 10 a fated death, wild Hercules would not

have fallen in Emathian Oeta,5 poisoned by the blood of Nessus.°

centaur killed by Hercules

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Nec fraude turpi Palladis invidæ Vidisset occisum Ilion Hectora,6 aut Quem larva Pelidis° peremit Ense Locro, Jove lacrymante.7 Si triste fatum verba Hecatëia° Fugare possint, Telegoni parens° Vixisset infamis, potentique Ægiali soror8 usa virgâ. Numenque trinum9 fallere si queant Artes medentûm, ignotaque gramina, Non gnarus herbarum Machaon Eurypyli cecidisset hastâ.10 Læsisset & nec te Philyreie,° Sagitta echidnæ perlita sanguine,11 Nec tela te fulmenque avitum° Cæse puer° genitricis alvo.12 Tuque O alumno13 major Apolline, Gentis togatæ° cui regimen datum, Frondosa quem nunc Cirrha° luget, Et mediis Helicon° in undis,

6

son of Peleus, i.e., Achilles charms, associated with witchcraft Circe, Telegonus’ mother (by Odysseus)

the centaur Chiron Jupiter (Zeus) Aesculapius students and fellows of Cambridge town near Delphi, site of Apollo’s temple mountain sacred to the Muses

Hector was tricked by Athene (disguised as his brother, Deiphobus) into facing Achilles, thereby meeting his death (Il. 22.224–77). 7 Zeus ( Jove) grieved for his son, Sarpedon, when he was about to be killed by Patroclus, the Locrian friend of Achilles, who was wearing Achilles’ armor (Il. 16.433–61). 8 Medea was the sister of Aegialeus, an alternate name for her brother Absyrtus, murdered while she and Jason were escaping from Colchis (Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4.421–810). Medea assisted Jason and the Argonauts with charms and herbs, but in spite of her powers of witchcraft was unsuccessful in keeping Jason’s love (Ovid, Met. 7.149–293). Circe, rather than Medea, is usually associated with the use of a rod or wand. She used both herbs and the rod to transform Odysseus’ men into swine (Homer, Ody. 10.233–8; Ovid, Met. 14.273–85). Circe employed Hecatean charms alone to transform Scylla (Ovid, Met. 14.44). 9 Hecate is the infernal aspect of the triple goddess (Luna, Diana, Hecate) and is associated with witchcraft. 10 The surgeon Machaon (son of Aesculapius) was one of the Greeks who fought at Troy (Il. 11.512, 613). His death is told not by Homer but by Quintus Smyrnaeus (Posthomerica 6.390–429). 11 The centaur Chiron, son of Philyra, was famed for his physician’s skills and tutored Aesculapius (Asclepius), but was unable to save himself when accidentally wounded by an arrow of Hercules, poisoned with Hydra’s blood. 12 Although Apollo saved the life of his son Aesculapius by cutting him from his mother’s womb, Aesculapius was later killed by his grandfather Jupiter’s thunderbolt in punishment for restoring Hippolytus to life. See Pindar, Pythian 3.1–58; Ovid, Met. 2.628–30). 13 Alumnus usually signifies the one fostered by a teacher, but here probably signifies the tutor as the fosterer.

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In obitum Procancellarii medici Troy would not have seen Hector killed by jealous Pallas’ foul tricks,6 or seen him° die whom 15 the Peleid’s impostor° killed with a Locrian blade as Jove wept.7 If Hecate’s words° could chase off sad fate, Telegonus’ disgraceful mother° would have lived and Aegialeus’ sister8 20 have used her powerful wand.

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charms associated with witchcraft Circe, Telegonus’ mother (by Odysseus)

And if the healing arts and secret herbs could fool the triple Goddess,9 Machaon – skilled in herbs – would not have fallen by the spear of Eurypylus.10 25 Darts dipped in Hydra’s blood would not have struck you

Philyra’s son;11 though cut from your mother’s womb, grandfather’s° spears and lightning bolt would not have struck you° either, boy.12 And you, greater than your tutor13 Apollo, 30 you who were given rule over robed society,° whom leafy Cyrrha° now mourns, and Helicon,° amid its waters,

Chiron Jupiter’s Aesculapius

students and fellows of Cambridge town near Delphi, site of Apollo’s temple mountain sacred to the Muses

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Jam præfuisses Palladio gregi14 Lætus, superstes, nec sine gloria, 35 Nec puppe lustrasses Charontis15 Horribiles barathri recessus. At fila rupit Persephone° tua Irata, cum te viderit artibus Succoque pollenti tot atris 40 Faucibus eripuisse mortis. Colende præses, membra precor tua Molli quiescant cespite, & ex tuo Crescant rosæ, calthæque busto, Purpureoque hyacinthus ore. 45 Sit mite de te judicium Æaci,° Subrideatque Ætnæa Proserpina,16 Interque felices perennis Elysio spatiere campo.°

14

Greek name for Proserpina

one of the judges of the dead

home of the blessed spirits

Pallas’ flock are students and fellows of Cambridge University, who follow the learned arts sponsored by Pallas Athene. 15 Charon’s boat carried the souls of the dead across the Styx river into the underworld. 16 Aetnean (from Mount Aetna) is metonymy for Sicilian. Proserpina was abducted by Pluto from the Sicilian meadows below Mount Aetna and became Pluto’s consort and queen of the underworld.

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you would yet be head of this Palladian flock;14 not without glory, joyful, you would stand above; 35 you would not have crossed the awful deeps of the abyss in Charon’s craft.15 And yet Persephone° has snipped your threads, angry because she saw you had taken so many back from the dark jaws of death 40 by skills and with powerful potions.

Greek name for Proserpina

Reverend Chancellor, I pray that your limbs may come to rest in the soft turf, and from your grave that roses, marigolds and blush-mouthed hyacinths may grow. 45 Let Aeacus° be a lenient judge of you

one of the judges of the dead

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and let Aetnean Proserpina smile. May you walk with the joyous ones forever through the Elysian field.°

home of the blessed spirits

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In quintum Novembris,1 Anno ætatis 17.

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Jam pius extremâ veniens Jäcobus ab arcto° Teucrigenas populos,2 latéque patentia regna Albionum° tenuit, jamque inviolabile fœdus Sceptra Caledoniis conjunxerat Anglica Scotis:3 Pacificusque novo felix divesque sedebat In solio, occultique doli securus & hostis: Cum ferus ignifluo regnans Acheronte4 tyrannus,° Eumenidum° pater, æthereo vagus exul Olympo, Forte per immensum terrarum erraverat orbem, Dinumerans sceleris socios, vernasque fideles,5 Participes regni° post funera mœsta futuros; Hic tempestates medio ciet aëre6 diras, Illic unanimes odium struit inter amicos, Armat & invictas in mutua viscera gentes; Regnaque olivifera vertit florentia pace, Et quoscunque videt puræ virtutis amantes, Hos cupit adjicere imperio, fraudumque magister Tentat inaccessum sceleri corrumpere pectus, Insidiasque locat tacitas, cassesque latentes Tendit, ut incautos rapiat, seu Caspia Tigris Insequitur trepidam deserta per avia prædam Nocte sub illuni, & somno nictantibus astris. Talibus infestat populos Summanus7 & urbes Cinctus cæruleæ fumanti turbine flammæ. Jamque fluentisonis albentia rupibus arva Apparent, & terra Deo° dilecta marino,

the north (Scotland) the English

Satan the Furies

Hell

Neptune

1 Composed probably in 1625–6, possibly for events commemorating the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. The Gunpowder Plot was organized by Guy Fawkes and a group of discontented Catholics, who planned to explode gunpowder under the House of Lords on November 5, 1605, when James I was to open Parliament, thus killing the king, the nobles, and the clergy. Its discovery, shortly before its planned execution, sparked rejoicing at James’s delivery and encouraged yearly commemoration in the form of sermons by the clergy and poetic celebrations. Perhaps Milton knew in manuscript Phineas Fletcher’s poem, Locustae, which dealt with the same subject, but was not printed until 1627. 2 Troy-descended people. According to popular legend, exiles from Troy, led by the Trojan prince Brutus, founded Britain. See, for example, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae. 3 James VI of Scotland ascended the English throne in 1603 as James I, thus uniting England and Scotland. 4 Acheron, a river of the underworld (Hades), usually called the river of sorrow, not fire. 5 “Vernas fideles” (slaves by birth) is perhaps a reference to the doctrine of predestination. 6 Satan was designated in Eph. 2.2 as the prince of the air. 7 A god of midnight storms. See Ovid, Fasti 6.731.

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On the Fifth of November,1 in his seventeenth year.

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Arriving from the far north,° pious James held Teucer’s north (Scotland) children2 and the wide-ranging realms of Albion’s sons;° the English and at that time an absolute alliance3 joined the English scepters with the Caledonian Scots. Peaceful, happy, and rich, he sat on his new throne, Satan safe from secret plots or enemies – when the wild tyrant° ruling fire-flowing Acheron,4 the father of the Furies Eumenides,° an exile from ethereal Olympus, by chance roamed the earth’s measureless globe counting accomplices in crime and loyal servants,5 partners-to-be in his realm° after their sad deaths. Hell 6 So here he stirs up violent storms mid-air, and there plies hate between likeminded friends, and arms unconquered nations in internecine war, and spoils realms flourishing in olive-bearing peace. Whatever lovers of pure virtue that he sees, he wants to throw beneath his empire, and, master of fraud, attempts to rot the heart untouched by wickedness; he lays his silent traps, he spreads his hidden nets to catch the unwary just as a Caspian tigress pursues its frightened prey through lonely deserts under a moonlit night and by stars glimmering with sleep. Just so Summanus7 strikes the towns and people, ringed with his smoking whirls of sky-blue flames. And presently shores flecked white by wave-breaking cliffs come into view, Neptune / the giant Albion a land beloved of the ocean god° – which Neptune’s son°

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Cui nomen dederat quondam Neptunia proles° Amphitryoniaden° qui non dubitavit atrocem Æquore tranato furiali poscere bello, Ante expugnatæ crudelia sæcula Troiæ.8 At simul hanc opibusque & festâ pace beatam Aspicit, & pingues donis Cerealibus° agros, Quodque magis doluit, venerantem numina veri Sancta Dei populum, tandem suspiria rupit Tartareos ignes & luridum olentia sulphur. Qualia Trinacriâ° trux ab Jove clausus in Ætna Efflat tabifico monstrosus ab ore Tiphœus.9 Ignescunt oculi, stridetque adamantinus ordo Dentis, ut armorum fragor, ictaque cuspide cuspis. Atque pererrato solum hoc lacrymabile mundo Inveni, dixit, gens hæc mihi sola rebellis, Contemtrixque jugi, nostrâque potentior arte. Illa tamen, mea si quicquam tentamina possunt, Non feret hoc impune diu, non ibit inulta, Hactenus; & piceis liquido natat aëre pennis; Quà volat, adversi præcursant agmine venti, Densantur nubes, & crebra tonitrua fulgent. Jamque pruinosas velox superaverat alpes, Et tenet Ausoniæ° fines; à parte sinistrâ Nimbifer Appenninus erat, priscique Sabini, Dextra veneficiis infamis Hetruria,10 nec non Te furtiva Tibris Thetidi° videt oscula dantem; Hinc Mavortigenæ consistit in arce Quirini.° Reddiderant dubiam jam sera crepuscula lucem, Cum circumgreditur totam Tricoronifer11 urbem, Panificosque Deos12 portat, scapulisque virorum Evehitur, præeunt summisso poplite reges, Et mendicantum series longissima fratrum; Cereaque in manibus gestant funalia cæci, 8

the giant Albion Hercules, stepson to Amphitryon

Ceres, Roman goddess of agriculture

Sicilian

Italian

a sea nymph, hence the sea Romulus’ name after deification

The giant Albion was reportedly killed in a fight with Hercules in Gaul, as Milton later notes in History of Britain. book l. 9 Typhon or Typhoeus, regarded in the Renaissance as the classical equivalent to Satan, was an enemy of the gods, whom Jupiter defeated and pinioned under Aetna, where he emits fiery outbursts. See Ovid, Met. 5.346–53; Pindar, Pythian 1.15–28; Hesiod, Theog. 820–68. 10 The Etruscans were known in antiquity for their use of magic. See Livy 5.1.6. 11 The Pope. The triple crown worn by the Pope signifies his rule over the spiritual and temporal realms – the heavens, the earth, and the underworld. 12 Gods made of bread is an ironic reference to the Eucharist, which Catholics revere as the real body of Christ.

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once gave his name – the one° who did not hesitate, the giant Albion after he swam the ocean, to offer there a challenge Hercules, stepson to Amphitryon to Amphitryon’s ferocious son° in raging battle 8 before the cruel generations of sacked Troy. But once he saw this land blessed with festive peace and wealth, fields rich with Ceres’° gifts and – what pained Roman goddess of agriculture him more – a people reverent of the holy powers of the true God – he burst out with sighs that reeked of Tartarean fires and cloudy sulfur. Grim and monstrous Typhoeus9 exhales just such sighs through molten lips Sicilian where he was locked by Jove in Trinacrian° Aetna. His eyes catch fire and steely rows of teeth shriek like the clash of armor and the blow of spear on spear. “And having roamed the world, I’ve found this thing alone worth tears,” he said: “this race alone rebellious to me, resentful of rule, and still stronger than my skill. And yet my skill, if my efforts have any force, will not stand for this thing to be unpunished long, will not go unavenged.” With black wings he swam the flowing air. Where he flies adverse winds precede him in a rank, the clouds grow thick, and thunder flashes frequently. Quickly he had crossed the frosted alps; he reached Italian the Ausonian° borders; to the left were ancient Sabines and cloud-ringed Apennines; and to the right he sees Etruria10 notorious for magic, and a sea nymph, hence the sea you, Tiber, giving stolen kisses to Thetis. At the citadel of Quirinus,° born of Mars, Romulus’ name after his deification he stops. Late twilight gave back feeble light when he, the Triple-Crowned,11 walks around the whole city, carries his gods made out of bread,12 and rides on men’s shoulders. In front of him go kings on bended knee and then the lengthiest processions of mendicant friars. These blind men bear wax candles in their hands – men born

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Templa dein multis subeunt lucentia tædis (Vesper erat sacer iste Petro)14 fremitúsque canentum Sæpe tholos implet vacuos, & inane locorum. Bacchus Qualiter exululat Bromius,° Bromiique caterva, Orgia cantantes in Echionio15 Aracyntho,° a Boeotian mountain near Thebes Dum tremit attonitus vitreis Asopus° in undis, a Boeotian river near Thebes Et procul ipse cavâ responsat rupe Cithæron.° a Boeotian mountain near Thebes His igitur tandem solenni more peractis, Nox senis amplexus Erebi16 taciturna reliquit, Præcipitesque impellit equos stimulante flagello, Captum oculis Typhlonta, Melanchætemque ferocem, Atque Acherontæo prognatam patre Siopen Torpidam, & hirsutis horrentem Phrica capillis.17 Interea regum domitor,° Phlegetontius° hæres name for Satan / underworld river Ingreditur thalamos (neque enim secretus adulter° the Pope Producit steriles molli sine pellice noctes) At vix compositos somnus claudebat ocellos, names for Satan Cum niger umbrarum dominus,° rectorque silentum,° Prædatorque hominum° falsâ sub imagine tectus name for Satan Astitit, assumptis micuerunt tempora canis, Barba sinus promissa tegit, cineracea longo Syrmate verrit humum vestis, pendetque cucullus Vertice de raso, & ne quicquam desit ad artes, Cannabeo lumbos constrinxit fune salaces, Tarda fenestratis figens vestigia calceis.18 Talis, uti fama est, vastâ Franciscus eremo Tetra vagabatur solus per lustra ferarum, rural people or birds Sylvestrique tulit genti° pia verba salutis Impius, atque lupos domuit, Lybicosque leones. Subdolus at tali Serpens velatus amictu 13

Cimmerian shadows, that is, dark like the land of Cimmeria, visited by Odysseus in his travels (Ody. 11.13–19), hence symbolic of ignorance in papal Rome. 14 St. Peter’s feast is June 28. 15 The places referred to are all near Bacchus’ homeland, Thebes. The allusion to Echion may recall the fortunes of Echion’s son Pentheus, the ill-fated hero of Euripides’ The Bacchae. The rites of Bacchus are equated with the rites of Rome. 16 Erebus is Night’s brother-consort (Hesiod, Theog. 123–5). 17 Both Virgil and Spenser refer to Night’s chariot (FQ 1.5.22.6). However, Milton apparently has invented Greek names for Night’s horses – Typhlon (blind), Melanchaetes (black), Siope (silent), and Phrix (longhaired) – perhaps selected as the opposites of Ovid’s names for the Sun’s horses – Pyroneis (hot), Eous (bright), Aethon (light), and Phlegon (fiery). See Ovid, Met. 2.153–4. 18 Satan assumes the appearance, garment, and open sandals of a Franciscan friar.

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60 and dragging out a life within Cimmerian13 shadows.

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They enter temples lit with many torches then. (It was Peter’s holy eve.)14 The droning of chanters continually fills the hollow domes and empty spaces. Bacchus Bromius° and the troop of Bromius howl likewise, singing the rites in Echionian15 Aracynthus° a Boeotian mountain near Thebes as stunned Asopus° trembles under glassy waves river near Thebes and far off Cithaeron° responds by hollow cliffside. a Boeotian mountain near Thebes So after these things had been performed by solemn custom, the quiet Night left the embrace of old Erebus16 and, with a goading whip, she drives the horses headlong – blind Typhlon, fierce Melanchaetes, slow Siope (born by an Acherontean father), and then Phrix, bristling with a shaggy mane.17 Meanwhile the tamer of kings° and heir of Phlegethon° steps in the bedrooms names for Satan / underworld river (for this secretive adulterer° does not the Pope pass unproductive nights without a gentle whore). But sleep had scarcely begun to close his eyes in rest names for Satan when the black master of shadows,° ruler of the silent,° and hunter of men° stood by, concealed with a disguise – name for Satan his temples gleamed with borrowed silver hair, a great beard hid his chest, ash-colored clothing trailed long robes along the ground, a cowl hung above his tonsured top and – lest he fell short somehow in this art – he tied a hemp rope on his lustful loins and bound his sluggish feet with fenestrated sandals.18 So legend says that Francis roamed the open deserts alone through foul dens of wild beasts, and (though not saved) he brought salvation’s holy words to rural peoples, and he even tamed the wolves and Libyan lions. Craftily dressed up in such clothes, the lying

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Solvit in has fallax ora execrantia voces; Dormis nate?19 Etiamne tuos sopor opprimit artus? Immemor O fidei, pecorumque oblite tuorum! Dum cathedram venerande tuam, diademaque triplex a northern land equated with England Ridet Hyperboreo° gens barbara nata sub axe, Dumque pharetrati spernunt tua jura Britanni; Surge, age,20 surge piger, Latius quem Cæsar adorat, Cui reserata patet convexi janua cæli, Turgentes animos, & fastus frange procaces, Sacrilegique sciant, tua quid maledictio possit, Et quid Apostolicæ possit custodia clavis;21 Et memor Hesperiæ disjectam ulciscere classem,22 Mersaque Iberorum lato vexilla profundo, Sanctorumque cruci tot corpora fixa probrosæ, Amazonian, designating Elizabeth I Thermodoontéa° nuper regnante puella. At tu si tenero mavis torpescere lecto Crescentesque negas hosti contundere vires, the sea west of Rome Tyrrhenum° implebit numeroso milite Pontum, Signaque Aventino° ponet fulgentia colle: one of Rome’s seven hills Relliquias veterum franget, flammisque cremabit, Sacraque calcabit pedibus tua colla profanis, Cujus gaudebant soleïs dare basia reges. Nec tamen hunc bellis & aperto Marte lacesses, Irritus ille labor, tu callidus utere fraude, Quælibet hæreticis disponere retia fas est; Jamque ad consilium extremis rex magnus ab oris lords Patricios° vocat, & procerum de stirpe creatos, 23 Grandævosque patres° trabeâ, canisque verendos; bishops Hos tu membratim poteris conspergere in auras, Atque dare in cineres, nitrati pulveris igne Ædibus injecto, quà convenere, sub imis. Protinus ipse igitur quoscunque habet Anglia fidos Propositi, factique mone, quisquámne tuorum Audebit summi non jussa facessere Papæ. Perculiosque metu subito, casúmque stupentes 19 In PL Satan also wakens Beelzebub to incite him to conspiracy against God and King Messiah (PL 5.673). 20 Milton imitates the exhortations to Aeneas to rise (Virgil, Aen. 3.169; 4.267, 560–2). 21 According to Catholic doctrine, the Pope held the apostolic keys to the kingdom of heaven that Christ entrusted to Peter. 22 The Hesperian fleet is the Spanish Armada defeated by the English in 1588. 23 Milton designates the lords and clergy, who would be present in Parliament when the planned explosion would take place.

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viper parted his cursing lips to utter these words: “You’re sleeping, Child?19 Does sleep still overcome your limbs? O forgetful of the faith, neglectful of the flock a northern land equated with England while a race born savage under Hyperborean° skies mocks your triple crown and see, O Venerable one? While the British archers are scoffing at your laws? Wake up! Get up, lazy!20 You whom Roman Caesar honors – you to whom arched heaven’s unlocked gates lie open! Crush their swelling spirits and shameless pride! Let the profane know just what your curse – and what possession of the Apostolic key21 – can do. Remember to avenge the Hesperian fleet’s destruction,22 Iberian flags sunk in the immense abyss. And the many bodies of saints nailed on the shameful cross Amazonian, designating Elizabeth I by the recent rule of the Thermodontean° virgin. Of course, if you prefer to grow sluggish on a soft bed and refuse to fight the enemy’s growing sea west of Rome force, he will fill the Tyrrhenian sea° with countless troops and plant his shining standards on the Aventine.° one of Rome’s seven hills He will smash and burn the relics of the ancients, too. With his unholy feet, he’ll kick your holy neck – you whose feet the kings rejoiced to offer their kisses. Still, you will not provoke him with fights or overt War. That is wasted effort. You are sly, so use deceit. For heretics, you may set any kind of trap. lords Just now the great king calls patricians° from far regions to council – the sons from stock of noble classes, bishops their old fathers° in robes, and white-haired venerables.23 These ones you’ll scatter piecemeal in the open air and render ash by setting gunpowder charges in the foundations of the buildings where they’ve gathered. Therefore advise what faithful yet remain in England of this plan of action. Will any of you dare not eagerly perform your supreme Pope’s commands? Once they’re struck with fear, amazed by the event,

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Invadat vel Gallus atrox, vel sævus Iberus.24 Sæcula sic illic tandem Mariana25 redibunt, Tuque in belligeros iterum dominaberis Anglos. Et nequid timeas, divos divasque secundas Accipe, quotque tuis celebrantur numina fastis. Dixit & adscitos ponens malefidus amictus river of oblivion in the underworld Fugit ad infandam, regnum illætabile, Lethen.° Jam rosea Eoas pandens Tithonia° portas26 Aurora, wife of Tithonus Vestit inauratas redeunti lumine terras; Memnon, Dawn’s son, killed by Achilles Mæstaque adhuc nigri deplorans funera nati° Irrigat ambrosiis montana cacumina guttis;° dew Cum somnos pepulit stellatæ janitor aulæ Nocturnos visus, & somnia grata revolvens. Est locus27 æternâ septus caligine noctis Vasta ruinosi quondam fundamina tecti, Nunc torvi spelunca Phoni, Prodotæque bilinguis Effera quos uno peperit Discordia partu. Hic inter cæmenta jacent semifractaque28 saxa, Ossa inhumata virûm, & trajecta cadavera ferro; Hic Dolus intortis semper sedet ater ocellis, Jurgiaque, & stimulis armata Calumnia fauces, Et Furor, atque viæ moriendi mille videntur Et Timor, exanguisque locum circumvolat Horror, Perpetuoque leves per muta silentia29 Manes, Exululat tellus & sanguine conscia stagnat. Ipsi etiam pavidi latitant penetralibus antri Et Phonos, & Prodotes, nulloque sequente per antrum Antrum horrens, scopulosum, atrum feralibus umbris Diffugiunt sontes, & retrò lumina vortunt, Hos pugiles Romæ per sæcula longa fideles Evocat antistes Babylonius,30 atque ita fatur. Finibus occiduis circumfusum incolit æquor Gens exosa mihi, prudens natura negavit 24 25

Catholic monarchs of France or Spain who might invade England. The Marian age indicates the reign of Mary Tudor (1553– 8), the last Catholic monarch of England, who persecuted the Protestants. 26 A formulaic description of dawn. Homer refers to Dawn as rosy-fingered Dawn. 27 Both Virgil and Spenser describe underground caverns inhabited by personified evils. See Aen. 6.273– 81; FQ 2.7.21–5. 28 Altered in 1673 to prœruptaque in response to Salmasius’ noting a false quantity. 29 The phrase borrowed from Ovid, Met. 7.184. 30 Papal Rome was identified as the Babylon of Rev. 14.8 and 17.5, hence the Pope is a Babylonian priest.

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let the harsh Gaul or savage Spaniard24 invade them. Thus Mary’s era25 will return at last, and you will dominate again among the warlike English. That you may fear nothing, take the help of goddesses and gods and all powers celebrated on your feast-days.” The deceiver spoke, and then, removing his disguise, river of oblivion in the underworld fled to abominable Lethe,° his joyless kingdom. Now the rosy Tithonian,° opening Dawn’s doors,26 Aurora, wife of Tithonus dresses the gilded lands with a reviving light. Memnon, killed by Achilles Lamenting still the sad death of her black son,° she° sprinkles mountain heights with her ambrosial drops.° Dawn / dew The starry court’s doorkeeper, rolling back the pleasing dreams, has driven off sleep and nocturnal visions. There is a place27 sealed in unending fogs of night – once it was the vast base of a ruined structure, now the cave of grim Murder and the fork-tongued Treason both of whom savage Discord spawned in a single birth. Here men’s unburied bones lie among the boulders and jagged rocks,28 while bodies are impaled on iron. Here black Deceit forever sits with manic eyes, Dissents and Calumnies armed with fangs in their jaws, Wrath, and a thousand ways of dying appear as well, Fear and blood-drained Horror fly around the place; forever faint shades howl through muted silences,29 and earth consciously putrefies in blood. Themselves yet trembling where they lie concealed deep in the caves, Murder and Treason – chased by no one through the cave, the fearful cave, rocky and black with breeding shadows – run away guilty, and they bend their gazes backward. the Pope The Babylonian30 priest° calls up these fighters, loyal to Rome for long centuries, and so he speaks: “Where oceans flow around it in the west, a race that’s hateful to me lives. Careful nature refused

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Tartareoque31 leves difflentur pulvere in auras Et rex & pariter satrapæ, scelerata propago Et quotquot fidei caluere cupidine veræ Consilii socios adhibete, operisque ministros. Finierat, rigidi cupidè paruere gemelli.° Interea longo flectens curvamine cælos Despicit æthereâ dominus qui fulgurat arce, Vanaque perversæ ridet conamina turbæ,32 Atque sui causam populi volet ipse tueri. Esse ferunt spatium, quà distat ab Aside terra Fertilis Europe, & spectat Mareotidas undas;° Hic turris posita est Titanidos ardua Famæ33 Ærea, lata, sonans, rutilis vicinior astris Quàm superimpositum vel Athos vel Pelion Ossæ34 Mille fores aditusque patent, totidemque fenestræ, Amplaque per tenues translucent atria muros; Excitat hic varios plebs agglomerata susurros; Qualiter instrepitant circum mulctralia bombis Agmina muscarum,35 aut texto per ovilia junco, Dum Canis æstivum cœli petit ardua culmen Ipsa quidem summâ sedet ultrix matris° in arce, Auribus innumeris cinctum caput eminet olli, Queis sonitum exiguum trahit, atque levissima captat Murmura, ab extremis patuli confinibus orbis. Nec tot Aristoride° servator inique juvencæ Isidos, immiti volvebas lumina vultu,36 Lumina non unquam tacito nutantia somno, Lumina subjectas late spectantia terras. 31

Murder and Treachery

a lake near Alexandria in Egypt

Earth’s

Argus, Arestor’s son

Traditionally gunpowder (tartarean powder) was described as having a Hellish origin. See Ariosto, Orl. Fur. 9.28ff. 32 God laughs at his enemies in Ps. 2.4. See PL 5.736–7. 33 The tower of Fama (Rumor) was, according to Ovid, at the center point of the earth (Ovid, Met. 12.39–63). Milton’s Titaness, like Virgil’s Fama, is the daughter of Earth and the sister of the giants who fought against Jove (Virgil, Aen. 4.178–88). 34 Mountains in Greece. During the war with the gods the giants attempted to scale Olympus by piling Pelion on Ossa (Ody. 11.313–16; Ovid, Met. 1.151–5). 35 The simile is drawn from Homer, who describes the Greeks swarming like flies about milk pails. See Il. 2.469–73; 16.641–3. 36 Argus was the hundred-eyed herdsman, set by jealous Juno to guard Io (here identified with the Egyptian Isis, who took on the form of a cow). Juno had transformed Io into a heifer to prevent Jupiter’s access to her (Ovid, Met. 1.624–31).

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to join this unworthy race completely to our world. 160 Hurry there with rapid steps (so I command)

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and, with Tartarean powder,31 vaporize them, the king and princes equally – that rotten line. For our plan’s allies, draft whoever burns with longing for the true faith to be the agents of its works.” Murder and Treason He finished, and with pleasure the cruel twins° obeyed. Meanwhile, wheeling the skies on their long arc, the lord who flashes lightning looks down from heaven’s citadel, laughs32 at the futile efforts of this twisted horde, and determines to secure the cause of his own people. They say there is a place, a land dividing Asia lake near Alexandria in Egypt and fertile Europe facing the Mareotic lake.° Here is set the lofty tower of Fame,33 the Titan’s daughter. Broad ringing bronze, it is nearer to the shining stars than Athos or than Pelion stacked on Ossa,34 A thousand doors and just as many windows stand open for access. Wide halls show through slender walls. Here gathered people amplify their mingling buzz much as a swarm of flies makes booming sounds around milk-pails35 or in the sheepfolds made of rushes when the Dog star finds the sky’s heights at the summer’s peak. Earth’s Fame herself sits on the highest turret, her mother’s° avenger, and lifts her head, ringed with countless ears with which she hooks the slightest noise, she snags the lightest whisper from the farthest reaches of the wide world. Argus Arestor’s son,° suspicious guard to Isis’ heifer,36 you did not roll so many eyes in your harsh face, lids never drooping into quiet sleep, eyes watching the lands widely stretched below you. With her eyes,

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Millenisque loquax auditaque visaque linguis Cuilibet effundit temeraria, veráque mendax Nunc minuit, modò confictis sermonibus auget. Sed tamen a nostro meruisti carmine laudes Fama, bonum quo non aliud veracius ullum,37 Nobis digna cani, nec te memorasse pigebit Carmine tam longo, servati scilicet Angli Officiis vaga diva tuis, tibi reddimus æqua.38 Te Deus æternos motu qui temperat ignes, Fulmine præmisso alloquitur, terrâque tremente: Fama siles? an te latet impia Papistarum Conjurata cohors in meque meosque Britannos, Et nova sceptrigero cædes meditata Jäcobo: Nec plura, illa° statim sensit mandata Tonantis, Et satis antè fugax stridentes induit alas, Induit & variis exilia corpora plumis; Dextra tubam gestat Temesæo° ex ære sonoram. Nec mora jam pennis cedentes remigat auras, Atque parum est cursu celeres prævertere nubes, Jam ventos, jam solis equos post terga reliquit: Et primò Angliacas solito de more per urbes Ambiguas voces, incertaque murmura spargit, Mox arguta dolos, & detestabile vulgat Proditionis opus, nec non facta horrida dictu, Authoresque addit sceleris, nec garrula cæcis Insidiis loca structa silet; stupuere relatis, Et pariter juvenes, pariter tremuere puellæ, Effætique senes pariter, tantæque ruinæ Sensus ad ætatem subitò penetraverat omnem Attamen interea populi miserescit ab alto Æthereus pater, & crudelibus obstitit ausis Papicolûm; capti pœnas raptantur ad acres; At pia thura Deo, & grati solvuntur honores; Compita læta focis genialibus omnia fumant; Turba choros juvenilis agit: Quintoque Novembris Nulla Dies toto occurrit celebratior anno. 37

Fame

site of copper mines in Italy

Like Virgil’s Fama, Milton’s Fama spreads rumors quickly. Milton reverses Virgil’s line: “Fama, malum qua non aliud velocius ullum” (Aen. 4.174; “Fame an evil than which no other is faster”), making Fama a good, not an evil. 38 Lord Monteagle disclosed the plot when he was warned by a letter from one of the conspirators not to attend the opening of Parliament.

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Talkative, she gushes random things she has seen and heard with a thousand tongues to anyone, now shrinking truth to falsehood, now engrossing it with fabrications. But, Fame, you have still earned praises in my song for one good truer yet than any other37 – you who deserve my song, I will not regret recalling you in so long a verse, for clearly, wandering Goddess, we render you your due for acts that saved the English.38 Earth shaking with the bolt God sent forth first, he who rules eternal stars with motion speaks to you: “Are you silent, Fame? Is this unholy force of Papists plotting against me and my British hidden from you? This newly contemplated murder of sceptered James?” Fame – No more. She° heard the thunderer’s commands at once and, fast enough before, she puts on roaring wings, puts colored feathers on her slender limbs, and in site of the copper mines in Italy her right hand bears a loud horn of Temesaean° brass; without delay, she rows the yielding airs with wings. And not content to pass the quick clouds in her flight, she left the winds and the sun’s horses at her back. At first, as usual, she spreads ambiguous opinions and uncertain whispers through the English towns. Soon shrill, she publicizes plots and hateful works of Treason, acts vile to tell of, adding the criminals as well. and, yet talkative, she does not fail to mention places readied with hidden traps. People were shocked at these reports. Girls, youths, and weak elders tremble alike – at once the understanding of the scale of such disaster is absorbed by every age. But on high the heavenly Father pities his people, meanwhile, and thwarts the vicious daring of the Papists. Captured, they’re dragged away to painful punishments. Holy incense and due respects are offered God. Every happy crossroad smokes with genial bonfires. Groups of youth go dancing. And no day for the entire year goes better celebrated than November fifth.

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Anno ætatis 17. In obitum Præsulis Eliensis.1

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Adhuc madentes rore squalebant genæ,2 Et sicca nondum lumina; Adhuc liquentis imbre turgebant salis, Quem nuper effudi pius, Dum mæsta charo justa persolvi rogo Wintoniensis præsulis. Cum centilinguis Fama° (proh semper mali Cladisque vera nuntia) Spargit per urbes divitis Britanniæ, Populosque Neptuno3 satos, Cessisse morti, & ferreis sororibus° Te generis humani decus, Qui rex sacrorum illâ fuisti in insulâ Quæ nomen Anguillæ4 tenet. Tunc inquietum pectus irâ protinus Ebulliebat fervidâ, Tumulis potentem sæpe devovens deam:° Nec vota Naso° in Ibida Concepit alto diriora pectore,5 Graiusque vates parciùs Turpem Lycambis execratus est dolum, Sponsamque Neobolen suam,6 At ecce diras ipse dum fundo graves, Et imprecor neci necem, Audisse tales videor attonitus sonos Leni, sub aurâ, flamine: Cæcos furores pone, pone vitream Bilemque7 & irritas minas,

Rumor

the Fates

Libitina, goddess of corpses Ovid

1 Composed in fall 1626 to commemorate the death of Dr. Nicholas Felton, the Bishop of Ely, whose death on October 5, 1626 followed ten days after the death of his friend, Lancelot Andrewes, bishop of Winchester, for whom Milton composed Elegia tertia. 2 Milton is referring to his grief at the death of Lancelot Andrewes. 3 Neptune, father of the giant Albion, hence founder of Britain. 4 A play on the word Ely, as denoting the island of eels. 5 Ovid’s poem Ibis is an invective. 6 The Greek poet Archilochus of Paros composed invectives against Neobole, whom he unsuccessfully courted, and her father, who refused his suit. 7 According to ancient medical theory, black bile predominates in those who are enraged or mad.

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At seventeenth years of age. On the Death of the Bishop of Ely.1

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My cheeks were as yet stained with tears,2 my eyes, not yet dry, still swelled with showerings of flowing salt I spilled as I so recently paid proper, sad respects at the dear pyre – the Bishop of Winchester’s – when Rumor, hundred-tongued – and proh! the ever true messenger of evil and ruin – spread through the cities of rich Britain (descendants of Neptune)3 that you gave in to death and her iron sisters,° you, humankind’s glory, who were ruler of the rites on this Island that has the name “Eel Island.”4 Then immediately my restless heart boiled up with fiery anger, cursing the goddess° governing the graves. Naso° in his deep heart imagined no more vicious curses for Ibis.5 The Greek poet was less condemning of Lycambes’ shameful fraud and his bride Neobole.6 But lo, as I poured out vicious curses and prayed that death be killed, amazed, I seemed to hear these sounds beneath the breeze in gentle breath: “Stop your blind rage, stop your watery bile7 and your useless threats.

the Fates

Libitina, goddess of corpses Ovid

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Quid temerè violas non nocenda numina, Subitoque ad iras percita. Non est, ut arbitraris elusus miser, Mors atra Noctis filia, Erebóve patre creta, sive Erinnye,8 Vastóve nata sub Chao:9 Ast illa cælo missa stellato, Dei Messes ubique colligit; Animasque mole carneâ reconditas In lucem & auras evocat: Ut cum fugaces excitant Horæ10 diem Themidos Jovisque filiæ; Et sempiterni ducit ad vultus patris; At justa raptat impios Sub regna furvi luctuosa Tartari, Sedesque subterraneas Hanc ut vocantem lætus audivi, citò Fœdum reliqui carcerem, Volatilesque faustus inter milites Ad astra sublimis feror: Vates ut olim raptus ad cœlum senex° Auriga currus ignei, Non me Boötis° terruere lucidi Sarraca tarda frigore, aut Formidolosi Scorpionis° brachia, Non ensis Orion° tuus. Prætervolavi fulgidi solis globum, Longéque sub pedibus deam Vidi triformem,11 dum cœrcebat suos Frænis dracones aureis. Erraticorum syderum per ordines, Per lacteas vehor plagas, Velocitatem sæpe miratus novam, Donec nitentes ad fores

the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 2.11) constellation called the Bear-watcher the constellation Scorpio The constellation Orion

8 An Erinnys is an avenging spirit; see Aeschylus, Agamemnon 749, 1119; Pindar, Olympian 2.41. 9 Death is the daughter of Night and Erebus, and thus the granddaughter of Chaos, the father of Night. See Hesiod, Theog. 123, 211–12. 10 The Horae, or Hours, are the daughters of Zeus (Jupiter) and Themis, the goddess of justice. They govern the day and the seasons and care for the works of mortal men (Hesiod, Theog. 901–3). 11 The triform goddess is Luna (Selene) in heaven, Diana (Artemis) on earth, and Hecate in the underworld. See Gyraldus, Syntagma 12; Diana, Luna, Hecate in De Deis Gentium. The dragon-drawn chariot is associated with Hecate (Ovid, Met. 7.218 –19).

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Why rashly outrage powers that can’t be harmed and quickly anger? Death is not – as you, poor fool, judge – the black daughter of Night, fathered by Erebus or by an Erinnys8 or born under vast Chaos.9 Rather she is sent of starry heaven and gathers God’s harvests everywhere; she calls souls hidden in a carnal mass into the light and air as when the racing Horae10 wake the day, daughters of Themis and Jove; she leads them before the eternal father’s face; she justly takes the sinful down to dark Tartarus’ mournful realms and the underground dwellings. When I happily heard her calling, I quickly left my filthy prison and was carried high and blessed to the stars among winged soldiers. So once the old priest° was taken to heaven, a fiery chariot’s driver. The wagon of bright Boötes,° sluggish with the cold, the Scorpion’s° frightening claws, and even your sword, Orion,° did not scare me now. I flew beyond the bright sun’s globe, and far below my feet I saw the three-formed Goddess11 as she piloted her dragons with gold reins. I was carried through ranks of wandering stars and through the Milky Way, wondering often at my strange new speed until I came to the shining

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the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 2.11) constellation called the Bear-watcher the constellation Scorpio the constellation Orion

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Ventum est Olympi, & regiam Crystallinam, & Stratum smaragdis Atrium.12 65 Sed hic tacebo, nam quis effari queat Oriundus humano patre Amœnitates illius loci, mihi Sat est in æternum frui.

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The description of the New Jerusalem in Rev. 21.18–21 includes references to crystal and emerald.

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In obitum Præsulis Eliensis doors of Olympus and the crystal palace with its halls lined with emeralds.12 65 Here I will be silent, for who fathered by a human could speak of that place’s pleasures. It is enough for me to savor in eternity.”

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Naturam non pati senium.1

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Heu quàm perpetuis erroribus acta fatiscit Avia mens hominum, tenebrisque immersa profundis Oedipodioniam volvit sub pectore noctem!2 Quæ vesana suis metiri facta deorum Audet, & incisas leges adamante3 perenni Assimilare suis, nulloque solubile sæclo Consilum fati perituris alligat horis. Ergóne marcescet sulcantibus obsita rugis Naturæ facies, & rerum publica mater4 Omniparum contracta uterum sterilescet ab ævo? Et se fassa senem malè certis passibus ibit Sidereum tremebunda caput? num tetra vetustas Annorumque æterna fames, squalorque situsque Sidera vexabunt? an & insatiabile Tempus Esuriet Cælum, rapietque in viscera patrem?5 Heu, potuitne suas imprudens Jupiter arces Hoc contra munisse nefas, & Temporis isto Exemisse malo, gyrosque dedisse perennes? Ergo erit ut quandoque sono dilapsa tremendo6 Convexi tabulata ruant, atque obvius ictu Stridat uterque polus, superâque ut Olympius° aulâ Decidat, horribilisque retectâ Gorgone Pallas.7 1

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Composed while Milton was at Cambridge. Either this or De Idea Platonica may be the poetic exercise referred to in a letter to Alexander Gil ( July 2, 1628) as having been composed for a Cambridge fellow to be read at the conclusion of a public defense of an MA thesis. The theory that Nature is not subject to old age is based on the notion that earth continually renews itself in a cyclical pattern. The issue was much debated. Milton’s poem may have been inspired by George Hakewill’s Apology of the Power and Providence of God in the Government of the World (1627), which rebuts the theory expressed by Godfrey Goodman in The Fall of Man (1616) that the world was degenerating and nature was in process of decay. Donne’s Anniversaries (1611, 1612) also treat the decay of nature and human nature. “Night,” or darkness such as that which Oedipus inflicted on himself when he put out his own eyes. Jupiter informs Venus that fate is carved on everlasting adamant: “incisa adamante perenni” (Ovid, Met. 15.813). Earth (Ge) is the mother of all things. As first parent she created Heaven (Caelus/Uranus) with whom she mated to give birth to the Titans (Hesiod, Theog. 117–63). Time (Chronus), sometimes identified with Cronus, the son of Uranus (Caelus) and the eldest of the Titans, would reverse the act of Cronus, who swallowed his own children. (Hesiod, Theog. 687–90). Instead Time (Chronus) would swallow his own father, Caelus (Heaven). The tremendous sound that would signal the end of all things. See 2 Pet. 2.10. Milton imagines all things turned to stone by the gaze of the Gorgon if Pallas Athene, falling from heaven, should uncover the Gorgon’s head on her shield. Renaissance poets and painters often depicted the Gorgon’s head on Athene’s shield rather than on her aegis or breastplate, as in Homer (Il. 5.741–2).

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That Nature Does Not Suffer From Old Age1

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Heu, how man’s straying mind wears down, driven by uninterrupted errors; plunged in boundless shadows, it winds through the Oedipal night2 under the heart! That, mad, dares measure the deeds of gods with its deeds, to liken laws carved in everlasting steel,3 to its laws and to link the resolution of our fate that no years can disssolve to passing hours. And so, will nature’s face sag, covered with furrowed wrinkles? Will things’ common mother,4 contracting her all-birthing womb, turn barren from old age? Admitting herself senile, will she pass with uncertain steps and a shaking starry head? Will foul old age, eternal hunger of the years, filth, and neglect unsettle stars? And will insatiate Time hunger for heaven? And will it take its father down its guts?5 Heu, could careless Jupiter have fortified his towers against this evil, freed them of that harm of Time, and given endless cycles? Thus one day it will come to pass, collapsing with great noise,6 the levels of vaulted sky crash, and each pole in the way shriek with shock, and the Olympian° drop from his palace above – dread Pallas, too, her Gorgon shield uncovered.7

Jupiter

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Qualis in Ægæam proles Junonia° Lemnon Deturbata sacro cecidit de limine cæli.8 Tu quoque Phœbe tui casus imitabere nati° Præcipiti curru,9 subitáque ferere ruinâ Pronus, & extinctâ fumabit lampade Nereus,° Et dabit attonito feralia sibila ponto.10 Tunc etiam aërei divulsis sedibus Hæmi11 Dissultabit apex, imoque allisa barathro Terrebunt Stygium dejecta Ceraunia12 Ditem° In superos quibus usus erat, fraternaque bella. At Pater omnipotens fundatis fortius astris Consuluit rerum summæ, certoque peregit Pondere fatorum lances, atque ordine summo Singula perpetuum jussit servare tenorem.13 Volvitur hinc lapsu mundi rota prima14 diurno; Raptat, & ambitos sociâ vertigine cælos. Tardior haud solito Saturnus, & acer ut olim Fulmineùm rutilat cristatâ casside Mavors.° Floridus æternùm Phœbus juvenile coruscat, Nec fovet effœtas loca per declivia terras Devexo temone Deus; sed semper amicá Luce potens eadem currit per signa rotarum,15 Surgit odoratis pariter formosus ab Indis Æthereum pecus albenti qui cogit Olympo Mane vocans, & serus agens in pascua cæli, Temporis & gemino dispertit regna colore.16

Vulcan (Hephaestus) Phaethon “Old Man of the Sea”

Pluto

Mars, god of war

8 Zeus would himself be cast down from Heaven, as he had cast out his son Hephaestus (Homer, Il. 1.590–4). 9 Phoebus would be thrown from the Sun’s chariot, as his son, Phaethon, had been thrown (Ovid, Met. 2.319–28). 10 The sea, here personified by Nereus, fears that the sea would be dried up from the heat. Nereus and Doris hide in a sea cave while Phaethon is driving the sun chariot (Ovid, Met. 2.262, 268 –9). 11 Haemus is mountain between Thessaly and Thrace that, according to Ovid, was set afire by the sun chariot driven by Phaethon (Met. 2.219). 12 The Ceraunian mountains are between Epirus and Thrace. Milton appears to conflate them with Pelion and Ossa, the mountains in Thessaly that the giants employed in their warfare against the gods (Ovid, Met. 1.151–5). 13 Jupiter struck Phaethon down in order to save the earth (Ovid, Met. 2.304–13). Zeus (Jupiter) also hurled the giants and Titans into the underworld after they caused great destruction by displacing mountains (Hesiod, Theog. 687–735). Like Jupiter, Milton’s God stopped the angels’ displacement of hills and caused the rebellious angels to be hurled to Hell (cf. PL 6.664 –74). 14 The first wheel, or primum mobile, is the outer sphere in the Ptolemaic universe that revolves every twentyfour hours and imparts motion and order to the rest of the spheres. 15 Milton denies that there has been a shift in the sun’s orbit that would affect the circuit of the planets. 16 The planet Venus, as both the morning and the evening star, regulates the activities of the day.

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Just this way, Juno’s son° fell on Aegean Lemnos, Vulcan (Hephaestus) forced out of heaven’s sacred doorway.8 You as well, Phaethon Phoebus, will match your child’s° misfortune in your risky 9 chariot – you will be carried headfirst in a sudden “the Old Man of the Sea” downfall and, as your lamp’s extinguished, Nereus° will steam and give a deadly hiss from the blasted ocean.10 Then, its foundations smashed, the peak of lofty Haemus11 will fall apart; and, struck and cast in the deep pit, the Ceraunian mountains12 that he used in fraternal war Pluto against the gods above will frighten Stygian Dis.° But by positioning the stars with greater strength, the all-powerful Father protected the universe, perfected fates’ scales with accurate weight, commanded each thing keep to its perpetual course in supreme order.13 The world’s prime sphere thus rolls a steady daily route and drags the circling heavens in corresponding orbit.14 Saturn’s no slower than is usual, and, fierce as ever, Mars, god of war Mavors° sparks red lightning from his crested helmet. The blooming Phoebus gleams with his eternal youth. He does not warm exhausted lands by turning his car toward the lower regions. But, always master of his wheels, he runs the same constellations with friendly light.15 There rises, equally beautiful, from the fragrant Indies he who, calling at dawn, drives the heavenly herd on gleaming Olympus, and at evening, moving to the sky’s pastures, splits Time’s realms into double colors.16

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Fulget, obitque vices alterno Delia° cornu,°

Diana (moon) / horn of the moon

50 Cæruleumque ignem paribus complectitur ulnis.

Nec variant elementa fidem, solitóque fragore Lurida perculsas jaculantur fulmina rupes. the northwest wind Nec per inane furit leviori murmure Corus,° Stringit & armiferos æquali horrore Gelonos° Scythians 55 Trux Aquilo,° spiratque hyemem, nimbosque volutat. the northeast wind Utque solet, Siculi diverberat ima Pelori° promontory northeast of Aetna in Sicily Rex maris,° & raucâ cirumstrepit æquora conchâ Neptune Oceani Tubicen,° nec vastâ mole minorem Triton, Neptune’s herald Ægæona17 ferunt dorso Balearica° cete. whales from the Balearic islands, near Spain 60 Sed neque Terra tibi sæcli vigor ille vetusti Priscus abest, servatque suum Narcissus odorem, Et puer ille suum tenet & puer ille decorem Venus Phœbe tuusque & Cypri° tuus, nec ditior olim18 Terra datum sceleri celavit montibus aurum 65 Conscia, vel sub aquis gemmas. Sic denique in ævum Ibit cunctarum series justissima rerum, Donec flamma orbem populabitur ultima, latè Circumplexa polos, & vasti culmina cæli; Ingentique rogo flagrabit machina mundi.19

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Naturam non pati senium Delia° waxes and wanes by alternating horns°

235 Diana (moon) / horns of the moon

50 and clasps the sky-blue fire with both her arms.

The elements do not change their faith. With the usual crash, the yellow lightning is aimed at battered cliffs. the northwest wind Corus° raves through the void with no milder murmur. Fierce Aquilo° freezes armed Gelonians° with the northeast wind / Scythians 55 an equal shiver, breathing winter, tumbling clouds. Neptune / northeast of Aetna The sea’s king° cleaves the base of Sicilian Pelorus° as usual, and ocean’s trumpeter° sounds off Triton, Neptune’s herald around the deep with a hoarse conch. Balearic whales,° from the Balearic islands bear Aegaeon,17 no less in bulk, across their backs. 60 But, Earth, your ancient vigor of past centuries has not departed. Narcissus keeps his fragrances. Venus Phoebus, your boy retains his beauty – Cypris,° yours 18 keeps his, too. And Earth was not richer when she hid more gold (crime’s source) in mountains, and more gems 65 beneath the seas, knowing their harm. So it will go, at last, the most just sequence of all things, until the final fires will destroy the globe, enveloping the poles entirely and the heights of great heaven, and the world’s contrivance will burn on a great pyre.19

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De Idea Platonica quemadmodum Aristoteles intellexit.1

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Dicite sacrorum præsides nemorum deæ,° Tuque O noveni perbeata numinis° Memoria mater,O quæque in immenso procul Antro recumbis otiosa Æternitas,2 Monumenta servans, & ratas leges Jovis, Cælique fastos atque ephemeridas Deûm, Quis ille primus cujus ex imagine Natura sollers finxit humanum genus, Æternus, incorruptus, æquævus polo, Unusque & universus, exemplar Dei? Haud ille Palladis gemellus innubæ Interna proles insidet menti Jovis;3 Sed quamlibet natura sit communior, Tamen seorsùs extat ad morem unius, Et, mira, certo stringitur spatio loci; Seu sempiternus ille syderum comes Cæli pererrat ordines decemplicis, Citimúmve terris incolit Lunæ globum: Sive inter animas corpus adituras sedens Obliviosas torpet ad Lethes aquas:4 Sive in remotâ forte terrarum plagâ Incedit ingens hominis archetypus gigas, Et diis tremendus erigit celsum caput Atlante major portitore syderum.5 1

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the Muses, or Diana’s nymphs the Muses Mnemosyne, mother of the Muses

Composed at Cambridge. Its argumentative form is reminiscent of some of Milton’s Latin prose prolusions. This (as John Carey argues), or “Natura non pati senium,” may be the poetic exercise Milton refers to in a letter to Alexander Gil, dated July 2, 1628. The poem is a sportive critique of Aristotle’s censure of Plato’s doctrine of ideal forms. Plato sets forth the doctrine in the following dialogues: Republic 10.596–7, Cratylus 389, 439–40, Phaedo 75–6, Sophist 246–50, Parmenides 135. Aristotle criticizes Plato’s theory of ideal forms in Metaphysics I.9.7.8. In Michele Marullo’s and Pierre de Ronsard’s hymns, Eternity is a goddess enthroned above Nature and Time. The cave of Eternity resembles the cave of Time in Claudian, De Consulatu Stilichonis 2.424–8 where Time, an old man, keeps the records, writing the laws of nature and fixing the revolutions of the planets; also see Boccaccio, De Genealogiae Deorum Gentium 1.2. Pallas Athene’s twin would still reside unborn in Jove’s head, from whence Pallas herself was born fully grown (Hesiod, Theog. 924–6). In Republic 10 (617E–18E) Plato describes souls choosing their lots in life before being reborn. Also see Phaedo 70–2. Virgil’s Aeneas views souls in the underworld waiting to drink the waters of forgetfulness from Lethe before being reborn (Aen. 6.710 –15). The giant Atlas holds up the starry heavens (Hesiod, Theog. 507–9, 517–20).

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On the Platonic Idea as Understood by Aristotle.

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Tell us, guardian goddesses° of sacred woodlands, and you, O Memory,° joyous mother of nine powers,° and you, Eternity,2 reclining at ease in some far cave – preserving annals, the unchanging laws of Jove, heaven’s calendar, and daily entries from divinities – who was the first out of whose likeness clever Nature invented humankind, the perfect, old-as-the-sky, eternal, universal, and solitary exemplar of God? It cannot be that, a twin of unwed Pallas he sits, a child inside the mind of Jove.3 But however universal his nature, still he exists as one and separate and strange to say, is bound by finite space. Maybe that everlasting friend of stars wanders through the tenfold spheres of heaven, or lodges nearest earth on the moon’s ball. Maybe he stills, sitting at Lethe’s forgetful waters by souls about to enter bodies,4 or maybe Man’s huge archetype as Giant marches a distant stretch of lands and, fearsome, raises his head up high against the gods, a carrier of stars greater than Atlas.5

the Muses, or Diana’s nymphs Mnemosyne, mother of the Muses the Muses

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25 Non cui profundum cæcitas lumen dedit

Dircæus augur6 vidit hunc alto sinu; Non hunc silenti nocte Plëiones nepos° Vatum sagaci præpes ostendit choro; Non hunc sacerdos novit Assyrius,7 licet 30 Longos vetusti commemoret atavos Nini,° Priscumque Belon,° inclytumque Osiridem.° Non ille trino gloriosus nomine Ter magnus Hermes8 (ut sit arcani sciens) Talem reliquit Isidis° cultoribus. 35 At tu° perenne ruris Academi decus (Hæc monstra si tu primus induxti scholis) Jam jam pöetas urbis exules tuæ Revocabis,9 ipse° fabulator maximus, Aut institutor ipse migrabis foras.

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Mercury, grandson of sea-nymph Pleione

Ninus, founder of the Assyrian empire an Assyrian deity / an Egyptian deity

an Egyptian deity, wife of Osiris Plato

Plato

The Dircaean (i.e., Theban) seer Tiresias was struck blind but given the gift of prophecy. Dirce is a spring in Thebes. 7 The Assyrian priest may be the priest Herodotus refers to as his source for information about King Ninus. Carey argues that he is Hierombalus, the author of a history of Phoenica, a fragment of which survives in Eusebius, Praeparationis Evangelicae 1.9 and is quoted by Selden in De Dis Syris (1617), 111. 8 Hermes Trismegistus (thrice great Hermes) was reputed the author of the Corpus Hermeticum, the mystical writings that date from the first to the third centuries AD but were deemed by the Renaissance as much older. According to Neoplatonic doctrine these writings contained all knowledge. 9 In the Republic (10.595–607) Plato had excluded the poets from the ideal state on the grounds that poetry told lies rather than the truth. Milton rebukes Plato as the inventor of far greater fables than those the poets related.

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25 The Dircaean prophet6 blindness gave deep sight

did not see him in his capacious heart. Mercury, grandson of sea-nymph Pleione Pleione’s racing grandson° did not show him to a wise group of seers one silent night. The Assyrian priest7 did not know him, although 30 recalling ancestors of age-old Ninus,° Ninus, king of Assyria the ancient Belus,° and the famed Osiris.° gods of Assyria and Egypt Famous by three names, Hermes Trismegistus,8 although he knew of secret things, did not an Egyptian deity, Osiris’ wife leave such a record to the cults of Isis.° 35 But you,° the rural Academy’s glory Plato (if you first brought these wonders to the schools) will now call back your city’s exiled poets9 – Plato yourself° the greatest of the storytellers – or, though their founder, emigrate yourself.

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Ad Patrem.1

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Nunc mea Pierios cupiam per pectora fontes° Irriguas torquere vias, totumque per ora Volvere laxatum gemino de vertice rivum;° Ut tenues oblita sonos audacibus alis Surgat in officium venerandi Musa parentis. Hoc utcunque tibi gratum pater optime carmen Exiguum meditatur opus, nec novimus ipsi Aptiùs à nobis quæ possint munera donis Respondere tuis, quamvis nec maxima possint Respondere tuis, nedum ut par gratia donis Esse queat, vacuis quæ redditur arida verbis. Sed tamen hæc nostros ostendit pagina census, Et quod habemus opum chartâ numeravimus istâ Quæ mihi sunt nullæ, nisi quas dedit aurea Clio2 Quas mihi semoto somni peperere sub antro, Et nemoris laureta sacri Parnassides umbræ. Nec tu vatis opus divinum despice carmen, Quo nihil æthereos ortus, & semina cæli, Nil magis humanam commendat origine mentem, Sancta Promethéæ retinens vestigia flammæ.3 Carmen amant superi, tremebundaque Tartara carmen Ima ciere valet, divosque ligare profundos,4 Et triplici duros Manes adamante cœrcet. Carmine sepositi retegunt arcana futuri Phœbades,° & tremulæ pallentes ora Sibyllæ;5 Carmina sacrificus sollennes pangit ad aras 1

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the Muses’ springs of Parnassus

priestesses of Apollo

Addressed to the elder John Milton on the subject of the younger Milton’s choice of poetry as a vocation, the poem may date from the early 1630s when Milton was resident at Horton or Hammersmith, but was more likely composed shortly before his departure for Italy in 1638. Clio is the first Muse named by Hesiod in his account of the Muses’ visitation on Helicon (Theog. 77): Clio is also named first in the pseudo-Virgilian epigram, “De Musarum Inventis” (see Comes, Mythologiae, 7.231). Pindar invokes the golden-wreathed muse in Isthmian 2.2 and calls upon Clio’s favor in Nemean 3.83. Spenser names Clio in FQ 3.3.4.6 and Milton in Elegia Quarta 32. Fire, Prometheus’ gift to humankind (Hesiod, Theog. 562–9), symbolizes human reason or intellect. See Comes, Mythologiae 4.6. Homer describes the gods’ delight in festivals of song on Olympus (Il. 1.603–4); Pindar alludes to the Graces singing for Zeus (Olympian 14.9–12). Ovid describes Orpheus charming the fearfulness of the underworld through song (Met. 10.45–7). Apollo’s priestesses at Delphi and the Cumean Sibyl delivered their oracles in verse (hence, song), speaking them, trembling, while in a trance. In antiquity oracular pronouncements were delivered in verse.

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Ad Patrem

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To Father1

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Now let me wish Pierian streams° turn refreshing courses through my heart, that the river run whole out of my mouth, descending from the double peaks.° Forgetting unimportant themes, may my Muse rise on bold wings in the service of my honored parent. However pleasing to you, this song she contemplates, best father, may be a meager effort – I don’t know. What gifts of mine could more fitly recompense your gifts – though greatest gifts, they could not recompense your gifts, much less could be a match to your gifts in a thanks which is rendered aridly in empty words. Nevertheless this page declares my earnings here; what wealth I have, I counted on this paper of yours, for I have nothing but what Golden Clio2 gave, what was born to me of a dream in a far cavern, and laurels of the sacred grove that shade Parnassus. Do not look down on the poet’s work, divine song – nothing more commends our heavenly birth and seed, nothing commends the human mind more than its source, retaining sacred traces of Promethean fire.3 The gods love songs, and song has the strength to summon the deepest Tartarean tremor,4 to bind the gods below, and jail unfeeling shades with threefold steel. With song the priestesses of Phoebus and the trembling pale-faced sybils° reveal the distant future’s secrets.5 The sacrificing priest makes songs at solemn altars

the Muses’ spring of Parnassus

priestesses of Apollo

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Aurea seu sternit motantem cornua taurum; Seu cùm fata sagax fumantibus abdita fibris one of the Fates, hence, an oracle Consulit, & tepidis Parcam° scrutatur in extis. 6 Nos etiam patrium tunc cum repetemus Olympum, Æternæque moræ stabunt immobilis ævi, Ibimus auratis per cæli templa coronis, Dulcia suaviloquo sociantes carmina plectro, Astra quibus, geminique poli convexa sonabunt.7 Spiritus8 & rapidos qui circinat igneus orbes. Nunc quoque sydereis intercinit ipse choreis Immortale melos, & inenarrabile carmen; the constellation Serpent Torrida dum rutilus compescit sibila serpens,° Demissoque ferox gladio mansuescit Orion;° the constellation Orion Stellarum nec sentit onus Maurusius Atlas.° a mountain near Morocco in north Africa Carmina regales epulas ornare solebant, Cum nondum luxus, vastæque immensa vorago wine (from Bacchus, god of wine) Nota gulæ, & modico spumabat cœna Lyæo.° Tum de more sedens festa ad convivia vates9 Æsculeâ intonsos redimitus ab arbore crines, Heroumque actus, imitandaque gesta canebat, Et chaos, & positi latè fundamina mundi, Reptantesque Deos, & alentes numina glandes,10 Et nondum Ætnæo quæsitum fulmen ab antro.11 Denique quid vocis modulamen inane juvabit, Verborum sensusque vacans, numerique loquacis? Silvestres decet iste choros, non Orphea cantus, Qui tenuit fluvios & quercubus addidit aures Carmine, non citharâ simulachraque functa canendo12 6 7

Olympus is here conflated with the Christian Heaven. Milton draws the description of the elders, crowned in gold and singing to the harp, from Rev. (See Rev. 4.4; 5.8; 14.1–3). 8 Carey identifies the fiery spirit as Milton’s poetic spirit, released from the body. See Macrobius, Commentary on Cicero’s Somnium Scipionis. Shawcross argues that the spirit is the cosmic Apollo. In Neoplatonic theory, Apollo-Sol governs the upper sphere, coordinating the lower spheres governed by the Muses. See the diagram in Gafurius’ Theorica Musice (Milan, 1496). 9 At the feast of the Phaeacians the blind poet Demodocus holds an honored place and sings of the deeds of gods and men (Ody. 8.266–369, 487–522). 10 During the golden age human beings, rather than gods, gathered as food acorns from Jove’s oak tree (Ovid, Met. 1.106). 11 The Cyclopes under Aetna forged thunderbolts for Zeus to repel the Titans’ assault on Olympus (Hesiod, Theog. 139–41). 12 Milton attributes Orpheus’ success to his singing rather than his lyre playing. Traditionally, Orpheus’ lyre playing caused rivers to pause midstream, trees to move, and the shades in Hades to be moved. See Virgil, Georgics 4.509–10; Ovid, Met. 10.40–7; Comes, Mythologiae 7.14.

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whether he fells a bull that shakes its golden horns or when this sage consults the hidden oracles one of the Fates, hence, an oracle in smoking guts and seeks a Parca° in warm innards. 6 When we return then to our fatherland Olympus, and inexorable ages of eternity stand still, we will go through heaven’s temples with gold crowns, allying sweet songs with a smoothly strummed lyre with which the stars and twin-poled convex heaven will echo.7 The fiery spirit8 himself, who flits through the quick spheres, now sings in harmony with starry choirs as well, immortal melody and verse ineffable. the constellation Serpent While the glowing snake° restrains his rasping hisses, fierce Orion,° putting down his sword, grows mild, the constellation Orion and Marusian Atlas° does not feel his load of stars. mountain near Morocco, in north Africa Songs customarily adorned the regal banquets when excess and gluttony’s giant pit were not yet known, and dinner bubbled with the moderate Lyaeus.° wine ( from Bacchus, god of wine) Then by custom a poet sat at the happy banquets,9 his uncut hair wreathed by oak leaves, and sang of feats of heroes, their achievements to be emulated, of Chaos and the laying of the world’s foundations, the gods that crept, and acorns that nurtured deities,10 and lightning not yet sought out from the cave at Aetna.11 But what good will a voice’s empty tunings be at last without sense and words or spoken measure? That suits a woodland chorus, not a verse for Orpheus, who gave oaks ears and held the streams captive with his song – not with his cithara – and by his singing moved.12

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55 Compulit in lacrymas; habet has à carmine laudes.

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Nec tu perge precor sacras contemnere Musas, Nec vanas inopesque puta, quarum ipse peritus Munere, mille sonos numeros componis ad aptos, Millibus & vocem modulis variare canoram Doctus, Arionii13 meritò sis nominis hæres. Nunc tibi quid mirum, si me genuisse poëtam Contigerit, charo si tam propè sanguine juncti Cognatas artes, studiumque affine sequamur: Ipse volens Phœbus se dispertire duobus, Altera dona mihi, dedit altera dona parenti,14 Dividuumque Deum genitorque puerque tenemus. Tu tamen ut simules teneras odisse camœnas,° Non odisse reor, neque enim, pater, ire jubebas Quà via lata patet, quà pronior area lucri, Certaque condendi fulget spes aurea nummi: Nec rapis ad leges,15 malè custoditaque gentis Jura, nec insulsis damnas clamoribus aures. Sed magis excultam cupiens ditescere mentem, Me procul urbano strepitu, secessibus altis Abductum Aoniæ° jucunda per otia ripæ Phœbæo lateri comitem sinis ire beatum. Officium chari taceo commune parentis, Me poscunt majora, tuo pater optime sumptu Cùm mihi Romuleæ° patuit facundia linguæ, Et Latii veneres, & quæ Jovis ora decebant Grandia maniloquis elata vocabula Graiis,° Addere suasisti quos jactat Gallia° flores, Et quam degeneri novus Italus° ore loquelam Fundit, Barbaricos testatus voce tumultus, Quæque Palæstinus° loquitur mysteria vate. Denique quicquid habet cælum, subjectaque cœlo Terra parens, terræque & cœlo interfluus aer, Quicquid & unda tegit, pontique agitabile marmor, 13

Latin name for the Muses

the Muses’ mountain, Helicon

Latin Greek French Italian Hebrew

An accomplished composer, Milton’s father set to music sacred texts and madrigals, as, for example, a song in The Triumphs of Oriana. Milton compliments his father’s musicianship by comparing him to the musician Arion, who so charmed a dolphin with his lyre playing that when thrown overboard the dolphin saved him from drowning. See Herodotus, I.23–4; Comes, Mythologiae 8.14. 14 In antiquity poetry and music are a single indivisible art, presided over by Phoebus Apollo. Milton here divides the god’s discipline in two, according the gift of poetry to himself and music to his father, who composed music for the lute. 15 Law may have been a profession that Milton’s father contemplated for him; Milton’s younger brother Christopher became a lawyer. The poet Ovid refers to his unwillingness to enter the legal profession (Amores I.15.5–6).

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55 the ghosts of the dead to tears: he got that fame by song.

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So I pray, do not continue scorning the sacred muses. Do not think them vain and poor in whose art you are skillful, You who set a thousand notes to proper measures and learned to tune a harmonious voice for a thousand melodies – may you deservingly inherit Arion’s name.13 Why wonder now if you happened to father a poet in me – if we, joined so close by our cherished blood, pursue the kindred arts, affiliated studies? Phoebus, wanting to share himself with two of us, presented some gifts to me, and others to my father,14 and we keep this partitioned god, father and son. Yet for all that you pretend to hate the muses, I judge you do not – for, father, you did not command that I go where the road lies open, a place more likely to profit, where the golden sure hope of money-gathering glows. You do not hurry me toward the law,15 the ill-kept statutes of our nation, and curse my ears with their dull squabbles. More hoping to enrich a cultivated mind, you let me be led far from city noise to deep seclusion, and go, a happy friend at Phoebus’ side, the Muses’ mountain, Helicon along the pleasant leisure of the Aonian° bank. I pass in silence over a kind father’s general care. More is asked of me. When at your expense, best father, Latin I gained access to the Romulan tongue’s eloquence,° and the charms of Latium and the mighty, high-flown speech of lofty Greeks which fit Jove’s mouth, you advised to add the flowers France boasts of, the speech the new Italian pours from his degenerated mouth (vocally attesting to Barbarian invasions), Hebrew and mysteries the Palestinian° prophets utter. At end, whatever heaven holds and mother earth below, and flowing between the earth and heaven, air, and what the marbled sea foam hides, thanks to you

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Per te nosse licet, per te, si nosse libebit. 90 Dimotàque venit spectanda scientia nube,

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Nudaque conspicuos inclinat ad oscula vultus, Ni fugisse velim, ni sit libâsse molestum. I nunc, confer opes16 quisquis malesanus avitas Austriaci gazas, Perüanaque regna præoptas.17 Quæ potuit majora pater tribuisse, vel ipse Jupiter, excepto, donâsset ut omnia, cœlo? Non potiora dedit, quamvis & tuta fuissent, Publica qui juveni commisit lumina° nato° Atque Hyperionios currus,18 & fræna diei, Et circùm undantem radiatâ luce tiaram. Ergo ego jam doctæ pars quamlibet ima catervæ Victrices hederas inter, laurosque19 sedebo, Jamque nec obscurus populo miscebor inerti, Vitabuntque oculos vestigia nostra profanos.20 Este procul vigiles curæ, procul este querelæ, Invidiæque acies transverso tortilis hirquo, Sæva nec anguiferos extende Calumnia rictus;21 In me triste nihil fædissima turba potestis, Nec vestri sum juris ego; securaque tutus Pectora, vipereo gradiar sublimis ab ictu. At tibi, chare pater, postquam non æqua merenti Posse referre datur, nec dona rependere factis, Sit memorâsse satis, repetitaque munera grato Percensere animo, fidæque reponere menti. Et vos, O nostri, juvenilia carmina, lusus, Si modo perpetuos sperare audebitis annos, Et domini superesse rogo, lucemque tueri, Nec spisso rapient oblivia nigra sub Orco,° Forsitan has laudes, decantatumque parentis Nomen, ad exemplum, sero servabitis ævo.

the sun / Phaethon

the underworld, realm of the dead

16 Milton echoes Ovid’s scorn of riches (Heroides 12.204). 17 Milton alludes to the wealth of the Austro-Hungarian Empire headed by the Holy Roman emperor Charles V, who had exploited the wealth of Peru after its conquest by Spain in the 1530s. 18 Phoebus Apollo permitted his son Phaethon to take the chariot of the sun god Hyperion. Hyperion is the sun god in Greek accounts; Apollo in Roman. 19 Ivy (for Bacchus) and laurel (for Apollo) were intertwined in the crowns conferred upon successful poets. See Virgil, Ecl. 8.12–13. 20 Milton echoes Horace’s claim in Odes 3.1.1–3 that he avoids common or profane eyes. 21 See Pindar, Pythian 1 (85–94), on the necessity of avoiding the envy and calumny and trusting to future fame.

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I may learn, thanks to you – if I but care to learn. 90 Clouds part, knowledge comes to be seen. Unveiled, she bends

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her bright face forward for my kisses – unless I want to run away – or unless I find her irksome to try. Go get your riches – 16 whatever fool prefers the ancient hoards of Austria and the kingdoms of Peru.17 What greater could a father give? Could Jove himself if he had given everything (excepting heaven)? Phoebus Apollo / the sun He° gave no better who entrusted our shared light,° Hyperion’s chariot,18 the day’s reins, and the crown Phaethon surging with radiating light to his young son° – even had these been safe! And therefore, I myself, already part – however small – of the learned set, will sit among the victory wreaths of ivy and laurel.19 I will not mix unknown with the untrained people now and my paths will elude the looks of the uninitiated.20 Away, cautious worries. Away, complaint – and envy’s stare twisted with a goatish sidelong squint. Do not open your snake-filled maw, cruel Calumny.21 You, the filthiest of crowds, cannot sadden me. I am not under your law. Safe, my heart secure, I will walk high above the viper’s strike. But, dear father, since I cannot repay the equal of what you deserve, or match your gift with deeds, let it suffice to recall and count your frequent gifts with gratitude and store them in a faithful heart. And you, O you my youthful verses, my amusements, if you will dare hope for immortality, to last beyond your master’s pyre, to see the light, if dark underworld, realm of the dead forgetfulness will not steal you beneath choked Orcus, perhaps you will save these praises and a parent’s celebrated name as an example for a later age.

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Psalm 114.1

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2Ισραqλ tτ{ παmδ{ς, tτ2 FγλαA φoλ2 2Ιακrβου ΑHγeπτιον λcπ{ δsµον, Fπ{χθbα, Βαρβαρdφωνον, ∆q τdτ{ µοoνον wην tσιον γbνος υu{ς 2Ιοoδα· 2zν δp θ{Dς λαοmσι µbγα κρ{cρων βασcλ{υ{ν. Εvδ{ καC Gντροπaδην φeγαδ2 Gyxrησ{ θaλασσα Κeµατι Gιλυµbνη xοθcY, i δ2 Kρ2 Gστυφ{λcχθη 3ΙρDς 2Ιορδaνης ποτC Fργυρο{ιδbα πηγqν. 2Εκ δ2 Lρ{α σκαρθµοmσιν Fπ{ιρbσια κλονbοντο, 2Ως κριοC σφριγdωντ{ς GZτραφ{ρO Gν FλωN. Βαιdτ{ραι δ2 Mµα πkσαι Fνασκcρτησαν Gρcπναι, Οι
α παραC σeριγγι φcλQ jπD µητbρι Kρν{ς. Τcπτ{ σe γ2 αHνA θaλασσα πbλωρ φeγαδ2 Gyxrησας; κeµατι Gιλυµbνη xοθcY; τc δ2 Kρ2 Gστυφ{λcχθης 3ΙρDς 2Ιορδaνη ποτC Fργυρο{ιδbα πηγqν; Τcπτ2 Lρ{α σκαρθµοmσιν Fπ{ιρbσια κλονb{σθ{ 2Ως κριοC σφριγdωντ{ς GZτραφ{ρO Gν FλωN; Βαιdτ{ραι τc δ2 Kρ2 jµµpς [Rµµ{ς] FνασκιρτSσατ2 Gρcπναι, Οι
α παρAι σeριγγι φcλQ jπD µητbρι Kρν{ς, Σ{c{ο γαmα τρbουσα θ{Dν µ{γaλ2 Gκτυπbοντα Γαmα θ{Dν τρ{cουσ2 Rπατον σbβας 2Ισσακcδαο 34Ος τ{ καC Gκ σπιλaδων ποταµοEς χb{ µορµeροντας, ΚρSνηντ2 [ΚρSνην τ2] Fbναον πbτρης FπD δακρυοbσσης.

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Composed in November 1634. In a letter to Alexander Gill, Jr. Milton refers to an ode (probably the psalm), which he has translated into Greek heroic verse. He enclosed it with the letter and asked Gill’s indulgence for any mistakes made in the Greek. It is the first composition in Greek that he has attempted since his university days. See Carey’s comments on Milton’s Greek.

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Psalm 114

Psalm 1141

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When the children of Israel, the glorious tribes of Jacob, Left the land of Egypt, the enemy, barbarous of tongue, Surely only then were the sons of Judah a hallowed race, And among the people God was king, ruling mightily, The sea saw and recoiled in flight, turning back, Coiling in a rushing wave, and sacred Jordan Was thrust back to its silvery spring; And the boundless mountains leapt and tumbled, Like lusty rams in a flourishing meadow. And at the same time all the smaller crags skipped Like lambs to the pipe before their own mother. Why, monstrons sea, did you recoil terribly in flight, Coiling in a rushing wave, and why, sacred Jordan, Were you thrust back to your silvery spring? Why, boundless mountains, did you leap and tumble, Like lusty rams in a flourishing meadow? And why did you, smaller crags, skip, Like lambs to the pipe before your own mother? Tremble, earth, and revere God who thunders mightily; In highest reverence, earth, revering the God of the son of Isaac, Who pours forth roaring rivers from hollow caves And a perpetual spring from the weeping rock.

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Philosophus ad regem quendam qui eum ignotum & insontem inter reos forte captum inscius damnaverat, τ8ν 9π \ θαν]τ| πορ6υ 7µ6νος hæc subito misit.1 2Ω Kνα {H IλbσQς µ{ τDν wννοµον, οJδb τιν2 FνδρPν ∆{ινDν tλως δρaσαντα, σοφrτατον vθι [vσθι] κaρηνον ˆ νοSσ{ις, 3ΡηWδcως Fφbλοιο, τD δ2 Rστ{ρον αJθι Μαψιδcως δ2 Fρ2 wπ{ιτα τ{Dν πρDς θυµdν IδυρT.2 5 Τοιdν δ2 Gκ πdλ{ως [πdλιος] π{ριrνυµον Kλκαρ Iλbσσας.

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Date of composition unknown. Possibly a school exercise. Parker speculates that the poem was composed in response to Alexander Gill, Jr.’s clash with the Star Chamber and his subsequent pardon in November 1630 by Charles I. 2 The text for this line in 1645 reads: “ΜAψ α[τως δ2 Kρ2 wπ{ιτα χρdνY µaλα πολλDν IδeρQ” (“you then very much lament in vain in time”).

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Philosophus ad regem

A philosopher, when he was going to his death, sent these impromptu lines to a certain king, who condemned him – unrecognized and innocent – when he was taken by chance unaware among wrongdoers. O Lord, if you kill me, a law-keeper, A man wholly without offense to other men, Know that you would easily destroy a very wise head, But later you will understand, however, 5 And in vain you will lament very much in your heart That you have swept away so illustrious A bulwark from your city.

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Ad Salsillum poetam Romanum ægrotantem.1 SCAZONTES.2

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O Musa gressum quæ volens trahis claudum,° Vulcanioque3 tarda gaudes incessu, Nec sentis illud in loco minus gratum, Quàm cùm decentes flava Dëiope4 suras Alternat aureum ante Junonis lectum. Adesdum & hæc s’is verba pauca Salsillo Refer, camœna° nostra cui tantum est cordi, Quamque ille magnis prætulit immeritò divis.5 Hæc ergo alumnus ille Londini Milto; Diebus hisce qui suum linquens nidum Polique tractum, (pessimus ubi ventorum, Insanientis impotensque pulmonis Pernix anhela sub Jove exercet flabra) Venit feraces Itali soli ad glebas, Visum superbâ cognitas urbes famâ Virosque doctæque indolem juventutis, Tibi optat idem hic fausta multa Salsille, Habitumque fesso corpori penitùs sanum; Cui nunc profunda bilis infestat renes, Præcordiisque fixa damnosùm spirat. Nec id pepercit impia quòd tu Romano Tam cultus ore Lesbium condis melos.6 O dulce divûm munus, O salus° Hebes°

lame

Latin name for muse

the goddess Hygeia / the goddess Youth

1 Composed in 1638–9 in response to a complimentary quatrain in Latin (see Testimonia), which the Roman poet Giovanni Salzilli had addressed to Milton. Milton had met Salzilli during a visit to Rome (fall 1638 or spring 1639). Salzilli had contributed sonnets and canzoni in Italian to a volume, Poesie de’ Signori Accademici Fantastici, published by the Accademia in Rome in 1637. The nature of Salzilli’s illness is unknown. 2 Scazontic (or limping) meter is iambic trimeter, ending with a spondee or trochee that takes the place of the final iamb. 3 Milton’s scazons imitate the gait of the god Vulcan (Hephaestus), who became lame when Zeus hurled him from Olympus (Homer, Il. 1.590–4). Cf. Ovid’s remarks on the limping feet of elegy (Amores 3.1.8–10). 4 A nymph of Juno’s train, whom she offers as a bribe to Aeolus for unleashing the winds against Aeneas’ fleet (Virgil, Aen. 1.65–75). 5 In his Latin epigram to Milton Salzilli had complimented Milton as superior to Homer, Virgil, and Tasso. See the Testimonia to the Poemata (pp. 132ff.). 6 Salzilli’s Latin verse imitated the Greek lyric verse of poets from Lesbos such as Alcaeus and Sappho.

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Ad Salsillum

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To Salzilli, the Roman Poet, When He Was Ill1 SCANZONS 2

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O Muse who willingly drags one lame foot, slow goddess who enjoys a Vulcan3 march, who feels it no less charming in its place than when, in front of Juno’s golden couch, blonde Deiopea4 skips on her lovely legs. Come, if you will, then, bring a few words to Salzilli, who is so pleased by my muse he undeservedly put her above great godlike ones.5 So London’s son, one Milton, sends these of late, leaving his nest and stretch of sky (where the worst of the winds, unable to keep control of its mad heaving lung, rapidly lets loose wild blasts under the heavens), and comes to the rich loams of Italian soil to see cities known by glorious report, their men, and the talents of their educated youth – he wishes good fortune for you, Salzilli, and thoroughgoing health for your tired body, you whose kidneys suffer excess bile that, near the heart, breathes harm. The impious thing has not spared you, though you are so cultured as to write a Lesbian melody6 in Roman voice. O gods’ sweet gift, O Health,7 Sister of Hebe!°

the goddess Youth

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Germana!7 Tuque Phœbe morborum terror Pythone cæso, sive tu magis Pæan8 Libenter audis, hic tuns sacerdos9 est. Querceta Fauni,10 vosque rore vinoso Colles° benigni, mitis Euandri sedes,11 Siquid salubre vallibus frondet vestris, Levamen ægro ferte certatim vati. Sic ille charis redditus rursùm Musis Vicina dulci prata mulcebit cantu. Ipse inter atros emirabitur Iucos Numa,12 ubi beatum degit otium æternum, Suam reclivis semper Ægeriam spectans. Tumidusque & ipse Tibris hinc delinitus Spei favebit annuæ colonorum:13 Nec in sepulchris ibit obsessum reges Nimiùm sinistro laxus irruens loro: Sed fræna melius temperabit undarum, Adusque curvi salsa regna Portumni.14

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hills of Rome

Hygeia or Salus (Health) was invoked in the Orphic hymns and in Renaissance hymns; Hebe or Youth often associated with her. Marcantonio Flaminio addresses a hymn to Bona Valitudine; Ronsard (Odes 5.6) asks the physician Apollo to bring Health and Youth with him to cure the ailing king, Charles IX. 8 Paean, the healer or deliverer, was a common epithet for Phoebus Apollo, designating his role as physician. A paean was a song of thanksgiving for deliverance, often from sickness. As slayer of the giant serpent Python, Apollo delivered the regions about Delphi from its ravages, setting up his temple there. 9 As a poet Salzilli could claim ministrations from Apollo both as god of poetry and also as god of healing. 10 Faunus, a god of woods, was the father of the king Latinus (Virgil, Aen. 7.45–9). According to Ovid, the legendary king Numa Pompilius conversed with Faunus and Picus in an oak grove near Rome (Fasti 3.295–348). 11 The Arcadian King Evander founded the city Pallanteum on the future site of Rome and welcomed Aeneas there (Aen. 8.51–174, 306–69). 12 Numa Pompilius, a legendary Roman king, left Rome to dwell in the groves near Rome sacred to Aegeria, his spouse and a Roman nymph of woods, and to learn the secrets of nature. See Plutarch, Life of Numa 4.1–4; Ovid, Met. 15.479–90. 13 The forces of nature that Salzilli’s verse would appease would be specifically the floods of the Tiber river, which both Horace and Ovid refer to as threatening the left bank of the river and the monuments of kings (Horace, Odes 1.2.13–15). 14 A god of harbors (Aen. 5.241).

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Ad Salsillum And you, Phoebus – or if you would rather hear, 25 Paean8 – the terror of diseases after

killing the Python, here is your own priest.9 Oak woods of Faunus,10 and you friendly hills with wine-rich dew, home of mild Evander,11 if any healthy thing leafs your valleys, 30 bring its solace quickly to the ailing poet. When he is returned to the graceful Muses again, he will soothe the neighboring fields with sweet song. Numa12 himself will marvel in dark groves where he passes a happy, eternal leisure, 35 reclined, watching his own Aegeria forever. And swollen Tiber, being charmed himself, will favor farmers’ yearly hope: he will not overflow too much (his left rein slack)13 and set a blockade on kings in their tombs. 40 Instead he will manage water’s bridles better up to the salt kingdoms of bent Portumnus.14

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Mansus.1 Joannes Baptista Mansus Marchio Villensis vir ingenii laude, tum literarum studio, nec non & bellicâ virtute apud Italos clarus in primis est. Ad quem Torquati Tassi dialogus extat de Amicitiâ scriptus; erat enim Tassi amicissimus; ab quo etiam inter Campaniæ principes celebratur, in illo poemate cui titulus Gerusalemme conquistata, lib. 20.

Fra cavalier magnanimi, è cortesi Risplende il Manso—— Is authorem Neapoli commorantem summâ benevolentiâ prosecutus est, multaque ei detulit humanitatus officia.2 Ad hunc itaque hospes ille antequam ab eâ urbe discederet, ut ne ingratum se ostenderet, hoc carmen misit.3 Hæc quoque4 Manse tuæ meditantur carmina laudi the Muses Pierides,° tibi Manse choro° notissime Phœbi,5 Quandoquidem ille alium haud æquo est dignatus honore, Post Galli cineres, & Mecænatis Hetrusci.6 5 Tu quoque si nostræ tantùm valet aura Camœnæ,° Roman equivalent of Greek Muses Victrices hederas inter, laurosque sedebis.7 1

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4 5 6 7

Composed following Milton’s visit to Naples at the end of 1638. The poem both replies to the complimentary epigram Manso had addressed to Milton (see Testimonia, p. 132) and thanks Manso for his kindness to Milton during his visit to Naples. Giovanni Battista Manso was a poet, a patron of the arts, a friend and patron to Giambattista Marino and Torquato Tasso. Tasso had addressed his dialogue on friendship to Manso and, as Milton notes here, had commended Manso in his epic poem Gerusalemme conquistata (the revision of Gerusalemme liberata). The offices of “humanitas” distinguish Manso as a man endowed with humanistic learning, as well as gentle manners. Humanitas is the bond that united Renaissance humanists in devotion to classical literature and scholarship. In Defensio Secunda (1654) Milton reported his cordial reception by Manso, who visited him in his lodgings and showed him the city. Manso apologized, however, for being unable to show him greater civility, prevented from so doing because Milton spoke on matters of religion with so little restraint. Milton adds his tribute to many others that Manso had received. An echo of Virgil’s commendation of Cornelius Gallus (d. 27 BC): “viro Phoebi chorus adsurrexit omnis” (the man all the chorus of Phoebus rose to honor) (Ecl. 6.66). Manso was both a poet, like the Roman poet Gallus (the friend Virgil names in Eclogues 6 and 10), and also a patron, like Maecenas, who supported Virgil, Horace, and many other poets of Rome. The Bacchic ivy and Apollonian laurel that Milton awards Manso are emblems for the successful poet.

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Mansus

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Manso.1 Giovanni Battista Manso, Marquis of Villa, is among the most famous men of Italy, both in the praise accorded to his character and in his pursuit of literature, as well as in his courage in warfare. There is extant a dialogue on Friendship written to him by Torquato Tasso; for he was a great friend of Tasso by whom he is celebrated among the princes of Campania, in that poem entitled Gerusalemme conquistata, book 20.

Among magnanimous and courteous cavaliers Manso is resplendent—— He showed the greatest kindness towards the author during the latter’s visit to Naples and bestowed on him many tokens of courtesy.2 Therefore his guest, before leaving the city, lest he appear ungrateful, sent him this poem.3 Pierian Muses devise these songs4 in your praise also, Mansus – Mansus, best-known to the chorus° of Phoebus5 since he has deemed none of an equal honor after Gallus’ and Etruscan Maecenas’ deaths.6 5 If my muse’s inspiration much prevails, you also will recline on laurel and victorious ivies.7

the Muses

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Te pridem magno felix concordia Tasso Junxit, & æternis inscripsit nomina chartis.8 Mox tibi dulciloquum non inscia Musa Marinum Tradidit, ille tuum dici se gaudet alumnum, Dum canit Assyrios divûm prolixus amores;9 Mollis & Ausonias superfecit carmine nymphas. Ille itidem moriens tibi soli debita vates Ossa tibi soli, supremaque vota reliquit. Nec manes pietas tua chara fefellit amici, Vidimus arridentem operoso ex ære10 poetam, Nec satis hoc visum est in utrumque, & nec pia cessant the underworld Officia in tumulo, cupis integros rapere Orco,° Quà potes, atque avidas Parcarum° eludere leges: the Fates Amborum genus, & variâ sub sorte peractam learning (Minerva’s gifts) Describis vitam,11 moresque, & dona Minervæ;° Æmulus illius Mycalen° qui natus ad altam birthplace of Herodotus, north of Halicarnassus Rettulit Æolii vitam facundus Homeri,12 Ergo ego te Cliûs° & magni nomine Phœbi muse of history Manse pater, jubeo longum salvere per ævum Missus Hyperboreo13 juvenis peregrinus ab axe. Nec tu longinquam bonus aspernabere Musam, Quæ nuper gelidâ vix enutrita sub Arcto Imprudens Italas ausa est volitare per urbes. the Thames Nos etiam in nostro modulantes flumine° cygnos14 Credimus obscuras noctis sensisse per umbras, Quà Thamesis latè puris argenteus urnis Oceani glaucos perfundit gurgite crines. Quin & in has quondam pervenit Tityrus15 oras.

8 9

A reference to the dialogue on friendship Tasso dedicated to Manso. Giambattista Marino (1569–1625), another poet whom Manso supported, composed the poem, L’Adone (1623), which concerns the love affair of Venus and Adonis, here connected with the Assyrian lovers, Astarte and Thammuz. See PL 1.446–57. 10 Manso had constructed a brass monument to Marino’s memory. 11 Of the biographies of Marino and Tasso that Manso wrote, only the Life of Tasso survives. 12 Herodotus’ biography of Homer, which Milton regarded as authentic, is now thought spurious. In the biography Homer is called Aeolian because he was conceived in Aeolia, though born in Smyrna in Ionia. 13 Milton equates England with the land of the Hyperboreans, a remote northern country, dear to Apollo and the Muses. See Pindar, Olympian 3.15–16; Pythian 10.29–45. Apollo revered the land of the Hyperboreans because his mother Leto was born there (Didorus Siculus 2.47.1–3). 14 Swans is a term especially applied to poets, here probably designating Spenser and Shakespeare. 15 Spenser refers to Chaucer as Tityrus (Shepheardes Calender, February 92, June 81, December 4), drawing the name from Virgil (Ecl. 1). Chaucer had visited Italy twice.

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Long ago happy friendship paired you with great Tasso8 and signed your names on everlasting texts. Soon – not unwittingly – the muse lent sweet-voiced Marino to you, and he rejoiced that he was called your student when he sang so much of the Assyrian loves of the gods and gently admired Ausonian nymphs in song.9 Likewise indebted, this dying poet left his bones to you alone, his final wishes to you alone. Nor did your loyalty disappoint the ghost of your friend – for we have seen the poet smile from the worked bronze.10 This still seemed not enough for either. Your pious works did not cease at their tombs. You wish them rescued whole the underworld / the Fates from Orcus,° to cheat the Parcae’s° greedy laws whatever way you could. So you write of both their lives,11 played out learning (Minerva’s gifts) differently, their lineage, habits, and gifts from Minerva.° emulating the one born at high Mycale° birthplace of Herodotus 12 who so eloquently wrote the life of Aeolian Homer. In Clio’s° and great Phoebus’ name, father Mansus, muse of history I – a foreign youth sent from the Hyperborean pole –13 wish you health and long life. Good as you are, you will not reject my distant Muse, which, though barely weaned in the icy north, has ignorantly dared to hurry through the Italian cities recently. the Thames river I believe I too have heard the swans14 sing on our river° through the veiling shadows of the night where silver Thames freely lets loose its green hair in uncontaminated urns in the ocean’s currents. Indeed Tityrus15 once came to these coasts. And we

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35 Sed neque nos genus incultum, nec inutile Phœbo,16

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Quà plaga septeno mundi sulcata Trione17 Brumalem patitur longâ sub nocte Boöten,° the constellation Boötes Nos etiam colimus Phœbum, nos munera Phœbo Flaventes spicas, & lutea mala canistris, Halantemque crocum (perhibet nisi vana vetustas) Misimus, & lectas Druidum de gente choreas. (Gens Druides18 antiqua sacris operata deorum Heroum laudes imitandaque gesta canebant) Hinc quoties festo cingunt altaria cantu Delo in herbosâ Graiæ de more puellæ daughter of Corineus, king of Cornwall Carminibus lætis memorant Corinëida Loxo,° Fatidicamque Upin, cum flavicomâ Hecaërge Nuda Caledonio variatas pectora fuco.19 Fortunate senex,20 ergo quacunque per orbem Torquati decus, & nomen celebrabitur ingens, Claraque perpetui succrescet fama Marini, Tu quoque in ora frequens venies plausumque virorum, Et parili carpes iter immortale volatu. Dicetur tum sponte tuos habitasse penates Apollo, born on Mount Cynthus Cynthius,° & famulas venisse ad limina Musas:21 At non sponte domum tamen idem, & regis adivit Admetus Rura Pheretiadæ° cælo fugitivus Apollo;22 Ille licet magnum Alciden° susceperat hospes;23 Hercules Tantùm ubi clamosos placuit vitare bubulcos,

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Selden connects Phoebus Apollo with the Druid god, the “All-healing Deity” Belinus (Selden, “Illustrations” of songs 8 and 9, Michael Drayton, Polyolbion [London, 1612], 124 –5, 152). 17 Triones were the plowing oxen of the constellation Boötes. Boötes was referred to as the driver of the Wain (a part of Ursa Major). 18 Milton regards the Druids as both priests and poets. Line 43 is almost identical to line 46 of “Ad Patrem.” 19 Milton combines Herodotus’ and Callimachus’ accounts of the Britons’ offerings to Apollo’s and Artemis’ temple in Delos. According to Herodotus (4.33–5), the Druids sent the maidens Arge and Opis to the temple in Delos, bearing gifts wrapped in straw. In Callimachus’ Hymn to Delos (4.283–99) the maidens (daughters of Boreas) also bear gifts: cornstalks and sheaves of corn-ears. They are named Upis, Loxo, and Hecaerge and are accompanied by the best of young men. 20 Milton draws the exclamation from Virgil’s congratulations of the elderly man, content with his life (Ecl. 1.46). 21 Just as Admetus had entertained the god of poets, Apollo, Manso had received the poets Tasso and Marino, and now Milton. 22 Jupiter exiled Apollo from Olympus for slaying one of the Cyclopes, placing him in servitude to Admetus for a year. 23 Admetus, having received Hercules (Alcides) as a guest, was rewarded when Hercules rescued Admetus’ wife Alcestis from the dead. See Euripides, Alcestis.

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35 are not an uncultivated kind, useless to Phoebus,16

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that suffer wintry Bootes° through the long night the constellation Boötes in lands ploughed by the seven-pointed ox-cart.17 We nurture Phoebus, too. We have sent Phoebus our gifts: gold sheaves, the yellow apples in their baskets, fragrant crocus (assuming that our elders were not boasting) and dancers chosen from the Druid people. (The ancient Druid race, skilled in the sacred rites of their gods, sang praise of their heroes’ model deeds.)18 As often as Greek girls by custom ring the altars of grassy Delos with their festive singing, they daughter of Corineus, king of Cornwall remember Corineidan Loxo° in happy verse, and vatic Upis with blonde Hecaerge, women colored with Caledonian dye on their bare breasts.19 Lucky old man!20 Wherever through the world Torquato’s great name and glory will be publicized, and immortal Marino’s brilliant reputation grow, there too you will often arrive on men’s lips for approval, and journey to eternity in equal flight. Apollo, born on Mount Cynthus Then it will be said that Cynthius° by choice lived in your home, and Muses came as servants to your doors.21 But still, not by choice this same Apollo, heaven’s Admetus fugitive, went to the king’s (the son of Pheres’°) homelands –22 although his host23 had entertained great Alcides.° Hercules But when he pleased to avoid the noisy oxen-handlers,

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60 Nobile mansueti cessit Chironis24 in antrum,

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Irriguos inter saltus frondosaque tecta Peneium prope rivum: ibi sæpe sub ilice nigrâ Ad citharæ strepitum blandâ prece victus amici Exilii duros lenibat voce labores.25 Tum neque ripa suo, barathro nec fixa sub imo, Saxa stetere loco, nutat Trachinia rupes,° Nec sentit solitas, immania pondera, silvas, Emotæque suis properant de collibus orni, Mulcenturque novo maculosi carmine lynces.26 Diis dilecte senex, te Jupiter æquus oportet Nascentem, & miti lustrarit lumine Phœbus, Atlantisque nepos;° neque enim nisi charus ab ortu Diis superis poterit magno favisse poetæ. Hinc longæva tibi lento sub flore senectus Vernat, & Æsonios27 lucratur vivida fusos, Nondum deciduos servans tibi frontis honores,28 Ingeniumque vigens, & adultum mentis acumen. O mihi si mea sors talem concedat amicum Phœbæos decorâsse viros qui tam bene norit, Si quando indigenas revocabo in carmina reges, Arturumque etiam sub terris29 bella moventem; Aut dicam invictæ sociali fœdere mensæ, Magnanimos Heroas, & (O modo spiritus adsit) Frangam Saxonicas Britonum sub Marte phalanges.30 Tandem ubi non tacitæ permensus tempora vitæ, Annorumque satur cineri sua jura relinquam, Ille mihi lecto madidis astaret ocellis, Astanti sat erit si dicam sim tibi curæ; 24

Mount Oeta in Thessaly

Mercury

Chiron was tutor to Achilles and to Apollo’s son Asculapius. Milton puns on the name Manso in his description of Chiron “mansueti . . . Chironis” (“gentle Chiron”). 25 Euripides describes how Apollo made music while visiting Admetus, charming lynxes with his lyre (Alcestis 569–87). 26 Milton transfers to Apollo the power of his son Orpheus to move rocks and trees and to tame wild animals. 27 Spindles (fusos) are the rods on which the Fates wind the threads of life. Medea rejuvenated Aeson, Jason’s aged father, by lengthening his thread of life on the Fates’ spindles. See Ovid, Met. 7.251–93. 28 The honors of his forehead probably refer metaphorically to Manso’s achievements, signifying that his “laurels” are yet unfallen. 29 The account of the descent to the underworld was a component of the Arthurian cycle. 30 Milton sets forth plans for an epic poem based on the wars of King Arthur against the invading Saxons. For accounts of Arthur’s victories against the Saxons, see Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Brittanniae 9–11.

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among refreshing meadows and the leafy shelters near the river Peneius. Often at the black oak, won over by a friend’s kind wish, he eased his exile’s hardships by singing to the lyre’s tune.25 And then the banks, the stones set in the lowest quarry did Mount Oeta in Thessaly not keep their place; the Trachinian cliff° nodded and did not feel familiar forests as giant burdens, ash trees were shaken and hurried from their hillsides, and spotted lynxes were charmed by this new song.26 Old man, beloved to gods! Jupiter must have loved you at your birth Mercury and Phoebus’ and Atlas’s grandson° bathed you with gentle light, for not unless you were graced by gods above from birth could someone have been patron to a poet. So your advanced old age greens with a lasting bloom, and, lively, enjoys the profits of Aesonian spindles –27 yet saving the unfallen honors of your brow,28 a thriving genius, and your mind’s mature precision. O, if only my lot would give me so great a friend, who knows so well to honor Apollonian men. If ever I will recall my native kings to songs, Arthur as yet warring underneath the earth;29 or tell of great-souled heroes at their table, unbeaten in their alliance – O may the spirit be here – and smash Saxon lines under a British Mars.30 When I, not having measured out my life in silence, full of years, finally leave ashes their rightful claim, he would stand by my bed with tearful eyes, and it would be enough if I said to him there, “Take care of me.”

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Ille meos artus liventi morte solutos 90 Curaret parvâ componi molliter urnâ.

Forsitan & nostros ducat de marmore vultus, Nectens aut Paphiâ myrti aut Parnasside lauri31 Fronde comas, at ego securâ pace quiescam. Tum quoque, si qua fides, si præmia certa bonorum, 95 Ipse ego cælicolûm semotus in æthera divûm, Quò labor & mens pura vehunt, atque ignea virtus Secreti hæc aliquâ mundi de parte videbo (Quantum fata sinunt) & totâ mente serenùm Ridens purpureo suffundar lumine vultus 100 Et simul æthereo plandam mihi lætus Olympo.

31

The marble bust, commissioned by a friend after his death, would be crowned with myrtle from Venus’ temple at Paphos and laurel from Apollo’s temple below Parnassus.

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Mansus My limbs undone by jealous death, he would take care 90 to gently gather them into a little urn.

He would also, maybe, craft my face from marble, wreathing my hair with Paphian myrtle leaves or Parnassian laurel leaves31 while I would lie in a restful peace. Then if there’s any faith, and sure rewards for the good, 95 and I – apart in heavens of celestial gods where labor, a pure mind, and glowing virtue lead – will see these things from some part of that hidden realm and (as much as fate permits), with my whole mind serenely smiling, I’ll steep my face in rosy light and happily 100 congratulate myself with heavenly Olympus.

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EPITAPHIUM

DAMONIS.1

ARGUMENTUM. Thyrsis & Damon2 ejusdem viciniæ Pastores, eadem studia sequuti a pueritiâ amici erant, ut qui plurimùm. Thyrsis animi causâ profectus peregrè de obitu Damonis nuncium accepit. Domum postea reversus, & rem ita esse comperto, se, suamque solitudinem hoc carmine deplorat. Damonis autem sub personâ hîc intelligitur Carolus Deodatus3 ex urbe Hetruriæ Luca paterno genere oriundus, cætera Anglus; ingenio, doctrina, clarissimisque cæteris virtutibus, dum viveret, juvenis egregius.

EPITAPHIUM DAMONIS. Himerides nymphæ4 (nam vos & Daphnin & Hylan, Et plorata diu meministis fata Bionis)5 Dicite Sicelicum Thamesina per oppida carmen: Quas miser effudit voces, quæ murmura Thyrsis, 5 Et quibus assiduis exercuit antra querelis, Fluminaque, fontesque vagos, nemorumque recessus, 1

2 3

4 5

Composed after Milton’s return from Italy in fall 1639 and first printed in a private edition in 1640. In naming this lament an epitaph, Milton imitates the titles of Bion’s Epitaphios for Adonis and Moschus’ Epitaphios for Bion. Pastoral names chosen from Theocritus’ idylls and Virgil’s eclogues. Thyrsis, in Theocritus, Idyll 1, sings the lament for the dead shepherd Daphnis. Damon is a shepherd in Virgil, Ecl. 3, 8. Damon represents Milton’s boyhood friend from St. Paul’s School, Charles Diodati. Diodati’s family came originally from Tuscany, but Diodati was a Londoner. Diodati died in London in August 1638. Two of Milton’s Latin elegies (#1 and #6) and one of Milton’s Italian sonnets are addressed to him. Himera designates a region in northern Sicily or the river of the same name. Theocritus refers to the Himera river in Idylls 5.124 and 7.75. Men who died young. Daphnis is the shepherd lamented in Theocritus, Idyll 1; Hylas is the companion of Hercules whom the nymphs drowned (see Theocritus, Idyll 13); Bion is the young poet mourned by Moschus in the pastoral “Epitaph for Bion.”

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DAMON’S EPITAPH1 ARGUMENT Thyrsis and Damon,2 shepherds of the same neighbourhood, having pursued from boyhood the same studies, were the firmest of friends. Thyrsis, having traveled abroad to develop his mind, received the news of Damon’s death. Afterwards, returning home and finding that this was indeed the case, he poured out a lament for himself and his loneliness in this song. Here Charles Diodati3 is understood in the person of Damon, claiming descent on his father’s side from the Italian city of Lucca, in other respects an Englishman; a young man, who in his lifetime was distinguished for his character, learning, and other most splendid virtues.

Damon’s Epitaph Himeridean nymphs,4 because you long remember Daphnis, Hylas,5 and the much-wept fate of Bion, call your Sicilian song through the Thames’ cities: what moaning and what cries miserable Thyrsis uttered, 5 constant laments with which he vexed the caves and streams and wandering springs and woodland retreats as he cried for

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Dum sibi præreptum queritur Damona, neque altam Luctibus exemit noctem loca sola pererrans. Et jam bis viridi surgebat culmus arista, Et totidem flavas numerabant horrea messes, Ex quo summa dies tulerat Damona sub umbras,6 Nec dum aderat Thyrsis; pastorem scilicet illum Dulcis amor Musæ7 Thusca retinebat in urbe.8 Ast ubi mens expleta domum, pecorisque relicti Cura vocat, simul assuetâ sedítque sub ulmo, Tum vero amissum tum denique sentit amicum, Cœpit & immensum sic exonerare dolorem. Ite domum impasti, domino jam non vacat, agni.9 Hei mihi! quæ terris, quæ dicam numina cœlo, Postquam te immiti rapuerunt funere Damon; Siccine nos linquis, tua sic sine nomine virtus Ibit, & obscuris numero sociabitur umbris? At non ille,° animas virgâ qui dividit aureâ,10 Ista velit, dignumque tui te ducat in agmen, Ignavumque procul pecus arceat omne silentum. Ite domum impasti, domino jam non vacat, agni. Quicquid erit, certè nisi me lupus antè videbit,11 Indeplorato non comminuere sepulcro, Constabitque tuus tibi honos, longúmque vigebit Inter pastores: Illi tibi vota secundo Solvere post Daphnin,° post Daphnin dicere laudes Gaudebunt, dum rura Pales,° dum Faunus° amabit:

6

Mercury

Theocritus, Idyll 1 protectress of flocks / a god of woods

Two falls have passed since Diodati’s death. Milton is probably writing in late fall 1639 or in early 1640. Alternately he may be referring, as Shawcross argues, to the double harvest seasons in Italy in March and September. 7 Dulcis amor Musae (“sweet love for the Muse”) is a stock phrase in many Latin poets. See Virgil, Georgics 3.291–2, also Georgics 2.475–6, imitated by Milton in PL 3.27–9. 8 The Tuscan city is Florence, where Milton was in August–September 1638 and in March–April 1639. We do not know when Milton learned of Diodati’s death. 9 Refrains are common in Theocritus, Bion, and Moschus. Milton, however, adapts here for his own refrain lines from Virgil, Ecl. 7.44, 10.77 (neither of which is a refrain). Ecl. 10.77 is the last line of Virgil’s eclogue for his friend Gallus: “Ite domum, saturae, venit Hesperus, ite capellae” (“Go home, well-fed; Hesperus comes, go, my goats”). 10 Thyrsis expresses the hope that Mercury (Hermes), who conducts the dead into the underworld with his golden staff, will lead Damon into Elysium, where worthy souls reside. 11 According to the superstition, alluded to by Virgil in Ecl. 9.53–4, a man becomes dumb if a wolf sights him before he sees the wolf.

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his Damon taken before his time; and roaming lonely places, he did not give up his grief in the deep night. Twice now the stalk rose with its green ear, and just that often granaries counted their golden harvests6 since the final day carried Damon under the shadows – while Thyrsis was not there. Clearly, a sweet love of the Muse7 kept that shepherd in the Tuscan city.8 But when his mind (having had its fill) and worry for his abandoned flock called him home – and as soon as he sat by the usual elm, then truly he felt his friend’s loss. And so he started unburdening himself of endless pain: “Go home unfed; your master has no time, my lambs9 Hei me! What gods on earth or heaven will I call now they have stolen you, Damon, with a cruel death? Do you leave us this way? Will your virtue go nameless, and will it join the ranks of forgotten shadows? Mercury May he° who parts the souls with a golden wand10 not wish that but may he lead you to the ranking worthy of you and keep the whole dumb herd of the silent apart from you. “Go home unfed; your master has no time, my lambs. Whatever will be, unless the wolf sees me first,11 you will not sink in the grave unmourned; your honor will endure for you and long thrive among the shepherds. They will swear their oaths by you after Daphnis;° shepherd lamented in Theocritus, Idyll 1 they will rejoice to call out your praise after Daphnis protectress of flocks / so long as Pales° and Faunus° love the countryside – god of the woods

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Si quid id est, priscamque fidem coluisse, piúmque, Palladiásque artes,12 sociúmque habuisse canorum. Ite domum impasti, domino jam non vacat, agni. Hæc tibi certa manent, tibi erunt hæc præmia, Damon, At mihi quid tandem fiet modò? quis mihi fidus Hærebit lateri comes, ut tu sæpe solebas Frigoribus duris, & per loca foeta pruinis, Aut rapido sub sole, siti morientibus herbis? Sive opus in magnos fuit eminùs ire leones Aut avidos terrere lupos præsepibus altis; Quis fando sopire diem, cantuque solebit?13 Ite domum impasti, domino jam non vacat, agni. Pectora cui credam? quis me lenire docebit Mordaces curas, quis longam fallere noctem Dulcibus alloquiis, grato cùm sibilat igni Molle pyrum, & nucibus strepitat focus, at malus auster Miscet cuncta foris, & desuper intonat ulmo. Ite domum impasti, domino jam non vacat, agni. Aut æstate, dies medio dum vertitur axe, Cum Pan æsculeâ somnum capit abditus umbrâ,14 Et repetunt sub aquis sibi nota sedilia nymphæ. Pastoresque latent, stertit sub sepe colonus, Quis mihi blanditiásque tuas, quis tum mihi risus, Cecropiosque sales15 referet, cultosque lepores? Ite domum impasti, domino jam non vacat, agni. At jam solus agros, jam pascua solus oberro, Sicubi ramosæ densantur vallibus umbræ, Hic serum expecto, supra caput imber & Eurus° Triste sonant, fractæque agitata crepuscula silvæ. Ite domum impasti, domino jam non vacat, agni. Heu quàm culta mihi priùs arva procacibus herbis Involvuntur, & ipsa situ seges alta fatiscit! Innuba neglecto marcescit & uva16 racemo, Nec myrteta° juvant; ovium quoque tædet, at illæ

the southeast wind

sacred to Venus

12 Pallas’ arts = learning. Diodati had studied at Oxford and at Geneva. 13 Milton may be echoing Virgil, Ecl. 9.51–2 or Callimachus’ epitaph for Heraclitus (Greek Anthology 7.80.2–3): “GµνSσθην δ2 iσσaκις Fµφοτ{ροι / Uλιον Gν λbσχQ κατ{δeσαµ{ν” (“I remembered how often together we used to put the sun to bed”). 14 Pan was notorious in pastoral literature for noonday naps. See Theocritus 1.16–17. 15 Cecropian salt is Attic wit, from Cecrops, the first king of Attica. 16 The unwedded grape suffers neglect since it is not propped, that is, “wedded,” with its vine to a supporting tree (a common practice in ancient agriculture).

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if it be something to have practiced the old faith, piety, and the arts of Pallas,12 and had a poet for a friend. “Go home unfed; your master has no time, my lambs. For you, these things stay sure – they will be your rewards, Damon. But finally what will become of me? What faithful friend will stay beside me as you often used to in lasting cold, through territories filled with frost, or under the fierce sun, the grasses dying of thirst, whether our task were to ward off enormous lions at a distance or frightening greedy wolves from the high folds. Who now will lull the day to rest with talk and song?13 “Go home unfed; your master has no time, my lambs. To whom will I trust my heart? Who will teach me to soothe gnawing worries? And to trick the long night with sweet conversation while on the cheerful fire a delicious pear sizzles, and the hearth pops roasting nuts, and an ill south wind brews outside and roars over the elm? “Go home unfed; your master has no time, my lambs. Or in summer, as the day turns at its midpoint when furtive Pan catches a nap in the oak’s shade,14 nymphs return to their familiar underwater lairs, shepherds lie hidden, and the farmer snores below the hedge, who then will bring your charming conversation back, your laughter, Cecropian wit,15 and refined manners? “Go home unfed; your master has no time, my lambs. And now alone, alone I wander fields and pastures; wherever branching shadows thicken in the valleys, the southeast wind here I wait for the evening. Storm and Eurus° sound sad overhead, a restless twilight of broken woods. “Go home unfed; your master has no time, my lambs. Heu! how my once well-tilled fields knot with bold weeds, and the tall crop shrivels with neglect, the unwed grapevine starts to droop with an untended cluster,16 and myrtles° disappoint; and I even tire of the sheep, sacred to Venus

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Mœrent, inque suum convertunt ora magistrum. Ite domum impasti, domino jam non vacat, agni. Tityrus ad corylos vocat, Alphesibœus ad ornos, Ad salices Aegon, ad flumina pulcher Amyntas,17 Hîc gelidi fontes, hîc illita gramina musco, Hîc Zephyri, hîc placidas interstrepit arbutus undas; Ista canunt surdo,18 frutices ego nactus abibam. Ite domum impasti, domino jam non vacat, agni. Mopsus ad hæc, nam me redeuntem forte notârat (Et callebat avium linguas, & sydera Mopsus)19 Thyrsi, quid hoc? dixit, quæ te coquit improba bilis? Aut te perdit amor, aut te malè fascinat astrum, Saturni grave sæpe fuit pastoribus astrum, Intimaque obliquo figit præcordia plumbo.20 Ite domum impasti, domino jam non vacat, agni. Mirantur nymphæ, & quid te Thyrsi, futurum est? Quid tibi vis? ajunt, non hæc solet esse juventæ Nubila frons, oculique truces, vultusque severi, Illa choros, lususque leves, & semper amorem Jure petit, bis ille miser qui serus amavit. Ite domum impasti, domino jam non vacat, agni. Venit Hyas, Dryopéque, & filia Baucidis Aegle Docta modos, citharæque sciens, sed perdita fastu, Venit Idumanii° Chloris vicina fluenti;21 Nil me blanditiæ, nil me solantia verba, Nil me, si quid adest, movet, aut spes ulla futuri. Ite domum impasti, domino jam non vacat, agni. Hei mihi quam similes ludunt per prata juvenci, Omnes unanimi secum sibi lege sodales, 17

the Chelmer river in Essex, England

Names for shepherds in Theocritus’ and Virgil’s pastorals. Virgil adopted the name Tityrus for himself (Ecl. 1). Amyntas (Virgil, Ecl. 2, 3, 5, 10; Theocritus 7) becomes Aminta in the pastoral play by Tasso. Alphesiboeus (Virgil, Ecl. 8) is a rival of Damon; Aegon is in Theocritus 4 and Virgil, Ecl. 3). The procession of mourners who attempt to console a grieving shepherd is a traditional feature of pastoral lament. See Virgil, Ecl. 10.19–21. Carey believes that these shepherds stand for real persons. 18 To sing to the deaf, a proverbial phrase found in Latin authors and in Erasmus’ Adagia, meaning to be useless or to no avail. 19 Mopsus is a shepherd in Virgil, Ecl. 5, 8; in Tasso’s Aminta (1.2.457–9) Mopsus understands the language of birds. 20 The dominance of the planet Saturn was said to inspire melancholy and bring woe (Horace, Odes 2.17.22–3; Propertius 4.1.84). In alchemy Saturn was associated with lead. 21 Except for Aegle, a nymph in Virgil (Ecl. 6.21), these names do not occur in Theocritean or Virgilian pastorals. Hyas is a young hunter killed by a lioness (Ovid, Fasti 5.169–82). For Dryope and Baucis see Ovid, Met. 9.329–93; 8.631–720.

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and they grow sad, and turn their faces to their master. “Go home unfed; your master has no time, my lambs. Tityrus calls to hazels, Alphesiboeus ash, Aegon willows, and handsome Amyntas17 to the rivers: ‘Here springs are cool, lawns soft with moss, here Zephyrs, here the arbutus whispers among the calm pools – they sing this, but I am deaf,18 and gaining the thickets, I slip away. “Go home unfed; your master has no time, my lambs. Next Mopsus19 – for by chance he noticed me returning – (for Mopsus understood the stars and the tongues of the birds): ‘Thyrsis, what is this?’ he said. ‘What foul bile burns you? Either a love ruins, or a bad star takes hold of you – Saturn’s star has often been oppressive to shepherds and has struck their inmost hearts with slanted shot.’20 “Go home unfed; your master has no time, my lambs. Nymphs wonder. ‘What will happen to you next, Thyrsis? What do you mean by this?,’ they ask. ‘A clouded brow, grim looks, and pained expressions are not usual for youth. Youth finds dances, trivial games, and – always – love by right; he’s doubly miserable who has loved too late.’ “Go home unfed; your master has no time, my lambs. Hyas has come and Dryope, and Aegle (daughter of Baucis, skilled at kithara and knowing music but ruined by pride) and Chloris has come, neighbor to the Chelmer river in Essex the Idumenian stream.21 Still, no humor, no kind words, neither what is present nor any hope for the future moves me. “Go home unfed; your master has no time, my lambs. Hei me, how like the calves that play in the meadows, rightly all likeminded fellows with each other.

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Nec magis hunc alio quisquam secernit amicum De grege, sic densi veniunt ad pabula thoes, Inque vicem hirsuti paribus junguntur onagri; Lex eadem pelagi, deserto in littore Proteus° Agmina Phocarum numerat, vilisque volucrum Passer habet semper quicum sit, & omnia circum Farra libens volitet, serò sua tecta revisens, Quem si fors letho objecit, seu milvus adunco Fata tulit rostro, seu stravit arundine fossor, Protinus ille alium socio petit inde volatu. Nos durum genus,22 & diris exercita fatis Gens homines aliena animis, & pectore discors, Vix sibi quisque parem de millibus invenit unum, Aut si sors dederit tandem non aspera votis, Illum inopina dies quâ non speraveris horâ Surripit, æternum linquens in sæcula damnum. Ite domum impasti, domino jam non vacat, agni. Heu quis me ignotas traxit vagus error in oras Ire per aëreas rupes, Alpemque nivosam! Ecquid erat tanti Romam vidisse sepultam? Quamvis illa foret, qualem dum viseret olim, Tityrus ipse suas & oves & rura reliquit;23 Ut te tam dulci possem caruisse sodale, Possem tot maria alta, tot interponere montes, Tot silvas, tot saxa tibi, fluviosque sonantes.24 Ah certè extremùm licuisset tangere dextram, Et bene compositos placidè morientis ocellos, Et dixisse vale, nostri memor ibis ad astra. Ite domum impasti, domino jam non vacat, agni. Quamquam etiam vestri nunquam meminisse pigebit Pastores Thusci, Musis operata juventus, Hic Charis, atque Lepos; & Thuscus tu quoque Damon, Antiquâ genus unde petis Lucumonis ab urbe.25 22

the herder of Neptune’s seals

The survivors of the flood, Deucalion and Pyrrha, engendered a new race of human beings by throwing stones over their shoulders. The resulting race was stony, hence called durum or hard (Ovid, Met.1.414). 23 An allusion to Virgil’s eclogue 1 where Tityrus (i.e., Virgil) tells how he visited Rome to petition Augustus Caesar for the return of his farm. 24 A recollection of Achilles’ allusion to the seas and mountains that separate him from his homeland in Thessaly (Il. 1.155–7). Also see Ovid’s lament that mountains and rivers separate him from his friends in Rome (Tristia 4.7.21–2). Also see Elegia quarta 21–2. 25 The Diodati were an old, established family in the north Italian republic of Lucca, which Milton visited in 1639.

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One’s no more than the other, whoever picks a friend out of the herd. Thus wolves come to their food in packs and so the hairy donkeys mate in pairs by turns. herder of Neptune’s seals The sea’s law is the same – along the wild shore, Proteus° counts off the ranks of seals. The common flitting sparrow always has someone to be with and with whom he may fly freely round heaps of grain, returning home at evening. he’s pleased to hover, returning to his own home late. If death has struck his mate, whether a hook-billed kite brought fate or some clod with a limed twig laid him out, he instantly finds another companion for his flight. Yet we’re a stony race,22 schooled by cruel fates, a people, foreign in spirit, discordant at heart with one another. Each of us scarcely finds a single equal in thousands. Or, if fate has not dealt cruelty to our prayers at last, an untoward day at an hour you will not have expected steals him, leaving eternal loss through generations. “Go home unfed; your master has no time, my lambs. Heu, what fool delusion dragged me to foreign shores to travel past the towering cliffs and snowy Alps? Why was it so essential to see the buried Rome? (even if it were great as what Tityrus23 once had seen when he left his own flock and land behind) that I could do without you, so beloved a friend – could put so many deep oceans and mountains in between us,24 so many forests, stones, and rushing rivers? Ah – surely I’d have been able to touch your right hand at the end, to close your eyes for you, peacefully dying, and say, ‘Farewell, remember me as you go to the stars.’ “Go home unfed; your master has no time, my lambs. Not yet, not ever will I tire of remembering you, Tuscan shepherds, youth busy with the muses. Here are grace and charm; and you too were Tuscan, Damon, a family line you trace from the ancient city of Lucca.25

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O ego quantus eram, gelidi cum stratus ad Arni°

the Arno river in Florence

130 Murmura, populeumque nemus, quà mollior herba,

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Carpere nunc violas, nunc summas carpere myrtos, Et potui Lycidæ certantem audire Menalcam.26 Ipse etiam tentare ausus sum, nec puto multùm Displicui, nam sunt & apud me munera vestra27 Fiscellæ, calathique & cerea vincla cicutæ, Quin & nostra suas docuerunt nomina fagos Et Datis, & Francinus,28 erant & vocibus ambo Et studiis noti, Lydorum sanguinis ambo.29 Ite domum impasti, domino jam non vacat, agni. Hæc mihi tum læto dictabat roscida luna, Dum solus teneros claudebam cratibus hœdos. Ah quoties dixi, cùm te cinis ater habebat, Nunc canit, aut lepori nunc tendit retia Damon, Vimina nunc texit, varios sibi quod sit in usus; Et quæ tum facili sperabam mente futura Arripui voto levis, & præsentia finxi, Heus bone numquid agis? nisi te quid forte retardat, Imus? & argutâ paulùm recubamus in umbra, Aut ad aquas Colni, aut ubi jugera Cassibelauni?30 Tu mihi percurres medicos, tua gramina, succos, Helleborúmque, humilésque crocos, foliûmque hyacinthi, Quasque habet ista palus herbas, artesque medentûm,31 Ah pereant herbæ, pereant artesque medentûm Gramina, postquam ipsi nil profecere magistro. Ipse etiam, nam nescio quid mihi grande sonabat Fistula, ab undecimâ jam lux est altera nocte, Et tum forte novis admôram labra cicutis, Dissiluere tamen rupta compage, nec ultra 26

Milton presents a fictionalized account of the activities of the Florentine academies where he read his poetry. He depicts the meetings as “competitions,” such as took place in pastoral communities. The shepherd Lycidas sings in Theocritus 7; Menalcas is a contestant in both Theocritus 8 and Virgil, Ecl. 3. 27 Traditional prizes given to pastoral singers. The gifts Milton received from his Italian friends would probably have been verses and books. 28 Milton names two Florentine friends who addressed encomia to him – Carlo Dati and Antonio Francini. See Testimonia in Poemata. 29 Milton attributes Lydian blood to his Tuscan friends, since according to Herodotus (1. 94) and Virgil (8.479–80), northern Italy (Etruria) was settled by colonists from Lydia in Asia Minor. 30 The Colne river is near Horton. The neighborhood of Cassivelaunus – a British chieftain, who resisted Julius Caesar’s invasion in 54 BC – is the territory in Buckinghamshire nearest London and the Thames, where Diodati presumably would have resided. 31 As a physician, Diodati would have known the herbs Milton mentions here, traditionally used in medical cures.

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the Arno river in Florence cool Arno° and a poplar grove where there is softer grass, picking the violets, picking the myrtle shoots, and could hear Menalcas vie with Lycidas.26 I was even so bold as to try as well, and I think I did not much displease, because I have about me their gifts – baskets and bowls and pipes with wax joints.27 Indeed both Dati and Francini28 taught the beech trees my very names; those two men known for their voices and for their learning, those two both of Lydian blood.29 “Go home unfed, your master has no time, my lambs. The dewy moon often said things to me, happy, as by myself I closed the young kids in their pens. How many times I said (when the black ash already had you), ‘He’s singing’ or ‘Damon’s laying the nets for hares’ or ‘Damon’s making wicker he’ll use in various ways’ – a future in my carefree thought I expected, I lightly took as promised, and I imagined real. ‘Heus, my friend, what are you up to? If by chance nothing stops you, shall we go rest a while in that nice shade – by Colne’s waters or on Cassivelaunus’ ridges?30 You will run through all your medicines and herbs for me: hellebore, low-lying crocus, leaf of hyacinth, each herb your marsh keeps, and the healer’s skills.’31 Ah, damn the herbals, damn the healer’s skills and plants since none of them have helped their master. And I – for my pipe played some great song or other (it is now one day past the eleventh night since!) – I had happened to set my lips to new pipes. But they broke at their joints and were no longer able to bear

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Ferre graves potuere sonos, dubito quoque ne sim 160 Turgidulus, tamen & referam, vos cedite silvæ.32

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Ite domum impasti, domino jam non vacat, agni. the English Channel Ipse ego Dardanias Rutupina° per æquora puppes Dicam,33 & Pandrasidos regnum vetus Inogeniæ, Brennúmque Arviragúmque duces,34 priscúmque Belinum, from Brittany Et tandem Armoricos° Britonum sub lege colonos; Tum gravidam Arturo fatali fraude Jögernen Mendaces vultus, assumptáque Gorlöis arma, Merlini dolus.35 O mihi tum si vita supersit,36 Tu procul annosa pendebis fistula pinu37 Multùm oblita mihi, aut patriis mutata camœnis° Latin name for the Muses Brittonicum strides, quid enim? omnia non licet uni Non sperasse uni licet omnia, mi satis ampla Merces, & mihi grande decus (sim ignotus in ævum Tum licet, externo penitúsque inglorius orbi) Si me flava comas legat Usa, & potor Alauni, Vorticibúsque frequens Abra, & nemus omne Treantæ, water colored by tin from mines Et Thamesis meus ante omnes, & fusca metallis° 38 Tamara, & extremis me discant Orcades undis. Ite domum impasti, domino jam non vacat, agni. Hæc tibi servabam lentâ sub cortice lauri,39

32

The pastoral pipes on which Thyrsis-Milton has been playing now break, unable to withstand the strain of the epic notes he now assumes. Milton imitates the phrase, “concedite silvæ” (“yield, you woods”) from Virgil, Ecl. 10.63, which was traditionally regarded as Virgil’s farewell to pastoral poetry and anticipation of epic composition. 33 Milton outlines in greater detail the epic subject that he had announced in Manus (81–4) and that he planned to tell Diodati on his return to England. 34 The projected epic would deal with the mythical history of Britain. The Trojan Brutus crossed the English Channel (Rutipina) in his Dardan ships and conquered Pandrasus, the king of Greece, marrying Pandrasus’ daughter Inogen (Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae 1.10–11). Later British kings united to drive out the Romans, and Cymbeline’s son Arviragus established British rule (Historia 3.1–8; 4.12–13). 35 Merlin’s trick was to disguise Uther Pendragon as Igraine’s husband Gorlois, thus impregnating her with Arthur, the future king. See Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae 8.19. 36 Milton probably adapts the phrase, “modo vita supersit” from Virgil (Georgics 3.10) since he, like Virgil, now contemplates undertaking a major epic subject – if life enough remains for him. 37 As he plans to hang up the pastoral pipe, Milton echoes Virgil, Ecl. 7.24: “hic arguta sacra pendebit fistula pinu” (“here the tuneful pipe will hang on the sacred pine”). 38 The British rivers – Ouse, Alne, Humber, Trent, Tamar, and finally Thames – here catalogued, symbolize the collective British nation, hence also the potential readership for Milton’s national epic, which would extend even to the distant Orkney Islands. See Spenser’s catalogue of rivers in FQ 4.11. 39 In antiquity, books were stored in boxes of laurel wood.

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160 the solemn notes much further. No doubt I may grow

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conceited, but I will go on. Let the woods give way!32 “Go home unfed, your master has no time, my lambs. the English Channel I will tell33 of Dardanian ships on the Rutupian sea° and the ancient rule of Inogene, daughter of Pandarus, of leaders Brennus, Arviragus, and old Belinus, from Brittany of Armoric settlers° under British rule at last,34 of Igraine pregnant with Arthur by a deadly fraud – the counterfeited face and stolen arms of Gorlois, Merlin’s ruse.35 O, if I have life left over then,36 my pipe, you will hang forgotten on an old pine far off,37 or, adapted to native muses, will sing a British theme – and what of that? No one is permitted everything, much less allowed to hope for it. Granted I may be unknown for ages, wholly obscure to the rest of the world, but I have enough reward, great honor, even, if only blonde Ouse should read, and he who drinks the Alne, the Humber full of whirlpools, every grove in Trent, colored by tin from mines above all my Thames, the Tamar dark with minerals,° 38 and if by the Orkneys’ distant waters they learn of me. “Go home unfed, your master has no time, my lambs. I kept you these under the tough bark of the laurel –39

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Hæc, & plura simul, tum quæ mihi pocula Mansus,40 Mansus Chalcidicæ° non ultima gloria ripæ Neapolitan Bina dedit, mirum artis opus, mirandus & ipse, Et circùm gemino cælaverat argumento: In medio rubri maris unda, & odoriferum ver Littora longa Arabum, & sudantes balsama silvæ, Has inter Phœnix divina avis, unica terris Cæruleùm fulgens diversicoloribus alis Auroram vitreis surgentem respicit undis.41 Parte alia polus omnipatens, & magnus Olympus, Quis putet? hic quoque Amor,42 pictæque in nube pharetræ, Arma corusca faces, & spicula tincta pyropo; Nec tenues animas, pectúsque ignobile vulgi Hinc ferit, at circùm flammantia lumina torquens Semper in erectum spargit sua tela per orbes Impiger, & pronos nunquam collimat ad ictus, Hinc mentes ardere sacræ, formæque deorum. Tu quoque in his, nec me fallit spes lubrica Damon, Tu quoque in his certè es, nam quò tua dulcis abiret Sanctáque simplicitas, nam quò tua candida virtus? the underworld, realm of forgetfulness Nec te Lethæo fas quæsivisse sub orco,° Nec tibi conveniunt lacrymæ, nec flebimus ultrà, Ite procul lacrymæ, purum colit æthera Damon, Æthera purus habet, pluvium pede reppulit arcum; Heroúmque animas inter, divósque perennes, Æthereos haurit latices & gaudia potat Ore Sacro. Quin tu cœli post jura recepta Dexter ades, placidúsque fave quicúnque vocaris, Seu tu noster eris Damon, sive æquior audis the name means “god-given” Diodotus,° quo te divino nomine cuncti

40

The cups were the gifts of Giovanni Battista Manso, to whom Milton addressed the poem “Mansus,” and were probably, as De Filippis argues, books. Most likely the books were Manso’s own Poesie Nomiche (which recounts the story of the phoenix) and Erocallia (twelve Platonic dialogues on love and beauty). Traditionally, pastoral singers were rewarded with cups for “singing.” In Theocritus’ first idyll (27–56), the goatherd offers Thyrsis a decorated cup (describing the scene on it). See also Virgil, Ecl. 3.35–48. 41 According to legend the phoenix, the child of Apollo-Sol, is unique, a divine bird. Resting in a forest on the shores of the Red Sea, it awaits dawn, when it will be consumed with fire and a new phoenix will be born from its ashes. Milton’s sources for the phoenix legend include Ovid, Met. 15.391–407; Lactantius, De Ave Phoenice; Claudian, Phoenix (27); Manso’s paraphrase of Claudian’s Phoenix in Nomiche Poesie (1635), 242–50; Tasso, “La Fenice.” Milton alludes to the phoenix in PL 5.272–4 and SA 1699–1707. 42 The heavenly Eros in Plato’s Symposium is the child of the heavenly Aphrodite and inspires the highest intellectual companionship between men (180D–181C). Also see Milton, A Mask at Ludlow-Castle, 1004.

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these two cups, among other things, that Mansus40 gave me, Neapolitan Mansus, not the least glory of the Chalcidian° coast, this wonderful artwork (as he is wonderful, too) around which he had engraved a double motif: the Red Sea’s waters in the middle, and the fragrant spring along the far shores of Arabia, its orchards oozing balsam, by which the noble Phoenix41 (the only one on earth, sky blue and brightening its multicolored wings) watches Aurora rising from the glassy waters. In another part, the wide sky and great Olympus, and Cupid42 – who would have thought? – his quiver bright against a cloud, his shiny arms, his torches, his arrow points imbued with bronze. From here he does not wound weak minds and common hearts, but, scanning with flaming eyes, he always freely shoots his arrows up high through the spheres and never slants a downward shot. For this reason only sacred minds and godly forms catch fire. You are with them. No futile hope tricks me, Damon. You are with them surely. Where would your sweet pure candor – where would your perfect virtue go? It would be sin the underworld, realm of forgetfulness to search for you down in Lethean Orcus.° Tears do not suit you; we will not cry more. Go far away, you tears. Within pure ether, Damon lives and, pure himself, possesses ether. He treads the rainbow down. Among the souls of heroes and immortal gods, he drains ethereal waters, drinks joys with sacred lips. Indeed, now you have received the privileges of heaven, be at my right, and gently aid, however you are called, whether you will be my Damon or hear more readily meaning “god-given” “Diodotus,”° by which holy name all the heavenly

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Cœlicolæ norint, silvísque vocabere Damon. Quòd tibi purpureus pudor,43 & sine labe juventus Grata fuit, quòd nulla tori libata voluptas, En etiam tibi virginei servantur honores;44 215 Ipse caput nitidum cinctus rutilante corona,45 Letáque frondentis gestans umbracula palmæ Æternùm perages immortales hymenæos;46 Cantus ubi, choreisque furit lyra mista beatis, Festa Sionæo bacchantur & Orgia47 Thyrso.°

Bacchus’ staff

43 See purpureus pudor (blushing decency) in Ovid, Amores 1.3.14; 2.534. 44 Diodati was unmarried, and Milton imagines for him the rewards that await virgins in heaven. See Rev. 14.1–4. 45 The crown of glory that does not fade (2 Pet. 5.4). 46 See Rev. 7.9 (“a great multitude . . . stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands”); Rev. 19.5–7 (the marriage of the Lamb). 47 Milton conflates the orgiastic rites performed by Bacchus’ followers, with the festal celebrations in a Christian heaven, which would take place under the auspices of a thyrsus, not of Bacchus, but of Sion.

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EPITAPHIUM DAMONIS dwellers will know you – though still called Damon in the woods. Since blushing decency43 and youth without disgrace pleased you, and since you did not taste marriage’s pleasures,44 215 virginal honors are still saved for you. Yourself ringed, radiant head with glittering crown,45 and bearing the joyful shading of the branching palm, you will forever act the timeless marriage46 out where song and the lyres mingled with the blessed dances rave, 220 and under Sion’s thyrsus° the Orgies47 revel on.

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Introduction to Poems, &c. UPON Several Occasions, 1673 In the expanded edition of Poems published in 1673, Milton retained all the poems from the earlier edition in the same general order, but added both English and Latin poetry composed after 1645 as well as some early verse he had excluded from the first book. The 1673 volume omits all prefatory matter to the English volume of 1645 and to A Mask, but retains the testimonia prefatory to the Poemata and closes the volume with the prose tractate, Of Education.

English Poems Added in 1673 The first poem of the early poetry Milton added is the experimental funeral ode, “On the Death of a fair Infant dying of a Cough,” composed to lament the death of his infant niece. “Fair Infant” predates the odes published in 1645, but employs some of the same techniques, interweaving mythic stories with Christian references. As in the “Epitaph” for the Marchioness of Winchester, a flower conceit is used to mourn an untimely death, but the infant is also likened to mythic figures fled from earth such as the classical Astraea, white-robed Truth, and a golden-winged angel. Another early poem added, “At a Vacation Exercise in the Colledge,” was composed to follow Milton’s Latin prose prolusion read in the first part of the ceremony. Milton presided as “Father of the Feast” at an assembly at Christ’s College, Cambridge that marked the beginning of the long summer vacation, 1628. The English part of the three-part exercise is, as the occasion dictated, the most oratorical of Milton’s early poems. Mixing poetic fancy and Aristotelian analysis, Milton presides both as a Homeric Demododus and as the Aristotelian father of the occasion, who introduces his sons, the Aristotelian categories. The poem is remarkable for its praise of the English language as a poetic medium and for Milton’s declaration of his desire to write poetry in a high epic style. After this Milton proceeds, taking on the role of the Aristotelian Ens (Being), to introduce his sons, fellow undergraduates who represent the

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Aristotelian categories. He concludes with a Spenserian catalogue of rivers, in which he summons other undergraduates, one of whom represents the English rivers. Except for the elegant translation of Horace’s fifth ode, the other English poetry added in 1673 is of two types – sonnets and psalm translations. Milton almost doubles the number of sonnets included, even though he is forced by political expediency to omit from the 1673 collection the sonnets composed for Fairfax, Cromwell, Vane, and Cyriack Skinner (all of which Edward Phillips published with Milton’s Letters of State in 1694). The sonnets printed are of several types. About half are addressed to persons, usually friends. The sonnet to Edward Lawrence and the first sonnet to Cyriack Skinner (composed in the mid-1650s) are invitations in the Horatian mode to enjoy a congenial hour of friendship and relaxation. The sonnet to Henry Lawes, addressed familiarly as “Harry,” was first published in Lawes’ Choice Psalmes (1648) and pays tribute to Lawes’ musicianship, particularly his care in fitting music to text. The sonnet for Catherine Thomason is a meditation on the passing of a Christian friend, the wife of the bookseller George Thomason. Two of the sonnets and the tailed sonnet, “On the new forcers of Conscience under the Long Parliament,” respond to personal and political events in the mid-1640s. In the first Milton answers the criticism of his divorce tracts by ridiculing the ignorance of his critics, and in the second he turns his detractors into croaking frogs like those transformed by Latona, the mother of Apollo and Diana. In the tailed sonnet Milton takes a jab at Presbyterians (many of them Scottish), who cried for liberty but soon proved as ready as the bishops to impose censorship and to persecute other Protestants. Milton expresses protest of a different sort in the sonnet “On the late Massacher in Piemont.” Echoing the prophetic language from Jeremiah, the Psalms, Isaiah, and the Book of Revelation, he calls upon God with an opening imperative to avenge the slaughter in 1655 by the Duke of Savoy of group of proto-Protestants, the Waldensians. The power of the sonnet depends both on its biblical invective and on the graphic description of the massacre, the details of which Milton drew from contemporary accounts. The final two sonnets are personal and focus in different ways on Milton’s blindness. Both develop paradoxical turns on two well-known stories, the biblical parable of the talents and the classical account of the restoration of Alcestis to her husband. In the sonnet on his blindness, “When I consider how my light is spent,” Milton assumes the persona of the unprofitable servant and pleads blindness as an excuse for unprofitableness, complaining that although light is denied, “day-labour” is required. Ironically, he does not receive the rebuke he expects, but the counsel of Patience to wait on the Lord – “They also serve who only stand and waite.” Milton’s sonnet on his dead wife begins with restoration and ends with loss. At first both lost sight and the lost wife are restored in his dream. The blind man sees, however, only his wife’s veiled face and praises not her outer person but her inner sweetness and goodness. The sonnet closes abruptly as the myth of Alcestis is reversed – the dream fades, his wife disappears, and the day brings back the double night of blindness and desolation.

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Milton composed psalm translations at different periods of his life. As a schoolboy, he had turned his hand to metrical psalm translation, publishing his versions of Psalms 114 and 136 in the 1645 Poems. In the 1630s he rendered Psalm 114 in Greek, publishing it in the Poemata of the 1645 Poems. In the 1673 volume he published two groups of psalms, arranging them in the biblical order rather than by date of translation. The first group, Psalms 1–8, were translated in August, 1653; the second group, Psalms 80–88, in April, 1648. The standard metrical translation of the Psalms in the sixteenth century was by Sternhold and Hopkins, but during the 1640s the Westminster Assembly appointed a committee to find a replacement. Versions by Francis Rous and William Barton were considered, with the Commons preferring Rous’ version, the Lords, Barton’s. During the time when Milton was composing his own metrical versions of Psalms 80–88, a committee appointed by the Westminster Assembly was revising Rous’ version. Both Rous and Milton employ Common Measure, alternating lines of eight and six syllables, with Rous rhyming the second and fourth, Milton the first and third lines. Milton’s first set of psalms closely resembles other psalm translations, with some lines identical to them, and in them he judiciously italicizes words and phrases that depart from the Hebrew text and offers glosses in Hebrew. Psalms 1–8 can be dated precisely to August, 1653, about a year and a half after Milton became totally blind. While Psalm 1 lauds the righteous man and Psalm 8 the majesty of God’s works, the intervening psalms are complaints in which Milton, adopting the voice of the psalmist, cries out for God’s succor in time of tribulation. Metrically these translations are experimental and eschew Common Measure in favor of classical meters: Horatian stanzas, terza rima, couplets – and therefore are less rigid than the earlier psalms and more lyrical in voice. The 1653 psalms do not italicize Milton’s additions, but are generally more faithful to the Hebrew than the earlier psalms.

Latin and Greek Poems Added in 1673 In the Poemata of 1673 Milton reprints the epigram placed in 1645 under his portrait by Marshall, entitling it “In Effigiei Ejus Sculptore” and including it after the other Greek poems from 1645 – his Greek translation of Psalm 114 and the epigram, “Philosophus ad regem.” He also includes at the end of Elegiarum Liber “Apologus de Rustico & Hero,” a moral tale about a peasant and his landlord. However, the most significant addition to the Poemata in 1673 is the Latin ode, “Ad Joannem Rousium,” originally composed in 1647, and sent with a copy of the 1645 Poems to John Rouse, the librarian of the Bodleian Library in Oxford, to replace a copy lost in transit. Although an occasional poem, like those composed for his Italian acquaintances, the Rouse ode is the only poem in which Milton imitates the strophic form and meter of Pindaric ode. Moreover, as a poem that describes the first book of poems Milton published, it gains

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further significance in recording Milton’s view of the volume in which he stakes a claim for his and its immortality. With a jocular familiarity Milton addresses both Rouse and the little book he is sending him. But, like Lycidas, the poem concerns greater issues. Milton refers to the Civil War, which had disrupted the nation and made the kind of humane study that he praised in the Italian poems all but impossible in England. So ultimately the poem becomes a defense of poetry and a plea for the defense of a library that includes not only a corpus of great classical works but also the little book that now joins their ranks. As virtually the final poem Milton was to compose in Latin, the Rouse ode fittingly sums up Milton’s achievement as a Latin poet.

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ENGLISH POEMS ADDED IN 1673

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Figure 4

Title page to Poems, &c. UPON Several Occasions By John Milton, 1673

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Anno ætatis 17. On the Death of a fair Infant dying of a Cough.1 I.2 O Fairest flower no sooner blown° but blasted, Soft silken Primrose fading timelesslie,° Summers chief honour if thou hadst out-lasted, Bleak winters force that made thy blossome drie; 5 For he being amorous on that lovely die° That did thy cheek envermeil,° thought to kiss But kill’d alas, and then bewayl’d his fatal bliss.

blossomed unseasonably

dye make red

II. For since grim Aquilo° his charioter By boistrous° rape th’Athenian damsel got,3 10 He thought it toucht his Deitie full neer, If likewise he some fair one wedded not, Thereby to wipe away th’ infamous blot, Of long-uncoupled bed, and childless eld,° Which ’mongst the wanton gods a foul reproach was held.

the north wind violent

old age

III. 15 So mounting up in ycie-pearled carr,

Through middle empire of the freezing aire He wanderd long, till thee he spy’d from farr, There ended was his quest, there ceast his care. Down he descended from his Snow-soft chaire,° But all unwares with his cold-kind embrace 20 Unhous’d thy Virgin Soul from her fair biding place. 1

chariot

Composed c.1628. Placed in 1673 after Psalm 136 and before The Passion. According to Milton’s nephew, Edward Phillips, the poem was occasioned by the death of Milton’s niece, the infant daughter of his sister, Anne Phillips. W. R. Parker argues for a date after January 1628, when a daughter of Anne Phillips (b. 1626) died. 2 The stanza form is an adaptation of rhyme royal, the same stanza form as that for the Introduction to the Nativity Ode and The Passion. 3 According to Ovid (Met. 6.682–710), the north wind Boreas (Aquilo) kidnapped the Athenian princess, Orithyia, after she refused him. Milton makes Aquilo Winter’s charioteer.

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IV. Yet art thou not inglorious in thy fate; For so Apollo, with unweeting° hand Whilome° did slay his dearly-loved mate 25 Young Hyacinth4 born on Eurota’s strand° Young Hyacinth the pride of Spartan land; But then transform’d him to a purple flower° Alack that so to change thee winter had no power.

unwitting at one time a river in Laconia (Sparta) the hyacinth

V. Yet can I not perswade me thou art dead 30 Or that thy coarse corrupts in earths dark wombe, Or that thy beauties lie in wormie bed, Hid from the world in a low delved tombe; Could Heav’n for pittie thee so strictly doom? Oh no[!] for something in thy face did shine 35 Above mortalitie that shew’d thou wast divine.

VI. Resolve me then oh Soul most surely blest (If so it be that thou these plaints dost hear) Tell me bright Spirit where e’re thou hoverest the primum mobile Whether above that high first-moving Spheare° 40 Or in the Elisian fields° (if such there were.) classical realm of the blessed spirits Oh say me true if thou wert mortal wight And why from us so quickly thou didst take thy flight.

VII. Wert thou some Starr which from the ruin’d roofe Of shak’t Olympus by mischance didst fall; 45 Which carefull Jove in natures true behoofe° Took up, and in fit place did reinstall? 4

benefit

Apollo accidentally killed his beloved Hyacinthus when a discus he threw swerved and struck the boy. The hyacinth sprang from his blood. See Ovid, Met. 10.162–216.

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On the Death of a Fair Infant dying of a Cough Or did of late earths Sonnes besiege the wall Of sheenie° Heav’n,5 and thou some goddess fled Amongst us here below to hide thy nectar’d head.

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resplendent

VIII. 50 Or wert thou that just Maid° who once before

Forsook the hated earth, O tell me sooth And cam’st again to visit us once more?6 Or wert thou that sweet smiling Youth[?]7 Or that c[r]own’d Matron sage white-robed truth? 55 Or any other of that heav’nly brood° Let down in clowdie throne to do the world some good.

Astraea

angels

IX. Or wert thou of the golden-winged hoast,° Who having clad thy self in humane weed,° To earth from thy præfixed° seat didst poast,° 60 And after short abode flie back with speed, As if to shew what creatures Heav’n doth breed, Thereby to set the hearts of men on fire To scorn the sordid world, and unto Heav’n aspire.

angels human flesh preordained / post, hasten

X. But oh why didst thou not stay here below 65 To bless us with thy heav’n-lov’d innocence, To slake his° wrath whom sin hath made our foe To turn Swift-rushing black perdition hence, Or drive away the slaughtering pestilence,° To stand ’twixt us and our deserved smart 70 But thou canst best perform that office where thou art.

God’s plague

5 The giants, the sons of Earth, attempted to overthrow Jove. See Ovid, Met. 5.321–31; 151–5. 6 Astraea was the last of the immortals to leave the earth after the decline of the golden age and the first predicted to come back with the return of the golden age (Ovid, Met. 1.149–50). 7 The line is defective, lacking two syllables.

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XI. Then thou the mother of so sweet a child Her false imagin’d loss cease to lament, And wisely learn to curb thy sorrows wild; Think what a present thou to God hast sent, 75 And render° him with patience what he lent; This if thou do he will an off-spring give, That till the worlds last-end shall make thy name to live.8

8

give back

Perhaps an allusion to Isa. 56.5: “unto them will I give . . . a name better than of sons and daughters.”

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SONNETS.1

XI.2 (12) A Book was writ of late call’d Tetrachordon;3 And wov’n close, both matter, form and stile; The Subject new: it walk’d the Town a while, Numbring good intellects; now seldom por’d on. 5 Cries the stall-reader,4 bless us! what a word on A title page is this! and some in file° Stand spelling fals,° while one might walk to MileEnd Green.5 Why is it harder Sirs then Gordon,

1

2

3

4 5

in a row misreading or misinterpreting

In the Trinity MS Milton directs “these sonnets follow ye 10 in ye printed booke” [the 1645 volume]. The number in Roman numerals indicates the sonnet’s number in 1673; the Arabic numerals in parenthesis its number in the Trinity MS. Composed 1645–7. In TM Milton numbers sonnet 11 as 12, indicating that it was composed and designed to be placed second. In 1673 the order of sonnets 11 and 12 is reversed. This sonnet and sonnet XII (On the same) were written in response to the criticism and abuse Milton suffered after the publication of his four divorce tracts – The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce (1643, 1644), The Judgment of Martin Bucer (1644), Tetrachordon, and Colasterion (1645). The title of the third of Milton’s four tracts on divorce. The Greek word, Tetrachordon, signifies four notes or four strings, which, when sounded together or in sequence, may be brought into concord. The four strings signify the four key biblical passages on marriage and divorce: Gen. 1.27–8; 2.18, 23–4; Deut. 24.1–4; Matt. 5.31–2; 19.3–11; 1 Cor. 7.10–16. Milton attempts in Tetrachordon to bring these passages into harmony, developing a concept of marriage that allows for divorce for incompatibility. A stall-reader would peruse books outside booksellers’ shops or in open stalls located in areas such as St. Paul’s Cathedral. The eastern limit of London, a mile beyond Aldgate.

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Colkitto, or Macdonnel, or Galasp?6 10 Those rugged° names to our like° mouths grow sleek° harsh / equally harsh / easy That would have made Quintilian7 stare and gasp. Thy age, like ours, O Soul of Sir John Cheek,8 Hated not Learning wors then Toad or Asp;9 When thou taught’st Cambridge, and King Edward Greek.

6 The Scottish names represent Scots Presbyterians who condemned Milton’s divorce tracts. Gordon, Colkitto (a nickname for Coll Keitache), Macdonnel (or MacDonald) were officers in the royalist General Montrose’s army. Galasp was George Gillespie, a leader of the Scottish Covenanters and a member of the Westminster Assembly, which was meeting to define doctrine and liturgy for a Presbyterian national church. 7 The first-century AD rhetorician Quintilian condemned as barbaric the use of foreign words in a text (Institutes I.5.8). 8 The humanist Sir John Cheke was the first professor of Greek at Cambridge University and a tutor of Henry VIII’s son, the future Edward VI. 9 “Like” is a problematical reading. Milton seems to be equating Cheke’s age with the present age. Yet he affirms that, unlike the present age, Cheke’s age “hated not Learning.” In Tetrachordon Milton praised Cheke’s age for its purity and sincerity (YP 2.716).

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XII. (11)1 On the same. [On the detraction wch follow’d upon my writing certain treatises]2 I did but prompt the age to quit their cloggs3 By the known rules of antient libertie,4 When strait a barbarous noise environs me Of Owles and Cuckoes, Asses, Apes and Doggs.5 5 As when those Hinds° that were transform’d to Froggs Raild at Latona’s twin-born progenie6 Which after held the Sun and Moon in fee.7 But this is got by casting Pearl to Hoggs;8 That bawle for freedom in their senceless mood, And still revolt when truth would set them free.9 10 Licence° they mean when they cry libertie; For who loves that,° must first be wise and good; But from that mark° how far they roave° we see For all this wast of wealth, and loss of blood.10

1 2 3

ignorant peasants

licentiousness i.e., liberty target / wander

Composed late 1645 or early 1646. In TM sonnet XII appears as sonnet 11. Title from the Trinity MS. Encumbrances. A clog was a heavy piece of wood attached to a prisoner, usually to his leg, to prevent him from escaping. 4 The rule of reason, which Milton applies in the Divorce Tracts to interpret Mosaic law. The Old Law (Deut. 24.1–2) permitted greater liberty of divorce than Matt. 19.9, which restricted it more severely. 5 The animals cited are symbols of ignorance, ingratitude, obstinacy, stupidity, and quarrelsomeness. 6 Latona transformed into frogs the peasants who mocked her and her twins, Apollo and Diana. See Ovid, Met. 6.317–81. Twin-born refers both to Apollo and Diana and to Milton’s own twin-born pamphlets, Tetrachordon and Colasterion, both published on March 4, 1645. 7 Apollo and Diana respectively hold the sun and moon “in fee,” that is, rightful possession. 8 See Matt. 7.6: “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine.” 9 Jesus proclaimed that “the truth shall make you free” ( John 8.32). 10 Wealth would have been wasted and blood lost in the Civil War, if its aim – to secure liberty – was compromised.

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XIII. (13)1 To Mr. H. Lawes,2 on his Aires. Harry whose tuneful and well measur’d Song First taught our English Musick how to span° Words with just note and accent,3 not to scan° With Midas Ears,4 committing short and long; 5 Thy worth and skill exempts° thee from the throng, With praise enough for Envy to look wan;° To after age thou shalt be writ the man That with smooth aire° couldst humor° best our tongue. Thou honour’st Verse, and Verse must lend her wing To honour thee, the Priest of Phœbus Quire° 10 That tun’st their happiest lines in Hymn, or Story.5 Dante shall give Fame leave to set thee higher Then his Casella,6 whom he woo’d to sing Met in the milder shades of Purgatory.7

1

2

3

4 5 6 7

measure count metrical feet singles out pale melody / fit the Muses

Composed in 1645 and first published in Choice Psalmes Put into Musick For Three Voices (London: Humphrey Moseley, 1648). Three copies in the Trinity MS, the first with title and date: “To my freind Mr Hen. Laws Feb. 9. 1645.” Henry Lawes (1595–1662) was a member of the King’s Music, and, like his brother, William Lawes (who died fighting for the King at Chester), a committed royalist. He had composed the music and acted the part of the Attendant Spirit in Milton’s 1634 Ludlow Mask and was responsible for publishing the Mask in 1637. Milton compliments Lawes on highlighting the poetic text by fitting music to the words, not, as often was the practice, to make the words fit preexistent music or to eclipse the words with elaborate polyphonic settings. Accent controls the rhythm and measure of the verse. Accent marks were placed on words to indicate correct pronunciation or musical stress. The mythic king Midas was punished with ass’s ears for preferring the music of Pan to Apollo’s music. See Ovid, Met. 11.146–79. Lawes had set to music both psalms and William Cartwright’s poem The Complaint of Ariadne, here alluded to as story. In Purgatorio 2.76–119 Dante asks the shade of his friend, the Florentine musician Casella, to sing a canzone of Dante, which Casella had set to music. The shades are milder since Dante meets Casella on the threshold of Purgatory.

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XIV. (14)1 [On ye religious memorie of Mrs Catharine Thomason my christian freind deceas’d 16 Decem. 1646]2 When Faith and Love which parted from thee never, Had ripen’d thy just soul to dwell with God, Meekly thou didst resign this earthy load Of Death, call’d Life; which us from Life doth sever. 5 Thy Works and Alms and all thy good Endeavour Staid not behind,3 nor in the grave were trod; But as Faith pointed with her golden rod, Follow’d thee up to joy and bliss for ever.4 Love led them on, and Faith who knew them best Thy hand-maids, clad them o’re with purple beams 10 And azure wings, that up they flew so drest, And speak the truth of thee on glorious Theams° Before the Judge,° who thenceforth bid thee rest And drink thy fill of pure immortal streams.

musical strains Christ

1 Composed probably in December 1646. 2 Title from TM (crossed out), One of three drafts of this poem in Milton’s hand in TM. Catharine Thomason was the wife of Milton’s friend George Thomason, a bookseller who collected contemporary pamphlets, including several of Milton’s pamphlets. 3 Cf. Acts 10.4: “Thy prayers and thy alms are come up for a memorial before God.” 4 Cf. Revelation 14.13: “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord . . . their works do follow them.”

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[Sonnets numbered in TM as 15, 16, and 17 to Fairfax, Cromwell, Vane, and 22 to Skinner were not printed in 1673, but were published posthumously by Edward Phillips in Milton’s Letters of State (London, 1694)].

XV. [18]1 On the late Massacher in Piemont.2 Avenge O Lord thy slaughter’d Saints,3 whose bones Lie scatter’d on the Alpine mountains cold, Ev’n them who kept thy truth so pure of old When all our Fathers worship’t Stocks and Stones,4 5 Forget not: in thy book record their groanes Who were thy Sheep and in their antient Fold5 Slayn by the bloody Piemontese° that roll’d Mother with Infant down the Rocks.6 Their moans The Vales redoubl’d to the Hills, and they 10 To Heav’n. Their martyr’d blood and ashes sow O’re all th’Italian fields where still doth sway

1 2

3

4

5 6

the army from Savoy

Composed probably in 1655 after the massacre of the Waldensians in April 1655. Number in brackets indicates its would-be placement in TM after the Sonnet to Vane. The proto-Protestant sect known as the Waldensians or Vaudois traced their origins back to the twelfth century and claimed to retain an apostolic purity of worship. The sect had been officially excommunicated by the Catholic Church in 1215, thus antedating the sects of the Protestant Reformation. They had been granted the right to live in Piedmont near the border of France and Italy by a treaty of 1561 with the duchy of Savoy. The settlement had spread from the upper Alpine villages included in the treaty into the lower villages not included in the treaty. In 1655 the Duke of Savoy sent an army to expel the Waldensians from the territories. The atrocities described in the sonnet ensued with the killing of over 1,700 Waldensians. Milton composed several letters for Cromwell in which the Protector urged other Protestant powers to intervene. Later in 1655 the Waldensians defeated Savoy’s army and the Duke reaffirmed the 1561 treaty. Saints here has the sense of martyrs, especially martyrs for true faith who cry out for vengeance. See Rev. 6.9–10: “I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony that they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on those that dwell on the earth?” Milton praises the Waldensians’ purity of worship by contrasting it with the idolatry of the Roman Catholics. The Catholics, like the worshippers of Baal scorned by Jeremiah ( Jer. 2.27– 8), are said to worship stone and wooden idols. See Rom. 8.36, which describes the faithful as sheep slaughtered for their love of Christ. The account of the massacre (with testimonies of eyewitnesses and names of those tortured and killed) was printed in Samuel Morland, The History of the Evangelical Churches of the Valleys of Piemont (1658), 333– 84.

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SONNET XV [18] On the late Massacher in Piemont The triple Tyrant:° that from these may grow A hunder’d-fold,7 who having learnt thy way Early may fly the Babylonian wo.8

7

303

the pope with his triple crown

Milton here conflates the parable of the sower (Matt. 13.8), where the good seeds sown brought forth a hundredfold, with the mythical account of Cadmus’ sowing of dragon teeth from whence sprang up armed men (See Ovid, Met. 3.101–10). 8 Protestants commonly identified papal Rome as the Babylon of Revelation (Rev. 17.5).

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XVI. [19]1 When I consider how my light is spent,° E’re half my days,2 in this dark world and wide, And that one Talent which is death to hide, Lodg’d with me useless,3 though my Soul more bent 5 To serve therewith my Maker, and present My true account, least he returning chide,4 Doth God exact day-labour, light° deny’d, I fondly° ask;5 But patience to prevent° That murmur,° soon replies, God doth not need Either man’s work or his own gifts, who best 10 Bear his milde yoak,6 they serve him best, his State Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed And post o’re Land and Ocean without rest:7 They also serve who only stand and waite.

1 2 3 4

5

6 7

extinguished

daylight, also eyesight foolishly / anticipate, forestall complaint

Composed in 1652 or shortly thereafter, when Milton became totally blind. Number in brackets indicates its would-be placement in the TM sequence. Half of the biblically promised lifespan (seventy years) would be thirty-five. However, Milton at fortyfour may have been thinking of his father’s lifespan: the elder Milton had died aged eighty-four in 1647. Useless signifies both not employed and also not put to use, i.e., to usury for profit. Talent signifies an intellectual gift (here Milton’s poetic gift) as well as the silver coin, a talent, in the biblical parable of the talents (Matt. 25.14 –30). In the parable, the master, before departing on a journey, distributes five-, two-, and one-talent coins to three servants according to their respective abilities. Upon returning and asking for an account, he is pleased with the two servants who have put out their money to use and have doubled it, but rebukes and casts out the servant who, having hidden it in the earth, returns only the single talent, which he has not put to use. Jesus remarks on the necessity to work while it is day since the night comes when no man may work (John 9.4). Also see the parable of the vineyard (Matt. 20.1–16), where the master paid the same wages to those who worked all day as to those who came in at the eleventh hour. See Matt.11.30: “my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Heywood’s The Hierarchie of the blessed Angels (1635) describes both the order of the angels and their activities in service to God. The lower orders execute God’s commands, while the higher orders stand closer to God, offering praise.

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XVII. [20]1 Lawrence2 of vertuous Father vertuous Son, Now that the Fields are dank, and ways are mire, Where shall we sometimes meet, and by the fire Help wast° a sullen day; what may be won 5 From the hard Season° gaining:° time will run On smoother, till Favonius° re-inspire The frozen earth; and cloth in fresh attire The Lillie and Rose, that neither sow’d nor spun.3 What neat° repast shall feast us, light and choice, Of Attick tast, with Wine, whence we may rise 10 To hear the Lute well toucht, or artfull voice Warble immortal Notes and Tuskan Ayre?° He who of those delights can judge, And spare4 To interpose them oft, is not unwise.

1

spend time winter / advancing the spring wind, Zephyr

simple

Italian song

Date of composition probably between 1655 and 1657. Number in brackets indicates its would-be placement in the TM sequence. 2 Edward Lawrence (1633–57) was the son of Henry Lawrence (1600–64), a member of Cromwell’s Council of State and, after 1654, President of the Council. The younger Lawrence was a frequent visitor to Milton’s house in Petty France. 3 An allusion to Matt. 6.28: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin.” 4 Spare can either signify refrain from, forbear or afford time, spare time for.

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XVIII. [21] Cyriack,1 whose Grandsire on the Royal Bench2 Of Brittish Themis,3 with no mean applause Pronounc’t and in his volumes taught our Lawes,4 Which others° at their Barr so often wrench; 5 To day deep thoughts resolve with me to drench° In mirth, that after no repenting drawes; Let Euclid rest and Archimedes pause,5 And what the Swede intends, and what the French.6 To measure life, learn thou betimes,° and know 10 Toward solid good what leads the nearest way; For other things mild Heav’n a time ordains,7 And disapproves that care, though wise in show, That with superfluous burden loads the day, And when God sends a cheerful hour, refrains.

1

2

3 4 5 6

7

other judges drown (as in wine)

while there is time

Cyriack Skinner (1627–1700), a pupil of Milton’s in the 1640s and author of the anonymous life of Milton, was a frequent visitor during Milton’s residence in Petty France. The scribal copy of lines 5–14 of the sonnet (in the Trinity MS) is in Skinner’s hand. Date of composition probably in the mid-1650s. Number in brackets indicates its would-be placement in the TM sequence. Sir Edward Coke (1552–1634), Skinner’s maternal grandfather, was Chief Justice of the King’s Bench from 1613 to 1616, when he was removed from office for defending Parliament’s rights against the James I’s royal prerogatives. James had him imprisoned in 1621–2. Themis (the Greek goddess of law) signifies here the British legal system. Among Coke’s legal works are the Reports and Institutes of the Laws of England. Milton recommends that Skinner set aside for the moment his studies of Euclid’s mathematics and Archimedes’ physics. Milton also recommends setting aside those worries about foreign affairs, with which he, as Cromwell’s Latin Secretary, was deeply involved. The Swede is Charles X, who had invaded Poland in 1655; the French probably is Cardinal Mazarin, Louis XIV’s minister, who was managing the war against Spain. Mazarin concluded a treaty with England in 1655 (the Treaty of Westminster). Milton here imitates Horace’s remarks on political affairs: Odes 2.11.1–4. Skinner later became prominent in the Rota Club, a republican society set up in 1659. Probably an allusion to Eccles. 3.1: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”

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XIX. (23)1 Methought I saw my late espoused Saint2 Brought to me like Alcestis° from the grave, Whom Joves great Son° to her glad Husband° gave, Rescu’d from death by force though pale and faint.3 5 Mine as whom° washt from spot of child-bed taint, Purification in the old Law4 did save, And such, as yet once more I trust to have Full sight of her in Heaven without restraint, Came vested all in white,° pure5 as her mind: 10 Her face was vail’d, yet to my fancied sight, Love, sweetness, goodness, in her person shin’d So clear, as in no face with more delight. But O as to embrace me she enclin’d I wak’d, she fled, and day brought back my night.6

1 2

3 4

5 6

heroine of Euripides’ drama Hercules / Admetus as one whom

Rev. 19.8

Date of composition unknown. Number 23 from Trinity MS. Saint is a term often used by Puritans to describe a faithful Christian. Late espoused could signify either a spouse recently wedded or one lately deceased. Traditionally the sonnet was thought to refer to Katherine Woodcock, whom Milton married in November 1656 and who died in February 1658 – hence both recently married and recently deceased. However, the wife in question could be Mary Powell, whom Milton married in 1642 and who died in May 1652, hence recently deceased. While a guest in Admetus’ house, Hercules, learning that Admetus’ wife Alcestis had voluntarily died in his place, descended into the underworld and, using force, brought Alcestis back to her husband. The old Law refers to the prescription in Lev. 12.4 that a woman remain (after the birth of a daughter) unclean for two weeks and could not touch hallowed things or enter the temple for an additional threescore and six days until she had completed ritual purification – a total of eighty days. Mary died soon after giving birth to Milton’s daughter Deborah, therefore before she had fulfilled the time allotted for purification of a daughter. Katherine died several months after giving birth to a daughter, hence after the period prescribed for purification. Perhaps a play on the Greek word katharos (pure), hence indicating the second wife Katherine. The failed embrace has many precedents in literature. Odysseus tries unsuccessfully to embrace his mother’s shade (Ody. 11.204–9). Aeneas tries unsuccessfully to embrace the apparition of his wife Creusa and later the shade of his father Anchises (Aen. 2.792– 4; 6.700 –2). Here, however, the shade of the wife, not the living husband, initiates but fails to complete the embrace.

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The Fifth Ode of Horace. Lib. I.1 Quis multa gracilis te puer in Rosa, Rendred almost word for word without Rhyme according to the Latin Measure, as near as the Language will permit. What slender Youth bedew’d with liquid odours° Courts thee on Roses in some pleasant Cave, Pyrrha for whom bindst thou In wreaths° thy golden Hair, 5 Plain in thy neatness; O how oft shall he On Faith and changed Gods complain: and Seas Rough with black winds and storms Unwonted shall admire:° Who now enjoyes thee: credulous, all Gold, 10 Who alwayes vacant° alwayes amiable° Hopes thee; of flattering gales° Unmindfull. Hapless they To whom thou untry’d seem’st fair. Me in my vow’d Picture the sacred wall2 declares t’have hung 15 My dank and dropping weeds° To the stern God of Sea.°

1 2

perfumes

braids, tresses

wonder at without other lovers / lovable deceitful winds

clothes Neptune

Date of composition unknown. Included after sonnet XIX (23) in 1673. The poet vows to hang a votive tablet with his picture in Neptune’s temple as a thank-offering for having escaped the shipwreck of an unhappy love affair.

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AD PYRRHAM. Ode V. Horatius ex Pyrrhae illecebris tanquam è naufragio enataverat, cujus amore irretitos, affirmat esse miseros. Quis multa gracilis te puer in rosa Perfusus liquidis urget odoribus, Grato, Pyrrha, sub antro? Cui flavam religas comam 5 Simplex munditie? heu quoties fidem Mutatosque deos flebit, & aspera Nigris æquora ventis Emirabitur insolens, Qui nunc te fruitur credulus aurea: 10 Qui semper vacuam, semper amabilem Sperat, nescius auræ Fallacis. miseri quibus Intentata nites. me tabula sacer Votiva paries indicat uvida 15 Suspendisse potenti Vestimenta maris Deo.

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Anno Ætatis 19. At a Vacation Exercise in the Colledge, part Latin, part English. The Latin speeches ended, the English thus began.1

5

10

15

20

25

Hail native Language,2 that by sinews weak Didst move my first endeavouring tongue to speak, And mad’st imperfect words with childish tripps,° Half unpronounc’t, slide through my infant-lipps, Driving dum silence from the portal dore, Where he had mutely sate two years before: Here I salute thee and thy pardon ask, That now I use thee in my latter task:° Small loss it is that thence can come unto thee, I know my tongue but little Grace can do thee: Thou needst not be ambitious to be first, Believe me I have thither° packt the worst: And, if it happen as I did forecast, The daint[i]est dishes shall be serv’d up last.3 I pray thee then deny me not thy aide For this same small neglect that I have made: But haste thee strait to do me once a Pleasure, And from thy wardrope° bring thy chiefest treasure; Not those new fangled toys,° and triming° slight Which takes° our late fantasticks4 with delight, But cull° those richest Robes, and gay’st attire Which deepest Spirits, and choicest Wits desire: I have some naked thoughts that rove about And loudly knock to have their passage out; And wearie of their place do only stay Till thou hast deck’t them in thy best ar[r]ay; 1

speech

the present English poem

in the Latin prolusion

wardrobe = storage place clever conceits / adornment captivates select

Composed June–July 1628. Erroneously placed after “Ad Pyrrham” in 1673. The errata of 1673 indicate that it should have been placed at the end of the Elegie (i.e., after Fair Infant). The English poem was originally presented as the third and concluding part of the entertainment, following Milton’s witty Latin oration, Prolusion #6 – “That sportive exercises are occasionally not inconsistent with philosophical studies.” Milton had been invited to preside over the assembly at Christ’s College, Cambridge on the occasion of the commencement of the long summer vacation in 1628. Though not raucous and indecent like the prolusion that precedes it, the poem shares some of its themes. In it Milton assumes the role of Ens (Being), or Father of the occasion. 2 Milton marks his transition from Latin to English by greeting his native language. This poem is probably Milton’s first declaration of an intention to be an English rather than a Latin poet. 3 Milton pursues the theme of feasting developed in the prolusion. 4 Poets who employ a showy poetic style or those who enjoy fanciful entertainments.

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30

35

40

45

50

55

That so they may without suspect° or fears Fly swiftly to this fair Assembly’s ears; Yet I had rather, if I were to chuse, Thy service in some graver subject use, Such as may make thee search thy coffers round, Before thou cloath my fancy° in fit sound: Such where the deep transported mind may soare Above the wheeling poles,° and at Heav’ns dore Look in, and see each blissful Deitie How he before the thunderous throne° doth lie, Listening to what unshorn Apollo5 sings To th’touch of golden wires, while Hebe° brings Immortal Nectar to her Kingly Sire:° Then passing through the Spher[es] of watchful fire,° And mistie Regions of wide air next under, And hills of Snow and lofts° of piled Thunder, May tell at length how green-ey’d Neptune raves, In Heav’ns defiance mustering all his waves; Then sing of secret things that came to pass When Beldam° Nature in her cradle was; And last of Kings and Queens and Hero’s old, Such as the wise Demodocus° once told In solemn Songs at King Alcinous feast, While sad Ulisses soul and all the rest Are held with his melodious harmonie In willing chains and sweet captivitie.6 But fie my wandring Muse how dost thou stray!7 Expectance° calls thee now another way, Thou know’st it must be now thy only bent To keep in compass of thy Predicament:8 Then quick about thy purpos’d business come, That to the next I may resign my Roome.

5 6

311 suspicion

imagination the axes of the spheres seat of the thunderer Jupiter cupbearer of the Olympian gods Jupiter stars and planets layers

an aged female a Greek poet in Homer

expectation

Unshorn is the classical epithet for Apollo as sun god, hence shining brightly. Demodocus, the blind court poet of the Phaeacian king Alcinous, sang of the adventures of the Greeks at Troy while Odysseus (Ulysses), his identity yet undisclosed, wept to hear of the travails of his erstwhile comrades (Ody. 8.521–2). 7 Pindar rebukes his fancy, Horace his Muse, for leading him astray from the subject (Pindar; Nemean 3.26–7; Horace, Odes 3.3.70). 8 Milton says that he must now return to the task at hand – to introduce his sons, the Aristotelian categories, to the assembly. He puns on Predicament as an Aristotelian term.

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312

English Poems Added in 1673

Then Ens is represented as Father of the Prædicaments his ten Sons, whereof the Eldest stood for Substance with his Canons, which Ens thus speaking, explains.9

60

65

70

75

80

Good luck befriend thee Son; for at thy birth The Faiery Ladies10 daunc’t upon the hearth; Thy drowsie Nurse hath sworn she did them spie Come tripping to the Room where thou didst lie; And sweetly singing round about thy Bed Strew all their blessings on thy sleeping Head. She heard them give thee this, that thou should’st still From eyes of mortals walk invisible,11 Yet there is something that doth force my fear, For once it was my dismal hap to hear a prophetess A Sybil old,° bow-bent with crooked age, That far events full wisely could presage, a crystal or mirror that foretells the future And in times long and dark Prospective Glass° Fore-saw what future dayes should bring to pass, Your Son, said she, (nor can you it prevent) Shall subject be to many an Accident.12 O’re all his Brethren he shall Reign as King, Yet every one shall make him underling,13 And those that cannot live from him asunder Ungratefully shall strive to keep him under, In worth and excellence he shall out-go them, Yet being above them, he shall be below them;14 From others he shall stand in need of nothing, Yet on his Brothers shall depend for Cloathing.15 To find a Foe it shall not be his hap,

9

Milton assumes the person of the Father of the feast, the Aristotelian Ens (Being). His ten sons (played by fellow undergraduates) are the Aristotelian categories – Substance, together with its nine predicaments or accidents – Quantity, Quality, Relation, Place, Time, Posture, Possession, Action, and Passion. 10 Fairy godmothers traditionally grant special gifts to newborns. 11 Invisibility is the character of the first Aristotelian category, Substance. 12 The first “son,” Substance, as the primary Aristotelian category, can only be perceived through its “brothers” – the nine accidents or predicaments. Therefore, Substance can be said to be subject to them. Accident also has the additional meaning of mishap. 13 As the first of the categories, Substance is king over the rest. However, since substance means “standing under,” it can be referred to as an underling. 14 Another play on the meaning of substance – as standing under. 15 Substance relies on its accidents to define or clothe it.

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And peace shall lull him in her flowry lap; 85 Yet shall he live in strife, and at his dore

Devouring war shall never cease to roare: Yea it shall be his natural property To harbour those that are at enmity. What power, what force, what mighty spell, if not 90 Your learned hands, can loose this Gordian knot?16 The next Quantity° and Quality,° spake in Prose, then Relation° was call’d by his Name. Rivers17 arise; whether thou be the Son, Of utmost Tweed, or Oose, or gulphie° Dun,° Or Trent, who like some earth-born Giant spreads His thirty Armes along the indented Meads,18 95 Or sullen° Mole that runneth underneath, Or Severn swift, guilty of Maidens death,19 Or Rockie Avon, or of Sedgie Lee, Or Coaly Tine, or antient h[a]llowed Dee,20 Or Humber loud that keeps the Scythians Name,21 100 Or Medway smooth, or Royal Towred22 Thame.

three of the ten Aristotelian categories

full of gulfs or eddies / Don river

flowing slowly

The rest was Prose.

16 The Gordian knot, notoriously difficult to untie, had to be cut, as Alexander did, with a sword. To resolve these paradoxes of Aristotelian theory would require a similar stroke from the learned assembly. 17 Some editors note that two brothers named Rivers were students at Christ’s College, one of which played the role of the Aristotelian Relation. Milton models his catalogue of rivers on Spenser’s catalogue in FQ 4.11.24–47 and on Drayton, Polyolbion. 18 Milton depicts the Trent, with its thirty tributaries, as one of the many-armed giant sons of Earth. 19 Sabrina, the virgin daughter of Locrine, was drowned in the Severn. See A Mask, 823– 41. 20 Hallowed, as connected with the Druids in nearby Anglesey. 21 Humber took its name from the Scythian warrior defeated by the British leader Locrine and drowned in that river. 22 The Thames flows by the royal towers of London.

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On the new forcers of Conscience under the Long PARLIAMENT.1 Because you have thrown off 2 your Prelate Lord,° And with stiff Vowes renounc’d his Liturgie3 To seise the widdow’d whore Pluralitie From them whose sin ye envi’d, not abhor’d,4 5 Dare ye for this adjure° the Civill Sword5 To force our Consciences that Christ set free, And ride° us with a classic Hierarchy6 Taught ye by meer A. S. and Rotherford?7 Men° whose Life, Learning, Faith and pure intent 10 Would have been held in high esteem with Paul° Must now be nam’d and printed Hereticks By shallow Edwards8 and Scotch what d’ye call:9 But we do hope to find out all your tricks, Your plots and packings10 wors then those of Trent,11

1

Episcopacy

invoke or entreat tyrannize the Independent ministers the apostle Paul

Composed c.1646–7. It was printed in 1673 after the Vacation Exercise, though, according to the directive in the Trinity Manuscript, it should have been placed after the sonnet numbered 12 (XI in 1673). The poem is a tailed sonnet on the Italian model, in 20 rather than 14 lines, with two concluding tails, each consisting of a half line and a rhymed couplet. 2 Milton addresses the poem to the Presbyterians. In the early 1640s Milton had sided with the Presbyterians against the bishops. The formal abolition of episcopacy (church government by bishops and archbishops) came in October, 1646. But by 1646 the Presbyterians, now in power, were denying religious toleration to other Protestants (Independents, Baptists, and various other sects), condemning them as heretics. 3 In 1645 the Westminster Assembly (mostly Presbyterians) banned the use of the Book of Common Prayer. 4 Although they condemned Plurality – the practice of ministers of possessing the income from more than one living or benefice – Presbyterians had begun to adopt the same practice. 5 Presbyterians insisted that it was the responsibility of the civil power, the magistrates, to enforce religious conformity. 6 To impose on English Protestants the rule of the classis, the regional synod or body of elders, which was the principal ruling body in the Presbyterian system. 7 Adam Stewart (A.S.) was Presbyterian pamphleteer. Samuel Rotherford, professor of divinity at St. Andrews University, was one of the Scottish Presbyterian members of the Westminster Assembly. 8 The Presbyterian Thomas Edwards had listed hundreds of opinions as heretical, attacking the Independents and other Protestant sects as heretics in Gangraena (1646). 9 “Scotch what d’ ye call” is probably Robert Baillie, a Scottish Commissioner of the Assembly, who in A Dissuasive from the Errours of the Time (1645) had attacked the Independents as heretics and Milton as a divorcer. 10 Milton may be referring to the packed votes or other irregular dealings of the Westminster Assembly. 11 Milton compares the Westminster Assembly to the Council of Trent (1545– 63), held by the Catholic Church to promote a counter-Reformation against the Lutheran movement, and notorious among Protestants for repression of reformed doctrine and religious freedom.

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On the new forcers of Conscience under the Long PARLIAMENT 15

That so the Parliament12 May with their wholsom and preventive Shears Clip your Phylacteries,13 though bauk° your Ears,14 And succour° our just Fears When they° shall read this clearly in your charge New Presbyter is but Old Priest writ Large.15

12

315

spare relieve Parliament

In April 1646 Parliament rebuked the Assembly, affirming that Parliament alone could grant or withhold religious toleration. 13 Phylacteries were small boxes or amulets containing scriptures, which orthodox Jews often wore upon their forehead. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their self-righteousness in wearing these symbols of piety without possessing real righteousness and compassion for others (Matt. 23.5). By asking Parliament to clip their phylacteries, Milton is hoping that Parliament will expose the hypocrisy of the Presbyterians. 14 Clipping the ears was a punishment visited upon several outspoken critics of Prelacy. A cancelled line in the Trinity MS (“Cropp yee as close as marginall P___s eares”) alludes to the Presbyterian polemicist William Prynne, who had his ears clipped twice for denouncing the Prelates, and especially Archbishop Laud, but who was now calling forcefully for suppression of heretics. 15 Priest was a term used in the established Church of England for a minister; presbyter the term used by Presbyterians. Milton implies that presbyter and priest are the same in practice (in denying religious toleration) even as they are in etymology, the word priest having been derived from the Greek word presbyter.

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[Psalms]

1

PSAL. I. Done into Verse, 1653. Bless’d is the man who hath not walk’d astray In counsel of the wicked, and ith’ way Of sinners hath not stood, and in the seat Of scorners hath not sate. But in the great 5 Jehovahs Law is ever his delight, And in his Law he studies day and night. He shall be as a tree which planted grows By watry streams, and in his season knows To yield his fruit, and his leaf shall not fall, 10 And what he takes in hand shall prosper all. Not so the wicked, but as chaff which fann’d The wind drives, so the wicked shall not stand In [judgment], or abide their tryal then, Nor sinners in th’assembly of just men. 15 For the Lord knows th’ upright way of the just, And the way of bad men to ruine must.

PSAL. II. Done Aug. 8. 1653. Terzetti.2 Why do the Gentiles tumult, and the Nations muse a vain thing, the Kings of th’ earth upstand 1

In the text of Poems (1673) the Psalm translations are placed immediately after A Mask. They are collected in two groups. Milton translated psalms 1–8 from the Hebrew in 1653 about a year and a half after he had become totally blind. Psalms 80–88 he translated in 1648. 2 Terza rima, Dante’s measure for the Commedia.

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Psalm 3

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With power, and Princes in their Congregations Lay deep their plots together through each Land, Against the Lord and his Messiah dear Let us break off, say they, by strength of hand Their bonds, and cast from us, no more to wear, Their twisted cords: he who in Heaven doth dwell Shall laugh, the Lord shall scoff them, then severe Speak to them in his wrath, and in his fell And fierce ire trouble them; but I saith hee anointed have my King (though ye rebell) On Sion my holi’hill. A firm decree I will declare; the Lord to me hath say’d Thou art my Son I have begotten thee This day; ask of me, and the grant is made; As thy possession I on thee bestow Th’ Heathen, and as thy conquest to be sway’d Earths utmost bounds: them shalt thou bring full low With Iron Scepter bruis’d, and them disperse Like to a potters vessel shiver’d so. And now be wise at length, ye Kings averse Be taught ye Judges of the earth; with fear Jehovah serve, and let your joy converse With trembling; kiss the Son least he appear In anger and ye perish in the way If once his wrath take fire like fuel sere. Happy all those who have in him their stay.

PSAL. 3. Aug. 9. 1653. When he fled from Absalom. Lord how many are my foes How many those That in arms against me rise Many are they 5 That of my life distrustfully thus say, No help for him in God there lies. But thou Lord art my shield my glory, Thee through my story Th’ exalter of my head I count 10 Aloud I cry’d

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Unto Jehovah, he full soon reply’d And heard me from his holy mount. I lay and slept, I wak’d again, For my sustain 15 Was the Lord. Of many millions The populous rout I fear not though incamping round about They pitch against me their Pavillions. Rise Lord, save me my God for thou 20 Hast smote ere now On the cheek-bone all my foes, Of men abhor’d Hast broke the teeth. This help was from the Lord Thy blessing on thy people flows.

PSAL. IV. Aug. 10. 1653.

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Answer me when I call God of my righteousness In straights and in distress Thou didst me disinthrall And set at large; now spare, Now pity me, and hear my earnest prai’r. Great ones how long will ye My glory have in scorn How long be thus forborn Still to love vanity, To love, to seek, to prize Things false and vain and nothing else but lies? Yet know the Lord hath chose Chose to himself a part The good and meek of heart (For whom to chuse he knows) Jehovah from on high Will hear my voyce what time to him I crie. Be aw’d, and do not sin, Speak to your hearts alone, Upon your beds, each one, And be at peace within. Offer the offerings just

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Psalm V Of righteousness and in Jehovah trust. 25 Many there be that say

Who yet will shew us good? Talking like this worlds brood; But Lord, thus let me pray, On us lift up the light 30 Lift up the favour of thy count’nance bright. Into my heart more joy And gladness thou hast put Then when a year of glut Their stores doth over-cloy 35 And from their plenteous grounds With vast increase their corn and wine abounds In peace at once will I Both lay me down and sleep For thou alone dost keep 40 Me safe where ere I lie As in a rocky Cell Thou Lord alone in safety mak’st me dwell.

PSAL. V. Aug. 12. 1653. Jehovah to my words give ear My meditation waigh The voyce of my complaining hear My King and God for unto thee I pray. 5 Jehovah thou my early voyce Shalt in the morning hear Ith’ morning I to thee with choyce Will rank my Prayers, and watch till thou appear. For thou art not a God that takes 10 In wickedness delight Evil with thee no biding makes Fools or mad men stand not within thy sight. All workers of iniquity Thou hat’st; and them unblest 15 Thou wilt destroy that speak a ly The bloodi’ and guileful man God doth detest. But I will in thy mercies dear Thy numerous mercies go

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Into thy house; I in thy fear 20 Will towards thy holy temple worship low

Lord lead me in thy righteousness Lead me because of those That do observe If I transgress Set thy wayes right before, where my step goes. 25 For in his faltring mouth unstable No word is firm or sooth Their inside, troubles miserable; An open grave their throat, their tongue they smooth. God, find them guilty, let them fall 30 By their own counsels quell’d; Push them in their rebellions all Still on; for against thee they have rebell’d; Then all who trust in thee shall bring Their joy, while thou from blame 35 Defend’st them, they shall ever sing And shall triumph in thee, who love thy name. For thou Jehovah wilt be found To bless the just man still, As with a shield thou wilt surround Him with thy lasting favour and good will.

PSAL. VI. Aug. 13. 1653. Lord in thine anger do not reprehend me Nor in thy hot displeasure me correct; Pity me Lord for I am much deject Am very weak and faint; heal and amend me, 5 For all my bones, that even with anguish ake, Are troubled, yea my soul is troubled sore And thou O Lord how long? turn Lord, restore My soul, O save me for thy goodness sake For in death no remembrance is of thee; 10 Who in the grave can celebrate thy praise? Wearied I am with sighing out my dayes, Nightly my Couch I make a kind of Sea; My Bed I water with my tears; mine Eie Through grief consumes, is waxen old and dark 15 Ith’ mid’st of all mine enemies that mark.

ache

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Psalm VII Depart all ye that work iniquitie. Depart from me, for the voice of my weeping The Lord hath heard, the Lord hath heard my prai’r My supplication with acceptance fair 20 The Lord will own, and have me in his keeping. Mine enemies shall all be blank and dash’t With much confusion; then grow red with shame, They shall return in hast the way they came And in a moment shall be quite abash’t.

PSAL. VII. Aug. 14. 1653. Upon the words of Chush the Benjamite against him. Lord my God to thee I flie Save me and secure me under Thy protection while I crie, Least as a Lion (and no wonder) 5 He hast to tear my Soul asunder Tearing and no rescue nigh. Lord my God if I have thought Or done this, if wickedness Be in my hands, if I have wrought 10 Ill to him that meant me peace, Or to him have render’d less, And not fre’d my foe for naught; Let th’ enemy pursue my soul And overtake it, let him tread 15 My life down to the earth and roul In the dust my glory dead, In the dust and there out spread Lodge it with dishonour foul. Rise Jehovah in thine ire 20 Rouze thy self amidst the rage Of my foes that urge like fire;

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And wake for me, their furi’ asswage; Judgment here thou didst ingage And command which I desire. 25 So th’ assemblies of each Nation

Will surround thee, seeking right, Thence to thy glorious habitation Return on high and in their sight. Jehovah judgeth most upright 30 All people from the worlds foundation. Judge me Lord, be judge in this According to my righteousness And the innocence which is Upon me: cause at length to cease 35 Of evil men the wickedness And their power that do amiss. But the just establish fast, Since thou art the just God that tries Hearts and reins. On God is cast 40 My defence, and in him lies In him who both just and wise Saves th’ upright of Heart at last. God is a just Judge and severe, And God is every day offended; 45 If th’ unjust will not forbear, His Sword he whets, his Bow hath bended Already, and for him intended The tools of death, that waits him near. (His arrows purposely made he 50 For them that persecute.) Behold

He travels big with vanitie, Trouble he hath conceav’d of old As in a womb, and from that mould Hath at length brought forth a Lie. 55 He dig’d a pit, and delv’d it deep,

And fell into the pit he made, His mischief that due course doth keep,

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Psalm VIII Turns on his head, and his ill trade Of violence will undelay’d 60 Fall on his crown with ruine steep. Then will I Jehovah’s praise According to his justice raise And sing the Name and Deitie Of Jehovah the most high.

PSAL. VIII. Aug. 14. 1653. O Jehovah our Lord how wondrous great And glorious is thy name through all the earth [!] So as above the Heavens thy praise to set Out of the tender mouths of latest bearth, 5 Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou

Hast founded strength because of all thy foes, To stint th’ enemy, and slack th’avengers brow That bends his rage thy providence to oppose When I behold thy Heavens, thy Fingers art, 10 The Moon and Starrs which thou so bright hast set, In the pure firmament, then saith my heart, O what is man that thou remembrest yet, And think’st upon him; or of man begot That him thou visit’st and of him art found; 15 Scarce to be less then Gods, thou mad’st his lot, With honour and with state thou hast him crown’d. O’er the works of thy hand thou mad’st him Lord, Thou hast put all under his lordly feet, All Flocks, and Herds, by thy commanding word, 20 All beasts that in the field or forrest meet. Fowl of the Heavens, and Fish that through the wet Sea-paths in shoals do slide. And know no dearth. O Jehovah our Lord how wondrous great And glorious is thy name through all the earth.

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April. 1648. J. M. Nine of the Psalms done into Metre, wherein all but what is in a different Character, are the very words of the Text, translated from the Original.3

PSAL. LXXX. 1

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Thou Shepherd that dost Israel keep Give ear in time of need, Who leadest like a flock of sheep Thy loved Josephs seed, That sitt’st between the Cherubs bright 4 Between their wings out-spread, Shine forth, and from thy cloud give light, And on our foes thy dread[.] In Ephraims view and Benjamins, And in Manasse’s sight *Gnorera. [lit., arouse] Awake* thy strength, come, and be seen To save us by thy might. Turn us again, thy grace divine To us O God vouchsafe; Cause thou thy face on us to shine And then we shall be safe. Lord God of Hosts, how long wilt thou, How long wilt thou declare *Gnashanta. [lit., smoke] Thy *smoaking wrath, and angry brow Against thy peoples praire. Thou feed’st them with the bread of tears, Their bread with tears they eat, *Shalish. [lit., third of a measure] And mak’st them *largely drink the tears Wherewith their cheeks are wet.

3 In April 1648 (the same month that Milton began his translation of psalms 80–88), the Westminster Assembly reconstituted a committee that it had earlier appointed to revise Francis Rous’s metrical version of the psalms (1641; revised 1646). The Commons preferred Rous’ version, the House of Lords another version by William Barton (1644). Milton uses Common Measure for these nine psalms, (alternating tetrameter and trimeter lines, with lines 1 and 3 rhyming). For some of his freer translations he supplies the original Hebrew as marginal glosses (translations are here provided). 4 Milton alludes to the two golden cherubs kneeling, with their wings meeting above, which were on the ark of the covenant (Exod. 25.18–22).

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Psalm LXXX 25

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A strife thou mak’st us and a prey To every neighbour foe, Among themselves they *laugh, they * play, And * flouts at us they throw Return us, and thy grace divine, O God of Hosts vouchsafe Cause thou thy face on us to shine, And then we shall be safe. A Vine from Ægypt thou hast brought, Thy free love made it thine, And drov’st out Nations proud and haut To plant this lovely Vine. Thou did’st prepare for it a place And root it deep and fast, That it began to grow apace, And fill’d the land at last. With her green shade that cover’d all, The Hills were over-spread Her Bows as high as Cedars tall Advanc’d their lofty head. Her branches on the western side Down to the Sea she sent, And upward to that river wide Her other branches went. Why hast thou laid her Hedges low And brok’n down her Fence, That all may pluck her, as they go, With rudest violence? The tusked Boar out of the wood Up turns it by the roots, Wild Beasts there brouze, and make their food Her Grapes and tender Shoots. Return now, God of Hosts, look down From Heav’n, thy Seat divine, Behold us, but without a frown, And visit this thy Vine. Visit this Vine, which thy right hand Hath set, and planted long, And the young branch, that for thy self Thou hast made firm and strong. But now it is consum’d with fire, And cut with Axes down,

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*Jilgnagu. [lit., mock]

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17 70

18 75

They perish at thy dreadfull ire, At thy rebuke and frown. Upon the man of thy right hand Let thy good hand be laid, Upon the Son of Man, whom thou Strong for thy self hast made. So shall we not go back from thee To wayes of sin and shame, Quick’n us thou, then gladly wee Shall call upon thy Name. Return us, and thy grace divine Lord God of Hosts voutsafe, Cause thou thy face on us to shine, And then we shall be safe.

PSAL. LXXXI. 1

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To God our strength sing loud, and clear Sing loud to God our King, To Jacobs God, that all may hear Loud acclamations ring. Prepare a Hymn, prepare a Song The Timbrel hither bring The cheerfull Psaltry bring along And Harp with pleasant string, Blow, as is wont, in the new Moon With Trumpets lofty sound, Th’ appointed time, the day wheron Our solemn Feast comes round. This was a Statute giv’n of old For Israel to observe A Law of Jacobs God, to hold From whence they might not swerve. This he a Testimony ordain’d In Joseph, not to change, When as he pass’d through Ægypt land; The Tongue I heard, was strange. From burden, and from slavish toyle I set his shoulder free; His hands from pots, and mirie soyle

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Psalm LXXXI

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Deliver’d were by me. When trouble did thee sore assaile, On me then didst thou call, And I to free thee did not faile, And led thee out of thrall. I answer’d thee in * thunder deep With clouds encompass’d round; I tried thee at the water steep Of Meriba renown’d. Hear O my people, heark’n well, I testifie to thee Thou antient flock of Israel, If thou wilt list to mee, Through out the land of thy abode No alien God shall be Nor shalt thou to a forein God In honour bend thy knee. I am the Lord thy God which brought Thee out of Ægypt land Ask large enough, and I, besought, Will grant thy full demand. And yet my people would not hear, Nor hearken to my voice; And Israel whom I lov’d so dear Mislik’d me for his choice. Then did I leave them to their will And to their wandring mind; Their own conceits they follow’d still Their own devises blind. O that my people would be wise To serve me all their daies, And O that Israel would advise To walk my righteous waies. Then would I soon bring down their foes That now so proudly rise, And turn my hand against all those That are their enemies. Who hate the Lord should then be fain To bow to him and bend, But they, his People, should remain, Their time should have no end. And we would feed them from the shock

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*Be Sether ragman. [lit., in the secret place of thunder]

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With flowr of finest wheat, And satisfie them from the rock With Honey for their Meat.

PSAL. LXXXII. 1

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God in the * great * assembly stands *Bagnadath-el. [lit. assembly of God] Of Kings and lordly States, †Among the gods † on both his hands †Bekereu. [lit., in the midst of] He judges and debates. *Tish-phetu How long will ye * pervert the right With * judgment false and wrong gnavel. [lit., judge falsely] Favouring the wicked by your might. Who thence grow bold and strong *Shiphtu-dal. [lit., judge the poor] *Regard the * weak and fatherless *Dispatch the * poor mans cause, And † raise the man in deep distress †Hatzdiku. [lit., justify] By † just and equal Lawes. Defend the poor and desolate, And rescue from the hands Of wicked men the low estate Of him that help demands. They know not nor will understand, In darkness they walk on The Earths foundations all are * mov’d *Jimmotu. [lit., slip] And * out of order gon. I said that ye were Gods, yea all The Sons of God most high But ye shall die like men, and fall As other5 Princes die. Rise God, * judge thou the earth in might, *Shiphta. [lit., judge] This wicked earth * redress, For thou art he who shalt by right The Nations all possess.

E. C. Baldwin points out that Milton had apparently mistaken the Hebrew word meaning “one” for a similar word meaning “other.”

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Psalm LXXXIII

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PSAL. LXXXIII. 1

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Be not thou silent now at length O God hold not thy peace, Sit not thou still O God of strength We cry and do not cease. For lo thy furious foes now * swell *Jehemajun. [lit., are in tumult] And * storm outrageously, And they that hate thee proud and fell Exalt their heads full hie. †Jagnarimu Against thy people they † contrive †Their Plots and Counsels deep, †Sod. [lit., devise cunning counsel] * Them to ensnare they chiefly strive *Jithjagnatsu gnal. [lit., conspire against] * Whom thou dost hide and keep. *Tsephuneca. [lit., hidden things] Come let us cut them off say they, Till they no Nation be That Israels name for ever may Be lost in memory. For they consult †with all their might, †Lev jachdau. [lit., with heart together] And all as one in mind Themselves against thee they unite And in firm union bind. The tents of Edom, and the brood Of scornful Ishmael, Moab, with them of Hagars blood That in the Desart dwell, Gebal and Ammon there conspire, And hateful Amalec, The Philistims, and they of Tyre Whose bounds the Sea doth check. With them great Asshur also bands And doth confirm the knot, All these have lent their armed hands To aid the Sons of Lot. Do to them as to Midian bold That wasted all the Coast To Sisera, and as is told Thou didst to Jabins hoast, When at the brook of Kishon old They were repulst and slain, At Endor quite cut off, and rowl’d

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As dung upon the plain. As Zeb and Oreb evil sped So let their Princes speed As Zeba, and Zalmunna bled So let their Princes bleed. For they amidst their pride have said By right now shall we seize Gods houses, and will now invade † Their stately Palaces. My God, oh make them as a wheel No quiet let them find, Giddy and restless let them reel Like stubble from the wind. As when an aged wood takes fire Which on a sudden straies, The greedy flame runs hier and hier Till all the mountains blaze, So with thy whirlwind them pursue, And with thy tempest chase; * And till they * yield thee honour due; Lord fill with shame their face. Asham’d and troubl’d let them be, Troubl’d and sham’d for ever, Ever confounded, and so die With shame, and scape it never. Then shall they know that thou whose name Jehova is alone, Art the most high, and thou the same O’re all the earth art one.

†Neoth Elohim bears both6

*They seek thy Name, Heb.

PSAL. LXXXIV. 1

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5

6

How lovely are thy dwellings fair! O Lord of Hoasts, how dear The pleasant Tabernacles are! Where thou do’st dwell so near. My Soul doth long and almost die Thy Courts O Lord to see,

Milton notes that the Hebrew word “neoth” can be translated by either word (houses or palaces). Neoth literally means pastures, hence dwelling: Elohim is a term for God.

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Psalm LXXXIV

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My heart and flesh aloud do crie, O living God, for thee. There ev’n the Sparrow freed from wrong Hath found a house of rest, The Swallow there, to lay her young Hath built her brooding nest, Ev’n by thy Altars Lord of Hoasts They find their safe abode, And home they fly from round the Coasts Toward thee, My King, my God. Happy, who in thy house reside Where thee they ever praise, Happy, whose strength in thee doth bide, And in their hearts thy waies. They pass through Baca’s thirstie Vale, That dry and barren ground As through a fruitfull watry Dale Where Springs and Showrs abound. They journey on from strength to strength With joy and gladsom cheer Till all before our God at length In Sion do appear. Lord God of Hoasts hear now my praier O Jacobs God give ear, Thou God our shield look on the face Of thy anointed dear. For one day in thy Courts to be Is better, and more blest Then in the joyes of Vanity, A thousand daies at best. I in the temple of my God Had rather keep a dore, Then dwell in Tents, and rich abode With Sin for evermore. For God the Lord both Sun and Shield Gives grace and glory bright, No good from them shall be with-held Whose waies are just and right. Lord God of Hoasts that raign’st on high, That man is truly blest, Who only on thee doth relie, And in thee only rest.

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PSAL. LXXXV. 1

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9

Thy Land to favour graciously Thou hast not Lord been slack, Thou hast from hard Captivity Returned Jacob back. Th’ iniquity thou didst forgive That wrought thy people woe, And all their Sin, that did thee grieve Hast hid where none shall know. Thine anger all thou hadst remov’d, And calmly didst return From thy † fierce wrath which we had prov’d Far worse then fire to burn. God of our saving health and peace, Turn us, and us restore, Thine indignation cause to cease Toward us, and chide no more. Wilt thou be angry without end, For ever angry thus Wilt thou thy frowning ire extend From age to age on us? Wilt thou not * turn, and hear our voice And us again * revive, That so thy people may rejoyce By thee preserv’d alive. Cause us to see thy goodness Lord, To us thy mercy shew Thy saving health to us afford And life in us renew. And now what God the Lord will speak I will go strait and hear, For to his people he speaks peace And to his Saints full dear, To his dear Saints he will speak peace, But let them never more Return to folly, but surcease To trespass as before. Surely to such as do him fear Salvation is at hand And glory shall ere long appear

†Heb. The burning heat of thy wrath.

*Heb. Turn to quicken us.

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To dwell within our Land. Mercy and Truth that long were miss’d Now joyfully are met Sweet Peace and Righteousness have kiss’d And hand in hand are set. 11 Truth from the earth like to a flowr Shall bud and blossom then, And Justice from her heavenly bowr look down on mortal men. 12 The Lord will also then bestow Whatever thing is good Our Land shall forth in plenty throw Her fruits to be our food. 13 Before him Righteousness7 shall go His Royal Harbinger, Then * will he come, and not be slow His footsteps cannot err.

40

10

45

50

55

* Heb. He will set his steps to the way.

PSAL. LXXXVI. 1

Thy gracious ear, O Lord, encline, O hear me I thee pray, For I am poor, and almost pine with need, and sad decay. 2 Preserve my soul, for † I have trod Thy waies, and love the just, Save thou thy servant O my God Who still in thee doth trust. 3 Pitty me Lord for daily thee I call; 4. O make rejoyce Thy Servants Soul; for Lord to thee I lift my soul and voice, 5 For thou art good, thou Lord art prone To pardon, thou to all Art full of mercy, thou alone To them that on thee call.

5

10

15

7

†Heb. I am good, loving, a doer of good and holy things.

E. C. Baldwin points out that Milton did not realize that Righteousness as a masculine noun is the subject of the verb in the second as well as the first construction.

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334

6

20

7

25

8

9 30

10 35

11

40

12

45

13

14 50

15 55

16

Unto my supplication Lord give ear, and to the crie Of my incessant praiers afford Thy hearing graciously. I in the day of my distress Will call on thee for aid; For thou wilt grant me free access And answer, what I pray’d. Like thee among the gods is none O Lord, nor any works Of all that other gods have done Like to thy glorious works. The Nations all whom thou hast made Shall come, and all shall frame To bow them low before thee Lord, And glorifie thy name. For great thou art, and wonders great By thy strong hand are done, Thou in thy everlasting Seat Remainest God alone. Teach me O Lord thy way most right, I in thy truth will bide, To fear thy name my heart unite So shall it never slide Thee will I praise O Lord my God Thee honour, and adore With my whole heart, and blaze abroad Thy name for ever more. For great thy mercy is toward me, And thou hast free’d my Soul Eev’n from the lowest Hell set free From deepest darkness foul. O God the proud against me rise And violent men are met To seek my life, and in their eyes No fear of thee have set. But thou Lord art the God most mild Readiest thy grace to shew, Slow to be angry, and art stil’d Most mercifull, most true. O turn to me thy face at length, And me have mercy on,

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Psalm LXXXVII

60

Unto thy servant give thy strength, And save thy hand-maids Son. 17 Some sign of good to me afford, And let my foes then see And be asham’d, because thou Lord Do’st help and comfort me.

PSAL. LXXXVII. 1

5

2

3 10

4

15

5

20

6

25

7

Among the holy Mountains high Is his foundation fast, There Seated in his Sanctuary, His Temple there is plac’t. Sions fair Gates the Lord loves more Then all the dwellings faire Of Jacobs Land, though there be store, And all within his care. City of God, most glorious things Of thee abroad are spoke; I mention Egypt, where proud Kings Did our forefathers yoke, I mention Babel to my friends, Philistia full of scorn, And Tyre with Ethiops utmost ends, Lo this man there was born: But twise that praise shall in our ear Be said of Sion last This and this man was born in her, High God shall fix her fast. The Lord shall write it in a Scrowle That ne’re shall be out-worn When he the Nations doth enrowle That this man there was born. Both they who sing, and they who dance With sacred Songs are there, In thee fresh brooks, and soft streams glance And all my fountains clear.

335

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PSAL. LXXXVIII. 1

2

5

3 10

4 15

5

20

6

25

7 30

8 35

8

Lord God that dost me save and keep, All day to thee I cry; And all night long, before thee weep Before thee prostrate lie. Into thy presence let my praier With sighs devout ascend And to my cries, that ceaseless are, Thine ear with favour bend. For cloy’d with woes and trouble store Surcharg’d my Soul doth lie, My life at deaths uncherful dore Unto the grave draws nigh. Reck’n’d I am with them that pass Down to the dismal pit I am a * man, but weak alas And for that name unfit. From life discharg’d and parted quite Among the dead to sleep, And like the slain in bloody fight That in the grave lie deep. Whom thou rememberest no more, Dost never more regard, Them from thy hand deliver’d o’re Deaths hideous house hath barr’d. Thou in the lowest pit profound Hast set me all forlorn, Where thickest darkness hovers round, In horrid deeps to mourn. Thy wrath from which no shelter saves Full sore doth press on me; * Thou break’st upon me all thy waves, * And all thy waves break me. Thou dost my friends from me estrange, And mak’st me odious, Me to them odious, for they change, And I here pent up thus.

Only line 31 is correct.

*Heb. A man without manly strength,

*The Hebr. bears both.8

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Psalm LXXXVIII 9

40

10

45

11

12 50

13 55

14 15 60

65

16 17 18

70

Through sorrow, and affliction great Mine eye grows dim and dead, Lord all the day I thee entreat, My hands to thee I spread. Wilt thou do wonders on the dead, Shall the deceas’d arise And praise thee from their loathsom bed With pale and hollow eyes? Shall they thy loving kindness tell On whom the grave hath hold, Or they who in perdition dwell Thy faithfulness unfold? In darkness can thy mighty hand Or wondrous acts be known, Thy justice in the gloomy land Of dark oblivion? But I to thee O Lord do cry E’re yet my life be spent, And up to thee my praier doth hie Each morn, and thee prevent.° Why wilt thou Lord my soul forsake, And hide thy face from me, That am already bruis’d, and † shake With terror sent from thee; Bruz’d, and afflicted and so low As ready to expire, While I thy terrors undergo Astonish’d with thine ire. Thy fierce wrath over me doth flow Thy threatnings cut me through. All day they round about me go, Like waves they me persue. Lover and friend thou hast remov’d And sever’d from me far. They fly me now whom I have lov’d, And as in darkness are.

337

anticipate

†Heb. Prae Concussione.9

FINIS.

9 The meaning of the Hebrew has been disputed. Milton translates the Hebrew root meaning shaking (Latin concussio). Another meaning is boyhood, from youth upward.

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LATIN AND GREEK POEMS ADDED IN 1673

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POEM ADDED TO ELEGIARUM LIBER IN 1673 Apologus de Rustico & Hero.

1

Rusticus ex Malo sapidissima poma quotannis Legit, & urbano lecta dedit Domino: Hic incredibili fructûs dulcedine Captus Malum ipsam in proprias transtulit areolas. 5 Hactenus illa ferax, sed longo debilis ævo, Mota solo assueto, protinùs aret iners. Quod tandem ut patuit Domino, spe lusus inani, Damnavit celeres in sua damna manus. Atque ait, Heu quantò satius fuit illa Coloni 10 (Parva licet) grato dona tulisse animo! Possem Ego avaritiam frœnare, gulamque voracem: Nunc periere mihi & fœtus & ipsa parens.

Elegiarum Finis.

1

First printed at the end of the Elegiarum Liber in 1673. Probably a school exercise dating from c.1624. A close imitation of a fable in Mantuan’s Opera (Paris, 1513).

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Apologus de Rustico & Hero

Fable of the Peasant and the Landlord1 A peasant chose his apple tree’s tastiest fruit each year and gave what he had picked to his city landlord. Struck by the fruit’s amazing sweetness, this man moved the tree itself into his own small gardens. 5 Fertile up to his point, but weak with age, once moved to strange soil, it dried up. As it grew clear to the landlord he’d been fooled by futile hope, he cursed the hands so quick in their undoing, and said, “Heu, how much better had it been to take 10 the farmer’s gifts (though small) with gratitude! Had I been able to check my greed and hungry throat: now lost to me are both child and parent. The End of Elegies.

341

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POEMS ADDED TO SYLVARUM LIBER IN 1673 In Effigiei Ejus Sculptorem1 2Αµαθ{m γ{γρaφθαι χ{ιρC τSνδ{ µpν Gικdνα Φαcης τaχ2 Kν, πρDς {ι
δος αJτοφυpς βλbπων ΤDν δ2 GκτυπωτDν οJκ Gπιγνdντ{ς φcλοι Γ{λkτ{ φαeλου δυσµcµηµα ζωγρaφου.

1

Composed in 1645 and placed under the portrait of Milton, engraved by William Marshall as the frontispiece of the 1645 Poems. Reprinted by Milton in Sylvarum Liber in 1673 without the portrait it describes. Placed in the 1673 text after PSALM CXIV and “Philosophus ad regem”. The epigram is addressed to friends who know Greek rather than to the engraver Marshall, who included it below the portrait, probably ignorant of its contents. See the discussion of Marshall and the engraving in Poems, 1645.

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In Effigiei Ejus Sculptorem

On the Engraver of his Portrait1 By an unskilled hand you might perhaps say this portrait was engraved, when looking on nature’s likeness itself. But since you do not recognize what is modeled here, friends, Laugh at the poor portrayal of a poor engraver.

343

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Jan. 23 1646. [1647] Ad Joannem Rousium Oxoniensis Academiæ Bibliothecarium.1 De libro Poematum amisso, quem ille sibi denuo mitti postulabat, ut cum aliis nostris in Bibliotheca publica reponeret, Ode.

Strophe 1. Gemelle cultu simplici gaudens liber, Fronde licet geminâ,2 Munditiéque nitens non operosâ, Quam manus attulit 5 Juvenilis olim, Sedula tamen haud nimii Poetæ; Dum vagus Ausonias° nunc per umbras Nunc Britannica per vireta lusit3 Insons populi, barbitóque devius 10 Indulsit patrio, mox itidem pectine Daunio° Longinquum intonuit melos Vicinis, & humum vix tetigit pede;

Italian or Latin

Italian

Antistrophe [1]. Quis te, parve liber,4 quis te fratribus5 Subduxit reliquis dolo? 15 Cum tu missus ab urbe, 1 Composed in early 1647 for John Rouse, the librarian of the Bodleian Library in Oxford, and sent to Rouse, together with a volume of the 1645 Poems to replace one lost in transit. Printed in 1673 as the last poem of the Poemata. The original manuscript of the poem (not in Milton’s hand), together with the restored volume, is in the Bodleian Library. 2 The Poems of Mr. John Milton, Both English and Latin, though bound together, form a twin volume, each with its own title page. 3 Milton may be referring to the places these poems were composed – either in Italy or in England – or to their languages and traditions (Latin or native English poetry). 4 The addressee of the ode is the book itself, sometimes the lost book and sometimes the replacement copy. 5 Fratribus (brothers) refers to the prose pamphlets originally sent along with the volume of poetry.

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Ad Joannem Rousium

345

Jan. 23 1646. [1647] To John Rouse, Librarian at the University of Oxford1 An Ode on the lost book of poetry, which he [Rouse] had requested be sent to him again so that he could deposit it with our other books in the public library.

Strophe 1 Double book, happy in a single cover, granted a twin leaf,2 and bright with an unlabored elegance, which a young hand once 5 brought off – meticulous but not too much of the Poet; wandering, he played sometimes in the Ausionian° shade and other times on the British greens;3 unconcerned with the public, uncommon, he indulged 10 a native lyric, and likewise soon, with a Daunian° pen, pronounced a long foreign melody for his neighbors, and his feet barely touched the ground.

Antistrophe [1] Who, little book,4 who was it stole you from the rest of your brothers5 by guile – 15 when you, sent from the city

Italian or Latin

Italian

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Latin and Greek Poems Added in 1673

Docto jugiter obsecrante amico,° Illustre tendebas iter Thamesis ad incunabula Cærulei patris, 20 Fontes ubi limpidi Aonidum,° thyasusque sacer°6 Orbi notus per immensos Temporum lapsus redeunte cœlo, Celeberque futurus in ævum;

Rouse

the Muses / Bacchus’ followers

Strophe 2. 25 Modò quis deus,7 aut editus deo°

son of a god

Pristinam gentis miseratus indolem (Si satis noxas luimus priores Mollique luxu degener otium) Tollat nefandos civium tumultus,8 30 Almaque revocet studia sanctus Et relegatas sine sede Musas Jam penè totis finibus Angligenûm; Immundasque volucres Unguibus imminentes 35 Figat Apolloneâ pharetrâ, Phinéamque abigat pestem9 procul amne Pegaséo.10 6

The “thyasus,” the band of Bacchic followers, joins with the Muses in the celebration of poetry. Milton connects the Muses (Aonides), usually associated with the springs of Helicon, with the springs of Thames, which has its source above Oxford. Milton depicts the university and its environs as a seat of learning, especially devoted to the Muses. 7 Milton echoes the opening of Pindar, Olympian 2.2 (“τcνα θ{dν, τcν2 Vρωα, τcνα δ 2 Kνδρα κ{λαδSσοµ{ν”) and Horace’s imitation, Odes 1.12.1–3 (“Quem virum aut heroa lyra vel acri / tibia sumis celebrare, Clio? / Quem deum?” Both Pindar and Horace ask what god, what hero, what man should we praise, the god being Zeus ( Jupiter), the hero Hercules, the man, the ruler (Theron or Augustus). Milton also echoes Horace’s appeal to an unnamed god to castigate the civil wars and save an endangered state (“quem vocet divum populus ruentis / imperi rebus?” (“Which one of the gods shall the people call for the affairs of the falling state?”), and castigation of the civil wars (Odes 1.2.21–52). 8 The Civil War between Charles I and Parliament broke out in 1642. Oxford became a royalist stronghold until it was taken by the Parliamentary army under Fairfax in June 1646. Fairfax put an armed guard on the Bodleian Library to protect its contents. 9 Milton conflates several myths here. The “immundasque volucres” (“foul birds”) are the Harpies, who plagued the blind prophet Phineus but were finally driven away by the Argonauts (Argonautica 2.187–290). Milton also associates the deed with two other archers – the god-elected hero, Hercules, who killed the Stymphalian birds and the god of poetry, Apollo, who delivered the people of Delphi by killing the Python with his arrows. 10 Milton associates the upper reaches of the Thames at Oxford (the Isis) with the Pegasean stream, Hippocrene, which gushed forth on Helicon when Pegasus (often called the horse of the Muses) struck the ground with his foot.

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(persistently requested by an educated friend)° set out on your brilliant journey to the cradle of the Thames, of the sky-blue father, 20 where the clear springs of the Aonians° are, and the sacred thyasic° dance,6 known to the world in its limitless turns of time with the circling sky, and celebrated in the age to be?

Rouse

Muses / Bacchus’ followers

Strophe 2 25 But what god7 or god’s scion,°

pitying the one-time promise of our nation (if we have compensated enough for former lapses, corrupt sloth in feeble luxury), will lift the citizens’ malignant chaos8 30 and, being sacred, restore wholesome learning and the exiled Muses, now homeless through nearly all the English lands; and use Apollo’s arrows to impale these defiled, 35 winged, clawed menaces and drive the plague of Phineas9 far from the river of Pegasus.10

son of a god

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Latin and Greek Poems Added in 1673

Antistrophe [2]. Quin tu, libelle, nuntii licet malâ Fide, vel oscitantiâ Semel erraveris agmine fratrum,° 40 Seu quis te teneat specus, Seu qua te latebra, forsan unde vili Callo teréris institoris insulsi, Lætare felix, en iterum tibi Spes nova fulget posse profundam 45 Fugere Lethen,° vehique Superam In Jovis aulam° remige pennâ;

the pamphlets sent with it

river of forgetfulness in the underworld Olympus

Strophe 3. Nam te Roüsius sui Optat peculî, numeróque justo Sibi polliticum queritur abesse, 50 Rogatque venias ille cujus inclyta Sunt data virûm monumenta11 curæ: Téque adytis etiam sacris Voluit reponi quibus & ipse præsidet Æternorum operum custos fidelis, 55 Quæstorque gazæ nobilioris, Quàm cui præfuit Iön12 Clarus Erechtheides Opulenta dei per templa parentis° Fulvosque tripodas, donaque Delphica13 60 Iön Actæa° genitus Creusâ.

11

Apollo’s temple at Delphi Attic, i.e., Athenian

Perhaps echoes Horace’s description of poetry as a monument: “Exegi monumentum aere perennius / regalique situ pyramidum altius” (“I have erected a monument more enduring than bronze and loftier in regal structure than the pyramids” (Odes 3.30.1–2). 12 In Euripides’ drama Ion was a temple slave who has been put in charge of the treasury of Apollo’s temple at Delphi (Ion 51–6). Abandoned at birth, he is at first ignorant of his parentage as son of Apollo and the princess Creusa, and grandson of Erechtheus, the king of Athens. But when Creusa visits the oracle at Delphi he discovers his identity and is reunited with his mother. 13 Golden tripods were among the gifts offered to Apollo’s temple at Delphi, sometimes in thanks for propitious oracles or military victories, sometimes as offerings for victory in the Pythian games, held in the stadium at Delphi.

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Antistrophe [2] But, my little book, whether it was by a messenger’s bad faith or drowsiness the pamphlets sent with it you once lost your brothers’ company,° 40 and whether some cave keeps you now or some den where maybe you are smudged by the rank thick skin of a witless salesman, be happy and rejoice – see, once more, your new hope gleams river of forgetfulness in the underworld that you can escape abysmal Lethe,° 45 swept up to the high court Olympus of Jove° by a feathered oar.

Strophe 3 For Rouse desires you for his store, and he complains that you, pledged to him, are not there in the full count, and he demands 50 you come to him to whose care are given the glorious monuments of men –11 and he has decreed that you be stored in hallowed vaults which he patrols himself, a trusted keeper of eternal works, 55 a protector of a treasure still more grand than what Ion12 (Erechtheus’ famed descendant born of Actaean° Creusa) watched over throughout the sumptuous shrines, golden tripods, and Delphic offerings13 60 of his father god.°

Athenian

Apollo

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Latin and Greek Poems Added in 1673

Antistrophe [3]. Ergo tu° visere lucos Musarum ibis amœnos, Diamque Phœbi rursus ibis in domum14 Oxoniâ quam valle colit 65 Delo° posthabitâ, Bifidóque Parnassi° jugo: Ibis honestus, Postquam egregiam tu quoque sortem Nactus abis, dextri prece sollicitatus amici. 70 Illic legéris inter alta nomina Authorum, Graiæ simul & Latinæ Antiqua gentis lumina, & verum decus.

the book

Apollo’s birthplace mountain above Apollo’s temple at Delphi

Epodos. Vos tandem haud vacui mei labores, Quicquid hoc sterile fudit ingenium, 75 Jam serò placidam sperare jubeo Perfunctam invidiâ requiem, sedesque beatas Quas bonus Hermes15 Et tutela dabit solers Roüsi, Quò neque lingua procax vulgi penetrabit, atque longè 80 Turba legentum prava facesset;16 At ultimi nepotes, Et cordatior ætas Judicia rebus æquiora forsitan Adhibebit integro sinu. 85 Tum livore sepulto, Si quid meremur sana posteritas sciet Roüsio favente.

14

The immortal home of Phoebus is the library itself, which contains those poetic works especially under his care as god of poetry. 15 The god Hermes (Mercury) is both the patron of the learned arts and the marshal of the blessed shades to Elysium. 16 Perhaps recalling Horace’s rejection of the vulgar crowd: “Odi profanum vulgus et arceo;” (“I hate and keep at a distance the profane mob”) (Odes 3.1.1).

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Antistrophe [3] So you° will go to gaze the book on the Muses’ lush glades, go back to the immortal home of Phoebus14 in the Oxonian valley where he lives 65 in preference to Delos° Apollo’s birthplace and the double summits of Parnassus.° mountain above Apollo’s temple at Delphi You will go honored, since you leave already assured a choice fate, sought by my upright friend’s prayer. 70 You will be read among great names of authors there of Greek and Latin both, ancient visionaries of the race, and their true glory.

Epode At end, my labors, you are not valueless, whatever gushed from this empty genius, 75 and now belatedly I order you (unpopularity endured) to hope for an undisturbed rest – the happy place that good Hermes15 and Rouse’s clever vigilance will offer, where the indecent tongue of a commoner will not poke 80 and which will eagerly keep freakish mobs of readers back.16 But our latest descendants and a wiser age perhaps from a sound heart will share more balanced judgments of affairs. 85 Then with envy in the grave, a reasonable posterity will know if I have any worth with Rouse’s aid.

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Ode tribus constat Strophis, totidémque Antistrophis unâ demum epodo clausis, quas, tametsi omnes nec versuum numero, nec certis ubique colis exactè respondeant, ita tamen secuimus, commodè legendi potius, quam ad antiquos concinendi modos rationem spectantes. Alioquin hoc genus rectiùs fortasse dici monostrophicum debuerat. Metra partim sunt κατA σχbσιν partim Fπολ{λυµbνα. Phaleucia quæ sunt, spondæum tertio loco bis admittunt, quod idem in secundo loco Catullus ad libitum fecit.17

17

The Phaleucian line consisted of a spondee, a dactyl, and three trochees.

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The ode consists of three strophes and the same number of antistrophes, concluding with a single epode, which, although they do not all correspond precisely either in number of lines or at all points in the precise metrical units, we have divided in this manner for convenience in reading rather than in observance of ancient practice in compositional structure. Besides, it might perhaps have been more accurate to call this genre monostrophic. The meters are partly in regular structure, partly in free form. Of the phaleucians that are employed, on two occasions a spondee is admitted in the third position, a license which Catullus freely employed in the second position.17

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Introduction to the Uncollected Poems Sonnets Published in 1694 The sonnets to Fairfax, Cromwell, Vane, and Cyriack Skinner were published posthumously by Edward Phillips in 1694, together with Phillips’ biography of Milton, in Letters of State. They had been withheld in 1673, probably because of the notoriety of the men whom they praised – leading figures of the Civil War and Commonwealth – and because in them Milton affirmed his commitment to the Commonwealth and the pursuit of liberty. The first three are heroic sonnets in Tasso’s vein, but Milton couples his praises of these great men with urgent advice. The sonnet to Fairfax addresses the general at the apex of his military career, but rather than merely commending his victories, it exhorts Fairfax to take on the role of peacemaker and mend the division within the nation. Similarly, the sonnet to Cromwell recapitulates Cromwell’s achievements as a general, while challenging him to resist the reinstatement of a hireling clergy and to secure religious toleration. The sonnet to Vane, first printed anonymously in George Sykes’ biography after Vane’s execution in 1662, praises the skills in diplomacy he employed in service to the Commonwealth, but also urges him to defend religious liberty by supporting the separation of church and state. The sonnet to Cyriack Skinner, composed in 1655, three years after Milton’s total blindness, although addressed to Skinner, actually concerns Milton himself. Milton had persevered (despite impending blindness) and completed his work on the massive Latin defense of the English People (Pro Populo Anglicano Defensio Prima) against the continental scholar Salmasius, willingly sacrificing his eyes to the cause of liberty.

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Introduction

355

Unpublished Latin Poems Two unpublished Latin poems – “Carmina Elegiaca” and “Ignauus Satrapam” – were discovered by A. J. Horwood on a loose sheet in the box with Milton’s Commonplace Book. They were probably composed as schoolboy exercises when Milton was at St. Paul’s School. The first is a salute to Dawn and early rising and is composed in elegiac couplets. The second is in Lesser Asclepiads and deals with the well-known episode in Virgil’s Aeneid, the night raid of Nisus and Euryalus. The poems were first published by Horwood and the manuscript is now at the University of Texas, Austin.

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SONNETS PUBLISHED IN 1694

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15.1 [Text, number, and title from the Trinity MS] [On ye Lord Gen. Fairfax at ye siege of Colchester.2] Fairfax, whose name in armes through Europe rings3 Filling each mouth with envy, or with praise, And all her jealous° monarchs with amaze, And rumors loud, that daunt remotest kings, 5 Thy firm unshak’n vertue° ever brings Victory home, though new rebellions raise Thir Hydra heads,4 & the fals North displaies° her brok’n league,5 to impe their serpent wings,6 O yet a nobler task awaites thy hand;7 10 For what can Warr, but endless warr still breed, Till Truth, & Right from Violence be freed, And Public Faith8 cleard from the shamefull brand Of Public Fraud. In vain doth Valour bleed While Avarice, & Rapine share the land.

1 2

3

4

5

6 7 8

suspicious courage spreads out like a banner

cf. PL 6.693–5

Composed 1648. Number from the Trinity MS, title crossed out. The sonnet was first printed by Edward Phillips in 1694 in Letters of State. Sir Thomas Fairfax was appointed by Parliament Commander-in-Chief of the New Model Army in 1645. Fairfax, who disapproved of Charles I’s execution, resigned his commission as Commander-in-Chief in 1650. As the title to this sonnet in the Trinity MS indicates, Milton addressed this sonnet to Fairfax when the General, leading the initiative in the Second Civil War, was laying siege to Colchester. Fairfax had become renowned as a brilliant military commander for impressive victories against the royalist forces at Marston Moor in 1644, at Naseby in 1645, and at Leicester, Bridgewater, Bristol, and Oxford in 1645–6. The hero Hercules, in combat with the many-headed Hydra, found when he cut one head off two heads grew in its place. Political poetry often used the image of the Hydra to portray the dangers of internal civil strife that breaks out in many places at once. In 1648 Fairfax had to direct his attention to new royalist uprisings in Kent and elsewhere before laying siege to Colchester in August 1648. The false North is Scotland, which, in violation of the Solemn League and Covenant with Parliament, had come to an agreement with Charles I and invaded England in 1648 – to be defeated by Cromwell at Preston in August 1648 (presumably after the composition of this sonnet). To imp the wing is to graft feathers onto a falcon’s broken wing to assist its flight. Milton portrays Scotland as a winged serpent, perhaps a dragon. Milton hoped that Fairfax would take a leadership position in the government at the conclusion of the Civil Wars. The public funding of the Civil Wars was referred to as public faith, and those funds were often mismanaged and misappropriated. See Milton’s digression on this practice in The History of Britain Book 111.

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[15] To my Lord FAIRFAX

359

[Text and title from Letters of State (1694)]1

To my Lord FAIRFAX. Fairfax, whose Name in Arms through Europe rings,3 And fills all Mouths with Envy or with Praise, And all her Jealous° Monarchs with Amaze. And Rumours loud which daunt remotest Kings, 5 Thy firm unshaken Valour ever brings Victory home, while new Rebellions raise Their Hydra-heads,4 and the false North displays° Her broken League5 to Imp her Serpent Wings:6 O yet! a Nobler task awaits thy Hand,7 10 For what can War, but Acts of War still breed, Till injur’d Truth from Violence be freed; And publick Faith8 be rescu’d from the Brand Of publick Fraud; in vain doth Valour bleed, While Avarice and Rapine shares the Land.

2

suspicious

spreads out like a banner

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16.1 [Text and number from Trinity MS] Cromwell, our cheif of men, who through a cloud Not of warr onely, but detractions rude, Guided by faith & matchless Fortitude To peace & truth thy glorious way hast plough’d, 5 And on the neck of crowned Fortune2 proud Hast reard Gods Trophies & his work pursu’d, While Darwen stream wth blood of Scotts imbru’d,° And [Dunbarr feild]3 resounds thy praises loud, And Worsters laureat wreath;4 yet much remaines 10 To conquer still; peace hath her victories No less renownd then warr, new foes arise Threatning to bind our soules wth secular chaines:5 Helpe us to save free Conscience from the paw Of hireling wolves whose Gospell is their maw.6

1

2

3 4

5 6

stained

First printed in 1694 in Letters of State. Composed (as indicated in the Trinity MS) in May 1652 in response to 15 proposals put by certain Independent ministers, defining doctrinal fundamentals and calling upon Cromwell to continue government support and funding for an established clergy. Title deleted from Trinity MS: “To the Lord Generall Cromwell May 1652. On the proposalls of certaine ministers at ye Commttee for Propagation of the Gospell.” This is the only one of Milton’s sonnets to conclude with a couplet. The neck of crowned Fortune might allude to Charles I, the order for whose execution Cromwell had forced through Parliament, or to Charles II, defeated at Worcester, after having been crowned king in Scotland. Line on crowned Fortune omitted in 1694. “Dunbarr feild” deleted in Trinity MS and “Worsters laureat wreath” written above. “twentie battles more” deleted in Trinity MS and “Worsters laureat wreath” written above. The sonnet records notable military victories by Cromwell. Darwen is a small stream near Preston, where Cromwell in 1648 defeated an army of Scottish Covenanters under the Duke of Hamilton. At Dunbar in 1650 he defeated the Scots under Leslie. At Worcester in 1651 he defeated the Scots under Prince Charles, the future Charles II, who narrowly escaped. Alluding to the proposals to restrict religious freedom. Maw: stomach, belly. Cf. Lycidas 125–9, denouncing hireling clergy, who feed themselves and not their sheep, and Roman Catholics, who invade the fold like wolves. See Matt. 7.15; John 10.12; Acts 20.29; Phil. 3.19.

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To Oliver Cromwell

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TO Oliver Cromwell.1 [Text and title from Letters of State, 1694] Cromwell our Chief of Men, that through a Croud, Not of War only, but distractions rude; Guided by Faith, and Matchless Fortitude: To Peace and Truth, thy Glorious way hast Plough’d, 5 [ ]2 And Fought God’s Battels, and his Work pursu’d, While Darwent Streams with Blood of Scots imbru’d;° And Dunbarfield resound thy Praises loud, And Worcester’s Laureat Wreath;4 yet much remains 10 To Conquer still; Peace hath her Victories No less than those of War;5 new Foes arise Threatning to bind our Souls in secular Chains, Help us to save Free Conscience from the paw Of Hireling Wolves, whose Gospel is their Maw.6

stained

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171 [Text, title, and number from Trinity MS] [To Sr Henry Vane the younger]2 Vane, young in yeares, but in sage counsell old, Then whome a better Senatour nere held The helme of Rome, when gownes3 not armes repelld The feirce Epeirot° & the African bold,°4 5 Whether to settle peace or to unfold The drift°5 of hollow6 states hard to be spelld,° Then to advise how warr may best, upheld, Move by her two maine nerves,° Iron & Gold7 In all her equipage;8 besides to know 10 Both spirituall powre & civill, what each meanes

1

2 3 4

5 6

7

8

Pyrrhus / Hannibal plot / discerned sinews

Composed c.1652 and first printed (anonymously) after Vane’s execution in 1662 in [George Sikes], The Life and Death of Sir Henry Vane, Kt. (London, 1662). Not attributed to Milton until its reprinting in the Letters of State (1694). Vane was appointed a member of Cromwell’s Council of State in 1649, having championed the Puritan cause in Parliament, and served as a lay member of the Westminster Assembly, where he urged (as Milton had) religious toleration. He had been Governor of Massachusetts (1635–7) and Treasurer of the Navy (1639–50). He broke with Cromwell when Cromwell dissolved the Long Parliament in 1653. In 1660 he was excluded from the Act of Indemnity and, despite his disapproval of Charles I’s execution, was himself executed in 1662. Title crossed out in Trinity MS. Sir Henry Vane (1613–62) was called the Younger to distinguish him from his father, also named Henry (1589–1655). Gowns refers to the togas that Roman senators wore. Milton here remembers Cicero’s maxim (De Officiis 1.22.77): “cedant arma togae” (“Let arms yield to the toga”). Milton celebrates the tenacity of the Roman senators in dealing with Pyrrhus, King of Epirus (the fierce Epirote), by opposing Pyrrhus’ peace proposals after Pyrrhus invaded Italy in 280 BC and then in resisting the Carthaginian general Hannibal (the African bold) after Hannibal’s invasion of Italy in 219 BC. s (drifts) is crossed out in TM. See Textual Notes p. 572. Hollow (insincere) is a pun on Holland. Vane was appointed in 1652 to the committee to meet with the Dutch ambassadors who professed to want peace. The Dutch were accused of insincerity and withdrew, whereupon war ensued. Milton noted in his Commonplace Book that Machiavelli had written that iron, not gold, was the main sinew of war. Machiavelli actually wrote that the sinew (nerve) of war was not gold, but good soldiers: “Non è adunque replicandolo di nuouo l’oro il neruo della guerra, ma i buoni soldati” (Discoursi 2.10). Equipage: apparatus of war. Vane was involved in equipping the ships for battle in the Dutch naval wars.

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To Sir HENRY VANE Thou hast learnt well, a praise which few have won9 The bounds of either sword° to thee wee ow. Therfore on thy firme hand religion10 leanes In peace, & reck’ns thee her eldest son.

363

spiritual or civil power

In the margin of the Trinity MS Milton rewrites the line thus: “What severs each thou hast learnt, wch few hav don.” 10 Like Milton, Vane opposed the establishment of a state religion. 9

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Sonnets Published in 1694 Text from The Life and Death of Sir Henry Vane, Kt.11

VANE,1 young in years, but in sage counsel old, Then whom a better Senatour ner’e held The helme of Rome, when Gowns3 not Arms repell’d The fierce Epeirot° and the African° bold.4 5 Whether to settle peace or to unfold The drift° of hollow6 states, hard to be spell’d,° Then to advise how war may best, upheld, Move by her two main Nerves,° Iron and Gold7 In all her Equipage:8 besides to know 10 Both spiritual power and civil, what each meanes, What seuers each, thou hast learn’t, which few have done. The bounds of either Sword° to thee we owe; Therefore on thy firm hand Religion10 leanes In peace, and reckons thee her eldest Son.

11

Pyrrhus / Hannibal plot / discerned sinews

civil or spiritual power

See Sikes’ description of Vane as characterized in Milton’s sonnet: The Character of this deceased Statesman . . . I shall exhibite to you in a paper of Verses, composed by a learned Gentleman, and sent him, July 3, 1652 . . . In the former part of these verses, notice is taken of a kind of angelical intuitiveness and sagacity he was furnished with, for spying out and unridling the subdolous intentions of hollow-hearted States, however disguised with colourable pretexts of Friendship. This rendred him a choice Senator, an honourable Counsellour for publick safety. (The Life and Death of Sir Henry Vane, Kt. (Printed in the Year 1662), pp. 93–4)

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To Sir HENRY VANE.1

365

[Title and text from Letters of State, 1694] VANE, Young in years, but in Sage Councels old, Then whom a better Senator ne’re held The Helm of Rome, when Gowns,3 not Arms, repell’d The fierce Epirote,° and the African° bold,4 5 Whether to settle Peace, or to unfold The Drift° of hollow6 States, hard to be Spell’d;° Then to advise how War may best be upheld, Mann’d by her Two main Nerves,° Iron and Gold,7 In all her Equipage:8 Besides, to know 10 Both Spiritual and Civil, what each means, What serves each, thou hast learn’d, which few have done. The bounds of either Sword° to thee we owe; Therefore on thy Right hand Religion10 leans, And reckons thee in chief her Eldest Son.

Pyrrhus / Hannibal plot / discerned sinews

civil or spiritual power

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22.1 [Text and number from Trinity MS] Cyriack, this three years day° these eys, though clear for the past three years To outward view, of blemish or of spot;2 Bereft of light thir seeing have forgot, sightless eyes Nor to thir idle orbs° doth sight appear 5 Of Sun or Moon or Starre throughout the year, Or man or woman. Yet I argue not lose / the smallest part Against heavns hand or will, nor bate° a jot° Of heart or hope; but still bear vp and steer Right onward. What supports me dost thou ask? 10 consciousness / overworked The conscience,° Friend, to have lost them overply’d° 3 In libertyes defence, my noble task, Of which all Europe talks from side to side.4 This thought might lead me through the worlds vain mask° false pageant Content though blind, had I no better guide.

1

Composed c.1655, but not printed until 1694 in Letters of State. The second of two sonnets addressed to Cyriack Skinner (1627–1700), a close friend, frequent visitor, and sometimes amanuensis for Milton, who shared Milton’s political views. Milton had become totally blind in 1652. Number is from Trinity MS, where the copy of the sonnet is probably in Skinner’s hand. 2 In Defensio Secunda Milton says his eyes were not disfigured from blindness, a fact confirmed in the anonymous Life of Milton. 3 In 1649 the Council of State assigned Milton the task of replying to the continental scholar Salmasius’ Defensio Regia, an attack on the English regicides. Despite warnings from his physicians that his sight was endangered by the labor, he persevered to complete Pro Populo Anglicano Defensio Prima, sacrificing his eyes, as he says here, to the task. 4 Milton acquired a reputation in Europe as the author of the Latin Pro Populo Anglicano Defensio Prima in defense of the regicide and the English people.

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To Mr. CYRIAC SKINNER Upon his Blindness

367

[Title and text from Letters of State, 1694] To Mr. CYRIAC SKINNER Upon his Blindness.1 CYRIAC this Three years day,° these Eyes though clear for the past three years 2 To outward view of blemish or of Spot, Bereft of Sight, their Seeing have forgot: sightless eyes Nor to their idle Orbs° doth day appear, 5 Or Sun, or Moon, or Star, throughout the Year; Or Man, or Woman; yet I argue not lose / the smallest part Against Heaven’s Hand, or Will, nor bate° one jot° Of Heart or Hope; but still bear up, and steer Right onward. What supports me, dost thou ask? 10 The Conscience,° Friend, to have lost them over ply’d° consciousness / overworked In Liberties Defence, my noble task;3 Of which all Europe rings from side to side.4 This thought might lead me through this World’s vain mask° false pageant Content, though blind, had I no other Guide.

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UNPUBLISHED LATIN POEMS

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Unpublished Latin Poems

Carmina Elegiaca1

5

10

15

20

Surge, age surge, leves, iam convenit, excute somnos, Lux oritur, tepidi fulcra relinque tori Iam canit excubitor gallus prænuntius ales Solis et invigilans ad sua quemque vocat Flammiger Eois Titan° caput exerit undis Et spargit nitidum læta per arva iubar Daulias2 argutum modulatur ab ilice carmen Edit et excultos mitis alauda modos Iam rosa fragrantes spirat silvestris odores Iam redolent violæ luxuriatque seges Ecce novo campos Zephyritis3 gramine vestit Fertilis, et vitreo rore madescit humus Segnes invenias molli vix talia lecto Cum premat imbellis lumina fessa sopor Illic languentes abrumpunt somnia somnos Et turbant animum tristia multa tuum Illic tabifici generantur semina morbi Qui pote torpentem posse valere virum Surge age surge, leves, iam convenit, excute somnos Lux oritur, tepidi fulcra relinque tori.

1

the sun

This elegy and the following verses in Lesser Asclepiads were probably composed in 1624 as a school exercise when Milton was at St. Paul’s School. Both were found by A. J. Horwood in 1874 on a loose sheet in the box with Milton’s Commonplace Book. Manuscript now at the University of Texas, Austin; photograph in BL and autotext in the Public Record Office in Kew. 2 In Latin poetry the Daulian bird usually designates the nightingale: see Catullus 65.14. However, the Daulian bird in this context could be the swallow, since Daulian could refer to either of the sisters from Daulis (in central Greece) – Procne (the swallow) or Philomela (the nightingale). They were transformed into these birds when escaping from Procne’s husband Tereus, after revenging themselves on him for the rape of Philomela. Ovid, Met. 6.667–70. 3 Zephritis = the consort of Zephyr, who brings the spring.

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Carmina Elegiaca

371

Elegiac Verses1

5

10

15

20

Get up, come now, get up – it’s time. Shake light sleep off. Light climbs. Give up the posts of your warm bed. The watchful rooster sings, the sun’s swift advance sign, and, at attention, calls each to his work. Flame-bearing Titan° lifts his head from eastern waves and sheds bright splendor through the happy fields. From the oak, the Daulian2 measures piercing song; the kind lark pours her cultured measures, too. The woodland rose breathes pungent odors now, and now the violet’s fragrant and the wheat abundant. Lo, Zephyr’s fruitful wife3 clothes fields with fresh turf and the ground grows damp with the glassy dew. You slug, you will hardly find such things in your soft bed when feeble sleep weighs on your tired eyes. For there the dreaming interrupts your languorous drowse and many sorrows crowd into your spirit – and there the seeds of a consuming illness breed. How can an inactive man stay healthy? Get up, come now, get up, it’s time. Shake light sleep off. Light climbs. Give up the posts of your warm bed.

the sun

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[Verses in Lesser Asclepiads]4 Ignauus satrapam dedecet inclytum Somnus qui populo multifido præest. Dum Dauni veteris filius° armiger Stratus purpureo procubuit [toro] 5 Audax Euryalus, Nisus et impiger Invasere cati nocte sub horrida Torpentes Rutilos castraque Volscia Hinc cædes oritur clamor et absonus.

Turnus

[Verses in Lesser Asclepiads]4 Indolent sloth embarrasses a famous ruler who leads a multifarious people. While the arm-bearing son of old Daunus lay down on his purple couch, stretched out, 5 daring Euryalus and impetuous Nisus cleverly attacked by fearsome night the slumbering Rutilians and the Volscian camp: butchery rose there and dissonant yells.

Turnus

4 Milton elaborates on a famous episode in the Aeneid (9.176–449). Turnus, the leader of a coalition of Italian tribes (including the Volcians and the Rutilians), who opposed the colonizing Trojans under Aeneas, is caught off guard when two young Italian confederates of Aeneas – Nisus and Euryalus – decide to raid Turnus’ camp at night. Milton reports only the consternation resulting in the wakened camp, not the death of the two young invaders.

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Introduction to Poems Published in 1671 Published together in 1671, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes have often been compared and contrasted both in style and content. Although, like the 1645 Poems, the 1671 volume is a double book, there are no direct links or cross-references between the two books to indicate that Milton composed them together either as complements or contrasts. Milton even avoids characterizing Samson, as he is in Hebrews (11.32), as a hero of faith who precedes Christ. Paradise Regained was composed between August 1665 – when his Quaker friend Thomas Ellwood claimed to have suggested its topic to Milton – and 1670, when it was licensed for publication along with Samson Agonistes. We have no comparable evidence for the date of composition of Samson Agonistes, though a majority of critics have assumed that it is Milton’s last major poem. Nevertheless, the fact that Samson Agonistes follows Paradise Regained in the 1671 volume need not signal that it was composed after it or that it was initially meant to be read in tandem with it. Despite similarities between the two poems, there are some basic differences. Paradise Regained is a poem firmly set in the New Testament that takes Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as its protagonist. Conversely Samson Agonistes, set in the Old Testament with a Hebrew champion, is just as firmly Hebraic. Both poems employ classical genres to present the biblical materials, manifesting Milton’s lifelong disposition to clothe biblical matter in classical form. Paradise Regained is a brief epic, like Virgil’s Georgics and some neo-Latin biblical poems like Vida’s Christiad. Samson Agonistes is a tragedy that follows closely the design and techniques of ancient Greek drama, but perhaps also emulates the design of early modern biblical tragedies, such as those of George Buchanan. Paradise Regained is composed, like Paradise Lost, in blank verse; Samson Agonistes employs blank verse for the speeches and dialogue, but for the choruses employs a species of free verse with varying line lengths and some irregular rhymes. As classical norms dictate, both poems center on a single event, though of quite different kinds. Paradise Regained treats an obscure episode in Jesus’ life – his temptation in the wilderness by Satan – rather than his passion, death, and resurrection –

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a choice surprising to some readers and critics. By contrast, Samson Agonistes treats the climactic event in Samson’s life, his pulling down the temple of Dagon on himself and the Philistine aristocracy. Although the poems narrate or dramatize the events about these central episodes, they also refer to other events in their heroes’ lives. Through Jesus’ and Mary’s soliloquies Paradise Regained alludes to events in Jesus’ life, from his birth to his studious youth to his baptism by John with which the epic begins. Through the hero’s soliloquies, the dialogues with his visitors, and the choral odes Samson Agonistes alludes to the angelic annunciation of Samson’s birth, his first marriage, his acts against the Philistines, his betrayal by Dalila, and his capture and blinding by the Philistines. The action of both poems is continuous, but Samson Agonistes covers a few hours of a single day, while Paradise Regained, after an extended introductory frame, takes place on three consecutive days. Temptation forms an important part in both poems. Only the Son, however, is directly tempted, as was Job, with whom he is often compared. Samson’s temptations are indirect, sometimes posed or prompted by his visitors. Supposing that he has lost God’s favor and cannot be forgiven, he is tempted to despair; he is urged by Manoa to return to the paternal hearth and so utterly abandon his mission or by Dalila to yield to her seductions as he had before. He is even tried by the public officer to yield for the wrong reasons to commands by the Philistines to perform in their idolatrous ceremonies. The events of Paradise Regained are termed “above Heroic, though in secret done.” Milton continues his efforts in his brief epic and in his drama to redefine, as he had in Paradise Lost, the nature of the heroic. He clearly challenges in Samson Agonistes the aesthetic, political, and cultural assumptions of the contemporary heroic dramas by Dryden and others, refraining from their pentameter couplets, their dependence on spectacle, and their high-flown rhetoric. His hero in Paradise Regained is not the warrior of Renaissance epic, but the savior, who is to recover “Paradise to all mankind.” Although Samson is the appointed deliverer of Israel from Philistine yoke, his agon less involves the fulfillment of that mission than the recovery of a right relationship with God. For both Jesus and Samson, the understanding of themselves, of their different callings, and of consequent moral and political issues involved therein must precede the fulfillment of their callings. Jesus defeats his adversary Satan on the pinnacle of the Temple in Jerusalem, an act which foreshadows his future victory on the cross. Samson defeats the Philistine enemy by the very public act of pulling down their temple on them and himself. For recent critics the difference between these climactic acts defines the difference between the true heroism of the Son and the violent act of a man sometimes termed an Old Testament terrorist. Separately and together, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes comprise Milton’s final poetic achievement. Though he may not have conceived them together, the correspondences and contrasts in their protagonists, their themes, and their structures make the two poems fitting companions in a single volume.

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Introduction to Paradise Regained Although Paradise Regained was printed first in the 1671 volume, it appears without the prefatory material that introduces its companion work, Samson Agonistes, to the reader. The actual text of the poem opens, however, with a brief proem in which Milton introduces himself as the author of the previous epic, Paradise Lost, thereby subtly linking himself with Virgil, the poet of the long epic, the Aeneid, and the brief epic in four books, the Georgics. Classical design and technique govern Paradise Regained. Milton imitates the classical appeal to an inspiring spirit or muse; he uses the long soliloquy and the formal speech patterns of epic, its classical similes, set scenes, such as the epic councils for God and Satan, as well as many other signatures of epic. The extensive use of dialogue as a structural device also associates the work with classical drama. Dialogue is the primary means for the moral, intellectual, and spiritual confrontation of protagonist and antagonist that moves the work forward. But it is not classical epic and drama alone that shape Paradise Regained. Like the Renaissance romances and epics from Boiardo through Spenser, Paradise Regained is an epic of temptation, whose hero, no longer the warrior of classical epic, must resist temptation in order to return to his mission the stronger. Unlike Renaissance romance, no female sorceress appears to tempt Jesus sexually (Satan dismisses Belial’s suggestion that he use one). However, Satan acts the part of a Renaissance sorcerer, like Spenser’s Archimago, creating illusions, such as the banquet in Book 2, and moving Jesus through the air to isolate him on a high mountain from which he may view the cities of the earth. Milton announces the theme of Paradise Regained at the outset – the recovery of paradise to all mankind, achieved by “one man’s firm obedience . . . Through all temptation” (lines 4–5). The theme may in some way appear the logical follow-on from Paradise Lost, but in choosing it he separates himself from previous poets, such as Vida (whose Christiad he alludes to in “The Passion”), who made Christ’s passion, crucifixion, and resurrection the focus of their poems. The event that signals the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in all the gospels – his baptism by John – begins the epic. So

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important is this scene of baptism that Milton not only describes it closely, but also offers commentary on it from different perspectives. As in the gospels, John recognizes Jesus as his worthier, proclaimed with the descent of a dove and the voice of the Father as God’s beloved son. Known previously only as the son of Joseph, Jesus is now identified as the future king, Messiah and the Son of God, a proclamation that produces different reactions in different characters. Simon and Andrew welcome him as the long awaited Messiah, who will deliver Israel, and at his disappearance fear that their hopes will be disappointed (2.30 –57). For his mother Mary, Jesus’ baptism by John signals that the prophecy that she will experience great woe is about to be fulfilled (2.66–104). A different prophecy worries Satan. He calls a council of his followers and proposes to tempt Jesus in order to subvert him as the one prophesied in Genesis who will bruise the serpent’s head. Throughout the epic Satan tries to discover Jesus’ true identity, designing temptations that will not only test his resistance to sin, but also make him disclose whether he is the divine as well as the human Son of God. Conversely, God has a different plan. In exposing the Son to Satan and exercising him in the wilderness, he will permit the Son to lay down through “humiliation and strong sufferance” the rudiments of the warfare to come with his grand foes, Sin and Death. The biblical authority for Paradise Regained is clear – Milton follows the verses from Matthew (4.1–11), Mark (1.12–13), and Luke (4.1–14), adopting the order of temptation from Luke. While adhering to the word of these texts, he adds much throughout the epic – the councils of God and Satan, the conversation between Andrew and Simon, the introspective soliloquy of Mary, as well as a long autobiographical soliloquy of the Son in which he reflects both on his own identity and on the purpose why he is being led into the wilderness. It becomes clear that Jesus, though not remembering his prior existence in Heaven, has already discovered through his reading of scripture and the testimony of his mother Mary that he is both Messiah, Israel’s future king, and Son of God. What he has not determined and what his encounter with Satan will help him to understand is how he must proceed to manifest these roles as king and savior. In presenting the first temptation, the temptation of hunger, Milton both follows scripture and freely invents. He divides the temptation in two, first, as in scripture, having Satan tempt the Son to turn stones into bread, then, later, inventing an episode in which Satan offers Jesus a lavish table in the wilderness. The temptations involve more than appeals to hunger. The first tempts Jesus to distrust God’s providence. When Satan asks Jesus to turn the stones into bread, Jesus’ reply is speedy and extends only slightly beyond the biblical response, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4.4). Milton places the reply in context with God’s feeding the Israelites and Elijah in the wilderness, but he also couples it with Jesus’ query why Satan is tempting him to distrust God and with the disclosure that Jesus knows exactly who the disguised Satan is.

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The offer of the banquet is more expansive. Satan appeals not only to hunger, but also to luxury and pleasure, including, as had the offer of the apple to Adam and Eve, an appeal to the whole range of human appetites. Although Satan had scorned Belial’s suggestion that he set women in the Son’s eye, stripling youths and attractive nymphs are present as the attendants for Satan’s banquet. The Son refuses the banquet on the simple principle that to accept Satan’s offers is to accept Satan, not God, as the giver. Of course, Milton complicates the issue, for the things that Satan offers – luxury and pleasure, and (following the Son’s rejection of the banquet) wealth, prestige, and honor – are those very things that seem most desirable to human beings. So the Son, in refusing, must not simply deny these things, but must show how Satan’s offer is specious – that true pleasure, prestige, and honor differ from what Satan extends. Hence when Satan argues that wealth is necessary in order to attain positions of honor and renown, the Son simply turns the argument around, pointing to Hebraic leaders such as David, Jephthah, and Gideon, for whom poverty was no impediment, and eminent Romans such as Quintius and Fabricius, who contemned riches. Moreover, when Satan urges that classical leaders such as Alexander and Caesar are worthy of emulation, the Son deftly replaces them with lesser-known men more deserving of fame – Job, renowned for his patience (an example repeatedly cited by Jesus), and Socrates, who suffered death for truth’s sake. Implicit in this displacement of conquerors as men worthy of praise and emulation is a rejection of fame as a goal in itself and an affirmation of how divine glory – the dissemination of God’s goodness – differs from the human pursuit of glory. Milton’s expansion of the biblical account serves a number of purposes, raising issues congruent to those addressed by the biblical temptations and generally broadening the field of confrontation between Satan and the Son. From their first encounter Jesus challenges Satan about his intentions, for Satan pretends to be a friend to the Son, to humankind, and a servant to God. But the Son, by simply countering Satan’s assertions, reveals him to be the father of lies, who has used his oracles not to help men but to vent more lies. In Book 3 when Satan, having failed to persuade the Son to seek glory, accuses God the Father of seeking glory, the Son turns the tables on Satan, who, insatiable of glory, had lost all. In his responses to Satan’s temptings, the Son not only demonstrates who he is, but counters Satan’s specious assumptions about the nature of man and man’s proper place in the world. The central issue between Satan and the Son is that of kingdom, for Satan knows that the Son has been promised a kingdom that will displace his own. Thus, if he can persuade the Son to accept from him that which Messiah has been promised from God, he can retain control of the kingdoms of the earth he now possesses. The issue of Jesus’ kingship is complex, for it involves not only which kingdom Jesus will assume, but also how and when he will assume it. Jesus deliberately evades, responding that God will fulfill his kingdom in due time. In effect, Satan is tempting the Son to anticipate that due time – to assert his kingship and assert it now – to become a

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king in Israel, to cast off the Roman yoke, and save his people, the Jews – something Jesus himself (as we observe in his soliloquy in Book 1) had once contemplated but had rejected. Messiah’s kingdom is foretold in several prophecies from the Hebrew Bible that both Jesus and Satan know. Isaiah (9.7) predicts that Messiah is to restore the kingdom to Israel and sit in David’s seat. Daniel predicts that Messiah’s kingdom will be without end (7.14), but cannot be established until the fall of certain other kingdoms (2.31–44) – namely the three kingdoms – Assyria, Persia, and Greece – and a fourth, Rome. Technically, the first three have already fallen, and the area they once occupied is now made up by Parthia. Rome still stands – the kingdom that, according to the prophecy in Daniel, must fall before the kingdom of Messiah can come about. Hence Satan’s offers of Parthia and Rome are strategic. In one way the Son’s rejection of Parthia is an extension of his rejection of Satan’s ethic of military might represented in the praise of conquerors such as Alexander and Caesar. The military machine of Parthia, impressive to the eye, argues, Jesus declares, human weakness rather than strength. But in refusing Parthia, Jesus is also putting to an end the possibility that he will rescue the Jews from their present bondage by becoming king in Israel at the present time. Yet at the same time he does not refuse ultimate kingship over Israel at his Second Coming, an eventuality that millenarians of Milton’s time were eagerly anticipating. Rome represents worldly power as well as ultimate luxury and magnificence. Ostensibly, of course, it is classical Rome that Jesus rejects, critiquing the brutishness of its emperor and the degeneracy of its people. But a subtext exists here too, for the Puritans of Milton’s time insisted that it was Renaissance Rome, that is, the Roman Catholic Church, that must fall before Christ could assume his throne in Jerusalem and begin his thousand-year reign on earth. As though to recall prophecy, Milton has Jesus, in refusing Rome, characterize his coming realm, as seventeenthcentury millenarians would have, in terms of the millenarian prophecies of Daniel – as a tree that spreads and overshadows all the earth (4.10–12), or as a stone that dashes to pieces all the monarchies of earth (2.31–51). He also affirms, as in Dan. 7.44 and Luke 1.33, that his kingdom will be without end. Milton concludes this sequence by citing from scripture Jesus’ reply to Satan’s proposal that he should bow down to him: “It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou worship” (Matt. 4.10). Milton sets the temptation of Athens apart from the temptation of the other two kingdoms, for neither power nor rule is offered, the terms implied in the Bible. With Athens knowledge is offered, classical learning to supplement biblical authority. That Jesus should place scriptural authority first can come as no surprise, nor can his reliance on “light from above” before all other guidance. What is surprising is the rigor with which Milton portrays the Son’s scorn for the intellectual contributions of classical culture from philosophy to literature to oratory. In every case the Son argues that the Hebraic counterparts are superior both as moral guides

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for living and as literary exemplars. The songs of Sion excel Roman and Greek lyrical odes, a view that Milton himself had espoused in The Reason of ChurchGovernment. Throughout Paradise Regained there are intimations of what is to come for Jesus – not kingdoms of power or contemplation but passion, crucifixion, and death. Jesus hints that he must be tried in humble estate before he can assume kingship (3.188–94), and Satan declares that he reads in the stars future sorrows for Jesus – violence, trials, and cruel death (4.382– 8). The storm and apparitions Satan sends to frighten Jesus may be symbolic of the terrors of passion and crucifixion. However, it remains clear that despite his efforts Satan has failed to discover just what kind of kingdom – real or allegoric – is promised to Messiah and in just what way Jesus is Son of God. He prefaces the last trial, in fact, by putting the question of his Son-ship directly to Jesus. In no way has Jesus asserted his divinity; all his denials of Satan’s temptations have been consistent with his nature as man. Hence Satan proposes the trial on the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem as the means to force Jesus to manifest his divinity – either to save himself or to call on God to save him. But Jesus, as in the first temptation, leaves the outcome to God, as he once again cites scripture: “Tempt not the Lord thy God” (Deut. 6.16; Luke 4.12). As Jesus stands and Satan falls, Milton interprets the scene through classical similes, comparing Jesus to a Hercules who defeated Antaeus by lifting him in the air – and to an Oedipus who, solving the Sphinx’s riddle, causes her to cast herself off the precipice. Milton closes his short epic with angels spreading a table in the wilderness, an act that symbolizes the restoration of paradise. At its core Paradise Regained is an agon of Satan and the Son, in which the Son emerges triumphant. As we move on to the second poem that occupies the 1671 volume, we may compare the Christian Hercules who defeats his adversary with the Hebraic Hercules of Samson Agonistes who dies, bringing down his enemies. Paradise Regained ends in quiet understatement, as Jesus returns to his mother’s house, ready to enter on his glorious work and to begin to save mankind.

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Figure 5

Title page to Paradise Regained, 1671

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PARADISE REGAIN’D,1 A POEM. The First BOOK. I who e’re while the happy Garden sung,2 By one mans disobedience lost, now sing Recover’d Paradise to all mankind, By one mans firm obedience fully tri’d3 5 Through all temptation, and the Tempter foil’d In all his wiles, defeated and repuls’t, And Eden rais’d in the wast Wilderness.4 Thou Spirit5 who ledst this glorious Eremite° Into the Desert, his Victorious Field° 10 Against the Spiritual Foe, and broughtst him thence By proof° the undoubted Son of God,6 inspire, As thou art wont,° my prompted Song else mute, And bear through highth or depth of natures bounds With prosperous wing full summ’d7 to tell of deeds 15 Above Heroic, though in secret done, And unrecorded left through many an Age,

desert-dweller, hermit battlefield by trial accustomed

1 Paradise Regained was composed between August 1665 and 1670, at which time it was licensed for publication, together with Samson Agonistes, published in the same volume. Milton’s Quaker friend Thomas Ellwood claimed that he suggested the poem as a sequel to Milton’s earlier epic when, after having read a draft of Paradise Lost prior to its publication, he queried: “Thou hast said much here of Paradise Lost; but what hast thou to say of Paradise Found?” When Ellwood visited Milton in London some time after his release from prison in July 1666, Milton showed him all or part of Paradise Regained, remarking, “This is owing to you; for you put it into my Head, by the Question you put to me at Chalfont; which before I had not thought of ” (History of the Life of Thomas Ellwood [1714], 233–4, 246–7 (some copies) ). Edward Phillips confirms that Paradise Regained was composed after Paradise Lost “in a wonderful short space, considering the sublimeness of it.” 2 The opening line imitates the opening of the Aeneid (composed by an editor in the first century and printed in most Renaissance editions): “Ille ego, quondam gracili modulatus avena / carmen” (“I am he who once piped my song on a slender reed”). The slender reed is the oaten pipe of the pastoral tradition. By referring to Eden as the “happy garden,” Milton foregrounds the pastoralism of PL. 3 See Rom. 5.19: “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” 4 See Isa. 51.3: The Lord “will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord.” 5 Milton invokes the Spirit that led Jesus into the wilderness to inspire him. See Matt. 4.1; Luke 4.1. 6 Milton bases his account of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness on Matt. 4. 1–11, Mark 1.12–13, and Luke 4.1–14. He follows the sequence of temptations in Luke. There is no account of the temptation in the gospel of John. 7 Fully fledged with feathers like a falcon, hence capable of full flight as a poet.

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Worthy t’ have not remain’d so long unsung.8 Now had the great Proclaimer° with a voice More awful then the sound of Trumpet, cri’d Repentance, and Heavens Kingdom nigh at hand° To all Baptiz’d: to his great Baptism flock’d With aw the Regions round, and with them came From Nazareth the Son of Joseph deem’d° To the flood Jordan,° came as then obscure, Unmarkt, unknown; but him the Baptist soon Descri’d, divinely warn’d,° and witness bore As to his worthier, and would have resign’d To him his Heavenly Office, nor was long His witness unconfirm’d: on him baptiz’d Heaven open’d, and in likeness of a Dove The Spirit descended, while the Fathers voice From Heav’n pronounc’d him his beloved Son.9 That heard the Adversary,° who roving still° About the world,10 at that assembly fam’d Would not be last, and with the voice divine Nigh Thunder-struck, th’exalted man, to whom Such high attest° was giv’n, a while survey’d With wonder, then with envy fraught and rage Flies to his place, nor rests, but in mid air To Councel summons all his mighty Peers, Within thick Clouds and dark ten-fold involv’d,° A gloomy° Consistory;11 and them amidst With looks agast and sad he thus bespake. O ancient Powers° of Air and this wide world, For much more willingly I mention Air,12 This our old Conquest, then remember Hell Our hated habitation; well ye know How many Ages, as the years of men,° 8

John the Baptist Matt. 3.2

Luke 3.23 a river in Palestine John 1.33–4

Satan / continually

testimony, attestation

enfolded dark rulers

as computed by men

Hitherto poets, such as Vida in the Christiad (1535), had focused on the passion and crucifixion rather than the temptation as a subject. Milton seeks to redress the neglect. The Christiad is an epic in six books that uses classical language and devices, such as an infernal council in Book 1. 9 See the accounts of this scene in Matt. 3.13–17, Mark 1.9–11, Luke 3.21–2, John 1.29–34. 10 An allusion to Job 1.7 where Satan tells God he has been going to and fro in the earth. 11 An ecclesiastical term for a council or senate, perhaps used ironically here to allude to the papal consistory. The term “consilium horrendum” was used by Virgil (Aen. 3.679) to describe the council of thwarted cyclopes, was imitated by Tasso (GL 4.2), and was employed by Vida in Christiad 1.134 to describe the assembly of devils. 12 Satan is described as the prince of the power of the air in Eph. 2.2.

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This Universe we have possest, and rul’d 50 In manner at our will th’affairs of Earth,

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easily led Since Adam and his facil° consort Eve Lost Paradise deceiv’d by me, though since awaiting With dread attending° when that fatal wound Shall be inflicted by the Seed of Eve Upon my head,13 long the decrees of Heav’n Ps. 90.4 Delay, for longest time to him is short;° And now too soon for us the circling hours completed This dreaded time have compast,° wherein we Must bide° the stroak of that long threatn’d wound, await, endure At least if so we can, and by the head Broken be not intended all our power broken To be infring’d,° our freedom and our being In this fair Empire won of Earth and Air; Jesus For this ill news I bring, the Womans seed° Destin’d to this, is late of woman born, His birth to our just fear gave no small cause, But his growth now to youths full flowr, displaying All vertue, grace and wisdom to atchieve Things highest, greatest, multiplies my fear. John the Baptist Before him a great Prophet,° to proclaim His coming, is sent Harbinger,° who all forerunner Invites, and in the Consecrated stream° the Jordan river Pretends° to wash off sin, and fit them so claims Purified to receive him pure,° or rather 1 John 3.3 To do him honour as their King; all come, Jesus And he himself° among them was baptiz’d, Not thence to be more pure, but to receive The testimony of Heaven, that who he is Thenceforth the Nations may not doubt; I saw when he rose The Prophet do him reverence, on him rising° Out of the water, Heav’n above the Clouds Unfold her Crystal Dores, thence on his head Matt. 3.16, Mark 1.10, Luke 3.22, John 1.32 A perfect Dove descend, what e’re it meant,° And out of Heav’n the Sov’raign voice I heard, Matt. 3.17, Mark 1.11, Luke 3.22 This is my Son belov’d, in him am pleas’d.°

13

In Gen. 3.15 God judges the serpent, predicting that Eve’s seed will bruise its head. In PL 10.182–91 Milton identifies Eve’s seed as Jesus, son of Mary, and the serpent as Satan whom Jesus sees fall. In PL 10.1030–6 Adam concludes that the judgment on the serpent must designate the future punishment of Satan.

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His Mother then is mortal, but his Sire, He who obtains° the Monarchy of Heav’n, And what will he not do to advance his Son? His first-begot we know, and sore have felt, When his fierce thunder drove us to the deep;14 Who this is we must learn, for man he seems In all his lineaments, though in his face The glimpses° of his Fathers glory shine. Ye see our danger on the utmost edge Of hazard, which admits no long debate, But must with something sudden be oppos’d, Not force, but well couch’t° fraud, well woven snares, E’re in the head of Nations he appear Their King, their Leader, and Supream on Earth.15 I, when no other durst, sole undertook The dismal expedition to find out And ruine Adam, and the exploit perform’d Successfully; a calmer voyage now Will waft me;16 and the way found prosperous once Induces best to hope of like success. He ended, and his words impression left Of much amazement° to th’ infernal Crew, Distracted and surpriz’d with deep dismay At these sad° tidings; but no time was then For long indulgence to their fears or grief: Unanimous they all commit the care And management of this main° enterprize To him their great Dictator,17 whose attempt At first against mankind so well had thriv’d In Adam’s overthrow, and led their march From Hell’s deep-vaulted Den to dwell in light, Regents and Potentates, and Kings, yea gods18 Of many a pleasant Realm and Province wide. So to the Coast° of Jordan he directs

holds

flashes, traces

concealed

alarm, surprise serious

momentous

district

14 The Son of God ejected Satan and his angels from Heaven. See PL 6.834–77. 15 The kingdom of Messiah as predicted in Dan. 7.13–14 and Isa. 9.6–7. 16 In PL Satan had to travel to earth from Hell through Chaos; now he only descends to earth from midair. 17 Dictator was the Roman term for a leader invested with absolute but temporary power in times of national emergency. 18 Gods signify the deities worshiped by the Greeks, Romans, and other pagans of the ancient world, here depicted by Milton, as also by the church fathers, as the angels who fell with Satan. See PL 1.376–521.

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120 His easie steps; girded with snaky wiles,19

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Where he might likeliest find this new-declar’d, This man of men, attested Son of God, Temptation and all guile on him to try; So to subvert whom he suspected rais’d To end his Raign on Earth so long enjoy’d: But contrary unweeting° he fulfill’d The purpos’d Counsel pre-ordain’d and fixt Of the most High, who in full frequence° bright Of Angels, thus to Gabriel20 smiling spake. Gabriel this day by proof° thou shalt behold, Thou and all Angels conversant on Earth With man or mens affairs, how I begin To verifie that solemn message late, On which I sent thee to the Virgin pure In Galilee, that she should bear a Son Great in Renown, and call’d the Son of God; Then toldst her doubting how these things could be To her a Virgin, that on her should come The Holy Ghost, and the power of the highest O’re-shadow her:21 this man born and now up-grown, To shew him worthy of his birth divine And high prediction, henceforth I expose To Satan; let him tempt and now assay° His utmost subtilty, because he boasts And vaunts of his great cunning to the throng Of his Apostasie;° he might have learnt Less over-weening,° since he fail’d in Job,22 Whose constant perseverance overcame Whate’re his cruel malice could invent.° He now shall know I can produce a man Of female Seed, far abler to resist All his sollicitations, and at length

19

unaware attendance, assembly the result of testing

try

his followers, the apostate angels arrogance, presumption propose

Sorcerers are often girded with skins of snakes. In contrast, the good man is girded with truth (Eph. 6.14), righteousness, and faithfulness (Isa. 11.5). 20 Known primarily as the angel of the annunciation to Mary (Luke 1.26 –38), Gabriel also announced John the Baptist’s birth to Zechariah (Luke 1.11–19) and prophesied to Daniel the seventy weeks that would precede the Messiah’s assumption of kingship (Dan. 9.21–7). 21 See the account of Gabriel’s annunciation to Mary: Luke 1.26 –38. 22 The first of five direct references to Job. Milton cites the book of Job as a model for the brief epic (See Preface to Book 2, Reason of Church Government).

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All his vast force, and drive him back to Hell, Winning by Conquest what the first man lost By fallacy° surpriz’d. But first I mean To exercise23 him in the Wilderness, There he shall first lay down the rudiments Of his great warfare,24 e’re I send him forth To conquer Sin and Death the two grand foes,25 By Humiliation and strong Sufferance: His weakness shall o’recome Satanic strength And all the world, and mass of sinful flesh; That all the Angels and Ætherial Powers, They now, and men hereafter may discern, From what consummate vertue I have chose This perfect Man, by merit call’d my Son,26 To earn Salvation for the Sons of men. So spake the Eternal Father, and all Heaven Admiring° stood a space, then into Hymns Burst forth, and in Celestial measures mov’d, Circling the Throne and Singing, while the hand° Sung with the voice, and this the argument.° Victory and Triumph to the Son of God Now entring his great duel, not of arms, But to vanquish by wisdom hellish wiles. The Father knows the Son;° therefore secure Ventures his filial Vertue, though untri’d, Against whate’re may tempt, whate’re seduce, Allure, or terrifie, or undermine. Be frustrate all ye stratagems of Hell, And devilish machinations come to nought. So they in Heav’n their Odes and Vigils° tun’d: Mean while the Son of God, who yet some days Lodg’d in Bethabara° where John baptiz’d, Musing and much revolving in his brest, How best the mighty work he might begin

deception

1 Cor. 1.27

struck with wonder; cf. PL 3.345–9 the harp plucked in accompaniment theme

John 10.15

nocturnal hymns village near Jordan (John 1.28)

23 A good temptation is that whereby God exercises the faithful for the purpose of providing them an opportunity to prove or manifest their faith. See De doctrina christiana 1.8. 24 Jesus’ passion and crucifixion were sometimes depicted as warfare and Jesus as a warrior, who, by “Humiliation and strong Sufferance,” defeated Satan. 25 Sin and Death are described as Satan’s “two main Arms,” whom the Son will ultimately defeat with his death on the cross (see PL 12.431). 26 This echoes PL 3.309, where the Son’s offer to save humankind proves him “By merit more than birthright Son of God.”

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Of Saviour to mankind, and which way first Publish° his God-like office now mature, One day forth walk’d alone, the Spirit leading;° And his deep thoughts, the better to converse With solitude, till far from track of men, Thought following thought, and step by step led on, He entred now the bordering Desert wild,27 And with dark shades° and rocks environ’d round, His holy Meditations thus pursu’d. O what a multitude of thoughts at once Awakn’d in me swarm, while I consider What from within I feel my self, and hear What from without comes often to my ears, Ill sorting° with my present state compar’d. When I was yet a child, no childish play To me was pleasing, all my mind was set Serious to learn and know, and thence to do What might be publick good; my self I thought Born to that end, born to promote all truth,28 All righteous things: therefore above my years, The Law of God I read, and found it sweet, Made it my whole delight,° and in it grew To such perfection, that e’re yet my age Had measur’d twice six years, at our great Feast I went into the Temple, there to hear The Teachers of our Law,° and to propose What might improve my knowledge or their own; And was admir’d° by all, yet this not all To which my Spirit aspir’d, victorious deeds Flam’d in my heart, heroic acts, one while To rescue Israel from the Roman yoke, Then to subdue and quell o’re all the earth Brute violence and proud Tyrannick pow’r, Till truth were freed, and equity restor’d: Yet held it more humane, more heavenly first By winning words to conquer willing hearts, And make perswasion do the work of fear; 27

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make known Matt. 4.1, Mark 1.12. Luke 4.1

trees

corresponding

Ps. 1.2

Luke 2.46–7 wondered at

An unidentified desert area, probably near Bethabara, but also connected with the desert beyond Beersheba and the wilderness in which the Israelites wandered after leaving Egypt (lines 350 – 4). 28 Anticipates Jesus’ reply to Pilate: John 18.37: “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.”

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At least to try, and teach the erring Soul 225 Not wilfully mis-doing, but unware

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Misled; the stubborn only to subdue. These growing thoughts my Mother soon perceiving By words at times cast forth inly rejoyc’d, And said to me apart, high are thy thoughts O Son, but nourish them and let them soar To what highth sacred vertue and true worth Can raise them, though above example high; By matchless Deeds express° thy matchless Sire. For know, thou art no Son of mortal man,29 Though men esteem thee low of Parentage, Thy Father is the Eternal King, who rules All Heaven and Earth, Angels and Sons of men, A messenger° from God fore-told thy birth Conceiv’d in me a Virgin, he fore-told Thou shouldst be great and sit on David’s Throne, And of thy Kingdom there should be no end.° At thy Nativity a glorious Quire Of Angels in the fields of Bethlehem sung To Shepherds watching at their folds by night,° And told them the Messiah now was born, Where they might see him, and to thee they came; Directed to the Manger where thou lais’t, For in the Inn was left no better room: A Star, not seen before in Heaven appearing Guided the Wise Men thither from the East,° To honour thee with Incense, Myrrh, and Gold, By whose bright course led on they found the place, Affirming it thy Star new grav’n° in Heaven, By which they knew thee King of Israel born. Just Simeon and Prophetic Anna, warn’d° By Vision, found thee in the Temple, and spake Before the Altar and the vested Priest, Like things of thee to all that present stood. This having heard, strait I again revolv’d° The Law and Prophets, searching what was writ Concerning the Messiah, to our Scribes 29

make apparent

the angel Gabriel

Luke 1.32–3; Dan. 7.27

Luke 2.8–18

Matt. 2.1–2, 9–11

fixed Luke 2.25–38

reviewed, studied

Mary’s account is drawn principally from the gospels of Luke and Matthew, which describe the annunciation to Mary by the angel Gabriel (Luke 1. 26–35), Jesus’ birth in the stable (Luke 2.1–7), and the visits of the shepherds (Luke 2.8–18) and wise men (Matt. 2.9–11).

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Known partly, and soon found of whom they spake I am;30 this chiefly, that my way must lie Through many a hard assay° even to the death,31 E’re I the promis’d Kingdom can attain,32 Or work Redemption for mankind, whose sins Full weight must be transferr’d upon my head.° Yet neither thus disheartn’d or dismay’d, The time prefixt I waited, when behold The Baptist, (of whose birth I oft had heard, Not knew by sight) now come, who was to come Before Messiah and his way prepare.° I as all others to his Baptism came, Which I believ’d was from above; but he Strait knew me, and with loudest voice proclaim’d Me him (for it was shew’n him so from Heaven) Me him whose Harbinger he was; and first Refus’d on me his Baptism to confer,33 As much his greater, and was hardly won;° But as I rose out of the laving° stream, Heaven open’d her eternal doors, from whence The Spirit descended on me like a Dove, And last the sum of all, my Father’s voice, Audibly heard from Heav’n, pronounc’d me his, Me his beloved Son, in whom alone He was well pleas’d; by which I knew the time Now full,34 that I no more should live obscure, But openly begin, as best becomes The Authority which I deriv’d from Heaven. And now by some strong motion I am led35 Into this Wilderness, to what intent I learn not yet, perhaps I need not know; For what concerns my knowledge God reveals. So spake our Morning Star36 then in his rise, 30

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persuaded with difficulty cleansing

God identifies himself as “I am” in Exod. 3.14. Jesus adopts the divine designation at John 8.58 (“Before Abraham, I am”) and at Mark 14.61–2, when he responds to the priest who asks him if he is the Christ, “I am.” 31 The afflictions and death of the “man of sorrows” are predicted in Isa. 53.2–12. 32 As predicted in Dan. 7.14 and Isa. 9.7. 33 In Matt. 3.13–15 John recognizes Jesus immediately and at first declines to baptize him. 34 See Gal. 4.4: “But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son.” 35 Cf. Samson’s “rousing motions” (SA 1382). 36 See Rev. 22.16: “I am . . . the bright and morning star.”

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A pathless Desert, dusk with horrid shades;° The way he came not having mark’d, return Was difficult, by humane steps untrod; And he still on was led, but with such thoughts Accompanied of things past and to come Lodg’d in his brest, as well might recommend Such Solitude before choicest Society. Full forty days he pass’d,37 whether on hill Sometimes, anon in shady vale, each night Under the covert of some ancient Oak, Or Cedar, to defend him from the dew, Or harbour’d in one Cave, is not reveal’d; Nor tasted humane food, nor hunger felt Till those days ended, hunger’d then at last Among wild Beasts:38 they at his sight grew mild, Nor sleeping him nor waking harm’d, his walk The fiery Serpent fled, and noxious Worm,° The Lion and fierce Tiger glar’d aloof. But now an aged man in Rural weeds,° Following, as seem’d, the quest of some stray Ewe, Or wither’d sticks to gather; which might serve Against a Winters day when winds blow keen, To warm him wet return’d from field at Eve, He saw approach, who first with curious eye Perus’d him, then with words thus utt’red spake. Sir, what ill chance hath brought thee to this place So far from path or road of men, who pass In Troop or Caravan, for single none Durst ever, who return’d, and dropt not here His Carcass,° pin’d° with hunger and with droughth? I ask the rather, and the more admire,° For that° to me thou seem’st the man, whom late Our new baptizing Prophet at the Ford Of Jordan honour’d so, and call’d thee Son Of God; I saw and heard, for we sometimes Who dwell this wild, constrain’d by want, come forth To Town or Village nigh (nighest° is far) 37

bristling or shaggy trees

poisonous snake desert-dweller or shepherd

Num. 14.29 / wasted away marvel because

nearest

Milton follows Matt. 4.2–3, where Jesus spends forty days in the wilderness and is tempted by Satan only at the end of the forty days. In Luke 4.2 and Mark 1.13 Jesus is tempted during the forty-day period. 38 See Mark 1.13: he “was with the wild beasts.”

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Where [a]ught° we hear, and curious are to hear, What happ’ns new; Fame° also finds us out. To whom the Son of God. Who brought me hither Will bring me hence, no other Guide I seek. By Miracle he may, reply’d the Swain,° What other way I see not, for we here Live on tough roots and stubs,° to thirst inur’d More then the Camel, and to drink go far, Men to much misery and hardship born; But if thou be the Son of God, Command That out of these hard stones be made thee bread;° So shalt thou save thy self and us relieve With Food, whereof we wretched seldom taste.39 He ended, and the Son of God reply’d. Think’st thou such force in Bread? is it not written (For I discern thee other then thou seem’st) Man lives not by Bread only, but each Word Proceeding from the mouth of God;40 who fed Our Fathers here with Manna; in the Mount Moses was forty days,° nor eat nor drank, And forty days Eliah without food° Wandred this barren waste, the same I now: Why dost thou then suggest° to me distrust,41 Knowing who I am,42 as I know who thou art? Whom thus answer’d th’Arch Fiend now undisguis’d.43 ’Tis true, I am that Spirit unfortunate, Who leagu’d with millions more in rash revolt Kept not my happy Station, but was driv’n With them from bliss to the bottomless deep, Yet to that hideous place not so confin’d By rigour unconniving,° but that oft Leaving my dolorous Prison I enjoy Large liberty to round this Globe of Earth,

39

395 anything rumor

shepherd stumps of scrubs

Matt. 4.3–4; Luke 4.3–4

Deut. 8.3 Exod. 24.18 1 Kings 19.8 prompt

unwinking, vigilant

Milton expands on Satan’s words in Matthew and Luke. Satan asks Jesus to relieve not only his own but also others’ hunger. 40 Matt. 4.4. Also see Deut. 8.3 (“man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord”). Jesus’ trial in the desert is put in context with the Israelites’ sojourn in the wilderness. 41 Milton follows Calvin and Luther in making the first temptation a tempting to distrust God. 42 Jesus again uses the formula “I am” to identify himself. 43 Satan drops the pretense of being a desert-dweller.

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Or range in th’Air,44 nor from the Heav’n of Heav’ns Hath he excluded my resort sometimes. I came among the Sons of God, when he Gave up into my hands Uzzean° Job To prove° him, and illustrate° his high worth;45 And when to all his Angels he propos’d To draw the proud King Ahab into fraud° That he might fall in Ramoth, they demurring,° I undertook that office, and the tongues Of all his flattering Prophets glibb’d° with lyes To his destruction, as I had in charge.46 For what he° bids I do; though I have lost Much lustre of my native brightness,47 lost To be belov’d of God, I have not lost To love, at least contemplate and admire What I see excellent in good, or fair, Or vertuous, I should so have lost all sense. What can be then less in me then desire48 To see thee and approach thee, whom I know Declar’d the Son of God, to hear attent° Thy wisdom, and behold thy God-like deeds? Men generally think me much a foe To all mankind: why should I? they to me Never did wrong or violence, by them I lost not what I lost, rather by them I gain’d what I have gain’d, and with them dwell Copartner in these Regions of the World, If not disposer;° lend them oft my aid, Oft my advice by presages and signs, And answers, oracles, portents and dreams, Wherebey° they may direct their future life.49 44 45

Job came from Uz test / set forth state of being defrauded or deceived hesitating made smooth God

attentive

distributor or ruler

whereby

Satan implies that God permits Satan’s freedom to leave Hell and roam through the air and earth. Satan argues that he has not been excluded from heaven. He claims that when he came among the company of the sons of God he was serving God in order to test Job’s piety ( Job 1.6). 46 Satan identifies himself as the “lying spirit” to whom God gave the task of leading King Ahab into defeat at Ramoth and to his subsequent death (1 Kings 22.19–35; 2 Chron. 18.18 –34). Ludwig Lavater’s commentary (In Libros Chronicorum) connects the “lying spirit” of 2 Chron. 18.18 –22 with the Satan of Job. Milton cites Lavater’s commentary in the Trinity MS. 47 Identified with Lucifer (Isa. 14.12), Satan was commonly regarded as among the brightest of the angels. 48 That is, how can I feel anything less than desire? 49 Lactantius (Divine Institutes 1.6. 7–14; 2. 16. 1–14) considers the relevance to Christians of oracles pronounced by the sybils, by Hermes Trismegistus, and by the Delphic oracle. See 4.27.14 on demons speaking through the pagan oracles.

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Envy they say excites me, thus to gain Companions of my misery and wo.50 At first it may be; but long since with wo Nearer acquainted, now I feel by proof,° That fellowship in pain divides not smart, Nor lightens aught° each mans peculiar° load. Small consolation then, were Man adjoyn’d: This wounds me most (what can it less) that Man, Man fall’n shall be restor’d, I never more. To whom our Saviour sternly thus reply’d. Deservedly thou griev’st, compos’d of lyes From the beginning, and in lies wilt end;51 Who boast’st release from Hell, and leave to come Into the Heav’n of Heavens; thou com’st indeed, As a poor miserable captive thrall, Comes to the place where he before had sat Among the Prime° in Splendour, now depos’d, Ejected, emptyed,° gaz’d, unpityed, shun’d, A spectacle of ruin or of scorn To all the Host of Heaven; the happy place Imparts to thee no happiness, no joy, Rather inflames thy torment, representing° Lost bliss, to thee no more communicable, So never more in Hell then when in Heaven. But thou art serviceable° to Heaven’s King. Wilt thou impute to obedience what thy fear Extorts, or pleasure to do ill excites? What but thy malice mov’d thee to misdeem Of righteous Job, then cruelly to afflict him With all inflictions, but his patience won? The other service was thy chosen task, To be a lyer in four hundred mouths;52 For lying is thy sustenance, thy food.

50

397

experience anything / own

foremost, highest in rank void of worth

displaying

useful, of service

That Satan tempts human beings in order to gain companions in his misery was a commonplace in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. See Marlowe, Dr. Faustus 2.1.42, where Mephistophilis quotes the Latin tag: “Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris” (“the miserable seek associates in their sorrow”). Satan repudiates the saying. 51 An anticipation of John 8.44 when Jesus, denouncing the Pharisees, refers to the devil as their father, who from the beginning “abode not in the truth . . . When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar and the father of it.” 52 Alludes to Satan’s spreading lies through the mouths of four hundred prophets (1 Kings 22.6, 12, 23).

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By thee are giv’n, and what confest more true Among the Nations? that hath been thy craft, By mixing somewhat true to vent° more lyes. But what have been thy answers, what but dark Ambiguous and with double sense deluding, Which they who ask’d have seldom understood, And not well understood as good not known? Who ever by consulting at thy shrine Return’d the wiser, or the more instruct° To flye or follow what concern’d him most, And run not sooner to his fatal snare?53 For God hath justly giv’n the Nations up To thy Delusions; justly, since they fell Idolatrous, but when his purpose is Among them to declare his Providence To thee not known, whence hast thou then thy truth, But from him or his Angels President° In every Province,54 who themselves disdaining To approach thy Temples, give thee in command What to the smallest tittle thou shalt say To thy Adorers; thou with trembling fear, Or like a Fawning Parasite° obey’st; Then to thyself ascrib’st the truth fore-told. But this thy glory shall be soon retrench’d;° No more shalt thou by oracling abuse The Gentiles; henceforth Oracles are ceast,55 And thou no more with Pomp and Sacrifice Shalt be enquir’d at Delphos° or elsewhere, At least in vain, for they shall find thee mute. God hath now sent his living Oracle56 Into the World, to teach his final will, And sends his Spirit of Truth° henceforth to dwell 53

speak

instructed

presiding

a hanger-on done away with, cut short

Apollo’s oracle at Delphi

the Holy Spirit

A typical complaint about oracles. The most famous of the ambiguous oracles was that told to Croesus, the King of Lydia. The Delphic oracle advised Croesus that if he invaded Persia, he would destroy a great kingdom, which, however, turned out to be his own kingdom (Herodotus 1.53–91). 54 Milton refers in De doctrina 1.9 to angels who are appointed to preside over nations, kingdoms, and particular districts. 55 The Greek historian Plutarch reported the cessation of the oracles (De Defectu Oraculorum), a report that early Christian writers such as Eusebius, Lactantius, and Prudentius attributed to the coming of Christ into the world. Mic. 5.12 was regarded as predicting the cessation of oracles. 56 The Son is sent into the world as “true Light” and “Word” ( John 1.9, 14).

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In pious Hearts, an inward Oracle57 To all truth requisite for men to know. So spake our Saviour; but the subtle Fiend, Though inly stung with anger and disdain,° Dissembl’d, and this Answer smooth return’d. Sharply thou hast insisted on rebuke, And urg’d me hard with doings, which not will But misery hath [w]rested from me; where Easily canst thou find one miserable, And not inforc’d oft-times to part from truth; If it may stand him more in stead to lye, Say and unsay, feign, flatter, or abjure?58 But thou art plac’t above me, thou art Lord; From thee I can and must submiss° endure Check or reproof, and glad to scape so quit.° Hard are the ways of truth, and rough to walk, Smooth on the tongue discourst, pleasing to th’ear, And tuneable° as Silvan Pipe or Song; What wonder then if I delight to hear Her dictates from thy mouth? most men admire Vertue, who follow not her lore: permit me To hear thee when I come (since no man comes) And talk at least, though I despair to attain. Thy Father, who is holy, wise and pure, Suffers the Hypocrite or Atheous° Priest To tread his Sacred Courts, and minister About his Altar, handling holy things, Praying or vowing, and vouchsaf ’d his voice To Balaam Reprobate, a Prophet yet Inspir’d;59 disdain° not such access to me. To whom our Saviour with unalter’d brow. Thy coming hither, though I know thy scope,° I bid not or forbid; do as thou find’st Permission from above; thou canst not more.60 He added not; and Satan bowing low 57

399

vexation, resentment

submissive to get off lightly

melodious

ungodly

forbid purpose

“When he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth . . . and he will shew you things to come” (John 16.13). 58 Cf. PL 4.845–949, Gabriel’s reply to Satan’s excuse that misery prompted his actions. 59 Balaam was urged by the Moabite king to curse the Israelites, but refused to do so on the grounds that God had commanded him to bless them and he could not undo the blessing (Num. 22.6 –38). 60 Anticipates Jesus’ words to Pilate: “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above” (John 19.11).

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His gray dissimulation, disappear’d Into thin Air diffus’d: for now began 500 Night with her sullen° wing to double-shade The Desert; Fowls in thir clay nests were couch’t; And now wild Beasts came forth the woods to roam. The End of the First Book.

dark, gloomy

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Mean while the new-baptiz’d,1 who yet remain’d At Jordan with the Baptist, and had seen Him whom they heard so late expressly call’d Jesus Messiah2 Son of God declar’d, And on that high Authority had believ’d, And with him talkt, and with him lodg’d, I mean Andrew and Simon,3 famous after known With others though in Holy Writ not nam’d, Now missing him thir joy so lately found, So lately found, and so abruptly gone, Began to doubt, and doubted many days, And as the days increas’d, increas’d thir doubt: Sometimes they thought he might be only shewn, And for a time caught up to God, as once Exod. 32.1 Moses was in the Mount, and missing long;° And the great Thisbite° who on fiery wheels Elijah Rode up to Heaven, yet once again to come.4 Therefore as those young Prophets then with care Sought lost Eliah,5 so in each place these site of John’s baptizing Nigh to Bethabara;° in Jerico The City of Palms,° Ænon, and Salem Old,6 Jericho, called City of Palms (Deut. 34.3) Machærus7 and each Town or City wall’d Sea of Galilee On this side the broad lake Genezaret,° Or in Perea,° but return’d in vain. land east of the Jordan Then on the bank of Jordan, by a Creek: Where winds with Reeds, and Osiers whisp’ring play 1 2

3 4 5 6 7

Those who had been baptized at the same time that John baptized Jesus. Messiah signifies the one anointed or ordained as king or priest (in Greek, Christ). Andrew declares to his brother Simon that Jesus is the Messiah ( John 1.41), one of two instances where the Hebrew word Messias is used in the Greek text (the other is John 4.25). The brothers Andrew and Simon Peter, named in the gospel of John as the first two disciples, follow Jesus to his lodging ( John 1.37–42). A whirlwind took Elijah the Thisbite alive up to Heaven in a fiery chariot. See 2 Kings 2.3–11. For the promise that Elijah would come again, see Mal. 4.5. The young prophets were the sons of the prophets who sent fifty men in search of Elijah after his disappearance. See 2 Kings 2.15–17. Other sites where John baptized (John 3.23). Fortress east of Dead Sea, traditional site of John’s execution.

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Plain Fishermen, no greater men them call, Close in a Cottage low together got Thir unexpected loss and plaints out breath’d. Alas, from what high hope to what relapse Unlook’d for are we fall’n, our eyes beheld Messiah certainly now come, so long Expected of our Fathers;8 we have heard His words, his wisdom full of grace and truth,° Now, now, for sure, deliverance is at hand, The Kingdom shall to Israel be restor’d:9 Thus we rejoyc’d, but soon our joy is turn’d Into perplexity and new amaze: For whither is he gone, what accident Hath rapt° him from us? will he now retire After appearance, and again prolong Our expectation? God of Israel, Send thy Messiah forth, the time is come; Behold the Kings of the Earth how they oppress Thy chosen, to what highth thir pow’r unjust They have exalted,10 and behind them cast All fear of thee, arise and vindicate Thy Glory, free thy people from thir yoke, But let us wait; thus far he hath perform’d, Sent his Anointed, and to us reveal’d him, By his great Prophet,° pointed at and shown, In publick, and with him we have convers’d;° Let us be glad of this, and all our fears Lay on his Providence; he will not fail Nor will withdraw him now, nor will recall, Mock us with his blest sight, then snatch him hence, Soon we shall see our hope, our joy return. Thus they out of their plaints new hope resume 8

John 1.14

carried off

John the Baptist John 1.37–41

Texts from Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel proclaim the coming of the Messiah (Isa. 9.6–7; Jer. 23.5–6; Dan. 7.13–14). 9 The United Kingdom of Israel lasted until the death of David’s son Solomon, after which it was divided into Israel and Judah. The kingdom of Israel existed as a separate state until c.720 BC, when it was conquered by the Assyrians. The kingdom of Judah survived until 586 BC when it fell to the Babylonians and its citizens were carried into a captivity which lasted until 537 BC. Thereafter the prophets (cf. Dan. 7.14) began to prophesy the coming of Messiah and the restoration of the kingdom to David’s heirs. Andrew and Simon here anticipate the query of one of the disciples to the risen Jesus: “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1.6). 10 Andrew and Simon cite Ps. 2 as sign that the Messiah has come: “The kings of the earth set themselves . . . against the Lord, and his anointed” (Ps. 2.2).

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To find whom at the first they found unsought: 60 But to his Mother Mary, when she saw

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Others return’d from Baptism, not her Son, Nor left at Jordan, tydings of him none; Within her brest, though calm; her brest though pure, Motherly cares and fears got head, and rais’d Some troubl’d thoughts, which she in sighs thus clad. O what avails me now that honour high To have conceiv’d of God, or that salute, Hale highly favour’d, among women blest;11 While I to sorrows am no less advanc’t, And fears as eminent, above the lot Of other women, by the birth I bore, In such a season born when scarce a Shed Could be obtain’d to shelter him or me From the bleak air; a Stable was our warmth, A Manger his,° yet soon enforc’t to flye Thence into Egypt, till the Murd’rous King° Were dead, who sought his life, and missing fill’d With Infant blood the streets of Bethlehem;12 From Egypt home return’d, in Nazareth Hath been our dwelling many years, his life Private, unactive, calm, contemplative, Little suspicious° to any King; but now Full grown to Man, acknowledg’d, as I hear, By John the Baptist, and in publick shown, Son own’d from Heaven by his Father’s voice; I look’t for some great change; to Honour? no, But trouble, as old Simeon plain fore-told,13 That to the fall and rising he should be Of many in Israel, and to a sign Spoken against,° that through my very Soul

11

Luke 2. 7 Herod

worthy of suspicion

decried

The angel Gabriel salutes Mary: “Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women” (Luke 1.28). 12 Herod, fearing that the infant proclaimed to the wise men by the star would become king of Judaea, ordered the slaughter of all infants in Bethlehem under two years of age (Matt. 2.13–16). Mary and Joseph escaped, taking the infant Jesus into Egypt and not returning to Nazareth until after Herod’s death (Matt. 2.13–14, 19–23). 13 Simeon, a just and devout man, whom Mary and Joseph encountered when presenting the infant Jesus at the temple in Jerusalem, proclaimed Jesus “a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of [his] people Israel,” “the fall and rising again of many in Israel.” To Mary he foretold pain, that “a sword shall pierce through [her] own soul.” See Luke 2.25–35.

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A sword shall pierce, this is my favour’d lot, My Exaltation to Afflictions high; Afflicted I may be, it seems, and blest; I will not argue° that, nor will repine. But where delays he now? some great intent Conceals him: when twelve years he scarce had seen, I lost him, but so found, as well I saw He could not lose himself; but went about His Father’s business;14 what he meant I mus’d,° Since understand; much more his absence now Thus long to some great purpose he obscures.° But I to wait with patience am inur’d; My heart hath been a store-house long of things And sayings laid up,° portending strange events. Thus Mary pondering oft, and oft to mind Recalling what remarkably had pass’d Since first her Salutation° heard, with thoughts Meekly compos’d awaited the fulfilling: The while her Son tracing the Desert wild, Sole but with holiest Meditations fed, Into himself descended, and at once All his great work to come before him set; How to begin, how to accomplish best His end of being on Earth, and mission high: For Satan with slye preface° to return Had left him vacant,° and with speed was gon Up to the middle Region of thick Air,15 Where all his Potentates in Council sate; There without sign of boast, or sign of joy, Sollicitous° and blank° he thus began. Princes, Heavens antient Sons, Æthereal Thrones, Demonian Spirits16 now, from the Element Each of his reign allotted, rightlier call’d, Powers of Fire, Air, Water, and Earth beneath, So may we hold our place and these mild seats Without new trouble; such an Enemy Is ris’n to invade° us, who no less 14

dispute

contemplated keeps hidden

Luke 2.51; also 2.19

Gabriel’s salutation

earlier statement at leisure

anxious / resourceless

attack

See Luke 2.41–50. The incident at the temple is earlier referred to by Jesus (PR 1.209–14) and later by Satan (PR 4.215–20). 15 Satan is designated as a prince of the air in Eph. 2.2. 16 Daemons are spirits who inhabit the region between earth and heaven.

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Threat’ns then our expulsion down to Hell;17 I, as I undertook, and with the vote Consenting in full frequence° was impow’r’d, Have found him, view’d him, tasted° him, but find Far other labour to be undergon Then when I dealt with Adam first of Men, Though Adam by his Wives allurement fell, However to this Man inferior far, If he be Man by Mothers side at least, With more then humane gifts from Heaven adorn’d, Perfections absolute,° Graces divine, And amplitude of mind to greatest Deeds. Therefore I am return’d, lest confidence Of my success with Eve in Paradise Deceive ye to perswasion over-sure Of like succeeding here; I summon all Rather to be in readiness, with hand Or counsel to assist; lest I who erst Thought none my equal, now be over-match’d. So spake the old Serpent° doubting, and from all With clamour was assur’d thir utmost aid At his command; when from amidst them rose Belial the dissolutest Spirit that fell,18 The sensuallest, and after Asmodai19 The fleshliest Incubus,20 and thus advis’d. Set women in his eye and in his walk, Among daughters of men the fairest found; Many are in each Region passing fair As the noon Skie; more like to Goddesses Then Mortal Creatures, graceful and discreet, Expert in amorous Arts, enchanting tongues Perswasive, Virgin majesty with mild And sweet allay’d, yet terrible to approach, Skill’d to retire, and in retiring draw Hearts after them tangl’d in Amorous Nets. Such object hath the power to soft’n and tame 17

405

assembly examined

complete

Rev. 12.9

The curse on the serpent in Gen. 3.15 placed enmity between the serpent (Satan) and the seed of the woman ( Jesus). Satan interprets this to mean that he and his followers will be driven back to Hell. 18 See PL 1.490–3; PL 2.108–18. 19 Asmodeus (Asmodai) was the evil spirit who lusted after Sarah and destroyed her husbands. See Tobit 8.3; PL 4.168–71. 20 A demonic spirit who has sexual intercourse with women. See Augustine, City of God 15.23.

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Severest temper,° smooth the rugged’st brow, 165 Enerve,° and with voluptuous hope dissolve,

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Draw out° with credulous desire, and lead At will the manliest, resolutest brest, As the Magnetic° hardest Iron draws. Women, when nothing else, beguil’d the heart Of wisest Solomon, and made him build, And made him bow to the Gods of his Wives.° To whom quick answer Satan thus return’d. Belial, in much uneven scale thou weigh’st All others by thy self; because of old Thou thy self doat’st on womankind, admiring Thir shape, thir colour, and attractive grace, None are, thou think’st, but taken with such toys.° Before the Flood thou with thy lusty Crew, False titl’d Sons of God, roaming the Earth Cast wanton eyes on the daughters of men, And coupl’d with them, and begot a race.21 Have we not seen, or by relation heard, In Courts and Regal Chambers how thou lurk’st, In Wood or Grove by mossie Fountain side, In Valley or Green Meadow, to way-lay Some beauty rare, Calisto, Clymene, Daphne, or Semele, Antiopa, Or Amymone, Syrinx,22 many more Too long,° then lay’st thy scapes° on names ador’d, Apollo, Neptune, Jupiter, or Pan, Satyr, or Faun, or Silvan?23 But these haunts° Delight not all; among the Sons of Men,

21

most disciplined temperament weaken attract magnet

1 Kings 11.4–8

trifles

too many to name / escapades habits

The early church fathers Justin Martyr and Clement of Alexandria, probably influenced by the Book of Enoch, interpreted the sons of God as the angels who fell with Satan and subsequently coupled with the daughters of men, producing giant offspring (Gen. 6.2–4). Later church fathers rejected this interpretation and identified the sons of God as the righteous descendants of Seth who married women descending from Cain. Milton adopts this interpretation in PL 11.573–87. 22 Callisto, Diana’s nymph, was seduced by Jupiter; Clymene, loved by Apollo, gave birth to Phaethon; Daphne was pursued by Apollo, but evaded him by being transformed to a laurel tree. Semele, Jupiter’s mistress and the mother of Dionysus, was incinerated when she unwisely asked Jupiter to come to her in his immortal form. Antiope was seduced by Jupiter disguised as a satyr. Amymone was a sea-nymph ravished by Neptune. Syrinx escaped from Pan’s pursuit by being transformed into a reed (which became Pan’s pipe). Ovid recounts the tales of these godly amours in Metamorphoses. 23 Justin Martyr attributed to the fallen angels those affairs of the pagan gods with women (Apologia Prima 9, 25).

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How many have with a smile made small account Of beauty and her lures, easily scorn’d All her assaults, on worthier things intent? Remember that Pellean Conquerour,° A youth, how all the Beauties of the East He slightly° view’d, and slightly° over-pass’d;24 How hee sirnam’d of Africa° dismiss’d In his prime youth the fair Iberian maid.25 For Solomon he liv’d at ease, and full Of honour, wealth, high fare, aim’d not beyond Higher design then to enjoy his State; Thence to the bait of Women lay expos’d; But he whom we attempt is wiser far Then Solomon, of more exalted mind, Made and set wholly on the accomplishment Of greatest things; what woman will you find, Though of this Age the wonder and the fame, On whom his leisure will vouchsafe an eye Of fond desire? or should she confident, As sitting Queen ador’d on Beauties Throne, Descend with all her winning charms begirt To enamour, as the Zone° of Venus once Wrought that effect on Jove, so Fables tell;26 How would one look from his Majestick brow Seated as on the top of Vertues hill, Discount’nance her despis’d, and put to rout All her array; her female pride deject,° Or turn to reverent awe? for Beauty stands In the admiration only of weak minds Led captive; cease to admire,° and all her Plumes Fall flat and shrink into a trivial toy,27 At every sudden slighting quite abasht: Therefore with manlier objects we must try 24

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Alexander the Great indifferently Scipio Africanus

girdle

cast down

marvel

Alexander the Great, born at Pella in Macedon (hence called the Pellean conqueror), treated Darius’ wife and daughters honorably after his conquest of Persia and also rejected other captive Persian beauties (Plutarch, Life of Alexander 21). 25 After the conquest of New Carthage Scipio restored a beautiful Spanish captive to her betrothed (Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 26.50). 26 Homer recounts how Hera, wearing Venus’ girdle, diverted her husband Zeus’s attention from the battlefield to lovemaking (Il. 14.292–351). 27 Ovid compares beauty to a peacock that ceases to display its plumes when not admired (Ars Amatoria 1.627–8).

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His constancy, with such as have more shew Of worth, of honour, glory, and popular praise; Rocks whereon greatest men have oftest wreck’d; Or that which only seems to satisfie Lawful desires of Nature, not beyond; And now I know he hungers where no food Is to be found, in the wide Wilderness; The rest commit to me, I shall let pass No advantage, and his strength as oft assay. He ceas’d, and heard thir grant° in loud acclaim; Then forthwith to him takes a chosen band Of Spirits likest to himself in guile To be at hand, and at his beck appear, If cause were to unfold some active Scene Of various persons each to know his part;28 Then to the Desert takes with these his flight; Where still from shade to shade° the Son of God After forty days fasting had remain’d, Now hungring first,29 and to himself thus said. Where will this end? four times ten days I have pass’d Wandring this woody maze, and humane food Nor tasted, nor had appetite; that Fast To Vertue I impute not, or count part Of what I suffer here; if Nature need not, Or God support Nature without repast Though needing, what praise is it to endure? But now I feel I hunger, which declares, Nature hath need of what she° asks; yet God Can satisfie that need some other way, Though hunger still remain: so° it remain Without this bodies wasting, I content me, And from the sting of Famine fear no harm, Nor mind it, fed with better thoughts that feed Mee hungring more to do my Fathers will.30 It was the hour of night, when thus the Son Commun’d in silent walk, then laid him down Under the hospitable covert nigh Of Trees thick interwoven; there he slept,

assent

shelter of trees

Nature provided that

28 The band of spirits accompany Satan in order to take part in pageants, such as the banquet at 2.350–65. 29 The Son feels hunger only after forty days of fasting. See PR 1.308–9. 30 See John 4.34: “My meat is to do the will of him who sent me.”

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And dream’d, as appetite is wont to dream, 265 Of meats and drinks, Natures refreshment sweet;

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it seemed to him Him thought,° he by the Brook of Cherith stood And saw the Ravens with their horny beaks Food to Elijah bringing Even and Morn, Though ravenous, taught to abstain from what they brought:31 He saw the Prophet° also how he fled Elijah Into the Desert, and how there he slept Under a Juniper; then how awakt, He found his Supper on the coals prepar’d, And by the Angel was bid rise and eat, ate And eat° the second time after repose, The strength whereof suffic’d him forty days;32 Sometimes that with Elijah he partook, Or as a guest with Daniel at his pulse.33 Thus wore out night, and now the Herald Lark Left his ground-nest, high towring to descry the morning / the lark’s The morns approach, and greet her° with his° Song: As lightly from his grassy Couch up rose Our Saviour, and found all was but a dream, Fasting he went to sleep, and fasting wak’d. Up to a hill anon his steps he rear’d, search, scan From whose high top to ken° the prospect round, If Cottage were in view, Sheep-cote or Herd; But Cottage, Herd or Sheep-cote none he saw, valley Only in a bottom° saw a pleasant Grove, With chaunt° of tuneful Birds resounding loud; song Thither he bent his way, determin’d there To rest at noon, and entr’d soon the shade shady High rooft and walks beneath, and alleys brown° That open’d in the midst a woody Scene, Natures own work it seem’d (Nature taught Art) And to a Superstitious eye the haunt Of Wood-Gods and Wood-Nymphs; he view’d it round, When suddenly a man before him stood,

31

The ravens, though hungry themselves, did not partake of the flesh and bread they twice daily brought to Elijah (1 Kings 17.3–6). 32 After fleeing from Jezebel, Elijah was twice fed by an angel before remaining in the wilderness fasting for forty days (1 Kings 19.4–8). 33 Daniel rejected the rich feast that King Nebuchadnezzar offered him, preferring a diet of pulse (lentils and beans). See Dan. 1.8–15.

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Not rustic as before, but seemlier clad, 300 As one in City, or Court, or Palace bred,

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And with fair speech these words to him address’d. With granted leave officious° I return, But much more wonder that the Son of God In this wild solitude so long should bide Of all things destitute, and well I know, Not without hunger. Others of some note, As story tells, have trod this Wilderness; The Fugitive Bond-woman with her Son Out cast Nebaioth, yet found he relief By a providing Angel;34 all the race Of Israel here had famish’d,° had not God Rain’d from Heaven Manna, and that Prophet° bold Native of Thebez35 wandring here was fed Twice by a voice inviting him to eat.° Of thee these forty days none hath regard, Forty and more deserted here indeed. To whom thus Jesus; what conclud’st thou hence? They all had need, I as thou seest have none. How hast thou hunger then? Satan reply’d, Tell me if Food were now before thee set, Would’st thou not eat? Thereafter as I like The giver, answer’d Jesus. Why should that Cause thy refusal, said the subtle Fiend, Hast thou not right to all Created things,° Owe not all Creatures by just right to thee Duty and Service, nor to stay till bid, But tender all their power? nor mention I Meats by the Law unclean, or offer’d first To Idols,36 those young Daniel could refuse;37 Nor proffer’d by an Enemy, though who

34

eager to please

Exod. 16.35 Elijah 1 Kings 19.5–7

Heb. 1.2

The bond-woman is Hagar, who with Ishmael, her son by Abraham, was driven into the wilderness by Abraham’s wife, Sarah. When their supply of water was depleted, an angel directed Hagar to a well, thus saving Ishmael’s life (Gen. 21.14–19). Milton refers to Ishmael as Nebaioth, the name of Ishmael’s eldest son (Genesis 25.13). 35 Thisbe is usually cited as Elijah’s home. 36 Despite Satan’s reassurances here and at 2.369–71, the banquet actually includes shellfish (2.345), a food forbidden by the Mosaic dietary laws (Lev. 11.10 –12). On the prohibition of food first offered to idols, see 1 Cor 10.19–21. 37 When invited to the feast of the king, Daniel refused to defile himself by partaking of the meat or the wine (Dan. 1.8).

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Would scruple that, with want opprest? behold Nature asham’d, or better to express, Troubl’d that thou shouldst hunger, hath purvey’d From all the Elements her choicest store To treat thee as beseems, and as her Lord With honour, only deign to sit and eat. He spake no dream, for as his words had end, Our Saviour lifting up his eyes beheld In ample space under the broadest shade A Table richly spred, in regal mode, With dishes pil’d, and meats of noblest sort And savour, Beasts of chase, or Fowl of game, In pastry built, or from the spit, or boyl’d, Gris-amber-steam’d;38 all Fish from Sea or Shore, Freshet,° or purling Brook, of shell or fin, And exquisitest name, for which was drain’d Pontus and Lucrine Bay, and Afric Coast.39 Alas how simple, to these Cates° compar’d, Was that crude° Apple that diverted Eve! And at a stately side-board by the wine That fragrant smell diffus’d, in order stood Tall stripling youths rich clad, of fairer hew° Then Ganymed or Hylas,40 distant more Under the Trees now trip’d,° now solemn stood Nymphs of Diana’s train, and Naiades° With fruits and flowers from Amalthea’s horn,° And Ladies of th’ Hesperides,41 that seem’d Fairer then feign’d of old, or fabl’d since Of Fairy Damsels met in Forest wide By Knights of Logres, or of Lyones, Lancelot or Pelleas, or Pellenore,42 And all the while Harmonious Airs were heard Of chiming strings, or charming pipes and winds

411

small stream

delicacies uncooked

complexion danced water nymphs the cornucopia (horn of plenty)

38 Grisamber = ambergris, a substance from sperm whales used in cooking and in perfumes. 39 Pontus is the Black Sea; Lucrine Bay is near Naples; the Afric Coast is near the Nile. 40 Young men famed for their beauty, loved by Jupiter and Hercules, respectively. The Trojan Ganymede became Jupiter’s cupbearer; Hylas, Hercules’ friend, was snatched away by amorous water-nymphs. 41 The daughter of Hesperus, who kept the golden apples. See A Mask 981–3. 42 All are knights of King Arthur’s court from Logres (the land east of the Severn river) or Lyones (the region beyond Land’s End, now under water). Lancelot, renowned for chivalry, was the lover of Queen Guinevere; Pelleas was one of the seekers for the Grail; Pellenore was the king of the Isles and the father of Percival.

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Of gentlest gale Arabian odors fann’d 365 From their soft wings, and Flora’s° earliest smells.

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Such was the Splendour, and the Tempter now His invitation earnestly renew’d. What doubts° the Son of God to sit and eat? These are not Fruits forbidden, no interdict Defends° the touching of these viands pure, Thir taste no knowledge works, at least of evil, But life preserves, destroys life’s enemy, Hunger, with sweet restorative delight. All these are Spirits of Air, and Woods, and Springs, Thy gentle Ministers, who come to pay Thee homage, and acknowledge thee thir Lord:43 What doubt’st thou Son of God? sit down and eat. To whom thus Jesus temperately reply’d: Said’st thou not that to all things I had right? And who withholds my pow’r that right to use? Shall I receive by gift what of my own, When and where likes me best,° I can command? I can at will, doubt not, as soon as thou, Command a Table in this Wilderness,° And call swift flights of Angels ministrant Array’d in Glory on my cup to attend: Why shouldst thou then obtrude this diligence, In vain, where no acceptance it can find, And with my hunger what hast thou to do? Thy pompous Delicacies I contemn,° And count thy specious gifts no gifts but guiles. To whom thus answer’d Satan malecontent: That I have also power to give thou seest, If of that pow’r I bring thee voluntary What I might have bestow’d on whom I pleas’d, And rather opportunely in this place Chose to impart to thy apparent need, Why shouldst thou not accept it? but I see What I can do or offer is suspect; Of these things others quickly will dispose Whose pains have earn’d the far fet° spoil. With that Both Table and Provision vanish’d quite 43

Roman goddess of gardens

Why hesitates? forbids

I like best Ps. 78.19

scorn

far-fetched

These are not nature spirits, as Satan implies, but the spirits referred to at 2.236–40 who accompany Satan and here take on the forms of attendants.

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With sound of Harpies wings, and Talons heard;44 Only the importune° Tempter still remain’d, And with these words his temptation pursu’d. By hunger, that each° other Creature tames, Thou art not to be harm’d, therefore not mov’d; Thy temperance invincible besides, For no allurement yields to appetite, And all thy heart is set on high designs, High actions; but wherewith to be atchiev’d? Great acts require great means of enterprise, Thou art unknown, unfriended, low of birth, A Carpenter° thy Father known, thy self Bred up in poverty and streights° at home; Lost in a Desert here and hunger-bit: Which way or from what hope dost thou aspire To greatness? whence Authority deriv’st, What Followers, what Retinue canst thou gain, Or at thy heels the dizzy Multitude, Longer then thou canst feed them on thy cost?45 Money brings Honour, Friends, Conquest, and Realms;46 What rais’d Antipater the Edomite, And his Son Herod plac’d on Juda’s Throne;47 (Thy throne) but gold that got him puissant friends? Therefore, if at great things thou wouldst arrive, Get Riches first, get Wealth, and Treasure heap, Not difficult, if thou hearken to me, Riches are mine, Fortune is in my hand; They whom I favour thrive in wealth amain, While Virtue, Valour, Wisdom sit in want. To whom thus Jesus patiently reply’d; Yet Wealth without these three is impotent, To gain dominion or to keep it gain’d. Witness those antient Empires of the Earth, In highth of all thir flowing wealth dissolv’d: 44

413

persistent every

Matt. 13.55 straits, need

The harpies were monstrous birds who defiled the food and tables of the prophet Phineus, preventing him and his guests from eating (Virgil, Aen. 3.225–8). Disguised as a harpy, Ariel snatches away a banqueting table from the shipwrecked princes (Tempest 3.3.53). 45 Perhaps an anticipation of Jesus’ feeding the multitude (Matt. 14.15–21; Mark 6.35–44; Luke 9.12–17; John 6.5–13). 46 Cf. Mammon’s temptation of Guyon with wealth (FQ 2.7.11). 47 Antipater (the proconsul of Judaea) and his son Herod possessed great wealth. According to Josephus, Herod gained control of Judaea by promising money to Mark Antony (Antiquities 14.12).

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But men endu’d with these have oft attain’d In lowest poverty to highest deeds; Gideon and Jephtha,48 and the Shepherd lad,° Whose off-spring on the Throne of Juda sat So many Ages, and shall yet regain That seat, and reign in Israel without end.49 Among the Heathen, (for throughout the World To me is not unknown what hath been done Worthy of Memorial) canst thou not remember Quintius, Fabricius, Curius, Regulus?50 For I esteem those names of men so poor Who could do mighty things, and could contemn Riches though offer’d from the hand of Kings. And what in me seems wanting, but that I May also in this poverty as soon Accomplish what they did, perhaps and more? Extol not Riches then, the toyl° of Fools, The wise mans cumbrance if not snare, more apt To slacken Virtue and abate° her edge, Then prompt her to do aught may merit praise. What if with like aversion I reject Riches and Realms; yet not for that° a Crown, Golden in shew, is but a wreath of thorns,51 Brings dangers, troubles, cares, and sleepless nights To him who wears the Regal Diadem,

48

David

snare blunt

because

Gideon, the leader of the Israelites against the Midianites, came from a poor family in Manasseh ( Judg. 6.15). Jephtha, chosen leader of Israel against the Ammonites, was poor, having been disinherited by his brothers as the son of a harlot ( Judg. 11.1–11). 49 David and his heirs reigned for over three hundred years. The prophecies of Dan. 7.14, Isa. 9.6–7, and Amos 9.11–12 predicted that they would regain the kingdom. According to Luke 1.32–3, the prophecies are confirmed with the birth of Jesus. 50 All are examples of Roman leaders known for their poverty, honesty, and fair dealing. Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus was a Roman peasant who, on becoming dictator, led the Romans to victory over the Aequi, but afterwards resigned the dictatorship and returned to his farm. The Roman consul Gaius Fabricius Luscinus rejected bribes when pursuing the war against Pyrrhus. Manius Curius Dentatus, a Roman leader who conquered the Sabines, the Samnites, and Pyrrhus, donated the booty awarded him to the Roman state and retired to his farm. Martius Atilius Regulus, the Roman leader captured during the first Punic War, was sent by Carthage to Rome to persuade the Roman Senate to capitulate, but instead advised the Senate to reject Carthage’s terms. On his return to Carthage with the Senate’s response, Regulus was tortured to death. 51 An anticipation of the crown of thorns placed on Jesus’ head when, after being scourged by the Romans, he was arrayed in kingly garments and mocked as king of the Jews. See Matt. 27.28–9; Mark 15.17–18; John 19.2–3.

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When on his shoulders each mans burden lies;52 For therein stands the office of a King, His Honour, Vertue, Merit and chief Praise, That for the Publick all this weight he bears. Yet he who reigns within himself, and rules Passions, Desires, and Fears, is more a King;53 Which every wise and vertuous man attains: And who attains not, ill aspires to rule Cities of men, or head-strong Multitudes, Subject himself to Anarchy within, Or lawless passions in him which he serves. But to guide Nations in the way of truth By saving Doctrine, and from errour lead To know, and knowing worship God aright, Is yet more Kingly, this attracts the Soul, Governs the inner man, the nobler part, That other o’re the body only reigns, And oft by force, which to a generous mind So reigning can be no sincere delight.54 Besides to give a Kingdom hath been thought Greater and nobler done,55 and to lay down Far more magnanimous, then to assume.56 Riches are needless then, both for themselves, And for thy reason why they should be sought, To gain a Scepter, oftest better miss’t. The End of the Second Book.

52

Cf. the sentiments on kingship expressed by Shakespeare’s Kings Henry IV and Henry V: 2 Henry IV 3.1.4–31; Henry V 4.1.230–59. 53 See Proverbs 16.32: “he that ruleth his spirit [is better] than he that taketh a city. Also see Horace, Carmina 2.2.9–12. 54 Echo of Jesus’ reflections at PR 1.221–6. 55 See, as Lewalski suggests, Aristotle’s view of magnanimity in Nicomachean Ethics IV.2.1123b–1124b; also Milton, De Doctrina Christiana XVII.241. 56 Possibly an allusion to Gideon, who refused the kingship over Israel ( Judg. 8.23) or to Cromwell, whose rejection of kingship is compared by Marvell to Gideon’s (Marvell, The First Anniversary of the Government under O.C. 249–64).

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So spake the Son of God, and Satan stood A while as mute confounded° what to say, What to reply, confuted and convinc’t° Of his weak arguing, and fallacious drift; At length collecting all his Serpent wiles, With soothing words renew’d, him thus accosts. I see thou know’st what is of use to know, What best to say canst say, to do canst do; Thy actions to thy words accord, thy words To thy large heart give utterance due, thy heart Conteins of good, wise, just, the perfect shape. Should Kings and Nations from thy mouth consult, Thy Counsel would be as the Oracle Urim and Thummim, those oraculous gems On Aaron’s breast:1 or tongue of Seers old Infallible; or wert thou sought to° deeds That might require th’array of war, thy skill Of conduct° would be such, that all the world Could not sustain° thy Prowess, or subsist° In battel, though against thy few in arms. These God-like Vertues wherefore dost thou hide? Affecting private life, or more obscure In savage Wilderness, wherefore deprive All Earth her wonder at thy acts, thy self The fame and glory, glory the reward That sole excites to high attempts the flame Of most erected° Spirits, most temper’d pure Ætherial, who all pleasures else despise, All treasures and all gain esteem as dross, And dignities and powers all but the highest? Thy years are ripe, and over-ripe,2 the Son Of Macedonian Philip° had e’re these 1

perplexed overcome in argument

called upon for military leadership withstand / stand firm

exalted, high-minded

Alexander the Great

Gems with oracular function worn on the breastplate by the high priest Aaron (Exod. 28.30). Also see Lev. 8.8; Num. 27.21. Urim signifies truth and Thummim light. Also see PL 6.760–1, where the Son is “in celestial panoply all armed / Of radiant Urim.” 2 Jesus was about thirty when he was baptized (Luke 3.23).

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Won Asia and the Throne of Cyrus° held At his dispose,3 young Scipio° had brought down The Carthaginian pride,4 young Pompey quell’d The Pontic King and in triumph had rode.5 Yet years, and to ripe years judgment mature, Quench not the thirst of glory, but augment. Great Julius, whom now all the world admires The more he grew in years, the more inflam’d With glory, wept that he had liv’d so long Inglorious:6 but thou yet art not too late. To whom our Saviour calmly thus reply’d. Thou neither dost perswade me to seek wealth For Empires sake, nor Empire to affect° For glories sake by all thy argument. For what is glory but the blaze of fame, The peoples praise, if always praise unmixt? And what the people but a herd confus’d,7 A miscellaneous rabble, who extol Things vulgar, & well weigh’d,° scarce worth the praise, They praise and they admire they know not what; And know not whom, but as one leads the other; And what delight to be by such extoll’d, To live upon thir tongues and be thir talk, Of whom to be disprais’d were no small praise?8 His lot who dares be singularly good. Th’ intelligent among them and the wise Are few, and glory scarce of few is rais’d. This is true glory and renown, when God Looking on the Earth, with approbation marks The just man, and divulges° him through Heaven 3 4 5 6 7

8

417 famous Persian king Scipio Africanus

seek after

properly judged

proclaim publicly

Alexander invaded Asia when he was twenty-three and had conquered Persia when he was twenty-five. Scipio Africanus expelled the Carthaginians from Spain when still in his twenties, later defeating the Carthaginian general Hannibal when still in his thirties. Pompey the Great won several military victories in his twenties, but was forty when he defeated Mithridates, the Pontic king. Plutarch recounts that Julius Caesar, aged thirty, wept that he had not yet achieved triumphs that Alexander the Great had at a comparable age (Life of Caesar 11.3). Milton anticipates the fickleness of the crowd that welcomed Jesus with hosannas on his entry into Jerusalem but a few days later abandoned him to be crucified. See Matt. 21.8–9; 27.22; Mark 11.8–10; 15.12–15; Luke 19.36–8; 23.18–21; John 12.12–13; 19.15. See Seneca, “Malis displicere laudari est” (“To be dispraised by the wicked is to be praised”) (De remediis fortuitorum 7.1), imitated by Jonson: “of such / To be disprais’d is the most perfect praise” (Cynthia’s Revels 3.3.15–16).

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To all his Angels, who with true applause Recount his praises;9 thus he did to Job, When to extend his fame through Heaven & Earth, As thou to thy reproach mayst well remember, He ask’d thee, hast thou seen my servant Job?° Famous he was in Heaven, on Earth less known; Where glory is false glory, attributed To things not glorious, men not worthy of fame. They err who count it glorious to subdue By Conquest far and wide, to over-run Large Countries, and in field great Battels win, Great Cities by assault: what do these Worthies,10 But rob and spoil, burn, slaughter, and enslave Peaceable Nations, neighbouring, or remote, Made Captive, yet deserving freedom more Then those thir Conquerours, who leave behind Nothing but ruin wheresoe’re they rove, And all the flourishing works of peace destroy, Then swell with pride, and must be titl’d Gods, Great Benefactors of mankind, Deliverers,11 Worship’t with Temple, Priest and Sacrifice; One is the Son of Jove, of Mars the other,12 Till Conquerour Death discover them scarce men, Rowling in brutish vices, and deform’d, Violent or shameful death thir due reward.13 But if there be in glory aught of good, It may by means far different be attain’d Without ambition, war, or violence; By deeds of peace, by wisdom eminent, By patience, temperance;° I mention still Him whom thy wrongs with Saintly patience born,

9

Job 1.8

2 Peter 1.6

Compare Jesus’ comment on true renown as God’s approbation with Phoebus Apollo’s pronouncement that true fame consists in Jove’s approval (Lycidas 76–84). 10 The title “Worthies,” used here ironically by Jesus, calls to mind the nine Worthies of antiquity (Hector, Alexander, Julius Caesar; Joshua, David, Judas Maccabaeus, Arthur, Charlemagne, and Godfrey of Bulloigne), several of whom Satan praises as conquerors. 11 Milton alludes to three titles often adopted by rulers: Theus (god), Euergetes (benefactor), and Soter (deliverer). Alexander was titled a god during his lifetime; Julius Caesar was declared divine by the Senate after his death. 12 Both Alexander and Scipio claimed to be the son of Jove; Romulus the son of Mars. 13 Alexander’s untimely death was often attributed to overindulgence in alcohol; Julius Caesar suffered a violent death by assassination.

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Made famous in a Land and times obscure; 95 Who names not now with honour patient Job?14

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Poor Socrates (who next more memorable?) By what he taught and suffer’d for so doing, For truths sake suffering death unjust,15 lives now Equal in fame to proudest Conquerours. Yet if for fame and glory aught be done, Aught suffer’d; if young African° for fame His wasted Country freed from Punic° rage, The deed becomes unprais’d, the man at least, And loses, though but verbal, his reward.16 Shall I seek glory then, as vain men seek Oft not deserv’d? I seek not mine, but his Who sent me, and thereby witness whence I am.17 To whom the Tempter murmuring thus reply’d. Think not so slight of glory; therein least Resembling thy great Father: he seeks glory, And for his glory all things made,° all things Orders and governs, nor content in Heaven By all his Angels glorifi’d, requires Glory from men, from all men good or bad, Wise or unwise, no difference, no exemption; Above all Sacrifice, or hallow’d gift Glory he requires, and glory he receives Promiscuous° from all Nations, Jew, or Greek, Or Barbarous,° nor exception hath declar’d; From us his foes pronounc’t glory he exacts. To whom our Saviour fervently° reply’d. And reason;° since his word all things produc’d,° Though chiefly not for glory as prime end, But to shew forth his goodness, and impart His good communicable to every soul Freely;18 of whom what could he less expect Then glory and benediction, that is thanks, The slightest, easiest, readiest recompence

14 15

Scipio Africanus Carthaginian

Rev. 4.11

without discrimination non-Hellenic nations warmly with good reason / John 1.1–3

Job acquired fame for godliness and patience despite living during a remote era in Uz, an obscure place. Unjustly accused and condemned to death for corrupting youth and for atheism, Socrates chose to die rather than to subvert the laws of Athens. See Plato, Apology and Crito. 16 Only if motivated by a desire to free Rome (and not by fame) was Scipio praiseworthy. 17 See John 8.50 (“I seek not mine own glory”); also John 5.30; John 7.18. 18 See, for example, Aquinas, Summa Theologica 1.44.4.

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From them who could return him nothing else,19 And not returning that would likeliest render Contempt instead, dishonour, obloquy? Hard recompence, unsutable return For so much good, so much beneficence. But why should man seek glory? who of his own Hath nothing, and to whom nothing belongs But condemnation, ignominy, and shame? Who for so many benefits receiv’d Turn’d recreant° to God, ingrate and false, And so of all true good himself despoil’d, Yet, sacrilegious,° to himself would take That which to God alone of right belongs; Yet so much bounty is in God, such grace, That who advance his glory, not thir own, Them he himself to glory will advance. So spake the Son of God; and here again Satan had not to answer,° but stood struck With guilt of his own sin, for he himself Insatiable of glory had lost all, Yet of another Plea bethought him soon. Of glory as thou wilt, said he, so deem, Worth or not worth the seeking, let it pass: But to a Kingdom thou art born, ordain’d To sit upon thy Father David’s Throne; By Mothers side thy Father,20 though thy right Be now in powerful hands,° that will not part Easily from possession won with arms; Judæa now and all the promis’d land Reduc’t a Province under Roman yoke,21 Obeys Tiberius; nor is always rul’d With temperate sway;22 oft have they violated The Temple, oft the Law with foul affronts, Abominations rather, as did once

unfaithful, false use of the sacred for profane ends

had no answer

the Roman Empire

19 Cf. PL 4.46–7: “What could be less than to afford him praise, / The easiest recompense.” 20 Although Matt. (1.1–17) and Luke (3.23–38) trace Jesus’ descent from the house of David through Joseph, Milton specifies “By Mothers side.” It was usually assumed, however, that Mary was also of the house of David. 21 Pompey conquered Jerusalem in 68 BC and Mark Antony in 37 BC. Judaea was reduced to a Roman province during the reign of Augustus when annexed to Syria by Quirinius, the governor of Syria in 6 BC. Tiberius appointed Pilate procurator to rule Judaea (AD 25–36). 22 According to Josephus, Pilate was one of the most corrupt and cruel of the procurators (Antiquities 18.3.1–2).

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Antiochus:23 and think’st thou to regain Thy right by sitting still or thus retiring? So did not Machabeus: he indeed Retir’d unto the Desert, but with arms; And o’re a mighty King° so oft prevail’d, That by strong hand his Family obtain’d, Though Priests, the Crown, and David’s Throne usurp’d, With Modin and her Suburbs once content.24 If Kingdom move thee not, let move thee Zeal, And Duty; Zeal and Duty are not slow; But on Occasions forelock25 watchful wait. They themselves rather are occasion best, Zeal of thy Fathers house,26 Duty to free Thy Country from her Heathen servitude; So shalt thou best fullfil, best verifie The Prophets old, who sung thy endless raign,27 The happier raign the sooner it begins, Raign then; what canst thou better do the while? To whom our Saviour answer thus return’d. All things are best fullfil’d in their due time, And time there is for all things, Truth hath said: If of my raign Prophetic Writ hath told, That it shall never end, so when begin The Father in his purpose hath decreed, He in whose hand all times and seasons roul.28 What if he hath decreed that I shall first Be try’d in humble state, and things adverse, By tribulations, injuries, insults, 23

421

1 Macc. 5.24–8 Antiochus IV

Eccles. 3.1

Antiochus IV Epiphanes of Syria, after capturing Jerusalem in 169 BC, stole holy vessels and trappings from the temple and profaned it by building altars and ordering sacrifices to idols within it (1 Macc. 1.20–62; Josephus, Antiquities 12.5.4). Pompey violated the Holy of Holies in 63 BC. Crassus carried off money from the temple. See Josephus, Antiquities 12–14. 24 In 166 BC Judas Maccabeus gathered an armed force and defeated Antiochus IV Epiphanes, establishing the Hasmonaean dynasty in the region centered about his native Modin. 25 Occasion was depicted as a bald woman with a single lock of hair hanging over her forehead. Seizing Occasion’s forelock is an emblematic figure for taking an offered opportunity. 26 Ps. 69.9: “The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.” Jesus’ zeal in expelling the money-changers from the Temple was regarded as a fulfillment of this text ( John 2.17). 27 For the restoration of David’s kingdom, see Amos 9.11; also Luke 1.32–3. Prophecies of endless reign occur in Isa. 9.7; Daniel 7.27. 28 See Jesus’ reply to his disciples who asked when the kingdom would be restored to Israel: “It is not for you to know the times or the times of the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power” (Acts 1.7). Also see John 2.4: “Mine hour is not yet come.”

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Contempts, and scorns, and snares, and violence, Suffering, abstaining, quietly expecting Without distrust or doubt, that he may know What I can suffer, how obey?29 who best Can suffer, best can do;30 best reign, who first Well hath obey’d;31 just tryal e’re I merit My exaltation without change or end. But what concerns it thee when I begin My everlasting Kingdom, why art thou Sollicitous, what moves thy inquisition? Know’st thou not that my rising is thy fall, And my promotion will be thy destruction? To whom the Tempter inly rackt reply’d. Let that come when it comes; all hope is lost Of my reception into grace; what worse? For where no hope is left, is left no fear;32 If there be worse, the expectation more Of worse torments me33 then the feeling can. I would be at the worst; worst is my Port, My harbour and my ultimate repose, The end I would attain, my final good. My error was my error, and my crime My crime; whatever for it self condemn’d, And will alike be punish’d; whether thou Raign or raign not; though to that gentle brow Willingly I could flye, and hope thy raign, From that placid aspect and meek regard, Rather then aggravate° my evil state, Would stand between me and thy Fathers ire, (Whose ire I dread more then the fire of Hell) A shelter and a kind of shading cool Interposition, as a summers cloud. If I then to the worst that can be hast, Why move thy feet so slow to what is best,

make worse

29 Jesus is probably referring here to the account of the suffering servant (Isa. 53) that, according to Christian exegetes, foretold the Messiah’s suffering and death. 30 Milton echoes the words of Mutius Scaevola as he thrust his hand into the fire. See Livy, Ob Urbe Condita 2.12. 31 A common observation among classical writers. See Plato, Laws 4.715C, 762E; Aristotle, Politics 3.4; Cicero, De Legibus, 3.2; Seneca, De Ira 2.15.4. 32 See Satan’s soliloquy on Mount Niphates (PL 4.108–9). 33 The expectation of worse torments me more.

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That thou who worthiest art should’st be thir King? Perhaps thou linger’st in deep thoughts detain’d Of the enterprize so hazardous and high; No wonder, for though in thee be united What of perfection can in man be found, Or human nature can receive, consider Thy life hath yet been private, most part spent At home, scarce view’d the Gallilean Towns, And once a year Jerusalem,34 few days Short sojourn; and what thence could’st thou observe? The world thou hast not seen, much less her glory, Empires, and Monarchs, and thir radiant Courts, Best school of best experience, quickest in sight In all things that to greatest actions lead. The wisest, unexperienc’t, will be ever Timorous and loth, with novice modesty, (As he who seeking Asses found a Kingdom)35 Irresolute, unhardy, unadventrous: But I will bring thee where thou soon shalt quit Those rudiments,° and see before thine eyes The Monarchies of the Earth, thir pomp and state, Sufficient introduction to inform Thee, of thy self so apt, in regal Arts, And regal Mysteries;° that thou may’st know How best their opposition to withstand. With that (such power was giv’n him then) he took The Son of God up to a Mountain high.36 It was a Mountain at whose verdant feet A spatious plain outstretch’t in circuit wide Lay pleasant; from his side two rivers flow’d, Th’one winding,° the other strait° and left between Fair Champain° with less rivers interveind, Then meeting joyn’d thir tribute to the Sea:37 Fertil of corn the glebe,° of oyl and wine, With herds the pastures throng’d, with flocks the hills,

34 35

initial stages, fundamentals

political skills or secrets of state

Euphrates / Tigris open country cultivated land

Jesus, with his parents, visited Jerusalem once a year at Passover. See Luke 2.41. Saul, Israel’s first king, while looking for his father’s asses, found Samuel, who anointed him king (1 Sam. 9.1–22; 10.1). 36 See Matt. 4.8; Luke 4.5. 37 The mountain is probably Mount Niphates, the source of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

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Huge Cities and high towr’d, that well might seem The seats of mightiest Monarchs, and so large The Prospect was, that here and there was room For barren desert fountainless° and dry. To this high mountain top the Tempter brought Our Saviour, and new train of words began. Well have we speeded, and o’re hill and dale, Forest and field, and flood, Temples and Towers Cut shorter many a league; here thou behold’st Assyria and her Empires antient bounds,38 Araxes° and the Caspian lake, thence on As far as Indus East, Euphrates West, And oft beyond; to South the Persian Bay, And inaccessible the Arabian drouth:° Here Ninevee,39 of length within her wall Several days journey, built by Ninus° old, Of that first golden Monarchy the seat,40 And seat of Salmanassar, whose success Israel in long captivity still mourns;41 There Babylon the wonder of all tongues, As antient, but rebuilt by him who twice Judah and all thy Father David’s house Led captive, and Jerusalem laid waste,42 Till Cyrus set them free; Persepolis His City there thou seest, and Bactra there;43 Ecbatana her structure vast there shews,44 And Hecatompylos her hunderd gates,45

38 39

unwatered

the Aras, a river in Armenia

desert mythical founder of Assyria

summer capital of Persian empire

The boundaries of the ancient kingdom of Assyria (722–636 BC). Nineveh, the ancient capital of Assyria, was on the banks of the Tigris, about 250 miles from Niphates. See Jonah 3.3. 40 The capital of Assyria, which as interpreted by Daniel, was the golden head of the image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream – also the first of the four kingdoms designated by Daniel. See Dan. 2.38. 41 Shalmaneser (Salmanassar) carried the ten northern tribes of Israel into captivity in around 722 BC. See 2 Kings 17.6. 42 Babylon, originally founded by Belus and Semiramis, was rebuilt by Nebuchadnezzar (c.604–561 BC), who twice sacked Jerusalem and led its inhabitants into captivity (c.597 BC; 586 BC). See 2 Kings 24.11–16; 25.11; 2 Chron. 36.6–20. 43 Cyrus founded the Persian Empire, united the Medes and the Persians, and conquered Babylon in 538 BC, freeing the Jews from captivity. See Ezra 1.1–8; 2.1. Cyrus’ summer capital was Persepolis; Bactra the capital of Persian province of Bactria. 44 Ecbatana was the ancient capital of the Medes, the summer residence of Persian kings. 45 Hecatompylos, which in Greek means hundred-gated, was the capital of Parthia.

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There Susa by Choaspes, amber stream, The drink of none but Kings;46 of later fame Built by Emathian,° or by Parthian hands, The great Seleucia, Nisibis, and there Artaxata, Teredon, Tesiphon,47 Turning with easie eye thou may’st behold. All these the Parthian, now some Ages past, By great Arsaces48 led, who founded first That Empire, under his dominion holds From the luxurious Kings of Antioch won.49 And just in time thou com’st to have a view Of his great power; for now the Parthian King In Ctesiphon ° hath gather’d all his Host Against the Scythian,50 whose incursions wild Have wasted Sogdiana;51 to her aid He marches now in hast; see, though from far, His thousands, in what martial equipage They issue forth, Steel Bows, and Shafts their arms Of equal dread in flight, or in pursuit; All Horsemen, in which fight they most excel; See how in warlike muster they appear, In Rhombs and wedges, and half-moons, and wings.52 He look’t and saw what numbers numberless The City gates out powr’d, light armed Troops In coats of Mail and military pride; In Mail thir horses clad, yet fleet and strong, Prauncing their riders bore, the flower and choice Of many Provinces from bound to bound; From Arachosia, from Candaor East, 46

425

Macedonian

former Persian capital

Susa, on the Choaspes river, was the winter residence of Persian kings. According to Herodotus (1.188), water from the Choaspes was carried by the Persian king in campaigns for their drinking supplies. 47 Seleucia was the city built by Alexander’s general Seleucus; Nisibis was a city in northwest Mesopotamia; Artaxata was the ancient capital of Armenia; Teredon was a city near the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; Ctesiphon, opposite Seleucia, at one time the Persian capital, was the winter capital of the Parthian kings. 48 There were two leaders named Arcaces. The first invaded Parthia (c.250 BC) and threw off Seuleucid rule; the second, who took on the name, recaptured Parthia. The Parthians waged many wars against Rome. 49 Antioch was the Seleucid capital on the Orontes in Syria, captured by the first Arcaces in 250 BC. 50 The Scythians were a tribe northeast of the Caspian that threatened the Parthian territories. 51 Sogdiana was the northeast province of Alexander’s empire. 52 Rhombs were diamond-shaped formations. Wedges were half-rhombs. Half-moons were formations with the wings curved back. Wings were the flanks of a formation to the extreme right and left.

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And Margiana to the Hyrcanian cliffs Of Caucasus, and dark Iberian dales, From Atropatia and the neighbouring plains Of Adiabene, Media, and the South Of Susiana, to Balsara’s hav’n.53 He saw them in thir forms of battell rang’d, How quick they wheel’d, and flying behind them shot Sharp sleet of arrowie showers against the face Of thir pursuers, and overcame by flight;54 The field all iron cast a gleaming brown,° Nor wanted clouds of foot,55 nor on each horn, Cuirassiers56 all in steel for standing fight; Chariots or Elephants endorst° with Towers Of Archers, nor of labouring Pioners° A multitude with Spades and Axes arm’d To lay hills plain, fell woods, or valleys fill, Or where plain was raise hill, or over-lay With bridges rivers proud, as with a yoke; Mules after these, Camels and Dromedaries, And Waggons fraught with Utensils of war. Such forces met not, nor so wide a camp, When Agrican with all his Northern powers Besieg’d Albracca, as Romances tell; The City of Gallaphrone, from thence to win The fairest of her Sex Angelica His daughter, sought by many Prowest° Knights, Both Paynim,° and the Peers of Charlemane.57 Such and so numerous was thir Chivalrie;° At sight whereof the Fiend yet more presum’d, 53

of bronze

carried on the back military engineers

most valiant pagan armed host of cavalry

Arachosia was the easternmost province of Parthia, west of the Indus river; Candaor was the province now in modern Afghanistan; Margiana was the region east of the Caspian Sea; Hyrcania was a province southeast of the Caspian Sea; Iberia is modern Georgia; Atropatia was the northeast province of Media; Adiabene was the region around Nineveh; Susiana was the southernmost Parthian province on the Persian gulf; Balsara’s haven is near the confluence of Tigris and Euphrates. 54 Parthian horsemen were known for their ability to shoot arrows from the rear while feigning retreat. Many of the details of Parthian military equipage come from Plutarch, Crassus 16–33. 55 Cloud of foot soldiers is a Homeric or Virgilian figure for a military formation. See “nimbus peditum” (Aen. 7.793). 56 Cavalry armed with body metal from neck to waist. 57 In Boiardo’s chivalric romance the Tartar king Agrican, a suitor for Angelica, daughter of Gallaphrone, the King of Cathay, brought a force of 2,200,000 to besiege her father’s city Albracca in order to win Angelica. Suitors for Angelica included both Christians (Charlemagne’s peers) and pagans. See Orlando Inamorata 1.10–14.

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And to our Saviour thus his words renew’d. That thou may’st know I seek not to engage Thy Vertue,° and not every way secure On no slight grounds thy safety;° hear, and mark To what end I have brought thee hither and shewn All this fair sight; thy Kingdom though foretold By Prophet or by Angel, unless thou Endeavour, as thy Father David did, Thou never shalt obtain; prediction still In all things, and all men, supposes means, Without means us’d, what it predicts revokes. But say thou wer’t possess’d of David’s Throne By free consent of all, none opposite,° Samaritan or Jew;58 how could’st thou hope Long to enjoy it quiet and secure, Between two such enclosing enemies Roman and Parthian? therefore one of these Thou must make sure thy own, the Parthian first By my advice, as nearer and of late Found able by invasion to annoy° Thy country, and captive lead away her Kings Antigonus, and old Hyrcanus bound, Maugre° the Roman:59 it shall be my task To render thee the Parthian at dispose; Chuse which thou wilt by conquest or by league. By him thou shalt regain, without him not, That which alone can truly reinstall thee In David’s royal seat, his true Successour, Deliverance of thy brethren,60 those ten Tribes Whose off-spring in his Territory yet serve

58

427

prompt your courage without securing your safely

hostile or opposing

harm

in spite of

Samaritans and Jews had been opposed since returning from the captivity in Babylon, the Jews regarding the Samaritans as a mixed race. The Samaritans occupied the northern territory once occupied by the ten tribes. 59 Satan gives an erroneous account. The Parthians, who were allied to Antigonus, invaded Judaea in 40 BC, bringing Antigonus back to his country and depriving Hyrcanus II of power and making Antigonus king. Antony, partly because of the money Herod promised him but mostly because of his enmity toward Antigonus, defeated Antigonus and made Herod king. See Josephus, Antiquities 14.13–16. 60 David ruled over twelve tribes of Israel. After the death of Solomon (933 BC) the kingdom was divided into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, the two southern tribes of Judah remaining loyal to Solomon’s son Rehoboam. The northern tribes followed Jeroboam and were carried off into Assyria. Satan proposes that Jesus, with the help of the Parthians, liberate Israel, recover the ten lost tribes, and reunite them under his rule, as had been predicted.

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In Habor,61 and among the Medes dispers’t, Ten Sons of Jacob, two of Joseph lost Thus long from Israel;62 serving as of old Thir Fathers in the land of Egypt serv’d, This offer sets before thee to deliver. These if from servitude thou shalt restore To thir inheritance,63 then, nor till then, Thou on the Throne of David in full glory, From Egypt to Euphrates and beyond Shalt raign, and Rome or Cæsar not need fear. To whom our Saviour answer’d thus unmov’d. Much ostentation vain of fleshly arm,° And fragile arms, much instrument of war Long in preparing, soon to nothing brought, Before mine eyes thou hast set; and in my ear Vented much policy,° and projects deep Of enemies, of aids, battels and leagues, Plausible° to the world, to me worth naught. Means I must use thou say’st, prediction else Will unpredict and fail me° of the Throne: My time I told thee, (and that time for thee Were better farthest off ) is not yet come;° When that comes think not thou to find me slack On my part aught endeavouring, or to need Thy politic maxims, or that cumbersome Luggage of war° there shewn me, argument Of human weakness rather then of strength. My brethren, as thou call’st them; those Ten Tribes I must deliver, if I mean to raign David’s true heir, and his full Scepter sway To just extent over all Israel’s Sons; But whence to thee this zeal, where was it then For Israel, or for David, or his Throne, When thou stood’st up his Tempter to the pride

61

2 Chron. 32.8

political cunning convincing fall short, be unsuccessful John 7.6

baggage of an army

The Habor is a tributary of the Euphrates near which the ten tribes (the so-called lost tribes of Israel) were placed in exile (2 Kings 17.6). 62 Jacob was the patriarch of the ten lost tribes, two of which (Ephraim and Manasseh) were descended from his son Joseph. 63 Their inheritance signifies the covenant that God made with Abraham – that his sons would have dominion over the land from the Nile to the Euphrates (Gen. 15.18). The extent of Solomon’s kingdom was from Egypt to the Euphrates (1 Kings 4.21).

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Of threescore and ten thousand Israelites By three days Pestilence? such was thy zeal To Israel then, the same that now to me. As for those captive Tribes, themselves were they Who wrought their own captivity, fell off From God to worship Calves, the Deities Of Egypt, Baal next and Ashtaroth,65 And all the Idolatries of Heathen round, Besides thir other worse then heathenish crimes;66 Nor in the land of their captivity Humbled themselves, or penitent besought The God of their fore-fathers; but so dy’d Impenitent, and left a race behind Like to themselves, distinguishable scarce From Gentils, but by Circumcision vain,67 And God with Idols in their worship joyn’d. Should I of these the liberty regard, Who freed, as to their antient Patrimony, Unhumbl’d, unrepentant, unreform’d, Headlong would follow; and to thir Gods perhaps Of Bethel and of Dan? no, let them serve Thir enemies, who serve Idols with God. Yet he at length, time to himself best known, Remembring Abraham by some wond’rous call May bring them back repentant and sincere, And at their passing cleave the Assyrian flood,° While to their native land with joy they hast, As the Red Sea° and Jordan° once he cleft, When to the promis’d land thir Fathers pass’d;68

64

the Euphrates river Exod. 14.21–2 / Josh. 3.14–17

Satan tempted David to draw up a census (to number Israel), an action which caused God to send a three-day pestilence against Israel in punishment (1 Chron. 21.1–17). 65 Jeroboam set up calves for worship (1 Kings 12.25–33); Ahab married the Zidonian princess Jezebel and built an altar to the Canaanite deity Baal (1 Kings. 16.31–2). Ashtaroth was the Phoenician moon goddess, Astarte. As a punishment for idol worship, the ten tribes were led captive into Assyria (2 Kings 17.7–18). 66 The worship of Baal entailed human sacrifice. 67 “If thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision” (Rom. 2.25). 68 Milton refers to the predictions of the return of the ten lost tribes to Jerusalem (Isa. 11.16; 2 Esd. 13.40–50; Rev. 16.12), which is likened to the Israelites’ coming out of Egypt. The Euphrates will be parted, as the Red Sea and Jordan once were, and the lost tribes will reassemble in Jerusalem in anticipation of the return of the Messiah.

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440 To his due time and providence I leave them.

So spake Israel’s true King,69 and to the Fiend Made answer meet, that made void all his wiles. So fares it when with truth falshood contends. The End of the Third Book.

69

At the millennium Christ will assume kingship over his saints (united Christians and Jews) in Jerusalem as Israel’s true king. See Rev. 20.1–4.

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Perplex’d° and troubl’d at his bad success° The Tempter stood, nor had what to reply, Discover’d in his fraud, thrown from his hope, So oft, and the perswasive Rhetoric That sleek’t° his tongue, and won so much on Eve, So little here, nay lost; but Eve was Eve, This° far his over-match, who° self deceiv’d And rash, before-hand had no better weigh’d° The strength he was to cope with, or his own: But as a man who had been matchless held In cunning, over-reach’t where least he thought, To salve his credit, and for very spight° Still will be tempting him who foyls° him still, And never cease, though to his shame the more; Or as a swarm of flies in vintage time,1 About the wine-press where sweet moust° is powr’d, Beat off, returns as oft with humming sound; Or surging waves2 against a solid rock, Though all to shivers dash’t, the assault renew, Vain battry, and in froth or bubbles end; So Satan, whom repulse upon repulse Met ever; and to shameful silence brought, Yet gives not o’re though desperate° of success, And his vain importunity pursues. He brought our Saviour to the western side Of that high mountain, whence he might behold Another plain,° long but in bredth not wide; Wash’d by the Southern Sea, and on the North To equal length back’d with a ridge of hills° That screen’d the fruits of the earth and seats of men From cold Septentrion blasts,° thence in the midst Divided by a river,° of whose banks 1

puzzled or distressed / outcome

made smooth this ( Jesus) / who (Satan) assessed

spite outwits

new wine

despairing

Latium the Apennines north winds the Tiber

The simile of flies swarming has an ancient vintage. Homer compares the Greeks to flies around milk pails (Il. 2.469–71; 16.641–3); Ariosto likens the Moors attacking the Christians to flies (Orl. Fur. 14.109), and Spenser refers to idle thoughts as buzzing flies (FQ 2.9.51). 2 For surging waves see Il. 15.618–21; Aen. 7.586–90; Tasso, Ger. Lib. 9.31.

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On each side an Imperial City stood, With Towers and Temples proudly elevate On seven small Hills, with Palaces adorn’d, Porches° and Theatres, Baths, Aqueducts, Statues and Trophees,° and Triumphal Arcs,° Gardens and Groves presented to his eyes, Above the highth of Mountains interpos’d. By what strange Parallax3 or Optic skill Of vision multiplyed° through air, or glass Of Telescope, were curious° to enquire: And now the Tempter thus his silence broke. The City which thou seest no other deem Then great and glorious Rome, Queen of the Earth So far renown’d, and with the spoils enricht Of Nations; there the Capitol4 thou seest, Above the rest lifting his stately head On the Tarpeian rock,5 her Cittadel Impregnable, and there Mount Palatine° The Imperial Palace,° compass huge, and high The Structure, skill of noblest Architects, With gilded battlements, conspicuous far, Turrets and Terrases, and glittering Spires. Many a fair Edifice besides, more like Houses of Gods (so well I have dispos’d My Aerie Microscope) thou may’st behold Outside and inside both, pillars and roofs Carv’d work, the hand° of fam’d Artificers In Cedar, Marble, Ivory or Gold. Thence to the gates cast round thine eye, and see What conflux issuing forth, or entring in, Pretors, Proconsuls to thir Provinces Hasting or on return,6 in robes of State; Lictors and rods the ensigns of thir power,7 3 4 5 6 7

porticos, colonnades spoils of war / arches

made to appear larger over-inquisitive

another of Rome’s hills Tiberius’ palace

handiwork

A parallax indicates an apparent change in the position of an object actually caused by the alteration of the observer’s position. One of Rome’s seven hills; the site of the temples of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. The sheer precipice on the Capitoline Hill from which condemned criminals were thrown to their deaths. Praetors were magistrates who served as provincial governors in the year following the end of their term of office in Rome. Proconsuls represented the senate as governors of provincial provinces. Lictors were attendants who walked before magistrates, carrying the rods that symbolized their power.

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Legions and Cohorts, turmes of horse and wings:8 Or Embassies from Regions far remote In various habits on the Appian road,9 Or on the Æmilian,10 some from farthest South, Syene,11 and where the shadow both way falls, Meroe Nilotic Isle,12 and more to West, Morocco / the Mediterranean off Morocco The Realm of Bocchus° to the Black-moor Sea;° From the Asian Kings and Parthian among these, the Malay peninsula east of India From India and the golden Chersoness,° And utmost Indian Isle Taprobane,° Sumatra or Ceylon Dusk faces with white silken Turbants wreath’d: Gaul / Cadiz / Brittany From Gallia,° Gades,° and the Brittish West,° Germans and Scythians, and Sarmatians13 North Danube / Sea of Azov Beyond Danubius° to the Tauric Pool.° All Nations now to Rome obedience pay, Tiberius (42 BC–AD 37) To Rome’s great Emperour,° whose wide domain In ample Territory, wealth and power, Civility of Manners, Arts, and Arms, And long Renown thou justly may’st prefer Before the Parthian; these two Thrones except, The rest are barbarous, and scarce worth the sight, Shar’d among petty Kings too far remov’d; These having shewn thee, I have shewn thee all The Kingdoms of the world, and all thir glory. This Emperour hath no Son,14 and now is old, Old, and lascivious, and from Rome retir’d Capri To Capreæ° an Island small but strong On the Campanian shore, with purpose there His horrid lusts in private to enjoy,15 Committing to a wicked Favourite° Sejanus 8

A cohort was the tenth part of a legion. Wings were the flanks of a formation which the Roman cavalry assumed. Turms were the tenth part of a wing. 9 The Appian Way was the principal road between Rome and Brindisi, the port of embarkation to the eastern provinces. 10 The Aemilian Way extended north from Rome to Piacenza. 11 Modern Aswan in Egypt, the southernmost part of the Empire. 12 The shadow falls both ways at the equator, where Meroe Nilotic Isle, the island capital of Ethiopia, is located. 13 People occupying the territory which occupies modern Poland and Russia. 14 Tiberius was without an heir after the death of his sons and his nephews. Ultimately, his nephew’s son Caligula succeeded him. 15 Accounts of Tiberius’ horrid lusts are found in Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars, 3.43–5 and in Tacitus, Annals 6.1–3.

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All publick cares, and yet of him suspicious,16 Hated of all, and hating; with what ease Indu’d with Regal Vertues as thou art, Appearing, and beginning noble deeds, Might’st thou expel this monster from his Throne Now made a stye, and in his place ascending A victor people free from servile yoke? And with my help thou may’st; to me the power Is given, and by that right I give it thee.° Aim therefore at no less then all the world, Aim at the highest, without the highest attain’d Will be for thee no sitting, or not long On David’s Throne, be propheci’d what will. To whom the Son of God unmov’d reply’d. Nor doth this grandeur and majestic show Of luxury, though call’d magnificence, More then of arms before, allure mine eye, Much less my mind; though thou should’st add to tell Thir sumptuous gluttonies, and gorgeous feasts On Cittron tables or Atlantic stone;17 (For I have also heard, perhaps have read) Their wines of Setia, Cales, and Falerne, Chios and Creet,18 and how they quaff in Gold, Crystal and Myrrhine° cups imboss’d with Gems And studs of Pearl, to me should’st tell who thirst And hunger still: then Embassies thou shew’st From Nations far and nigh; what honour that, But tedious wast of time to sit and hear So many hollow compl[i]ments and lies, Outlandish flatteries? then proceed’st to talk Of the Emperour, how easily subdu’d, How gloriously; I shall, thou say’st, expel A brutish monster: what if I withal Expel a Devil who first made him such? Let his tormenter Conscience find him out, For him I was not sent, nor yet to free That people victor once, now vile and base, Deservedly made vassal, who once just, 16 17 18

Luke 4.6

made of clay from China

Tiberius denounced Sejanus to the Senate, which delivered him to the Praetorian Guard to be executed. Cittron is citrus wood; Atlantic stone, marble from the Atlas mountains. The first three wines are Italian, the last two Greek, all highly commended by the Romans.

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Frugal, and mild, and temperate, conquer’d well, 135 But govern ill the Nations under yoke,

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Peeling° thir Provinces, exhausted all By lust and rapine; first ambitious grown Of triumph that insulting° vanity; Then cruel, by thir sports° to blood enur’d Of fighting beasts, and men to beasts expos’d, Luxurious by thir wealth, and greedier still, And from the daily Scene effeminate. What wise and valiant man would seek to free These thus degenerate, by themselves enslav’d, Or could of inward slaves make outward free? Know therefore when my season comes to sit On David’s Throne, it shall be like a tree Spreading and over-shadowing all the Earth,19 Or as a stone that shall to pieces dash All Monarchies besides throughout the world,20 And of my Kingdom there shall be no end: Means there shall be to this, but what the means, Is not for thee to know, nor me to tell. To whom the Tempter impudent repli’d. I see all offers made by me how slight Thou valu’st, because offer’d, and reject’st: Nothing will please the difficult and nice,° Or nothing more then still to contradict: On the other side know also thou, that I On what I offer set as high esteem, Nor what I part with mean to give for naught; All these which in a moment thou behold’st, The Kingdoms of the world to thee I give; For giv’n to me, I give to whom I please, No trifle; yet with this reserve, not else,

19

plundering arrogant gladiatorial contests

fastidious

The tree in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream that reached to heaven and extended to the ends of the earth was interpreted by Daniel as the sign of a kingdom without end (Dan. 4.10–12). Patristic exegetes interpreted the tree as Christ’s church; millenarians viewed it as a symbol of Christ’s kingdom on earth as promised in Rev. 20.1–4. 20 The stone in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream smashed an idol (made of gold, silver, brass, iron, and clay) and became a great mountain that filled the whole earth (Dan. 2.31–5). Daniel interpreted the dream as a sign that God’s kingdom, the fifth monarchy, would destroy the four monarchies that came before it and would endure forever (Dan. 2.44). Millenarians interpreted the four monarchies as the Assyrian, Persian, Greek, and Roman. For millenarians of Milton’s time Rome was Renaissance rather than ancient Rome, hence the papacy. The stone was sometimes interpreted as Christ, sometimes as Christ’s kingdom.

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On this condition, if thou wilt fall down, And worship me as thy superior Lord,21 Easily done, and hold them all of me; For what can less so great a gift deserve? Whom thus our Saviour answer’d with disdain. I never lik’d thy talk, thy offers less, Now both abhor, since thou hast dar’d to utter The abominable terms, impious condition; But I endure the time, till which expir’d, Thou hast permission on me. It is written The first of all Commandments, Thou shalt worship The Lord thy God, and only him shalt serve;22 And dar’st thou to the Son of God propound To worship thee accurst, now more accurst For this attempt bolder then that on Eve, And more blasphemous? which expect to rue. The Kingdoms of the world to thee were giv’n, Permitted rather, and by thee usurp’t,23 Other donation24 none thou canst produce: If given, by whom but by the King of Kings,25 God over all supreme? if giv’n to thee, By thee how fairly is the Giver now Repaid? But gratitude in thee is lost Long since. Wert thou so void of fear or shame, As offer them to me the Son of God, To me my own, on such abhorred pact,26 That I fall down and worship thee as God? Get thee behind me;° plain thou now appear’st That Evil one, Satan for ever damn’d.27 To whom the Fiend with fear abasht reply’d. 21

Luke 4.8

See Luke 4.6–7: “All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me: and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.” Also see Matt. 4.9. 22 See Matt. 4.10; Luke 4.8. Jesus cites the first commandment (Exod. 20.3) and the injunction to serve God alone (Deut. 6.13). 23 Jesus alludes to Satan as the prince of the world, but declares that he will soon be cast out ( John 12.31). 24 Donation literally signifies a transfer of property or privilege. Possibly Milton alludes to the donation of Constantine that he deplored. Issued in the fourth century AD, the donation granted power over Rome to the pope and his successors, dividing the eastern and the western church and bolstering the secular power of the Roman church. 25 King of kings is a title for God (1 Tim. 6.15). In Revelation Christ is called a king of kings as he leads armies against the kings of the earth (Rev. 17.14; 19.16). 26 Pact is a word often applied to a contract with the devil. 27 Jesus addresses Satan by name here for the first time in the epic.

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Be not so sore offended, Son of God; Though Sons of God both Angels are and Men,28 If I to try whether in higher sort Then these thou bear’st that title, have propos’d What both from Men and Angels I receive, Tetrarchs of fire, air, flood, and on the earth29 Nations besides from all the quarter’d winds, God of this World invok’t30 and world beneath; Who then thou art, whose coming is foretold To me so fatal, me it most concerns. The tryal hath indamag’d thee no way, Rather more honour left and more esteem; Me naught advantag’d, missing what I aim’d. Therefore let pass, as they are transitory, The Kingdoms of this world; I shall no more Advise thee, gain them as thou canst, or not. And thou thy self seem’st otherwise inclin’d Then to a worldly Crown, addicted more To contemplation and profound dispute, As by that early action may be judg’d, When slipping from thy Mothers eye thou went’st Alone into the Temple;31 there was[t] found Among the gravest Rabbies disputant° On points and questions fitting Moses Chair,32 Teaching not taught; the childhood shews the man, As morning shews the day. Be famous then By wisdom; as thy Empire must extend, So let extend thy mind o’re all the world, In knowledge, all things in it comprehend, All knowledge is not couch’t° in Moses Law, The Pentateuch° or what the Prophets wrote, The Gentiles also know, and write, and teach 28

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Angels (including Satan) are referred to as sons of God ( Job 1.6; 2.1). Human beings are also called sons of God (1 John 3.1; Rom. 8.14; Ps. 82.6). 29 A tetrarch is the ruler of a fourth part of a country, here used by Satan to describe sovereignty over the four elements – fire, air, flood (water) and earth – which he received from men and angels. Under the Romans Herod was tetrarch of the fourth part of Israel. 30 Satan also claims rulership over the nations from the four corners of the earth, here alluded to as from the winds. Satan is designated as the “god of this world” (2 Cor. 4.4). 31 The episode at the temple, described in Luke 2.42–50, was alluded to previously by Jesus (PR 1.209–14) and by Mary (PR 2.96–9). 32 Doctors sat in Moses’ chair when expounding the law publicly to the people or privately to their disciples. See Matt. 23.2.

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To admiration,° led by Natures light; And with the Gentiles much thou must converse, Ruling them by perswasion as thou mean’st, Without thir learning how wilt thou with them, Or they with thee hold conversation meet? How wilt thou reason with them, how refute Thir Idolisms,° Traditions, Paradoxes? Error by his own arms is best evinc’t.° Look once more e’re we leave this specular° Mount Westward, much nearer by Southwest, behold Where on the Ægean shore a City stands Built nobly, pure the air, and light the soil, Athens the eye of Greece,33 Mother of Arts And Eloquence,34 native to famous wits Or hospitable, in her sweet recess,° City or Suburban, studious walks and shades; See there the Olive Grove of Academe, Plato’s retirement,35 where the Attic Bird° Trills her thick-warbl’d notes the summer long, There flowrie hill Hymettus36 with the sound Of Bees industrious murmur oft invites To studious musing; there Ilissus° rouls His whispering stream; within the walls then view The schools of antient Sages; his° who bred Great Alexander to subdue the world, Lyceum there, and painted Stoa next:37 There thou shalt hear and learn the secret power Of harmony in tones and numbers° hit By voice or hand, and various-measur’d verse, Æolian charms and Dorian Lyric Odes,38 And his who gave them breath, but higher sung, Blind Melesigenes thence Homer call’d,39

33

admirably

idolatries conquered affording a panoramic view

place of retreat

the nightingale

river in Athens Aristotle, Alexander’s tutor

versification

Pindar identified the citizens of Acragas as the eye of Sicily (Olympian 2.9–10). Eye becomes a frequent designation for a city during the Renaissance; Paulus Melissus calls Nuremberg the eye of Europe. 34 Pericles called Athens the school of Greece (Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian Wars, 2.41). 35 The Academy, a public park north of Athens, included an olive grove where Plato established his school. 36 Mountain southeast of Athens famous for flowering thyme that attracted bees. 37 The Lyceum was Aristotle’s school; the stoa or colonnade in Athens’ marketplace was the site where the Stoic Zeno taught. 38 The lyric poetry of Sappho and Alcaeus is in the Aeolic dialect; the odes of Pindar, Stesichorus, and Bacchylides in the Doric dialect. 39 Epithet for the poet Homer, who according to the pseudo-Herodotean Life, was born on the banks of the Meles river and was later called Homeros, a name the Cumians gave to blind people.

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Thence what the lofty grave Tragœdians taught In Chorus or Iambic,41 teachers best Of moral prudence, with delight receiv’d In brief sententious precepts,42 while they treat Of fate, and chance, and change in human life; High actions, and high passions best describing: Thence to the famous Orators repair, Those antient, whose resistless° eloquence Wielded° at will that fierce Democratie,° Shook the Arsenal and fulmin’d° over Greece, To Macedon, and Artaxerxes° Throne;43 To sage Philosophy next lend thine ear, From Heaven descended to the low-rooft house Of Socrates, see there his Tenement, Whom well inspir’d the Oracle pronounc’d Wisest of men;44 from whose mouth issu’d forth Mellifluous streams that water’d all the schools Of Academics old and new,45 with those Sirnam’d Peripatetics,° and the Sect Epicurean, and the Stoic severe; These here revolve, or, as thou lik’st, at home, Till time mature thee to a Kingdom’s waight; These rules will render thee a King compleat Within thy self, much more with Empire joyn’d. To whom our Saviour sagely thus repli’d. Think not but that I know these things, or think I know them not; not therefore am I short Of knowing what I [o]ught: he who receives Light from above, from the fountain of light, No other doctrine needs, though granted true;

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irresistible ruled / democracy thundered Persian king

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40 See Greek Anthology 9.455 for Apollo’s claim to the authorship of Homer’s poetry. 41 Greek tragedies were divided into choral odes and dramatic scenes: the former in various lyrical meters, the latter in iambic trimeter. 42 Sententious precepts were the brief moral maxims or aphorisms, often pronounced by the Chorus in commentary on the action of the tragedy. 43 Demosthenes delivered orations against Philip of Macedon, reportedly shaking the arsenal, the nearby Athenian dockyard, the construction of which was suspended to provide funds for the war effort against Philip. According to Aristophanes (Acharnians 530), Pericles thundered against Artaxerxes, the Persian king allied to the Spartans. 44 The Delphic oracle pronounced that no man was wiser than Socrates (Plato, Apology 21A). 45 Greece’s philosophical schools were said to derive from Socrates’ teaching (recorded in Plato’s dialogues). The Greek schools included Plato’s academy, Aristotle’s Peripatetic school (so called from the practice of lecturing while walking), and the Epicurean and Stoic schools.

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But these are false, or little else but dreams, Conjectures, fancies, built on nothing firm. The first and wisest of them all° profess’d To know this only, that he nothing knew;46 The next,° to fabling fell and smooth conceits,° A third sort° doubted all things, though plain sense;47 Others° in vertue plac’d felicity, But vertue joyn’d with riches and long life, In corporal pleasure he,° and careless ease,48 The Stoic last in Philosophic pride,49 By him call’d vertue; and his vertuous man, Wise, perfect in himself, and all possessing Equal to God, oft shames not to prefer, As fearing God nor man, contemning all Wealth, pleasure, pain or torment, death and life, Which when he lists, he leaves, or boasts he can,50 For all his tedious talk is but vain boast, Or subtle shifts conviction° to evade. Alas what can they teach, and not mislead; Ignorant of themselves, of God much more, And how the world began, and how man fell Degraded by himself, on grace depending? Much of the Soul they talk, but all awrie, And in themselves seek vertue, and to themselves All glory arrogate, to God give none, Rather accuse him under usual names, Fortune and Fate, as one regardless quite Of mortal things. Who therefore seeks in these True wisdom, finds her not, or by delusion Far worse, her false resemblance only meets, An empty cloud.51 However many books

46

Socrates Plato / specious notions the Sceptics Peripatetics (Aristotle’s school) Epicurus

consciousness of sin

Socrates accepted the title of wisest, conferred on him by the Delphic Oracle, because, as he affirmed, he was wise in knowing that he knew nothing (Plato, Apology 21A–23B). 47 The Sceptics, founded by Pyrrhon of Elis (c.360 –270 BC), thought it impossible to know things in their own nature. 48 The Epicureans were commonly thought to seek happiness in corporal pleasures, but Epicurus actually held that virtuous living brought the highest pleasure. 49 The Stoics, founded by Zeno of Citium (c.333–262 BC), contemned all pleasure and pain, passions, desires, and fears and asserted human freedom to follow virtue both in adversity and good fortune. 50 Suicide was permitted to the Stoics as a final choice in times of adversity. 51 The empty cloud is the cloud image of Hera that Ixion, lusting after her, was tricked into embracing (rather than the goddess herself ). See Pindar, Pythian 2.21–40.

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Wise men have said are wearisom;52 who reads Incessantly, and to his reading brings not A spirit and judgment equal or superior, (And what he brings, what needs he elsewhere seek) Uncertain and unsettl’d still remains, Deep verst in books and shallow in himself, Crude° or intoxicate, collecting toys, And trifles for choice matters, worth a spunge;° As Children gathering pibles on the shore. Or if I would delight my private hours With Music or with Poem, where so soon As in our native Language can I find That solace? All our Law and Story° strew’d With Hymns, our Psalms with artful terms° inscrib’d, Our Hebrew Songs and Harps in Babylon,53 That pleas’d so well our Victors ear, declare That rather Greece from us these Arts deriv’d;54 Ill imitated, while they loudest sing The vices of thir Deities, and thir own In Fable, Hymn, or Song, so personating Thir Gods ridiculous, and themselves past shame.55 Remove their swelling° Epithetes thick laid As varnish° on a Harlots cheek, the rest, Thin sown with aught of profit or delight, Will far be found unworthy to compare With Sion’s songs, to all true tasts excelling,56 Where God is prais’d aright, and Godlike men, The Holiest of Holies, and his Saints; Such are from God inspir’d, not such from thee; Unless where moral vertue is express’t By light of Nature° not in all quite lost. Thir Orators thou then extoll’st, as those 52 53

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reason

See Eccles. 12.12: “of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion . . . for there they that carried us away captive required of us a song” (Ps. 137.1–3). 54 Clement of Alexandria, Eusebius, and other Church Fathers asserted that learning began with Hebraic scripture and then was passed to the Egyptians and the Greeks. For the assertion of the priority of Hebraic poetry over Greek, see Franciscus Gomarus, Davidis Lyra: Seu Nova Hebraea S. Scripturae Ars Poetica, Canonibus suis descripta (Leiden, 1637). 55 Perhaps an allusion to the scurrilous fables about the gods included in the Iliad and the Odyssey. Or perhaps to the far-fetched or fanciful depiction of the gods in the Homeric Hymns or Callimachus’ Hymns. 56 Milton, in the Preface to Book II of Reason of Church-Government, declared the superiority of Hebraic lyric poetry, including the psalms, over Greek lyric poetry (Columbia 3.238; Yale 1.816).

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The top of Eloquence, Statists° indeed,

statesmen

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But herein to our Prophets far beneath, As men divinely taught, and better teaching The solid rules of Civil Government In thir majestic unaffected stile Then all the Oratory of Greece and Rome. In them is plainest taught, and easiest learnt, What makes a Nation happy, and keeps it so, What ruins Kingdoms, and lays Cities flat; These only with our Law best form a King. So spake the Son of God; but Satan now Quite at a loss, for all his darts were spent, Thus to our Saviour with stern brow reply’d. Since neither wealth, nor honour, arms nor arts, Kingdom nor Empire pleases thee, nor aught By me propos’d in life contemplative, Or active, tended on by glory, or fame, What dost thou in this World? the Wilderness For thee is fittest place, I found thee there, And thither will return thee, yet remember What I foretell thee, soon thou shalt have cause To wish thou never hadst rejected thus Nicely° or cautiously my offer’d aid, Which would have set thee in short time with ease On David’s Throne; or Throne of all the world, Now at full age, fulness of time, thy season,57 When Prophecies of thee are best fullfill’d. Now contrary,° if I read aught in Heaven, Or Heav’n write aught of Fate, by what the Stars Voluminous, or single characters, In their conjunction met, give me to spell,58 Sorrows, and labours, opposition, hate, Attends° thee, scorns, reproaches, injuries, Violence and stripes, and lastly cruel death,59

57

fastidiously

on the contrary

awaits

See Gal. 4.4: “when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, make of a woman, made under the law.” 58 Satan refers to the stars either together in a large book (voluminous) or singly (single characters, i.e., individual letters) as forming a text in which he can read (spell) Jesus’ future. Conjunction is the meeting of two stars or planets close together, signaling an unfavorable aspect. 59 An allusion to the prophecy about the suffering servant (Isa. 53).

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A Kingdom they portend thee, but what Kingdom, 390 Real or Allegoric I discern not,

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Nor when, eternal sure, as without end, Without beginning; for no date prefixt Directs me in the Starry Rubric60 set. So saying he took (for still he knew his power Not yet expir’d) and to the Wilderness Brought back the Son of God, and left him there, Feigning to disappear. Darkness now rose, As day-light sunk, and brought in lowring night without substance Her shadowy off-spring unsubstantial° both, Privation meer of light and absent day. Our Saviour meek and with untroubl’d mind journey After his aerie jaunt,° though hurried sore, Hungry and cold betook him to his rest, trees Wherever, under some concourse of shades° Whose branching arms thick intertwind might shield From dews and damps of night his shelter’d head, But shelter’d slept in vain, for at his head The Tempter watch’d, and soon with ugly dreams part of the southern or northern sky Disturb’d his sleep; and either Tropic° now ’Gan thunder, and both ends of Heav’n, the Clouds destroying life From many a horrid rift abortive° pour’d Fierce rain with lightning mixt, water with fire destruction, falling In ruine° reconcil’d: nor slept the winds Within thir stony caves, but rush’d abroad61 From the four hinges° of the world, and fell cardinal points On the vext Wilderness, whose tallest Pines, Though rooted deep as high, and sturdiest Oaks Bow’d their Stiff necks, loaden with stormy blasts, sheltered Or torn up sheer: ill wast thou shrouded° then, O patient Son of God, yet only° stoodst alone Unshaken; nor yet staid the terror there, Infernal Ghosts, and Hellish Furies, round Environ’d thee, some howl’d, some yell’d, some shriek’d, Some bent at thee their fiery darts, while thou

60

Satan describes the stars of heaven standing out as if in a rubricated manuscript, where the letters of the chapters are set in red. 61 As prince of the power of air (Eph. 2.2) Satan, like Aeolus in Virgil’s Aeneid (1.52–4), controls the winds, which, when released, rush forward from the caves in which they have been confined.

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Thus pass’d the night so foul till morning fair fur Came forth with Pilgrim steps in amice° gray; Who with her radiant finger° still’d the roar rosy-fingered Dawn Of thunder, chas’d the clouds, and laid° the winds, subdued And grisly Spectres, which the Fiend had rais’d To tempt the Son of God with terrors dire. And now the Sun with more effectual beams Had chear’d the face of Earth, and dry’d the wet From drooping plant, or dropping tree; the birds Who all things now behold more fresh and green, destructive After a night of storm so ruinous,° Clear’d up° their choicest notes in bush and spray sang clearly To gratulate° the sweet return of morn; welcome, give thanks for Nor yet amidst this joy and brightest morn Was absent, after all his mischief done, The Prince of darkness, glad would also seem Of this fair change, and to our Saviour came, Yet with no new device, they all were spent, Rather by this his last affront resolv’d, Desperate of better course, to vent his rage, spite, hatred And mad despight° to be so oft repell’d. Him walking on a Sunny hill he found, Back’d on the North and West by a thick wood, his accustomed appearance Out of the wood he starts in wonted shape;° And in a careless mood thus to him said. Fair morning yet betides thee Son of God, crash or noise After a dismal night; I heard the rack° As Earth and Skie would mingle; but my self squalls Was distant; and these flaws,° though mortals fear them As dangerous to the pillard frame of Heaven, Or to the Earths dark basis underneath, the greater universe, the macrocosm Are to the main° as inconsiderable, And harmless, if not wholsom, as a sneeze the microcosm To mans less universe,° and soon are gone; Yet as being oft times noxious where they light On man, beast, plant, wastful and turbulent, Like turbulencies in the affairs of men, Over whose heads they rore, and seem to point, 62

The storm may predict the future violence of the crucifixion or the descent into death and Hell that intervenes between the crucifixion and the resurrection.

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Of men at thee, for only thou here dwell’st. Did I not tell thee, if thou didst reject The perfet season offer’d with my aid To win thy destin’d seat, but wilt prolong All to the push° of Fate, persue thy way Of gaining David’s Throne no man knows when, For both the when and how is no where told, Thou shalt be what thou art ordain’d, no doubt; For Angels have proclaim’d it, but concealing The time and means: each act is rightliest done, Not when it must, but when it may be best. If thou observe not this, be sure to find, What I foretold thee, many a hard assay Of dangers, and adversities and pains, E’re thou of Israel’s Scepter get fast hold; Whereof this ominous° night that clos’d thee round, So many terrors, voices, prodigies May warn thee, as a sure fore-going sign. So talk’d he, while the Son of God went on And staid not, but in brief him answer’d thus. Mee worse then wet thou find’st not; other harm Those terrors which thou speak’st of, did me none I never fear’d they could, though noising loud And threatning nigh; what they can do as signs Betok’ning, or ill boding, I contemn As false portents, not sent from God, but thee; Who knowing I shall raign past thy preventing, Obtrud’st thy offer’d aid, that I accepting At least might seem to hold all power of thee, Ambitious spirit, and wouldst be thought my God, And storm’st refus’d, thinking to terrifie Mee to thy will; desist, thou art discern’d And toil’st in vain, nor me in vain molest. To whom the Fiend now swoln with rage reply’d: Then hear, O Son of David, Virgin-born; For Son of God to me is yet in doubt, Of the Messiah I have heard foretold By all the Prophets; of thy birth at length Announc’t by Gabriel with the first I knew, And of the Angelic Song in Bethlehem field,

influence

full of bad omens

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On thy birth-night, that sung thee Saviour born. From that time seldom have I ceas’d to eye Thy infancy, thy childhood, and thy youth, Thy manhood last, though yet in private bred; Till at the Ford of Jordan whither all Flock’d to the Baptist, I among the rest, Though not to be Baptiz’d, by voice from Heav’n Heard thee pronounc’d the Son of God belov’d. Thenceforth I thought thee worth my nearer view And narrower Scrutiny, that I might learn In what degree or meaning thou art call’d The Son of God, which bears no single sence; The Son of God I also am, or was,63 And if I was, I am; relation stands; All men are Sons of God;° yet thee I thought In some respect far higher so declar’d. Therefore I watch’d thy footsteps from that hour, And follow’d thee still on to this wast wild; Where by all best conjectures I collect° Thou art to be my fatal° enemy. Good reason then, if I before-hand seek To understand my Adversary, who And what he is; his wisdom, power, intent, By parl,° or composition,° truce, or league To win him, or win from him what I can. And opportunity I here have had To try thee, sift thee, and confess have found thee Proof against all temptation as a rock Of Adamant,° and as a Center,° firm To the utmost of meer man both wise and good, Not more; for Honours, Riches, Kingdoms, Glory Have been before contemn’d, and may agen:° Therefore to know what more thou art then man, Worth naming Son of God by voice from Heav’n, Another method I must now begin. So saying he caught him up, and without wing Of Hippogrif 64 bore through the Air sublime Over the Wilderness and o’re the Plain; Till underneath them fair Jerusalem, 63 64

Ps. 82.6–7

infer fated, also deadly

parley / terms of surrender

impenetrable substance / fixed point

again

Satan alludes to the opening of Job (1.6) when he, as a son of God, came to an assembly of sons of God. The hippogriff is a fabulous creature (half horse, half griffin) which, in Ariosto, Orlando Furioso 4.18, carries Astolfo to the moon.

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And higher yet the glorious Temple65 rear’d Her pile,° far off appearing like a Mount Of Alablaster, top’t with Golden Spires: There on the highest Pinacle66 he set The Son of God; and added thus in scorn:67 There stand, if thou wilt stand; to stand upright Will ask thee skill; I to thy Fathers house Have brought thee, and highest plac’t, highest is best, Now shew thy Progeny;° if not to stand, Cast thy self down; safely if Son of God:68 For it is written, He will give command Concerning thee to his Angels, in thir hands They shall up lift thee, lest at any time Thou chance to dash thy foot against a stone.69 To whom thus Jesus: also it is written, Tempt not the Lord thy God,° he said and stood. But Satan smitten with amazement fell As when Earths Son Antæus (to compare Small things with greatest) in Irassa° strove With Joves Alcides° and oft foil’d still rose, Receiving from his mother Earth new strength, Fresh from his fall, and fiercer grapple joyn’d, Throttl’d at length in the Air,70 expir’d and fell;71 65 66 67

tall building

lineage

Deut. 6.16

a city in Libya Hercules, son of Jove

The temple built by Herod the Great on the site of Solomon’s temple. One of the spires or a high parapet. Calvin observes, as Joseph Wittreich has noted, that Satan’s displacement of Jesus to the temple may have been done in vision rather than in body: It is sayd that Christ was set vpon a pinacle of the temple. But it is demanded whether he was caried vpon high in deed, or whether it was done by a vision. Many do boldly affirme that it was a true and a reall cariage of his body . . . [T]hat which foloweth after, that all the kingdomes of the worlde were sette in the sight of Christ, and that also which Luke wryteth, that hee was caried far in the twinkling of an eye, doth rather belong to a vision. . . . I had rather suspende my judgement, then geue the contentious occasion of quarelling. (Calvin, A Harmonie vpon the Three Euangelists, Matthew, Mark and Luke, tr. E[usibius] P[age] (London: Printed by George Bishop, 1584), 131.

68 69

Milton bases his account on Matt. 4.5–7 and Luke 4.9–12. See Ps. 91.11–12: “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. / They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.” In Luke 4.10–11 and Matt. 4.6 Satan cites the same verses from Ps. 91, omitting, however, “to keep thee in all thy ways.” 70 In order to defeat Antaeus, the giant son of Earth, Hercules had to strangle him in midair, since Antaeus, while touching the ground, received new strength from his mother Earth. See Pindar, Pythian 9.106; Lucan, De Bello Civili 4.596–653. 71 “Expired and fell” refers to Antaeus, who breathed his last (expired) and fell, but also implicitly to Satan, whose power over the Son became void (expired) at his fall. Satan had hoped to defeat the Son in the air, his own domain as prince of the air, but instead is himself defeated there.

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So after many a foil the Tempter proud, 570 Renewing fresh assaults, amidst his pride

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Fell whence he stood to see his Victor fall. And as that Theban Monster° that propos’d Her riddle, and him, who solv’d it not, devour’d; That once found out and solv’d, for grief and spight° Cast herself headlong from th’Ismenian steep,72 So strook with dread and anguish fell the Fiend, And to his crew, that sat consulting, brought Joyless tryumphals° of his hop’t success, Ruin,° and desperation, and dismay, Who durst so proudly tempt the Son of God. So Satan fell and strait a fiery Globe° Of Angels on full sail of wing flew nigh, Who on their plumy Vans° receiv’d him° soft From his uneasie station, and upbore As on a floating couch through the blithe Air,73 Then in a flowry valley set him down On a green bank, and set before him spred A table of Celestial Food, Divine, Ambrosial, Fruits fetcht from the tree of life, And from the fount of life Ambrosial drink,74 That soon refresh’d him wearied, and repair’d What hunger, if aught hunger had impair’d, Or thirst, and as he fed, Angelic Quires75 Sung Heavenly Anthems of his victory Over temptation, and the Tempter proud. True Image of the Father° whether thron’d In the bosom of bliss,° and light of light Conceiving or remote from Heaven, enshrin’d In fleshly Tabernacle,76 and human form,

the Sphinx spite

tokens of victory downfall compacted body of persons outspread wings / the Son

Rev. 21.6

Heb. 1.2–3 John 1.18

72 Confounded, after Oedipus solved the riddle, the Sphinx hurled herself from the Theban (Ismenian) height. The answer to the Sphinx’s riddle is man; the creature who walks on four feet in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening. See Statius, Thebaid 1.66; Comes, Mythologiae 9.18. 73 See Matt. 4.11: “Angels came and ministered unto him.” 74 Ambrosial drink evidently is nectar, the usual drink of the Olympian gods. See PL 5.632–42 for a description of heavenly banqueting. The Son is rewarded with fruit from the tree of life and drink from the fount of life, the first denied to Adam and Eve after they took the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge (Gen.3.22–3). Tree of life: see Rev 22.2; also see Rev. 22.14: “Blessed are they that do his commandments that they may have right to the tree of life.” 75 In their hymn the angels praise the Son as human and divine and recapitulate his career, celebrating first the heavenly Son’s victory over Satan with arms, second his regaining of paradise as second Adam, and finally his ministry on earth. 76 The human body is the fleshly tabernacle of the spirit. See 2 Pet.1.14; 2 Cor. 5.1.

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Habit,° or state, or motion, still expressing The Son of God, with Godlike force indu’d Against th’ Attempter of thy Fathers Throne, And Thief of Paradise; him long of old Thou didst debel,° and down from Heav’n cast With all his Army, now thou hast aveng’d Supplanted° Adam, and by vanquishing Temptation, hast regain’d lost Paradise, And frustrated the conquest fraudulent: He never more henceforth will dare set foot In Paradise to tempt; his snares are broke:° For though that seat of earthly bliss be fail’d, A fairer Paradise is founded now For Adam and his chosen Sons, whom thou A Saviour art come down to re-install. Where they shall dwell secure, when time shall be Of Tempter and Temptation without fear. But thou, Infernal Serpent,° shalt not long Rule in the Clouds; like an Autumnal Star° Or Lightning thou shalt fall from Heav’n77 trod down Under his feet: for proof, e’re this thou feel’st Thy wound, yet not thy last and deadliest wound By this repulse receiv’d,78 and hold’st in Hell No triumph; in all her gates Abaddon° rues Thy bold attempt; hereafter learn with awe To dread the Son of God: he all unarm’d Shall chase thee with the terror of his voice From thy Demoniac holds,° possession foul, Thee and thy Legions, yelling they shall flye, And beg to hide them in a herd of Swine, Lest he command them down into the deep Bound, and to torment sent before thir time.79 Hail Son of the most High, heir of both worlds,

77 78

outer form

suppress by war dispossessed

Ps. 124.7 see PL 12.587

Satan comet, meteor

Hell ( Job. 26.6; Rev. 9.11)

strongholds

Jesus declares: “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from Heaven” (Luke 10.18). The bruising of the serpent’s head (Satan’s first wound) is predicted in Gen. 3.15. When the Son rises from the dead, the wound is inflicted (see PL 12.429–30). The last and deadliest wound will be inflicted at the apocalypse when Satan will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20.10). 79 When the devils who possessed men at Gadera called out to Jesus not to torment them before the time, Jesus cast them out into a herd of swine. The herd ran down a steep place into the sea and was destroyed (Matt. 8.28–32; Mark 5.1–13; Luke 8.26–33). Also see PL 6.856–8, where the Son expels Satan and his legions from heaven like a herd of animals.

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Queller of Satan, on thy glorious work 635 Now enter, and begin to save mankind.

Thus they the Son of God our Saviour meek Sung Victor, and from Heavenly Feast refresht Brought on his way with joy; hee unobserv’d Home to his Mothers house private return’d. The END.

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Introduction to Samson Agonistes Milton contemplated composing a drama on Samson as early as the late 1630s, his notes in the Trinity MS proposing as subject not only the Dagonalia that eventually became his focus but also Samson marrying (the woman at Timna) or Samson at Ramath-lechi. The actual date of composition of Samson Agonistes, according to Milton’s nephew Edward Phillips, is unknown. Critics speculate that it may have been written in the early 1640s, not long after Milton’s return from Italy, or as late as 1666–70, the period after the completion of Paradise Lost. Parker assigns it to 1647–55, and both John Shawcross and John Carey follow him. However, most critics favor the later dating, arguing biographical evidence – Milton’s treatment of blindness and political defeat – the metrical sophistication of the text, and allusions to Restoration issues. The title page of 1671 refers to the work as “a Dramatic Poem,” not a drama or a play, but as specified later, a work “of that sort . . . call’d Tragedy.” In the Preface Milton adds that the work was never intended for the stage, thus making clear that he had not composed it with Restoration tastes in theater in mind. In the Preface to Samson Agonistes Milton names tragedy as the “gravest, moralest, and most profitable” of poems. He proposes to model Samson Agonistes on tragedy as “coming forth after the antient manner, much different from what among us passes for best.” Citing on the title page Aristotle’s definition of tragedy as “an imitation of a serious action, &c. Effecting through pity and fear the catharsis of such emotions,” he elaborates further in the Preface, noting that the raising of pity and fear, or terror, by well imitating them, purges the mind of these or like emotions, reducing them to just measure and thus creating a kind of delight. Milton points to the great Greek dramatists as “the best rule” in regard to the disposition of the plot, and the unities of time and place, usually followed by the ancients. He proposes to use both ancient Greek and modern Italian choral odes as stylistic models, but instead of the usual triadic pattern of Greek tragedy, he favors monostrophic odes with stanzas of varying length. Milton emphasizes the moral function of tragedy and, citing David Pareus, as he did in The Reason of Church-Government, points to the Book

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of Revelation as a biblical model for tragedy, thus linking, as he often did, classical and biblical literary genres. Milton follows closely the structure of Euripidean–Sophoclean drama, opening with Samson’s long soliloquy, immediately followed by the entrance of the Chorus (the parados). Milton’s Chorus – Samson’s tribesmen, the Danites – are themselves deeply involved in Samson’s tragedy. They converse with Samson and later with Manoa, just as the Chorus in Greek drama does with the leading protagonist and other persons. Like most Greek dramas, Samson Agonistes evolves as a series of encounters (agons) between the protagonist Samson and several characters that come to see him, Samson’s father Manoa, his wife Dalila, a Philistine challenger, the giant Harapha, and the Public Officer. In the choral odes that divide the episodes of the drama the Chorus comments on the action in ways appropriate to what has immediately preceded or freely moralizes about Samson’s state or about the state of humankind (here echoing the Psalms). The Chorus announces and describes the entrance of major characters, and sometimes, as in the case of Dalila, comments on them after they exit. Finally, the Chorus remains on stage until the end of the drama, commenting on the catastrophe in several semi-choruses and offering a funeral dirge for Samson. Just before its exit (the exodos), the Chorus offers, again in the fashion of the Greek chorus, a brief moral comment on what has passed. Milton adopts the device of the messenger, so common in Euripides’ dramas, to narrate offstage action – Samson’s appearance and performance at Dagon’s temple (here described as a spacious theater) and his pulling down the structure on himself and the spectators. As in Greek drama, violence takes place offstage, so the audience only hears the noise of the theater collapsing. What actually took place is narrated by a third party – here a Hebrew, who witnessed the catastrophe from a distance and who confirms to the Chorus and Manoa Samson’s death with his Philistine overlords. As with most Greek dramas, there are no scene changes – the single scene before Samson’s prison serves throughout the drama. The action is continuous and concludes well within the 24 hours usually prescribed for Greek drama. In creating his drama Milton is indebted not just to the structure of Greek drama but also to its characterization. Although his main characters are drawn from the Hebrew Bible, Milton depicts them in ways similar to those of Greek dramatists. Samson the Hebraic strongman of the book of Judges has much in common with another strongman – the Greek Heracles or Hercules. Milton’s drama, like Euripides’ drama, Heracles, focuses on the hero’s anguish and sense of betrayal and ends with his death. But, unlike many Greek tragedies, Samson Agonistes does not dramatize the hero’s moral downfall. Samson differs from the hero of Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannos, since he has already fallen into misery before the opening of the drama and falls still further. However, Milton’s tragedy traces an overall rising pattern with the hero’s recovery from despair and, as the Chorus and Manoa declare, his accomplishment of a final heroic act. In this, he resembles Oedipus, the blind hero of Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus, who, after reviewing the failings of his life, goes to his death with a renewed

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sense of purpose. Like the Oedipus of this drama, who angrily repudiates the sons who have betrayed him, Samson rages against his betrayer Dalila. Equally, he sounds like the betrayed Philotetes of Sophocles’ drama who must come to terms with himself as well as his betrayers. Both classical and biblical characters experience spiritual crises in which they feel that they have been deserted by the gods. As he laments his fate and inquires into the ways of God to man, Milton’s Samson rises above the character of the strongman depicted in Judges and in his complaints he takes on the voice of the Psalmist and of Job. Although religion forms an important part of Samson Agonistes, Milton makes clear that Samson’s victories against the Philistines are also strongly motivated by political principles. Samson’s special calling as a Nazarite, marked by superhuman strength, combines with his sense of himself as a Hebrew champion, called by God to deliver Israel from the Philistine yoke. To highlight these issues Milton recapitulates through the Chorus or principal characters the earlier significant events of Samson’s life: his miraculous birth, his first marriage, motivated, according to Samson, to provide occasion against the Philistines, and his greatest victory against the Philistines, the slaying of a thousand with the jawbone of an ass. While the Danites implicitly blame Samson for their continued servitude, he sternly maintains that they themselves bear responsibility for that, having failed to second his earlier successes against the Philistines. Samson’s observation that inner slavishness leads to political bondage is a generalization Milton often voices in poetry and prose and has, necessarily, particular application for his England. Samson’s position vis-à-vis the Hebrew God is complex. Samson accepts his blinding and imprisonment as a just punishment from God for having divulged God’s secrets (the location of his strength in his uncut hair), and although he expresses remorse, he does not petition for a return to God’s favor. His anguish over his blindness and his imprisonment – “Eyeless in Gaza at the Mill with slaves” – combines with anger at being the object of his enemies’ scorn. At the same time he has a sober inner knowledge that he alone has caused his suffering. His situation is, as he puts it, remediless. In requital for having abandoned God, so to speak, he considers God has abandoned him. The view of the Chorus and Manoa complicates the issue. The Chorus advises Samson not to tax divine disposal. Yet, while affirming that the ways of God are just, it questions why God should lift up his champions so high only to hurl them down. Like the English Puritans after the Restoration, who saw their former leaders reviled, imprisoned, broken, executed, and their very bodies made a spectacle of degradation, the Hebrew Chorus is shocked and baffled at the great discrepancy between Samson’s former greatness and present degradation. While Samson and the Chorus skirt the issue, Samson’s father Manoa voices it directly, asserting that when God has raised a champion, he should not debase him, even when that champion errs. The agons or encounters with Manoa, Dalila, and Harapha move Samson forward in self-knowledge, making him, so to speak, confront his former self. In his agon with Manoa and the Chorus, he rises above his loyalties to family and tribe; in his

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encounter with Dalila, he refuses to be enslaved once more by sensuality; and in his contest with Harapha, he assumes once more the role of God’s strongman and challenges Harapha. Manoa has a significantly larger role in Milton’s drama than he does in Judges, where he appears only at the beginning (at the announcement of Samson’s birth), and indirectly at the end of the account. In his portrayal of Manoa Milton emphasizes his fatherly pride at Samson’s birth and special status, his disapproval of his marriages with Philistine women, and his desolation at Samson’s fall. Milton’s Manoa attempts to ransom Samson, a circumstance with no counterpart in Judges. Moreover, he holds an extended dialogue with Samson over Samson’s now altered relationship with God, advising Samson to repent his sin but, if possible, to avoid the punishment. He even holds out hope that God will restore Samson’s sight and return him to his former place. Manoa’s ministrations fail to lift Samson’s spirits, however, and only confirm him in his despair and his desire to die. In Judges Dalila is Samson’s lover who accepts money from the Philistines to learn Samson’s secret. In the Bible no further motivation is provided for her. Milton’s Dalila is much more complex. Wife to Samson, she betrays his secret and then comes to Samson asking for forgiveness. In this she resembles several Greek wives who betray their husbands and attempt to explain or justify the betrayal. Like Clytemnestra, Dalila is responsible for her husband’s fate, but unlike her, she does not plot his death. She is more like Heracles’ wife Deinira, who, out of jealousy, sends an envenomed cloak to her husband as a love device, without knowing it is poisoned, thus unwittingly causing his death. If we believe Dalila’s protests, she betrays Samson, thinking that the Philistines intend only restraint and “safe custody,” not blinding and slavish imprisonment. Dalila most resembles the Helen of Euripides’ Trojan Women who, having wronged her husband, seeks to excuse her actions, to obtain his pardon, and to win his love again. Also Milton further complicates Dalila’s motivations by making her an articulate defender, even a champion of the Philistine cause, thus both Samson’s religious and political opponent. In an extended dialogue Samson and Dalila debate their relative cultural allegiances. Earlier Samson had admitted that he used his marriages to Philistine women in order to afford himself opportunity to act for Israel against the Philistines. When Dalila claims a comparable excuse – to have yielded to pressure from civil and religious authorities, Samson argues that the marital bond required a wife to choose duty to spouse above that to country, obeying natural and not civil law. During the English Revolution appeals to natural law were often made to justify action against the state. In Samson Agonistes Dalila is not simply a bad woman or a Circean temptress, whom Samson and the Chorus denounce. Milton even permits her to compare herself to Jael, the Kenite woman who deceived and murdered Sisera in order to bring victory to her country. Dalila exits, savoring her future fame among her countrymen. However, by resisting her Samson finally lifts himself out of the morass of self-pity and despair. Milton invents the character of the giant Harapha to provide Samson with a Philistine opponent against whom to argue the Hebraic cause and fully justify his violent actions.

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Harapha denounces Samson as a liar, a rebel, a Covenant-breaker, and a murderer, charges that echo Royalist denunciations of the Puritans before and after the Restoration. In providing Samson with the opportunity to reply to these charges. Milton echoes some of the justifications the Puritans argued for their actions: natural law, which always allows resistance to those enslaved, and a vocation confirmed by divine mandate and evidenced by superior strength. By defending his actions and (though blind) by challenging Harapha to combat, Samson begins to renew his belief in himself as God’s champion and to take up once more his role as liberator, called by God to free Israel from the Philistine yoke. When Harapha declines the challenge, Milton not only exposes Harapha’s cowardice, but also discredits the Philistine cause he represents. While neither the Chorus of Danites nor Manoa can move Samson toward renewed hope, his Philistine adversaries – his wife Dalila and the giant Harapha – do so. Crucial in Samson Agonistes is the opposition of God and Dagon. By setting the drama on a festival day devoted to the cult of Dagon Milton implicitly opposes the God of the Israelites and the god of the Philistines. Manoa deplores the fact that the fall of Samson has brought glory to Dagon, while Samson, removing himself from the equation, insists that all contest is now between God and Dagon. Yet, as we approach the catastrophe of the drama, Samson, in agreeing to go to the temple of Dagon, once more assumes the role of God’s champion. Moreover, with Samson’s confrontation with the Philistine Officer, Milton explores the claims of several kinds of authority: civil power, religious law, conscience, and inward illumination. Although the Chorus advises compliance with civil authority, Samson at first refuses the Officer’s directive to perform at the festival for Dagon on the ground that participation in idolatry is forbidden by religious law. Later, however, he announces to the Chorus that he feels “rousing motions” that dispose his thoughts to something extraordinary. Are these rousing motions divine inspiration, and is this something extraordinary an act divinely ordained by the Hebrew God to bring down the Philistines? Or is Samson’s act one of personal revenge against those Philistines who have deprived him of his sight? Although Milton has omitted Samson’s prayer for revenge from Judges 16.28, revenge remains a potent motive. John Carey and others have raised the issue of the political motivation of Samson’s final act. Should we view Samson as a freedom fighter, or as a terrorist who inflicts destruction both on his enemies and on innocent people? Clearly Manoa and the Chorus believe that in destroying the Philistines, Samson has given the Israelites a chance to win their freedom, if, they can “Find courage to lay hold on this occasion.” The only motive ruled out is suicidal despair, since, as the messenger, the Chorus, and Manoa agree, Samson was necessarily involved in the fold of destruction. The Chorus frames a brief funeral dirge for Samson and triumphal semi-choruses in which they celebrate Samson’s “dearly-bought revenge” and exult over the destruction of the Philistines, “Drunk with Idolatry, drunk with Wine.” Samson is compared both to a phoenix risen from its ashes and to a serpent fiercely swooping

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down upon tame fowl. Manoa concludes that Samson has “quit himself / Like Samson.” Samson Agonistes shares with Greek tragedy, however, an unwillingness to interpret the tragic outcome too restrictedly. In the rhymed sonnet that serves as the final chorus, Milton imitates the close of several Euripidean tragedies, making the Chorus express a moral sentiment appropriate to Greek tragedy: that the ultimate meaning and intention of “highest wisdom” are unsearchable. Nonetheless, the Chorus claims to have learned something, to have gained some “acquist of true experience,” and as Milton’s Hebraeo-Christian tragedy ends, tragic catharsis has been achieved: “calm of mind, all passion spent.” The drama has no final authoritative interpretation. Milton leaves it to the Chorus, Manoa, and his readers to determine how to respond to Samson’s life and his final violent act – and how and whether to interpret it in light of the history of Milton’s England.

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SAMSON AGONISTES

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Figure 6

Title page to Samson Agonistes, 1671

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Of that sort of Dramatic Poem which is call’d Tragedy. Tragedy, as it was antiently compos’d, hath been ever held the gravest, moralest, and most profitable of all other Poems: therefore said by Aristotle to be of power by raising pity and fear, or terror, to purge the mind of those and such like passions,1 that is to temper and reduce them to just measure with a kind of delight, stirr’d up by reading or seeing those passions well imitated. Nor is Nature wanting in her own effects to make good his assertion: for so in Physic things of melancholic hue and quality are us’d against melancholy, sowr against sowr, salt to remove salt humours. Hence Philosophers and other gravest Writers, as Cicero, Plutarch and others, frequently cite out of Tragic Poets, both to adorn and illustrate thir discourse. The Apostle Paul himself thought it not unworthy to insert a verse of Euripides into the Text of Holy Scripture, I Cor. 15.33.2 and Paræus commenting on the Revelation, divides the whole Book as a Tragedy, into Acts distinguisht each by a Chorus of Heavenly Harpings and Song b’tween.3 Heretofore Men in highest dignity have labour’d not a little to be thought able to compose a Tragedy. Of that honour Dionysius the elder was no less ambitious, then before of his attaining to the Tyranny.4 Augustus Cæsar also had begun his Ajax, but unable to please his own judgment with what he had begun, left it unfinisht.5 Seneca the Philosopher is by some thought the Author of those Tragedies (at lest the best of them) that go under that name.6 Gregory Nazianzen a Father of the Church, thought it not unbeseeming the sanctity of his person to write a Tragedy, which he entitl’d, Christ suffering.7 This is mention’d to vindicate Tragedy from the small esteem, or rather infamy, which in the account of many it undergoes at this day with other common Interludes;8 hap’ning through the Poets error of intermixing Comic stuff with Tragic sadness and gravity; or introducing trivial and vulgar persons, which by all judicious hath bin counted absurd; and brought in without discretion, corruptly to gratifie the people. And though antient Tragedy use no Prologue, yet using sometimes, in case of self defence, or explanation, that which Martial calls an Epistle;9 in behalf of this Tragedy coming forth after the antient 1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9

See Aristotle, Poetices 6 on tragic catharsis. Also see Minturno, De Poeta (1563) and Daniel Heinsius, De Tragoediae Constitutione (1611). See 1 Cor. 15.33: “evil communications corrupt good manners.” The line is drawn from a verse either in Euripides or Menander that had become proverbial. See the German Calvinist, David Pareus (1548–1622), In Divinam Apocalysin (1618). Dionysius I of Syracuse (c.431–367 BC) composed verses, but was ridiculed by the populace when they were recited at the Olympic ceremonies. However, shortly before his death in 367 BC, he won first prize in the Athenian Lenaea, the principal dramatic festival of Athens (Diodorus Siculus 14.109; 15.74). Suetonius (Lives of the Caesars, 2.85.2) reported that Augustus destroyed his unfinished tragedy, Ajax. The philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca (3 BC?–AD 65) was the author of at least ten tragedies. In the Renaissance the Christus Patiens was attributed to Gregory Nazianzen (c. AD 325–c.390). Interludes, a common form of stage performance during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, often intermixed comic and serious material. Prologue here means an address to the audience. Martial (Epistle to Epig. 2.4–5) explains the tragedies may need prologues or epistles since they cannot speak for themselves.

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manner, much different from what among us passes for best, thus much before-hand may be Epistl’d; that Chorus is here introduc’d after the Greek manner, not antient only but modern, and still in use among the Italians. In the modelling therefore of this Poem, with good reason, the Antients and Italians are rather follow’d, as of much more authority and fame. The measure of Verse us’d in the Chorus is of all sorts, call’d by the Greeks Monostrophic,10 or rather Apolelymenon,11 without regard had to Strophe, Antistrophe or Epod, which were a kind of Stanza’s fram’d only for the Music, then us’d with the Chorus that sung;12 not essential to the Poem, and therefore not material; or being divided into Stanza’s or Pauses, they may be call’d Allæostropha.13 Division into Act and Scene referring chiefly to the Stage (to which this work never was intended) is here omitted.14 It suffices if the whole Drama be found not produc’t beyond the fift Act, of the style and uniformitie,15 and that commonly call’d the Plot, whether intricate or explicit, which is nothing indeed but such œconomy,16 or disposition of the fable as may stand best with verisimilitude and decorum;17 they only will best judge who are not unacquainted with Æschulus, Sophocles, and Euripides, the three Tragic Poets unequall’d yet by any, and the best rule to all who endeavour to write Tragedy. The circumscription of time wherein the whole Drama begins and ends, is according to antient rule, and best example, within the space of 24 hours.18

THE ARGUMENT.19 Samson made Captive, Blind, and now in the Prison at Gaza, there to labour as in a common work-house, on a Festival day, in the general cessation from labour, comes forth into 10 Monostrophic: a single metrical pattern adopted for all strophes. 11 Apolelymenon: strophes adopting a free pattern, which is not repeated. 12 A triadic pattern often used in tragedy and choral odes. In it the antistrophe repeats exactly the metrical pattern of the opening strophe; the concluding epode adopts a metrical pattern different from both strophe and antistrophe. In subsequent triads of the choral ode the same metrical pattern of the opening triad (strophe, antistrophe, and epode) is repeated exactly. In performance the Chorus turned from right to left while singing the strophe, turned the opposite way while singing the antistrophe, and remained standing without moving while singing the epode. 13 Having irregular strophes or stanzas. 14 Ancient tragedies did not have act and scene divisions. A monologue often preceded the entrance of the Chorus. Choral odes separated the episodes of the drama, and the exodus of the Chorus concluded the drama. Milton follows the overall pattern of Euripidean and Sophoclean tragedy. 15 Style and uniformity: consistency in diction and characterization. See Aristotle, Poetices 22–5. 16 Economy: the arrangement or putting together of the incidents of the plot for the greatest verisimilitude. Plots are of two sorts; simple and complex. See Aristotle, Poetices 6. 17 Decorum: literary propriety. 18 Many, though not all, ancient tragedies, conform to this so-called rule and begin and end in the space of 24 hours. 19 The action of Samson Agonistes is based principally on Judges 16.21–31. Milton invents the principal episodes of the drama: the visits of Manoa, Dalila, and Harapha. The choral odes recapitulate many of the episodes of Samson’s life, leading to his capture and blinding by the Philistines ( Judg. 13–16).

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the open Air, to a place nigh, somewhat retir’d there to sit a while and bemoan his condition. Where he happens at length to be visited by certain friends and equals20 of his tribe, which make the Chorus, who seek to comfort him what they can; then by his old Father Manoa, who endeavours the like, and withal tells him his purpose to procure his liberty by ransom; lastly, that this Feast was proclaim’d by the Philistins as a day of Thanksgiving for thir deliverance from the hands of Samson, which yet more troubles him. Manoa then departs to prosecute his endeavour with the Philistian Lords for Samson’s redemption; who in the mean while is visited by other persons; and lastly by a publick Officer to require his coming to the Feast before the Lords and People, to play or shew his strength in thir presence; he at first refuses, dismissing the publick Officer with absolute denyal to come; at length perswaded inwardly that this was from God, he yields to go along with him, who came now the second time with great threatnings to fetch him; the Chorus yet remaining on the place, Manoa returns full of joyful hope, to procure e’re long his Sons deliverance: in the midst of which discourse an Ebrew comes in haste confusedly at first; and afterward more distinctly relating the Catastrophe,21 what Samson had done to the Philistins, and by accident to himself; wherewith the Tragedy ends.

The Persons. Samson. Manoa the Father of Samson. Dalila his Wife.22 Harapha of Gath. Publick Officer. Messenger. Chorus of Danites. The Scene before the Prison in Gaza.

20 21

Equals signify persons of approximately the same age and station. Catastrophe is a technical term in Greek tragedy for an overturning that leads to the denouement or conclusion. 22 In Judg. 16.4 Delilah [Dalila] is a woman in the valley of Sorek whom Samson loves. She is not designated as his wife.

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SAMSON 23 AGONISTES.

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Sams. A Little onward lend thy guiding hand To these dark steps, a little further on; For yonder bank hath choice of Sun or shade, There I am wont° to sit, when any chance Relieves me from my task of servile° toyl, Daily in the common Prison else enjoyn’d me,° Where I a Prisoner chain’d, scarce freely draw The air imprison’d also, close and damp, Unwholsom draught:° but here I feel amends, The breath of Heav’n fresh-blowing, pure and sweet, With day-spring° born; here leave me to respire. This day a solemn Feast the people hold To Dagon24 thir Sea-Idol, and forbid Laborious works, unwillingly this rest Thir Superstition° yields me; hence with leave Retiring from the popular° noise, I seek This unfrequented place to find some ease, Ease to the body some, none to the mind From restless thoughts, that like a deadly swarm Of Hornets arm’d, no sooner found alone, But rush upon me thronging, and present Times past, what once I was, and what am now. O wherefore was my birth from Heaven foretold Twice by an Angel,25 who at last in sight Of both my Parents all in flames ascended From off the Altar, where an Off ’ring burn’d, As in a fiery column charioting His Godlike presence, and from some great act Or benefit reveal’d to Abraham’s race? Why was my breeding order’d and prescrib’d As of a person separate to God,26 23

accustomed slavish otherwise imposed on me

drink, intaken air daybreak

idolatrous practice made by the people

Judg. 13.20

Judg. 13.5

Agonistes is a Greek word meaning a contestant, as in games, or a champion. Agon can be a verbal or physical contest. 24 Dagon was principal god or idol of the Philistine people, half man, half fish. See PL 1.462–6. 25 For accounts of the angel’s annunciation to Samson’s mother, then to both parents, see Judg. 13.3–5; 13.9–21. 26 The angel instructs Samson’s mother to bring him up as a Nazarite ( Judg. 13.5). A Nazarite is one set apart from others for the service of God. See Num. 6.1–21.

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Design’d for great exploits; if I must dye Betray’d, Captiv’d, and both my Eyes put out, Made of my Enemies the scorn and gaze;° To grind in Brazen Fetters under task° With this Heav’n-gifted strength? O glorious strength Put to the labour of a Beast, debas’t Lower then bondslave! Promise was that I Should Israel from Philistian yoke deliver; Ask for this great Deliverer now, and find him Eyeless in Gaza° at the Mill with slaves, Himself in bonds under Philistian yoke; Yet stay, let me not rashly call in doubt Divine Prediction; what if all foretold Had been fulfilld but through mine own default, Whom have I to complain of but my self ? Who this high gift of strength committed to me, In what part lodg’d, how easily bereft me, Under the Seal of silence could not keep, But weakly to a woman must reveal it, O’recome with importunity and tears. O impotence of mind, in body strong! But what is strength without a double share Of wisdom, vast, unwieldy, burdensom, Proudly secure,° yet liable to fall By weakest subtleties, not made to rule, But to subserve° where wisdom bears command. God, when he gave me strength, to shew withal How slight the gift was, hung it in my Hair. But peace, I must not quarrel with the will Of highest dispensation,° which herein Happ’ly had ends above my reach to know: Suffices° that to me strength is my bane,° And proves the sourse of all my miseries; So many, and so huge, that each apart Would ask°a life to wail,° but chief of all, O loss of sight, of thee I most complain! Blind among enemies, O worse then chains, Dungeon, or beggery, or decrepit age! Light the prime work° of God to me is extinct,° And all her various objects of delight Annull’d,° which might in part my grief have eas’d, Inferiour to the vilest now become

465

spectacle compulsion

Judg. 13.5 a principal Philistian city

overconfident, heedless of danger act as a subordinate

divine providence it suffices for me to know / curse

require / lament

first creation / extinguished reduced to nothing

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Of man or worm; the vilest here excel me, 75 They creep, yet see, I dark in light expos’d

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To daily fraud, contempt, abuse and wrong, Within doors, or without, still° as a fool, In power of others, never in my own; Scarce half I seem to live, dead more then half. O dark, dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon, Irrecoverably dark, total Eclipse Without all hope of day! O first created Beam, and thou great Word, Let there be light, and light was over all; Why am I thus bereav’d° thy prime decree? The Sun to me is dark And silent° as the Moon, When she deserts the night Hid in her vacant° interlunar cave.27 Since light so necessary is to life, And almost life it self, if it be true That light is in the Soul, She all in every part;28 why was the sight To such a tender ball as th’ eye confin’d? So obvious° and so easie to be quench’t, And not as feeling through all parts diffus’d, That she° might look at will through every pore? Then had I not been thus exil’d from light; As in the land of darkness yet in light, To live a life half dead, a living death, And buried; but O yet more miserable! My self, my Sepulcher, a moving Grave, Buried, yet not exempt° By priviledge of death and burial From worst of other evils, pains and wrongs, But made hereby obnoxious° more To all the miseries of life, Life in captivity Among inhuman foes. But who are these? for with joint pace I hear 27

always

Gen. 1.3 (PL 7.243) robbed of not shining empty

exposed the soul

not liable to

liable to, exposed

According to Pliny (16.74), the day when the moon is in conjunction with the sun is the day of the silent moon or interlunar day, that is, lunar eclipse. Also, when the moon’s chariot is hidden within in its cave, the moon does not shine. 28 According to Neoplatonic and patristic theory, the soul is diffused throughout every part of the body.

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The tread of many feet stearing this way; Perhaps my enemies who come to stare At my affliction, and perhaps to insult, Thir daily practice to afflict me more. Chor. This, this is he; softly a while, Let us not break in upon him; O change beyond report, thought, or belief! without care / spread out See how he lies at random,° carelessly diffus’d,° With languish’t° head unpropt, drooping As one past hope, abandon’d, And by himself given over; dressed like a slave / clothes In slavish habit,° ill-fitted weeds° O’re worn° and soild; worn out Or do my eyes misrepresent? Can this be hee, That Heroic, that Renown’d, Irresistible Samson? whom unarm’d No strength of man, or fiercest wild beast could withstand; Who tore the Lion,29 as the Lion tears the Kid, drawn up for battle Ran on embattelld° Armies clad in Iron, And weaponless himself, art of forging metal Made Arms ridiculous, useless the forgery° Of brazen shield and spear, the hammer’d Cuirass,° breastplate 30 Chalybean temper’d steel, and frock of mail° coat of mail Adamantean Proof;° impenetrable by adamant (the hardest metal) But safest he who stood aloof, irresistibly When insupportably° his foot advanc’t, In scorn of thir proud arms and warlike tools,° weapons 31 Spurn’d° them to death by Troops. The bold Ascalonite reduced, trampled Fled from his Lion ramp,32 old Warriors turn’d wearing plate armor Thir plated° backs under his heel; Or grovling soild thir crested helmets in the dust. insignificant Then with what trivial° weapon came to hand, The Jaw of a dead Ass, his sword of bone, Judg. 15.15–16 A thousand fore-skins fell,33 the flower of Palestin Judg. 15.17 In Ramath-lechi famous to this day: Then by main force pull’d up, and on his shoulders bore

29 30 31 32 33

One of Samson’s feats of strength was to kill a lion with his bare hands ( Judg. 14.5–6). Armor made by the Chalybes, a Black Sea tribe famous for forging iron. Ascalon, one of the five principal cities of Philistines, where Samson killed thirty men ( Judg. 14.19). To imitate the posture of a lion, standing on its hind legs and repelling oncomers with its forepaws. Synedoche for the Philistines, who were uncircumcised.

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The Gates of Azza,° Post, and massie Bar Up to the Hill by Hebron, seat of Giants old,34 No journey of a Sabbath day,35 and loaded so; Like whom the Gentiles feign to bear up Heav’n.° Which shall I first bewail, Thy Bondage or lost Sight, Prison within Prison Inseparably dark? Thou art become (O worst imprisonment!) The Dungeon of thy self; thy Soul (Which Men enjoying sight oft without cause complain) Imprison’d now indeed, In real darkness of the body dwells, Shut up from outward light To incorporate° with gloomy night; For inward light alas Puts forth no visual beam.36 O mirror of our fickle state, Since man on earth unparallel’d!37 The rarer thy example stands, By how much from the top of wondrous glory, Strongest of mortal men, To lowest pitch of abject fortune thou art fall’n. For him I reckon not in high estate Whom long descent of birth Or the sphear of fortune38 raises; But thee whose strength, while vertue was her mate, Might have subdu’d the Earth, Universally crown’d with highest praises. Sam. I hear the sound of words, thir sense the air Dissolves unjointed e’re it reach my ear. Chor. Hee speaks, let us draw nigh. Matchless in might, The glory late of Israel, now the grief; We come thy friends and neighbours not unknown 34

Gaza

Atlas

unite

Samson carried the gates of Gaza from the city to Hebron ( Judg. 16.3). Hebron had been settled by the giant sons of Anak (Num. 13.27–33). 35 Travel on the Sabbath day was usually restricted to under a mile, but Samson carried the gates of Gaza the distance of about forty miles. 36 According to Renaissance physics, the eye sent forth a beam in order to see an object. 37 Unparalleled since man appeared on earth. 38 Fortune, usually depicted as a wheel, is here described as a globe that determines the status of human beings.

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From Eshtaol and Zora’s fruitful Vale39 To visit or bewail thee, or if better, Counsel or Consolation we may bring, Salve to thy Sores, apt words have power to swage° The tumors° of a troubl’d mind, And are as Balm° to fester’d wounds. Sam. Your coming, Friends, revives me, for I learn Now of my own experience, not by talk, How counterfeit a coin they are who friends Bear in their Superscription40 (of the most I would be understood41) in prosperous days They swarm, but in adverse withdraw their head Not to be found, though sought. Yee see, O friends, How many evils have enclos’d me round; Yet that which was the worst now least afflicts me, Blindness, for had I sight, confus’d with shame, How could I once look up, or heave° the head, Who like a foolish Pilot have shipwrack’t, My Vessel trusted to me from above, Gloriously rigg’d; and for a word, a tear, Fool, have divulg’d the secret gift of God To a deceitful Woman: tell me Friends, Am I not sung and proverbd for a Fool42 In every street, do they not say, how well Are come upon him his deserts? yet why? Immeasurable strength they might behold In me, of wisdom nothing more then mean;° This with the other should, at least, have paird, These two proportiond ill drove me transverse.° Chor. Tax not divine disposal,43 wisest Men Have err’d, and by bad Women been deceiv’d; And shall again, pretend they ne’re so wise. Deject not then so overmuch thy self, Who hast of sorrow thy full load besides; Yet truth to say, I oft have heard men wonder Why thou shouldst wed Philistian women rather

39 40 41 42 43

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assuage swellings healing ointment

raise

average sideways, off course

Zorah is Samson’s birthplace ( Judg. 13.2), Eshtoal a neighboring village. Those who write (superscribe) themselves friends, but are not, are as false as counterfeit coins. That is, what I say is true of most people. Become like a proverb for foolishness. See Job 30.9: “And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword.” Do not blame God’s disposition of things.

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Then of thine own Tribe fairer, or as fair, At least of thy own Nation, and as noble. Sam. The first I saw at Timna,° and she pleas’d Mee, not my Parents, that I sought to wed, The daughter of an Infidel: they knew not That what I motion’d was of God; I knew From intimate impulse,° and therefore urg’d The Marriage on; that by occasion hence° I might begin Israel’s Deliverance,44 The work to which I was divinely call’d; She proving false,45 the next I took to Wife (O that I never had! fond° wish too late.) Was in the Vale of Sorec, Dalila,46 That specious° Monster, my accomplisht47 snare. I thought it lawful from my former act, And the same end; still watching to oppress Israel’s oppressours:48 of what now I suffer She was not the prime cause, but I my self, Who vanquisht with a peal° of words (O weakness!) Gave up my fort of silence to a Woman. Chor. In seeking just occasion to provoke The Philistine, thy Countries Enemy, Thou never wast remiss, I bear thee witness: Yet Israel still serves with all his Sons. Sam. That fault I take not on me, but transfer On Israel’s Governours, and Heads of Tribes,49 Who seeing those great acts which God had done Singly by me against their Conquerours Acknowledg’d not, or not at all consider’d Deliverance offer’d: I on th’ other side 44

Timnath ( Judg. 14.1) Judg. 14.1–3 strong inner suggestion by the opportunity afforded

foolish deceptive

artillery term for a salute of guns

Milton follows the explanation given in Judges: “But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel” ( Judg. 14.4). 45 Samson’s wife betrays the answer to the riddle to her countrymen. See Judg. 14.7–20; 15.1–6. 46 In Judges (16.4) Delilah is identified only as a woman in the valley of Sorek, whom Samson loves, neither his wife nor specifically a Philistine. No mention is made of Samson’s seeking through his association with her occasion against the Philistines. 47 “Accomplisht” can refer either to Dalila or the snare. Dalila is accomplished because she successfully uses persuasion to learn Samson’s secret; the snare is accomplished because it is successful. 48 Samson argues that he thought his marriage to Dalila justifiable according to the same principle as that to the woman of Timna, namely, to promote occasion against the Philistines. 49 Although Samson is referred to in Judges (15.20; 16.31) as one of the judges or governors of Israel, Samson here identifies others as governors.

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Us’d no ambition50 to commend my deeds, The deeds themselves, though mute, spoke loud the dooer; But they persisted deaf, and would not seem To count them things worth notice, till at length Thir Lords the Philistines with gather’d powers Enter’d Judea seeking mee, who then Safe to the rock of Etham was retir’d,51 Not flying, but fore-casting° in what place planning To set upon them, what advantag’d best; Mean while the men of Judah to prevent The harrass of thir Land, beset me round; I willingly on some conditions came Into thir hands,52 and they as gladly yield me To the uncircumcis’d a welcom prey, Bound with two cords; but cords to me were threds Toucht with the flame: on thir whole Host I flew the jawbone of an ass Unarm’d, and with a trivial weapon° fell’d Their choicest youth;53 they only liv’d who fled. Had Judah that day join’d, or one whole Tribe, They had by this° possess’d the Towers of Gath,° by this time / a principal Philistian city And lorded over them whom now they serve; 54 But what more oft in Nations grown corrupt, And by thir vices brought to servitude, Then to love Bondage more then Liberty, Bondage with ease then strenuous liberty; And to despise, or envy, or suspect Whom God hath of his special favour rais’d As thir Deliverer; if he aught begin, usual How frequent° to desert him, and at last To heap ingratitude on worthiest deeds? Chor. Thy words to my remembrance bring

50 Ambition in the Latin sense: to solicit votes of support. 51 After burning the Philistines’ standing corn (wheat) and killing many Philistines, Samson sought the safety of the rock of Etham (Etam) in order to plan the next attack ( Judg. 15.8). Etham was a natural stronghold in Judah, perhaps in the neighborhood of Bethlehem. 52 Upon entering Judah in search of Samson, the Philistines persuaded the men of Judah to deliver Samson bound to them ( Judg. 15.9–11). Samson agreed to be bound on the condition that his compatriots would not attack him themselves ( Judg. 15.12). 53 On being delivered to the Philistines, Samson broke the cords that bound him and attacked the Philistines with a jawbone of an ass, killing one thousand ( Judg. 15.14–16). 54 Milton adds to the biblical account Samson’s censure of the men of Judah for failing to join with him, conquer the Philistines, and gain their liberty.

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How Succoth and the Fort of Penuel Thir great Deliverer contemn’d, The matchless Gideon in pursuit Of Madian and her vanquisht Kings:55 And how ingrateful Ephraim Had dealt with Jephtha, who by argument, Not worse then by his shield and spear Defended Israel from the Ammonite,56 Had not his prowess quell’d thir pride In that sore battel when so many dy’d Without Reprieve adjudg’d to death, For want of well pronouncing Shibboleth.57 Sam. Of such examples adde mee to the roul,° Mee easily indeed mine° may neglect, But Gods propos’d deliverance not so. Chor. Just are the ways of God,° And justifiable to Men; Unless there be who think not God at all,° If any be, they walk obscure;° For of such Doctrine never was there School, But the heart of the Fool,58 And no man therein Doctor° but himself. Yet more there be who doubt his ways not just, As to his own edicts, found contradicting, Then give the rains° to wandring thought, Regardless of his glories diminution; Till by thir own perplexities involv’d They ravel° more, still less resolv’d,° But never find self-satisfying solution. As if they would confine th’interminable,° And tie him to his own prescript, Who made our Laws to bind us, not himself, And hath full right to exempt Whom so it pleases him by choice 55

roll my people Ps. 145.17, Rev. 15.3 those who do not believe God exists in intellectual darkness

teacher

reins

become entangled / free from doubt

God

Gideon, while in pursuit of Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Madian (Midian), asked for bread for his followers, but was refused by the men of Succoth and Penuel ( Judg. 8.1–17). The Midians were a nomadic Arabic tribe. 56 The Ephraimites refused to help Jephtha defend Israel against the Ammonites. When he defeated the Ammonites without their assistance, the Ephraimites attacked Jephtha. See Judg. 11.12–33; 12.1–6. 57 When fighting with the Ephraimites, Jephtha was able to distinguish them from his own men because the Ephraimites were unable to pronounce the word shibboleth correctly. See Judg. 12.5–6. 58 See Ps. 14.1: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.”

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From National obstriction° without taint Of sin, or legal debt;59 For with his own Laws he can best dispence. He would not else who never wanted means, Nor in respect of the enemy just cause To set his people free, Have prompted this Heroic Nazarite, Against his vow of strictest purity, To seek in marriage that fallacious Bride,° Unclean, unchaste.60 Down Reason then, at least vain reasonings down, Though Reason here aver That moral verdit quits° her of unclean: Unchaste was subsequent, her stain not his.61 But see here comes thy reverend Sire With careful° step, Locks white as doune,° Old Manoah: advise° Forthwith how thou oughtst to receive him. Sam. Ay me, another inward grief awak’t, With mention of that name renews th’assault. Man. Brethren and men of Dan,° for such ye seem, Though in this uncouth° place; if old respect, As I suppose, towards your once gloried° friend, My Son now Captive, hither hath inform’d° Your younger feet, while mine cast back with age Came lagging after; say if he be here. Chor. As signal° now in low dejected° state, As earst° in highest, behold him where he lies. Man. O miserable change! is this the man, That invincible Samson, far renown’d, The dread of Israel’s foes, who with a strength Equivalent to Angels walk’d thir streets, None offering fight; who single combatant Duell’d thir Armies62 rank’t in proud array, 59

473 obligation

woman of Timna

acquits

full of care or anxiety / down consider

Samson’s tribesmen unfamiliar endowed with glory guided

conspicuous / downcast formerly

If God had so wished, he could have exempted Samson from the national custom that Hebrew should marry Hebrew, as well as from obligations (legal debt) to the Mosaic law. However, as Carey points out, no law in the Hebrew bible prohibits marriage between Jew and Gentile. Not until after the reformation of Ezra is marriage with Gentiles considered an impurity. 60 As a Nazarite Samson was permitted to marry, but should not have married an infidel or idol worshipper. 61 Although not a Hebrew, the woman of Timna was not unclean; she became unchaste when she accepted as husband Samson’s companion in the place of Samson. 62 Samson engaged whole armies singlehandedly as opponents.

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Himself an Army, now unequal match To save himself against a coward arm’d At one spears length. O ever failing trust In mortal strength! and oh what not in man Deceivable and vain! Nay what thing good Pray’d for, but often proves our woe, our bane? I pray’d for Children, and thought barrenness In wedlock a reproach; I gain’d a Son, And such a Son as all Men hail’d me happy; Who would be now a Father in my stead? O wherefore did God grant me my request, And as a blessing with such pomp adorn’d?63 Why are his gifts desirable, to tempt Our earnest Prayers, then giv’n with solemn hand As Graces,° draw a Scorpions tail behind? For this did the Angel twice descend? for this Ordain’d thy nurture holy, as of a Plant; Select,° and Sacred, Glorious for a while, The miracle of men: then in an hour Ensnar’d, assaulted, overcome, led bound, Thy Foes derision, Captive, Poor, and Blind Into a Dungeon thrust, to work with Slaves? Alas methinks whom God hath chosen once To worthiest deeds, if he through frailty err, He should not so o’rewhelm, and as a thrall Subject him to so foul indignities, Be it but for honours sake of former deeds. Sam. Appoint not° heavenly disposition, Father, Nothing of all these evils hath befall’n me But justly; I my self have brought them on, Sole Author I, sole cause: if aught seem vile, As vile hath been my folly, who have profan’d° The mystery° of God giv’n me under pledge Of vow, and have betray’d it to a woman, A Canaanite,64 my faithless enemy. This well I knew, nor was at all surpris’d, But warn’d by oft experience: did not she Of Timna first betray me, and reveal

favors

set aside

do not assign blame to

violated secret

63 Pomp refers to the flame with which the angel ascended from the altar after Manoa completed his sacrifice ( Judg. 13.20). 64 The Philistines had emigrated into Canaan from Caphtor; therefore Dalila is here called a Canaanite.

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The secret wrested from me in her highth 385 Of Nuptial Love profest, carrying it strait

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To them who had corrupted her, my Spies, And Rivals?65 In this other° was there found More Faith? who also in her prime° of love, Spousal embraces, vitiated° with Gold, Though offer’d only,66 by the s[c]ent conceiv’d Her spurious first-born; Treason against me?67 Thrice68 she assay’d with flattering prayers and sighs, And amorous reproaches to win from me My capital° secret, in what part my strength Lay stor’d, in what part summ’d,° that she might know: Thrice I deluded her, and turn’d to sport Her importunity, each time perceiving How openly, and with what impudence She purpos’d to betray me, and (which was worse Then undissembl’d° hate) with what contempt She sought to make me Traytor to my self; Yet the fourth time, when mustring all her wiles, With blandisht parlies,° feminine assaults, Tongue-batteries, she surceas’d not day nor night To storm me over-watch’t,° and wearied out. At times when men seek most repose and rest, I yielded, and unlock’d her all my heart, Who with a grain° of manhood well resolv’d Might easily have shook off all her snares: But foul effeminacy held me yok’t Her Bond-slave; O indignity, O blot To Honour and Religion! servil mind Rewarded well with servil punishment! The base degree to which I now am fall’n, These rags, this grinding, is not yet so base As was my former servitude, ignoble, Unmanly, ignominious, infamous, 65

Dalila beginning or highest moment corrupted, perverted

principal, pertaining to the head concentrated Judg. 16.6–14

not disguised or concealed

flattering words kept awake too long Judg. 16.16–17 smallest part

Rivals refers to the countrymen to whom the woman of Timna revealed the secret, the answer to the riddle Samson had proposed. 66 In Judg. (16.5) each of the Philistines offered Delilah eleven hundred pieces of silver if she could learn the secret of Samson’s strength. 67 Symbolically, the mere scent of money makes Dalila conceive treason against Samson, here referred to as the “first-born” of their marriage. 68 Three times Delilah attempted to learn the secret of Samson’s strength and three times he evaded her by giving her false answers. See Judg. 16.6–15.

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True slavery, and that blindness worse then this, That saw not how degeneratly I serv’d. Man. I cannot praise thy Marriage choises, Son, Rather approv’d them not; but thou didst plead Divine impulsion prompting how thou might’st Find some occasion° to infest° our Foes.69 I state° not that; this I am sure; our Foes Found soon occasion thereby to make thee Thir Captive, and thir triumph;° thou the sooner Temptation found’st, or over-potent charms To violate the sacred trust of silence Deposited within thee; which to have kept Tacit, was in thy power; true; and thou bear’st Enough, and more the burden of that fault; Bitterly hast thou paid, and still art paying That rigid score.° A worse thing yet remains, This day the Philistines a popular Feast Here celebrate in Gaza; and proclaim Great Pomp, and Sacrifice, and Praises loud To Dagon, as their God who hath deliver’d Thee Samson bound and blind into thir hands, Them° out of thine, who slew’st them many a slain. So Dagon shall be magnifi’d, and God, Besides whom is no God, compar’d with Idols, Disglorifi’d,° blasphem’d, and had in scorn By th’Idolatrous rout° amidst thir wine; Which to have come to pass by means of thee, Samson, of all thy sufferings think the heaviest, Of all reproach the most with shame that ever Could have befall’n thee and thy Fathers house. Sam. Father, I do acknowledge and confess That I this honour, I this pomp have brought To Dagon, and advanc’d his praises high Among the Heathen round; to God have brought Dishonour, obloquie, and op’t the mouths Of Idolists,° and Atheists; have brought scandal To Israel, diffidence° of God, and doubt In feeble hearts, propense° anough° before To waver, or fall off° and join with Idols; 69

opportunity / harass do not comment on object of triumph

account of unchanging debt Judg. 16.23

the Philistines

deprived of glory multitude

idolaters distrust inclined / enough be disloyal

Samson pleaded divine impulse only for the first marriage; the second he thought permissible by the first example.

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Which is my chief affliction, shame and sorrow, The anguish of my Soul, that suffers not Mine eie to harbour sleep, or thoughts to rest. sole This only° hope relieves me, that the strife With me hath end; all the contest is now ‘Twixt God and Dagon; Dagon hath presum’d, Me overthrown, to enter lists with God,70 His Deity comparing and preferring Before the God of Abraham. He, be sure, remain dormant, lit., shut the eyes Will not connive,° or linger, thus provok’d, But will arise and his great name assert: bow to a superior Dagon must stoop,° and shall e’re long receive Such a discomfit,° as shall quite despoil him defeat, rout Of all these boasted Trophies won on° me, won over And with confusion blank° his Worshippers. confound Man. With cause this hope relieves thee, and these words I as a Prophecy receive: for God, Nothing more certain, will not long defer To vindicate the glory of his name Against all competition, nor will long Endure it, doubtful whether God be Lord, Or Dagon. But for thee what shall be done? Thou must not in the mean while here forgot Lie in this miserable loathsom plight Neglected. I already have made way approached To° some Philistian Lords, with whom to treat About thy ransom:71 well they may by this Have satisfi’d thir utmost of revenge By pains and slaveries, worse then death inflicted On thee, who now no more canst do them harm. Sam. Spare that proposal, Father, spare the trouble Of that sollicitation; let me here, As I deserve, pay on my punishment; And expiate, if possible, my crime, Shameful garrulity. To have reveal’d Secrets of men, the secrets of a friend, How hainous had the fact° been, how deserving deed Contempt, and scorn of all, to be excluded All friendship, and avoided as a blab, 70 71

To present himself as a challenger, to tilt in the lists (an enclosed space where knights fought). Neither the account in Judges nor scriptural tradition suggests any attempt to ransom Samson.

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The mark of fool set on his front?° But I Gods counsel have not kept, his holy secret Presumptuously have publish’d, impiously, Weakly at least, and shamefully: A sin That Gentiles in thir Parables condemn To thir abyss and horrid pains confin’d.72 Man. Be penitent and for thy fault contrite, But act not in thy own affliction, Son, Repent the sin, but if the punishment Thou canst avoid, self-preservation bids; Or th’ execution leave to high disposal, And let another hand, not thine, exact Thy penal forfeit from thy self; perhaps God will relent, and quit thee all his debt;° Who evermore approves and more accepts (Best pleas’d with humble and filial submission) Him who imploring mercy sues for life, Then who self-rigorous chooses death as due; Which argues over-just,° and self-displeas’d For self-offence, more then for God offended.73 Reject not then what offerd means, who knows But God hath set before us, to return thee Home to thy countrey and his sacred house,74 Where thou may’st bring thy off ’rings, to avert His further ire, with praiers and vows renew’d. Sam. His pardon I implore; but as for life, To what end should I seek it? when in strength All mortals I excell’d, and great in hopes With youthful courage and magnanimous thoughts Of birth from Heav’n foretold and high exploits, Full of divine instinct,° after some proof Of acts indeed heroic, far beyond The Sons of Anac,° famous now and blaz’d,° Fearless of danger, like a petty God I walk’d about admir’d° of all and dreaded On hostile ground, none daring my affront.°

72

forehead

cancel the debt owed

excessively just or scrupulous

impulse a race of giants / celebrated wondered at attack

For example, Tantalus, once highly favored by the Olympian gods, who was punished in Hades (“thir abyss”) after he revealed the secrets of the gods. 73 To be more displeased with oneself for an offense than displeased at having offended God. 74 The Tabernacle (where the ark of the covenant was kept) was regarded by the Jews as a sacred house until the Temple was built.

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Then swoll’n with pride into the snare I fell Of fair fallacious° looks, venereal trains,° Softn’d with pleasure and voluptuous life; At length to lay my head and hallow’d pledge75 Of all my strength in the lascivious lap Of a deceitful Concubine76 who shore me Like a tame Weather,° all my precious fleece, Then turn’d me out ridiculous, despoil’d, Shav’n, and disarm’d among my enemies. Chor. Desire of wine and all delicious drinks, Which many a famous Warriour overturns, Thou could’st repress,77 nor did the dancing Rubie° Sparkling, out-pow’rd, the flavor, or the smell, Or taste that cheers the heart of Gods and men, Allure thee from the cool Crystalline stream. Sam. Where ever fountain or fresh current flow’d Against the Eastern ray, translucent, pure, With touch ætherial of Heav’ns fiery rod° I drank, from the clear milkie juice° allaying Thirst, and refresht; nor envy’d them the grape Whose heads that turbulent liquor fills with fumes. Chor. O madness, to think use of strongest wines And strongest drinks our chief support of health, When God with these forbid’n made choice to rear His mighty Champion, strong above compare, Whose drink was only from the liquid° brook. Sam. But what avail’d this temperance, not compleat° Against another object more enticing? What boots it° at one gate to make defence, And at another to let in the foe Effeminatly vanquish’t? by which means, Now blind, disheartn’d, sham’d, dishonour’d, quell’d, To what can I be useful, wherein serve My Nation, and the work from Heav’n impos’d, But to sit idle on the houshold hearth, A burdenous drone; to visitants a gaze,°

75 76

479

deceitful / sexual snares

wether, a castrated ram

red wine

sunbeam fresh water

watery protected, armed what use is it?

an object gazed at

Samson’s unshorn hair was the pledge both of his strength and his loyalty to God. In Judg. (16.4) Delilah is designated simply as a woman Samson loves, neither a wife nor a concubine, as Samson insultingly calls her here. 77 As a Nazarite Samson had to refrain from wine. His mother was told when she conceived him to refrain from strong drink ( Judg. 13.4, 7, 14).

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Or pitied object, these redundant locks° Robustious° to no purpose clustring down, Vain monument of strength; till length of years And sedentary numness craze° my limbs To a contemptible old age obscure. Here rather let me drudge and earn my bread, Till vermin or the draff° of servil° food Consume me, and oft-invocated death Hast’n the welcom end of all my pains. Man. Wilt thou then serve the Philistines with that gift Which was expressly giv’n thee to annoy° them? Better at home lie bed-rid, not only idle, Inglorious, unimploy’d, with age out-worn. But God who caus’d a fountain at thy prayer From the dry ground to spring, thy thirst to allay After the brunt of battel,78 can as easie Cause light again within thy eies to spring, Wherewith to serve him better then thou hast; And I perswade me so; why else this strength Miraculous yet remaining in those locks? His might continues in thee not for naught, Nor shall his wondrous gifts be frustrate° thus. Sam. All otherwise to me my thoughts portend, That these dark orbs no more shall treat with light, Nor th’other light of life continue long, But yield to double darkness nigh at hand: So much I feel my genial° spirits droop, My hopes all flat, nature within me seems In all her functions weary of her self; My race of glory run, and race of shame, And I shall shortly be with them that rest. Man. Believe not these suggestions° which proceed From anguish of the mind and humours black,° That mingle with thy fancy.° I however Must not omit a Fathers timely care To prosecute° the means of thy deliverance By ransom or how else: mean while be calm, And healing words from these thy friends admit. Sam. O that torment should not be confin’d 78

excessively abundant hair healthy, strong make decrepit

refuse / fit for slaves

molest

made ineffectual

natural

promptings melancholy imagination pursue

Water gushed forth not from dry ground but from the jawbone of the ass, to refresh Samson after he had killed thousands with it ( Judg. 15.18–19).

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To the bodies wounds and sores With maladies innumerable In heart, head, brest, and reins;° But must secret passage find To th’ inmost mind, There exercise all his fierce accidents,° And on her purest spirits prey, As on entrails, joints, and limbs, With answerable° pains, but more intense, Though void of corporal° sense. My griefs not only pain me As a lingring disease, But finding no redress, ferment and rage, Nor less then wounds immedicable Ranckle, and fester, and gangrene, To black mortification,79 Thoughts my Tormenters arm’d with deadly stings Mangle my apprehensive° tenderest parts, Exasperate,° exulcerate,° and raise Dire inflammation which no cooling herb Or medcinal liquor can asswage, Nor breath of Vernal Air from snowy Alp.° Sleep hath forsook and giv’n me o’re To deaths benumming Opium° as my only cure. Thence faintings, swounings of despair, And sense of Heav’ns desertion. I was his nursling once and choice delight, His destin’d from the womb, Promisd by Heavenly message° twice descending. Under his special eie Abstemious I grew up and thriv’d amain;° He led me on to mightiest deeds Above the nerve° of mortal arm Against the uncircumcis’d,° our enemies. But now hath cast me off as never known, And to those cruel enemies, Whom I by his appointment° had provok’t, Left me all helpless with th’ irreparable loss Of sight, reserv’d alive to be repeated° The subject of thir cruelty, or scorn. 79

Mortification is itself gangrene or necrosis.

481

kidneys

unfavorable symptoms

corresponding bodily

sensitive increase suffering / cause ulcers

high mountain oblivion

messenger greatly strength Philistines

command made repeatedly

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Nor am I in the list of them that hope; Hopeless are all my evils, all remediless; This one prayer yet remains, might I be heard, No long petition, speedy death, The close of all my miseries, and the balm.° Chor. Many are the sayings of the wise In antient and in modern books enroll’d; Extolling Patience as the truest fortitude; And to the bearing well of all calamities, All chances incident° to mans frail life Consolatories° writ With studied argument, and much perswasion sought Lenient of° grief and anxious thought, But with th’ afflicted in his pangs thir sound Little prevails, or rather seems a tune, Harsh, and of dissonant mood° from his complaint, Unless he feel within Some sourse of consolation from above; Secret refreshings, that repair his strength, And fainting spirits uphold. God of our Fathers, what is man!80 That thou towards him with hand so various,° Or might I say contrarious,° Temperst thy providence through his short course, Not evenly,° as thou rul’st The Angelic orders and inferiour creatures mute, Irrational and brute. Nor do I name of men the common rout, That wandring loose about Grow up and perish, as the summer flie,81 Heads without name° no more rememberd, But such as thou hast solemnly elected,° With gifts and graces eminently adorn’d To some great work, thy glory, And peoples safety, which in part they effect: Yet toward these thus dignifi’d,° thou oft Amidst thir highth of noon, Changest thy countenance, and thy hand with no regard Of highest favours past 80 81

healing ointment

likely to occur writings that offer comfort soothing to

mode, a musical term

acting in different ways contradictory. opposing without variation

persons unknown chosen by God

raised to position of authority

“What is man, that thou art mindful of him” (Ps. 8.4). Also see Job 7.17; Heb. 2.6. The summer fly is proverbial for short life.

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700

705

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715

From thee on them, or them to thee of service. Nor only dost degrade them, or remit° To life obscur’d, which were a fair dismission,° But throw’st them lower then thou didst exalt them high, Unseemly falls in human eie, Too grievous for the trespass or omission, Oft leav’st them to the hostile sword Of Heathen and prophane, thir carkasses To dogs and fowls a prey,82 or else captiv’d: Or to the unjust tribunals, under change of times, And condemnation of the ingrateful multitude.83 If these they scape, perhaps in poverty With sickness and disease thou bow’st them down, Painful diseases and deform’d, In crude° old age; Though not disordinate,° yet causeless suffring The punishment of dissolute days, in fine,° Just or unjust, alike seem miserable, For oft alike, both come to evil end.84 So deal not with this once thy glorious Champion, The Image of thy strength, and mighty minister.° What do I beg? how hast thou dealt already? Behold him in this state calamitous, and turn His labours, for thou canst, to peaceful end. But who is this, what thing of Sea or Land?85 Femal of sex it seems, That so bedeckt, ornate, and gay, Comes this way sailing Like a stately Ship Of Tarsus,86 bound for th’ Isles Of Javan° or Gadier° With all her bravery° on, and tackle trim,° Sails fill’d, and streamers waving, 82

483 send back dismissal

premature intemperate in the end

servant

Ionian Isles / Gadera (Cadiz) finery / rigging in good order

Possibly an echo of Il. 1.4–5, which describes the bodies of those slain in battle as the prey of dogs and birds. 83 Possibly an allusion to the fate of regicides after the Restoration – to the disinterment of Cromwell, the imprisonment of others, and the unjust trial and execution of Sir Henry Vane. 84 Whether suffering is deserved or undeserved, the end or consequence is the same. 85 “What thing of Sea or Land.” This phrase is probably a recollection of Euripides’ description of woman in Hecuba: “Neither sea nor land nourishes such a race” (1181–2). 86 Probably Tarshish in Spain is meant rather than Tarsus in Cicilia. Ships of Tarshish were symbols of pride. See Ps. 48.7.

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Courted by all the winds that hold them play,° 720 An Amber s[c]ent° of odorous perfume

725

730

735

740

745

750

755

keep them moving ambergris, an ingredient in perfume that which precedes

Her harbinger,° a damsel train behind; Some rich Philistian Matron she may seem, And now at nearer view, no other certain Then Dalila thy wife. Sam. My Wife, my Traytress, let her not come near me. Chor. Yet on she moves, now stands & eies° thee fixt, About t’have spoke, but now, with head declin’d Like a fair flower surcharg’d with dew, she weeps And words addrest° seem into tears dissolv’d, Wetting the borders of her silk’n veil: But now again she makes address° to speak. Dal. With doubtful feet and wavering resolution I came, still dreading thy displeasure, Samson, Which to have merited,° without excuse, I cannot but acknowledge; yet if tears May expiate (though the fact° more evil drew In the perverse event° then I foresaw) My penance° hath not slack’n’d, though my pardon No way assur’d. But conjugal affection Prevailing over fear, and timerous doubt Hath led me on desirous to behold Once more thy face, and know of thy estate.° If aught in my ability may serve To light’n what thou suffer’st, and appease Thy mind with what amends is in my power, Though late, yet in some part to recompense My rash but more unfortunate misdeed. Sam. Out, out Hyæna;87 these are thy wonted arts, And arts of every woman false like thee, To break all faith, all vows, deceive, betray, Then as repentant to submit, beseech, And reconcilement move° with feign’d remorse, Confess, and promise wonders in her change, Not truly penitent, but chief to try° Her husband, how far urg’d his patience bears,° His vertue or weakness which way to assail: Then with more cautious and instructed skill 87

looks at

made ready prepares

deserved deed unexpected outcome penitence

condition

urge make trial of endures

The hyena was believed to counterfeit the human voice in order to entice human beings to destruction. See Pliny 8.44.

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775

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790

795

Again transgresses, and again submits; That wisest and best men full oft beguil’d With goodness principl’d not to reject The penitent, but ever to forgive, Are drawn to wear out miserable days, Entangl’d with a poysnous bosom snake, If not quick destruction soon cut off As I by thee, to Ages an example Dal. Yet hear me Samson; not that I endeavour To lessen or extenuate my offence, But that on th’ other side if it be weigh’d By it self, with aggravations° not surcharg’d, Or else with just allowance counterpois’d, I may, if possible, thy pardon find The easier towards me, or thy hatred less. First granting, as I do, it was a weakness In me, but incident to all our sex, Curiosity, inquisitive, importune° Of secrets, then with like infirmity To publish° them, both common female faults: Was it not weakness also to make known For importunity, that is for naught,° Wherein consisted all thy strength and safety? To what I did thou shewdst me first the way. But I to enemies reveal’d, and should not. Nor shouldst thou have trusted that to womans frailty E’re I to thee, thou to thy self wast cruel. Let weakness then with weakness come to parl° So near related, or the same of kind,° Thine forgive mine; that men may censure thine The gentler, if severely thou exact not More strength from me, then in thy self was found. And what if Love, which thou interpret’st hate, The jealousie of Love, powerful of sway In human hearts, nor less in mine towards thee, Caus’d what I did? I saw thee mutable Of fancy,° feard lest one day thou wouldst leave me As her at Timna,° sought by all means therefore How to endear, and hold thee to me firmest: No better way I saw then by importuning To learn thy secrets, get into my power Thy key of strength and safety: thou wilt say,

485

things made worse, exaggerations

persistent inquiry make public for nothing

parley in nature

affection Samson’s first wife

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805

810

815

820

825

830

835

Who tempted me, that nothing was design’d Against thee but safe custody, and hold:88 That made for me,° I knew that liberty Would draw thee forth to perilous enterprises, While I at home sate full of cares and fears Wailing thy absence in my widow’d bed; Here I should still enjoy thee day and night Mine and Loves prisoner, not the Philistines, Whole° to my self, unhazarded abroad, Fearless at home of partners in my love. These reasons in Loves law have past for good, Though fond° and reasonless to some perhaps; And Love hath oft, well meaning, wrought much wo, Yet always pity or pardon hath obtain’d. Be not unlike all others, not austere As thou art strong, inflexible as steel. If thou in strength all mortals dost exceed, In uncompassionate anger do not so. Sam. How cunningly the sorceress displays Her own transgressions, to upbraid me mine? That malice not repentance brought thee hither, By this appears: I gave, thou say’st, th’ example, I led the way; bitter reproach, but true, I to my self was false e’re thou to me, Such pardon therefore as I give my folly, Take to thy wicked deed: which° when thou seest Impartial, self-severe, inexorable, Thou wilt renounce thy seeking, and much rather Confess it feign’d, weakness is thy excuse, And I believe it, weakness to resist Philistian gold: if weakness may excuse, What Murtherer, what Traytor, Parricide, Incestuous, Sacrilegious, but may plead it? All wickedness is weakness: that plea therefore With God or Man will gain thee no remission.° But Love constrain’d thee; call it furious rage To satisfie thy lust: Love seeks to have Love; My love how couldst thou hope,° who tookst the way 88

worked to my advantage

unshared

foolish

which pardon

forgiveness

hope for

In Judges (16.5) the Philistine Lords told Delilah that they only planned to bind and afflict (i.e., humble) Samson.

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To raise in me inexpiable hate, 840 Knowing,° as needs I must, by thee betray’d?

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In vain thou striv’st to cover shame with shame, Or by evasions thy crime uncoverst more.89 Dal. Since thou determinst weakness for no plea In man or woman, though to thy own condemning, Hear what assaults I had, what snares besides, What sieges girt me round, e’re I consented; Which might have aw’d the best resolv’d of men, The constantest to have yielded without blame. It was not gold, as to my charge thou lay’st, That wrought with me: thou know’st the Magistrates And Princes of my countrey came in person, Sollicited, commanded, threatn’d, urg’d, Adjur’d by all the bonds of civil Duty And of Religion, press’d how just it was, How honourable, how glorious to entrap A common enemy, who had destroy’d Such numbers of our Nation: and the Priest90 Was not behind, but ever at my ear, Preaching how meritorious with the gods It would be to ensnare an irreligious Dishonourer of Dagon: what had I To oppose against such powerful arguments? Only my love of thee held long debate; And combated in silence all these reasons With hard contest: at length that grounded° maxim So rife° and celebrated in the mouths Of wisest men; that to the public good Private respects° must yield; with grave authority Took full possession of me and prevail’d; Vertue, as I thought, truth, duty so enjoyning. Sam. I thought where all thy circling wiles would end; In feign’d Religion, smooth hypocrisie. But had thy love, still odiously pretended, Bin, as it ought, sincere, it would have taught thee Far other reasonings, brought forth other deeds. I before all the daughters of my Tribe And of my Nation chose thee from among 89 90

On covering shame with shame, cf. PL 9.1057– 61. In Judg. 16.5 only the Philistine lords solicit Delilah; Milton adds the priest.

knowing myself

firmly established widespread personal interests

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My enemies, lov’d thee, as too well thou knew’st, Too well, unbosom’d all my secrets to thee, Not out of levity, but over-powr’d By thy request, who could deny thee nothing; Yet now am judg’d an enemy. Why then Didst thou at first receive me for thy husband? Then, as since then, thy countries foe profest: Being once a wife, for me thou wast to leave Parents and countrey;91 nor was I their subject, Nor under their protection but my own, Thou mine, not theirs: if aught against my life Thy countrey sought of thee, it sought unjustly, Against the law of nature, law of nations,92 No more thy countrey, but an impious crew Of men conspiring to uphold thir state By worse then hostile deeds, violating the ends For which our countrey93 is a name so dear; Not therefore to be obey’d. But zeal mov’d thee; To please thy gods thou didst it; gods unable To acquit° themselves and prosecute their foes But by ungodly deeds, the contradiction Of their own deity, Gods cannot be: Less therefore to be pleas’d, obey’d, or fear’d, These false pretexts and varnish’d colours° failing, Bare in thy guilt how foul must thou appear? Dal. In argument with men a woman ever Goes by the worse, whatever be her cause. Sam. For want of words no doubt, or lack of breath, Witness when I was worried° with thy peals.° Dal. I was a fool, too rash, and quite mistaken In what I thought would have succeeded best. Let me obtain forgiveness of thee, Samson, Afford me place° to shew what recompence Towards thee I intend for what I have misdone, Misguided; only what remains past cure Bear not too sensibly,° nor still insist 91

perform their offices

deceitful displays

harassed / assaulting words

give me opportunity

acutely

Samson is citing Gen. 2.24: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife.” 92 Possibly an oblique allusion to an argument in John Selden’s book, De Jure Naturali et Gentium (Of Natural Law and of Nations). 93 In referring to Israel as “our country,” Samson may be opposing it to Philistia “thy [Dalila’s] country” (see 884, 889, 891), to which she claims allegiance and which Samson insists is superseded by her duty as a wife.

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Where other senses want° not their delights At home in leisure and domestic ease, Exempt from many a care and chance to which Eye-sight exposes daily men abroad. I to the Lords will intercede, not doubting Thir favourable ear, that I may fetch thee From forth this loathsom prison-house, to abide With me, where my redoubl’d love and care With nursing diligence, to me glad office,° May ever tend about thee to old age With all things grateful° chear’d, and so suppli’d, That what by me thou hast lost thou least shalt miss. Sams. No, no, of my condition take no care; It fits not; thou and I long since are twain; Nor think me so unwary or accurst To bring my feet again into the snare Where once I have been caught; I know thy trains° Though dearly° to my cost, thy ginns,° and toyls;° Thy fair enchanted cup, and warbling charms94 No more on me have power, their force is null’d,° So much of Adders wisdom I have learn’t To fence° my ear against thy sorceries.95 If in my flower of youth and strength, when all men Lov’d, honour’d, fear’d me, thou alone could hate me Thy Husband, slight me, sell me, and forgo me; How wouldst thou use me now, blind, and thereby Deceiveable, in most things as a child Helpless, thence easily contemn’d, and scorn’d, And last neglected? How wouldst thou insult° When I must live uxorious to thy will In perfet thraldom, how again betray me, Bearing my words and doings to the Lords To gloss upon,° and censuring, frown or smile? This Gaol I count the house of Liberty

94

lack

task pleasing

schemes, snares at great expense / devices / traps made void, annulled guard

proudly exult

comment on

Milton alludes to the devices of sorceresses like Circe in Homer and Alcina in Ariosto, who allure men with song (“warbling charms”), entrap them with spells, and bind them through the power of an enchanted cup or drink. 95 Proverbially, the adder stopped its ear and became deaf to words or spells that would injure it. See Ps. 58.4–5.

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Dal. Let me approach at least, and touch thy hand. Sam. Not for thy life, lest fierce remembrance wake My sudden rage to tear thee joint by joint. At distance I forgive thee, go with that; Bewail thy falshood, and the pious works It hath brought forth to make thee memorable Among illustrious women, faithful wives: Cherish thy hast’n’d widowhood with the gold Of Matrimonial treason: so farwel. Dal. I see thou art implacable, more deaf To prayers, then winds and seas, yet winds to seas Are reconcil’d at length, and Sea to Shore: Thy anger, unappeasable, still rages, Eternal tempest never to be calm’d. Why do I humble thus my self, and suing For peace, reap nothing but repulse and hate? Bid go with evil omen and the brand Of infamy upon my name denounc’t? affairs To mix with thy concernments° I desist Henceforth, nor too much disapprove my own. Fame96 if not double-fac’t is double-mouth’d, And with contrary blast proclaims most deeds, On both his wings, one black, th’ other white, Bears greatest names in his wild aerie flight. Israelites My name perhaps among the Circumcis’d° In Dan, in Judah, and the bordering Tribes,97 To all posterity may stand defam’d, With malediction mention’d, and the blot slandered, maligned Of falshood most unconjugal traduc’t.° But in my countrey where I most desire, four of the five principal cities of Philistia In Ecron, Gaza, Asdod, and in Gath° I shall be nam’d among the famousest Of Women, sung at solemn festivals, Living and dead recorded, who to save Her countrey from a fierce destroyer, chose Above the faith of wedlock-bands, my tomb incense With odours° visited and annual flowers. 96

Milton alters the characteristics of the Latin Fama, the classical allegorical figure for scandal (Aeneid 173 ff.), making it masculine, double-tongued, and double-winged, and disseminating both good and bad reputation. 97 Among the southern tribes of Hebrews here named, Samson’s tribe was Dan.

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Not less renown’d then in Mount Ephraim,° Jael,98 who with inhospitable guile Smote Sisera sleeping through the Temples nail’d. Nor shall I count it hainous to enjoy The public marks of honour and reward Conferr’d upon me, for the piety° Which to my countrey I was judg’d to have shewn. At this who ever envies or repines I leave him to his lot, and like my own. Chor. She’s gone, a manifest Serpent by her sting Discover’d in the end, till now conceal’d. Sam. So let her go, God sent her to debase me, And aggravate° my folly who committed To such a viper his most sacred trust Of secresie, my safety, and my life. hor. Yet beauty, though injurious, hath strange power, After offence returning, to regain Love once possest, nor can be easily Repuls’t, without much inward passion felt And secret sting of amorous remorse. Sam. Love-quarrels oft in pleasing concord end,99 Not wedlock-trechery endangering life. Cho. It is not vertue, wisdom, valour, wit, Strength, comliness of shape, or amplest merit That womans love can win or long inherit;° But what it is, hard is to say, Harder to hit, (Which way soever men refer° it) Much like thy riddle,100 Samson, in one day Or seven, though one should musing sit; If any of these or all, the Timnian bride 98

491 home of Deborah

devotion, patriotism

make worse

hold

report

Jael, wife of the Kenite Heber, offered sanctuary to the Canaanite general Sisera, receiving him into her tent after he had been defeated by the Israelites, but violating sanctuary when he slept by driving a nail through his head. Deborah, the prophetess who lived on Mount Ephraim, praised Jael’s deed in song and spread her fame among the Israelites. See Judg. 4.17–21; 5.1–3, 24 –7. 99 See Terence, Andria 3.3.24: “amantium irae amoris integratio est” (“the quarrels of lovers is the binding of love”). 100 The riddle Samson posed to the Philistine guests at his wedding with the woman of Timna was the following: “Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness.” The “eater” was the lion that Samson killed, whose carcass became the hive for honeybees. Out of the “strong” (the lion’s carcass) came forth “sweetness” (honey). The Philistines puzzled over the riddle for seven days, finally learning its answer by threatening the Timnian woman, to whom Samson had confided its answer. See Judg. 14.12–18.

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Had not so soon preferr’d 1020 Thy Paranymph,° worthless to thee compar’d,

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Successour in thy bed, Nor both so loosly disally’d° Thir nuptials,101 nor this last so trecherously Had shorn the fatal harvest of thy head. Is it for that° such outward ornament Was lavish’t on thir Sex, that inward gifts Were left for hast unfinish’t,102 judgment scant, Capacity not rais’d to apprehend Or value what is best In choice, but oftest to affect° the wrong? Or was too much of self-love mixt, Of constancy no root infixt, That either they love nothing, or not long? What e’re it be, to wisest men and best Seeming at first all heavenly under virgin veil, Soft, modest, meek, demure, Once join’d, the contrary she proves, a thorn Intestin,103 far within defensive arms° A cleaving° mischief, in his way to vertue104 Adverse and turbulent, or by her charms Draws him awry enslav’d With dotage, and his sense deprav’d To folly and shameful deeds which ruin ends. What Pilot so expert but needs must wreck Embarqu’d with such a Stears-mate at the Helm? Favour’d of Heav’n who finds One vertuous rarely found, That in domestic good combines: Happy that house! his way to peace is smooth:105 But vertue which breaks through all opposition, And all temptation can remove,

groomsman dissolved

is it because

prefer

having penetrated defenses clinging to or splitting apart

101 The riddle posed here – “what wins and holds women’s love” – has, unlike Samson’s riddle, no clear answer. If “vertue, wisdom,” etc., could hold women’s love, then the Timnian woman would not have preferred Samson’s companion (the paranymph) to Samson ( Judg. 14.20) and neither she nor Dalila would have betrayed their nuptial vows. 102 Cf. Adam’s diatribe against women (PL 10.888–908); also Hippolytus in Euripides’ Hippolytus (616 –50). 103 See Num. 33.55 (“thorns in your sides”); 2 Cor. 12.7 (“thorn in the flesh”). 104 In Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce (Yale 2.294; Columbia 3.394) Milton makes similar comments about the change in virgins, who seem modest and demure before marriage, but prove contrary afterwards. 105 For praise of the good wife see Prov. 31.10 –28.

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Most shines and most is acceptable above. Therefore Gods universal Law Gave to the man despotic power Over his female in due awe, Nor from that right to part an hour, Smile she or lowre: So shall he least confusion draw ruled On his whole life, not sway’d° 106 By female usurpation, nor dismay’d. But had we best retire, I see a storm? brought together Sam. Fair days have oft contracted° wind and rain. Chor. But this another kind of tempest brings. Sam. Be less abstruse, my riddling days are past. Chor. Look now for no inchanting voice, nor fear The bait of honied words; a rougher tongue Draws hitherward, I know him by his stride, The Giant Harapha of Gath,107 his look lofty mass, here body Haughty as is his pile° high-built and proud. Comes he in peace? what wind hath blown him hither I less conjecture then when first I saw The sumptuous Dalila floating this way: clothing His habit° carries peace, his brow defiance. Sam. Or peace or not, alike to me he comes. freight, i.e., business Chor. His fraught° we soon shall know, he now arrives. Har. I come not Samson, to condole thy chance,° offer sympathy for your mischance As these° perhaps, yet wish it had not been, the Chorus Though for no friendly intent. I am of Gath, Men call me Harapha, of stock renown’d As Og or Anak and the Emims old That Kiriathaim held,108 thou knowst me now If thou at all art known. Much I have heard Of thy prodigious might and feats perform’d Incredible to me, in this displeas’d, That I was never present on the place Of those encounters, where we might have tri’d

106 For the appointment of man’s rule over woman see Gen. 3.16; also see PL 10.195–6. For the prohibition of female authority over male, see 1 Tim. 2.12 (“nor to usurp authority over the man”). 107 The name Harapha in Hebrew signifies: ha = the, rapha = giant. In Judges no giant encounters Samson. 108 Kiriathaim was the home of the giant Emins (Gen. 14.5; Deut. 2.10–11). For other giants in the bible, see giants (Gen. 6.4); Og (Deut. 3.11); sons of Anak (Num. 13.33).

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Each others force in camp° or listed field:° battlefield / field for tilting And now am come to see of whom such noise° report Hath walk’d about, and each limb to survey, If thy appearance answer loud report. put to proof Sam. The way to know were not to see but taste.° Har. Dost thou already single° me; I thought challenge to single combat Gives° and the Mill had tam’d thee? O that fortune fetters Had brought me to the field where thou art fam’d To have wrought such wonders with an Asses Jaw; I should have forc’d thee soon with other arms, Or left thy carkass where the Ass lay thrown: So had the glory of Prowess been recover’d To Palestine,109 won by a Philistine From the unforeskinn’d race, of whom thou bear’st The highest name for valiant Acts, that honour fight to the death Certain to have won by mortal duel° from thee, I lose, prevented by thy eyes put out. Sam. Boast not of what thou wouldst have done, but do within reach What then thou would’st, thou seest it in thy hand.° Har. To combat with a blind man I disdain, And thou hast need much washing to be toucht. Sam. Such usage as your honourable Lords allow / treacherously attacked, destroyed Afford° me assassinated° and betray’d, Who durst not with thir whole united powers In fight withstand me single and unarm’d, Nor in the house with chamber Ambushes fighting in close ranks Close-banded° durst attaque me, no not sleeping, Till they had hir’d a woman with their gold outwit Breaking her Marriage Faith to circumvent° me. Therefore without feign’d shifts° let be assign’d deceptive tricks Some narrow place enclos’d, where sight may give thee, Or rather flight, no great advantage on me; Then put on all thy gorgeous arms, thy Helmet And Brigandine of brass, thy broad Habergeon, Vant-brass and Greves, and Gauntlet, add thy Spear A Weavers beam, and seven-times-folded shield,110 I only with an Oak’n staff will meet thee, 109 Palestine was an alternate name for Philistia, the two being etymologically related. 110 Harapha’s armor consists of the following: a helmet, brigandine of brass (chain mail); habergeon (a coat of mail); vaut-brass (forearm armor); greaves (leg or shin armor), and a gauntlet (a protective glove). Harapha’s spear is thick as a weaver’s beam (a loom’s roller). His shield is layered with hide seven times thick.

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And raise such out-cries on thy clatter’d Iron, 1125 Which long shall not with-hold mee from thy head,

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That in a little time while breath remains thee, Thou oft shalt wish thy self at Gath to boast Again in safety what thou wouldst have done To Samson, but shalt never see Gath more. Har. Thou durst not thus disparage glorious arms Which greatest Heroes have in battel worn, Thir ornament and safety, had not spells And black enchantments, some Magicians Art Arm’d thee or charm’d thee strong, which thou from Heaven Feigndst at thy birth was giv’n thee in thy hair, Where strength can least abide, though all thy hairs Were bristles rang’d like those that ridge the back angered / with quills sticking out Of chaf ’t° wild Boars, or ruffl’d° Porcupines. Sam. I know no Spells, use no forbidden Arts;111 My trust is in the living God who gave me At my Nativity this strength, diffus’d No less through all my sinews, joints and bones, so long as Then thine, while° I preserv’d these locks unshorn, The pledge of my unviolated vow. For proof hereof, if Dagon be thy god, pray for, invoke Go to his Temple, invocate° his aid With solemnest devotion, spread° before him lay before, explain to him How highly it concerns his glory now To frustrate and dissolve these Magic spells, Which I to be the power of Israel’s God Avow, and challenge Dagon to the test, Offering to combat thee his Champion bold, supported With th’ utmost of his Godhead seconded:° Then thou shalt see, or rather to thy sorrow Soon feel, whose God is strongest, thine or mine. Har. Presume not on thy God, what e’re he be, Thee he regards not, owns not, hath cut off Quite from his people, and delivered up Into thy Enemies hand, permitted them To put out both thine eyes, and fetter’d send thee Into the common Prison, there to grind Among the Slaves and Asses thy comrades, As good for nothing else, no better service 111

Before trial by arms, medieval knights disavowed use of magic arts and professed their trust in God.

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coarse-growing

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Of noble Warriour, so to stain his honour, But by the Barbers razor best subdu’d. Sam. All these indignities, for such they are From thine,° these evils I deserve and more, Acknowledge them from God inflicted on me Justly, yet despair not of his final pardon Whose ear is ever open; and his eye Gracious to re-admit the suppliant; In confidence whereof I once again Defie thee to the trial of mortal fight, By combat to decide whose god is God, Thine or whom I with Israel’s Sons adore. Har. Fair honour that thou dost thy God, in trusting He will accept thee to defend his cause, A Murtherer, a Revolter, and a Robber. Sam. Tongue-doubtie° Giant, how dost thou prove me these? Har. Is not thy Nation subject to our Lords? Thir Magistrates confest it, when they took thee As a League-breaker and deliver’d bound Into our hands: for hadst thou not committed Notorious murder on those thirty men At Askalon, who never did thee harm, Then like a Robber stripdst them of thir robes?112 The Philistines, when thou hadst broke the league, Went up with armed powers thee only seeking, To others did no violence nor spoil. Sam. Among the Daughters of the Philistines I chose a Wife, which argu’d me no foe;113 And in your City held my Nuptial Feast: But your ill-meaning Politician° Lords, Under pretence of Bridal friends and guests, Appointed to await° me thirty spies, Who threatening cruel death constrain’d the bride To wring from me and tell to them my secret, That solv’d the riddle which I had propos’d.

thy people

brave of tongue

Judg. 15.12–13

Judg. 15.9–11

politic, scheming wait on me

112 Samson went down to Askalon, killed thirty men, and stripped them of their garments in order to obtain garments as forfeit to give to the guests at the wedding who had correctly answered his riddle. See Judg. 14.19. 113 See the previous account of the marriage: SA 219–26; Judg. 14.2–4.

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When I perceiv’d all set on enmity, As on my enemies, where ever chanc’d, I us’d hostility, and took thir spoil To pay my underminers in thir coin.114 My Nation was subjected to your Lords. It was the force of Conquest; force with force Is well ejected when the Conquer’d can. But I a private° person, whom my Countrey As a league-breaker gave up bound, presum’d Single Rebellion and did Hostile Acts. I was no private but a person rais’d With strength sufficient and command from Heav’n To free my Countrey; if their servile minds Me their Deliverer sent would not receive, But to thir Masters gave me up for nought, Th’ unworthier they; whence to this day they serve.115 I was to do my part from Heav’n assign’d, And had perform’d it if my known offence Had not disabl’d me, not all your force: These shifts° refuted, answer thy appellant° Though by his blindness maim’d° for high attempts,° Who now defies thee thrice to single fight,116 As a petty enterprise of small enforce.° Har. With thee a Man condemn’d, a Slave enrol’d, Due by the Law to capital punishment? To fight with thee no man of arms will deign.117 Sam. Cam’st thou for this, vain boaster, to survey me, To descant° on my strength, and give thy verdit? Come nearer, part not hence so slight inform’d; But take good heed my hand survey not thee. Har. O Baal-zebub!118 can my ears unus’d° Hear these dishonours, and not render death? Sam. No man with-holds thee, nothing from thy hand Fear I incurable; bring up thy van,° My heels are fetter’d, but my fist is free.

497

not holding public office Judg. 15.11–13

evasions / challenger disabled / great enterprises of small effort to accomplish

comment at length

unaccustomed

begin fighting (vanguard)

114 Samson argues that he was justified in acting violently against the Philistines, who, pretending to be bridal guests, had coerced Samson’s wife to learn his riddle ( Judg. 14.11–18). Also see Judg. 15.11: “As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.” 115 Samson argues that the men of Judah are themselves responsible for their own servitude (See SA 265–76). 116 The law of martial arms made it necessary to repeat a challenge three times. 117 Judicial combat, usually reserved for nobles, was forbidden to criminals and slaves. 118 God of the flies. Baal was the sun god of Phoenicians and Philistines (2 Kings 1.2).

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Har. This insolence other kind of answer fits. publicly disgraced, thwarted Sams. Go baffl’d° coward, lest I run upon thee, Though in these chains, bulk without spirit vast, And with one buffet lay thy structure low, Or swing thee in the Air, then dash thee down To the hazard of thy brains and shatter’d sides. Phoenician (Philistine) moon goddess Har. By Astaroth° e’re long thou shalt lament These braveries° in Irons loaden on thee. boasts Chor. His Giantship is gone somewhat crest-fall’n, excessive Stalking with less unconsci’nable° strides, And lower looks, but in a sultrie chafe.° hot rage Sam. I dread him not, nor all his Giant-brood, proclaim Though Fame divulge° him Father of five Sons All of Gigantic size, Goliah chief.119 Chor. He will directly to the Lords, I fear, And with malitious counsel stir them up Some way or other yet further to afflict thee. Sam. He must allege some cause, and offer’d fight Will not dare mention, lest a question rise Whether he durst accept the offer or not, And that he durst not plain enough appear’d. Much more affliction then already felt They cannot well impose, nor I sustain; If they intend advantage of my labours The work of many hands, which earns my keeping With no small profit daily to my owners. But come what will, my deadliest foe will prove My speediest friend, by death to rid me hence, The worst that he can give, to me the best. Yet so it may fall out, because thir end Is hate, not help to me, it may with mine Draw thir own ruin who attempt the deed. Chor. Oh how comely it is and how reviving To the Spirits of just men long opprest! When God into the hands of thir deliverer Puts invincible might To quell the mighty of the Earth, th’ oppressour, violent The brute and boist’rous° force of violent men Hardy and industrious to support Tyrannic power, but raging to pursue 119

For Goliath and his brothers see 2 Sam. 21.19–22; 1 Chron. 20.4–8.

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The righteous and all such as honour Truth; He all thir Ammunition° And feats of War defeats With plain Heroic magnitude of mind And celestial vigour arm’d, Thir Armories and Magazins contemns, Renders them useless, while With winged expedition° Swift as the lightning glance he executes His errand on the wicked, who surpris’d Lose thir defence distracted and amaz’d. But patience is more oft the exercise Of Saints, the trial of thir fortitude, Making them each his own Deliverer, And Victor over all That tyrannie or fortune can inflict, Either of these is in thy lot, Samson, with might endu’d Above the Sons of men; but sight bereav’d° May chance to number thee with those Whom Patience finally must crown. This Idols day hath bin to thee no day of rest, Labouring thy mind More then the working day thy hands, And yet perhaps more trouble is behind.° For I descry this way Some other tending, in his hand A Scepter or quaint staff° he bears, Comes on amain,° speed in his look. By his habit° I discern him now A Public Officer, and now at hand. His message will be short and voluble.° Off. Ebrews, the Pris’ner Samson here I seek. Chor. His manacles remark° him, there he sits. Off. Samson, to thee our Lords thus bid me say; This day to Dagon is a solemn Feast, With Sacrifices, Triumph,° Pomp, and Games; Thy strength they know surpassing human rate,° And now some public proof thereof require To honour this great Feast, and great Assembly; Rise therefore with all speed and come along, Where I will see thee heartn’d° and fresh clad

499

military stores and supplies

speed

loss of sight

still to come

decorated wand of office speedily clothing straightforward, quickly delivered mark, distinguish

celebration of victory degree

provided with food

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To appear as fits before th’illustrious Lords. Sam. Thou knowst I am an Ebrew, therefore tell them, Our Law forbids at thir Religious Rites My presence;120 for that cause I cannot come. Off. This answer, be assur’d, will not content them. Sam. Have they not Sword-players,° and ev’ry sort Of Gymnic° Artists, Wrestlers, Riders, Runners, Juglers and Dancers, Antics,° Mummers,° Mimics,° But they must pick me out with shackles tir’d, And over-labour’d at thir publick Mill, To make them sport with blind activity?° Do they not seek occasion of new quarrels On my refusal to distress me more, Or make a game of my calamities? Return the way thou cam’st, I will not come. Off. Regard thy self,° this will offend them highly. Sam. My self ? my conscience and internal peace. Can they think me so broken, so debas’d With corporal servitude, that my mind ever Will condescend to such absurd commands? Although thir drudge, to be thir fool or jester, And in my midst of sorrow and heart-grief To shew them feats, and play before thir god, The worst of all indignities, yet on me Joyn’d° with extream contempt? I will not come. Off. My message was impos’d on me with speed, Brooks° no delay: is this thy resolution? Sam. So take it with what speed thy message needs. Off. I am sorry what this stoutness° will produce. Sa. Perhaps thou shalt have cause to sorrow indeed. Chor. Consider, Samson; matters now are strain’d Up to the highth, whether to hold or break; He’s gone, and who knows how he may report Thy words by adding fuel to the flame? Expect another message more imperious, More Lordly thund’ring then thou well wilt bear. Sam. Shall I abuse this Consecrated gift Of strength, again returning with my hair After my great transgression, so requite

120

fencers gymnastic clowns / actors / mimes

athletic performance

Look to your own interests

enjoined permits stubbornness, defiance

The Second Commandment (Exod. 20.4–5) forbids idol worship. Also see Exod. 23.24.

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Favour renew’d, and add a greater sin By prostituting holy things to Idols; A Nazarite in place abominable Vaunting my strength in honour to thir Dagon? Besides, how vile, contemptible, ridiculous, What act more execrably unclean, prophane? Chor. Yet with this strength thou serv’st the Philistines, Idolatrous, uncircumcis’d, unclean. Sam. Not in thir Idol-worship, but by labour Honest and lawful to deserve my food Of those who have me in thir civil power. Chor. Where the heart joins not, outward acts defile not. Sam. Where outward force constrains, the sentence holds° But who constrains me to the Temple of Dagon, Not dragging? the Philistian Lords command. Commands are no constraints. If I obey them, I do it freely; venturing to displease God for the fear of Man, and Man prefer, Set God behind: which in his jealousie121 Shall never, unrepented, find forgiveness. Yet that he may dispense° with me or thee Present in Temples at Idolatrous Rites For some important cause, thou needst not doubt. Chor. How thou wilt here come off° surmounts my reach. Sam. Be of good courage, I begin to feel Some rouzing motions° in me which dispose To something extraordinary my thoughts. I with this Messenger will go along, Nothing to do, be sure, that may dishonour Our Law, or stain my vow of Nazarite. If there be aught of presage in the mind, This day will be remarkable in my life By some great act, or of my days the last. Chor. In time thou hast resolv’d, the man returns. Off. Samson, this second message from our Lords To thee I am bid say. Art thou our Slave, Our Captive, at the public Mill our drudge, And dar’st thou at our sending and command Dispute thy coming? come without delay;

121

See Exod. 20.5: “I the Lord thy God am a jealous God.”

501

maxim holds true

grant a dispensation

escape inner promptings

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Or we shall find such Engines122 to assail And hamper° thee, as thou shalt come of force, Though thou wert firmlier fastn’d then a rock. Sam. I could be well content to try thir Art, Which to no few of them would prove pernicious.° Yet knowing thir advantages too many, Because° they shall not trail me through thir streets Like a wild Beast, I am content to go. Masters commands come with a power resistless To such as owe them absolute subjection; And for a life who will not change his purpose? (So mutable are all the ways of men) Yet this be sure, in nothing to comply Scandalous or forbidden in our Law. Off. I praise thy resolution,° doff these links: By this compliance thou wilt win the Lords To favour, and perhaps to set thee free. Sam. Brethren farwel, your company along I will not wish, lest it perhaps offend them To see me girt with Friends; and how the sight Of me as of a common Enemy, So dreaded once, may now exasperate them I know not. Lords are Lordliest in thir wine; And the well-feasted Priest then soonest fir’d With zeal, if aught° Religion seem concern’d: No less the people on thir Holy-days Impetuous, insolent,° unquenchable; Happ’n what may, of me expect to hear Nothing dishonourable, impure, unworthy Our God, our Law, my Nation, or my self, The last of me or no I cannot warrant. Chor. Go, and the Holy One Of Israel be thy guide To what may serve his glory best, & spread his name Great among the Heathen round: Send thee the Angel of thy Birth, to stand Fast by thy side, who from thy Fathers field Rode up in flames after his message told Of thy conception,° and be now a shield

122

Means of transport or machines of torture.

bind

deadly so that

decision

if in any way exceeding bounds of propriety

Judg. 13.3–21

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1435 Of fire; that Spirit that first rusht on thee

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In the camp of Dan123 Be efficacious in thee now at need. For never was from Heaven imparted Measure of strength so great to mortal seed, As in thy wond’rous actions hath been seen. But wherefore comes old Manoa in such hast With youthful steps? much livelier then e’re while He seems: supposing here to find his Son, Or of him bringing to us some glad news? Man. Peace with you brethren; my inducement hither Was not at present here to find my Son, By order of the Lords new parted hence To come and play before them at thir Feast. I heard all as I came, the City rings And numbers thither flock, I had no will,° Lest I should see him forc’t to things unseemly. But that which mov’d my coming now, was chiefly To give ye part with me° what hope I have With good success° to work his liberty. Cho. That hope would much rejoyce us to partake With thee; say reverend Sire, we thirst to hear. Man. I have attempted° one by one the Lords Either at home, or through the high street passing, With supplication prone° and Fathers tears To accept of ransom for my Son thir pris’ner, Some much averse I found and wondrous harsh, Contemptuous, proud, set on revenge and spite; That part most reverenc’d Dagon and his Priests, Others more moderate seeming, but thir aim Private reward, for which both God and State They easily would set to sale, a third More generous far and civil, who confess’d They had anough° reveng’d, having reduc’t Thir foe to misery beneath thir fears, The rest° was magnanimity to remit, If some convenient° ransom were propos’d. What noise or shout was that? it tore the Skie. Chor. Doubtless the people shouting to behold

desire to go

to let you share with me outcome

entreated, sought to influence prostrate or bent forward

enough the remaining part of revenge large enough

123 A reference to Samson’s first exploits: “And the spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol” ( Judg. 13.25).

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Thir once great dread, captive, & blind before them, 1475 Or at some proof of strength before them shown.

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Man. His ransom, if my whole inheritance May compass it, shall willingly be paid And numberd down:° much rather I shall chuse To live the poorest in my Tribe, then richest, And he in that calamitous prison left. No, I am fixt not to part hence without him. For his redemption all my Patrimony, If need be, I am ready to forgo And quit: not wanting° him, I shall want nothing. Chor. Fathers are wont° to lay up for thir Sons, Thou for thy Son art bent to lay out all; Sons wont° to nurse thir Parents in old age, Thou in old age car’st how to nurse thy Son. Made older then thy age through eye-sight lost. Man. It shall be my delight to tend his eyes, And view him sitting in the house, enobl’d With all those high exploits by him atchiev’d, And on his shoulders waving down those locks, That of a Nation arm’d the strength contain’d: And I perswade me God had not° permitted His strength again to grow up with his hair Garrison’d round about him like a Camp Of faithful Souldiery, were not his purpose To use him further yet in some great service, Not to sit idle with so great a gift Useless, and thence ridiculous about him. And since his strength with eye-sight was not lost, God will restore him eye-sight to° his strength. Chor. Thy hopes are not ill founded nor seem vain Of his delivery, and thy joy thereon Conceiv’d, agreeable to a Fathers love, In both which we, as next° participate. Man. I know your friendly minds and – O what noise! Mercy of Heav’n what hideous noise was that! Horribly loud unlike the former shout. Chor. Noise call you it or universal groan As if the whole inhabitation° perish’d, Blood, death, and deathful deeds are in that noise, Ruin, destruction at the utmost point. Man. Of ruin° indeed methought I heard the noise,

paid out

lacking accustomed are accustomed

would not have

in addition to

next of kin or friends

population

falling-down, destruction

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Oh it continues, they have slain my Son. Chor. Thy Son is rather slaying them, that outcry From slaughter of one foe could not ascend. Man. Some dismal° accident it needs must be; What shall we do, stay here or run and see? Chor. Best keep together here, lest running thither We unawares run into dangers mouth. This evil on the Philistines is fall’n, From whom could else a general cry be heard? The sufferers then will scarce molest us here, From other hands we need not much to fear. What if his eye-sight (for to Israels God124 Nothing is hard) by miracle restor’d, He now be dealing dole° among his foes, And over heaps of slaughter’d walk his way? Man. That were a joy presumptuous to be thought. Chor. Yet God hath wrought things as incredible For his people of old; what hinders now? Man. He can I know, but doubt° to think he will; Yet Hope would fain subscribe,° and tempts Belief. A little stay° will bring some notice° hither, Chor. Of good or bad so great, of bad the sooner; For evil news rides post,° while good news baits.° And to our wish I see one hither speeding, An Ebrew, as I guess, and of our Tribe. Mess. O whither shall I run, or which way flie The sight of this so horrid spectacle Which earst° my eyes beheld and yet behold; For dire imagination still persues me. But providence or instinct of nature seems, Or reason though disturb’d, and scarce consulted To have guided me aright, I know not how, To thee first reverend Manoa, and to these My Countreymen, whom here I knew remaining, As at some distance from the place of horrour, So in the sad event too much concern’d. Man. The accident° was loud, & here before thee With rueful cry, yet what it was we hear not,

505

dreadful, causing dismay

dispensing pain

hesitate would willingly agree delay / news travels quickly / halts

lately, just now

occurrence

124 Lines 1527–35 and line 1537, omitted from 1671 text, are inserted here as directed in the Omissa, printed on the verso of the final page of the volume.

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No Preface needs, thou seest we long to know. Mess. It would burst forth, but I recover breath And sense distract,° to know well what I utter. Man. Tell us the sum,° the circumstance° defer. Mess. Gaza yet stands, but all her Sons are fall’n, All in a moment overwhelm’d and fall’n. Man. Sad, but thou knowst to Israelites not saddest The desolation of a Hostile City. Mess. Feed on that first, there may in grief be surfet. Man. Relate by whom. Mess. By Samson. Man. That still lessens The sorrow, and converts it nigh to joy. Mess. Ah Manoa I refrain, too suddenly To utter what will come at last too soon; Lest evil tidings with too rude irruption° Hitting thy aged ear should pierce too deep. Man. Suspense in news is torture, speak them out. Mess. Then take the worst in brief, Samson is dead. Man. The worst indeed, O all my hope’s defeated To free him hence! but death who sets all free Hath paid his ransom now and full discharge. What windy° joy this day had I conceiv’d Hopeful of his Delivery, which now proves Abortive125 as the first-born bloom of spring Nipt with the lagging rear of winters frost. Yet e’re I give the rains° to grief, say first, How dy’d he? death to life is crown or shame. All by him fell thou say’st, by whom fell he, What glorious hand gave Samson his deaths wound? Mess. Unwounded of his enemies he fell. Man. Wearied with slaughter then or how? explain. Mess. By his own hands. Man. Self-violence? what cause Brought him so soon at variance with himself Among his foes? Mess. Inevitable cause At once both to destroy and be destroy’d; The Edifice where all were met to see him Upon thir heads and on his own he pull’d. Man. O lastly over-strong against thy self! A dreadful way thou took’st to thy revenge. More then anough° we know; but while things yet

125

Puns on flatulence, false conception, and aborted birth.

confused gist / details

bursting in

vain

reins

enough

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Are in confusion, give us if thou canst, Eye-witness of what first or last was done, Relation° more particular and distinct. Mess. Occasions° drew me early to this City, And as the gates I enter’d with Sun-rise, The morning Trumpets Festival proclaim’d Through each high street: little I had dispatch’t° When all abroad was rumour’d that this day Samson should be brought forth to shew the people Proof of his mighty strength in feats and games; I sorrow’d at his captive state, but minded° Not to be absent at that spectacle. The building was a spacious Theatre126 Half round on two main Pillars vaulted high, With seats where all the Lords and each degree Of sort,° might sit in order° to behold, The other side was op’n, where the throng On banks° and scaffolds° under Skie might stand; I among these aloof obscurely stood. The Feast and noon grew high, and Sacrifice Had fill’d thir hearts with mirth, high chear, & wine, When to thir sports they turn’d. Immediately Was Samson as a public servant brought, In thir state Livery° clad; before him Pipes And Timbrels,° on each side went armed guards, Both horse and foot before him and behind Archers, and Slingers, Cataphracts and Spears.127 At sight of him the people with a shout Rifted° the Air clamouring thir god with praise, Who had made thir dreadful enemy thir thrall. He patient but undaunted where they led him, Came to the place, and what was set before him Which without help of eye, might be assay’d, To heave, pull, draw, or break, he still° perform’d All with incredible, stupendious force, None daring to appear Antagonist.128

507

report business

accomplished

decided

quality / by social rank benches / stands for spectators

public uniform tambourines

split Judg. 16.24

in turn

126 The temple of Dagon (line 1370), referred to in Judges as a house (16.26) and by Milton a spacious theater, was supported with two pillars. The principal Philistine lords and ladies were seated under the roof with three thousand men and women on the roof itself ( Judg. 16.27). Milton refers only to those seated in the theater and to spectators (common people) in an open space outside in an area not covered by the roof. 127 Cataphracts are men in full armor on armored horses; spears are men with spears. 128 Samson performed these feats alone and not as a contestant (antagonist) with others.

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At length for intermission sake they led him 1630 Between the pillars; he his guide° requested

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(For so from such as nearer stood we heard) As over-tir’d to let him lean a while With both his arms on those two massie Pillars That to the arched roof gave main support.129 He unsuspitious led him; which when Samson Felt in his arms, with head a while enclin’d, And eyes fast fixt he stood, as one who pray’d,130 Or some great matter in his mind revolv’d. At last with head erect thus cryed aloud, Hitherto, Lords, what your commands impos’d I have perform’d, as reason was, obeying, Not without wonder or delight beheld. Now of my own accord such other tryal I mean to shew you of my strength, yet greater; As with amaze shall strike131 all who behold. This utter’d, straining all his nerves° he bow’d, As with the force of winds and waters pent, When Mountains tremble,132 those two massie Pillars With horrible convulsion to and fro, He tugg’d, he shook, till down they came and drew The whole roof after them, with burst of thunder Upon the heads of all who sate beneath, Lords, Ladies, Captains, Councellors, or Priests, Thir choice nobility and flower, not only Of this but each Philistian City round Met from all parts to solemnize this Feast. Samson with these immixt, inevitably Pulld down the same destruction on himself; The vulgar° only scap’d who stood without. Chor. O dearly-bought revenge, yet glorious! Living or dying thou hast fulfill’d

the boy who led him

sinews

Judg. 16.29

common people

129 See Judg. 16.26: “And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars where-upon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.” 130 Milton omits the words of the prayer. See Judges: “O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes” (16.28); “Let me die with the Philistines” (16.30). 131 A riddler to the end, Samson puns on amaze, meaning both wonder and confusion, and on strike as a physical and mental act. 132 The eruption of volcanoes and the force of earthquakes were attributed to the effect of subterranean winds and waters attempting to escape. See PL 1.230 –5.

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The work for which thou wast foretold To Israel, and now ly’st victorious Among thy slain self-kill’d Not willingly, but tangl’d in the fold, Of dire necessity,133 whose law in death conjoin’d Thee with thy slaughter’d foes in number more Judg. 16.30 Then all thy life had slain before. Semichor. While thir hearts were jocund and sublime,° uplifted, elated Drunk with Idolatry, drunk with Wine, And fat regorg’d of Bulls and Goats,134 Chaunting thir Idol, and preferring God of the Hebrews Before our living Dread° who dwells In Silo his bright Sanctuary:135 Among them he a spirit of phrenzie sent,136 Who hurt thir minds, And urg’d them on with mad desire To call in hast for thir destroyer; They only set on sport and play unknowingly Unweetingly° importun’d Thir own destruction to come speedy upon them. foolish So fond° are mortal men Fall’n into wrath divine, As thir own ruin on themselves to invite, Insensate left, or to sense reprobate,137 And with blindness internal struck. Semichor. But he though blind of sight, Despis’d and thought extinguish’t quite, With inward eyes illuminated strength, courage His fierie vertue° rouz’d From under ashes into sudden flame, serpent And as an ev’ning Dragon° came, Assailant on the perched roosts,° the resting place of barnyard fowl And nests in order rang’d barnyard Of tame villatic° Fowl; but as an Eagle

133 Although self-killed, Samson is not technically a suicide in that he lost his life by necessity rather than willingly. 134 Fat swallowed and regurgitated from sacrificial bulls and goats, forbidden by Mosaic law (Lev. 3.16–17). 135 Silo (Shiloh) was a town north of Bethel where the Israelites assembled and set up the ark of the covenant after the conquest of Canaan ( Josh. 18.1). 136 The frenzy is a madness sent by God among the Philistines. 137 Left without reason or to depraved reason.

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His cloudless° thunder bolted on thir heads.138 from a clear sky So vertue° giv’n for lost, strength Deprest, and overthrown, as seem’d, the phoenix Like that self-begott’n bird° In the Arabian woods embost,° sheltered That no second knows nor third,139 And lay e’re while a Holocaust,° a sacrifice wholly consumed by fire From out her ashie womb now teem’d, Revives, reflourishes, then vigorous most When most unactive deem’d, And though her body die, her fame survives, A secular bird ages of lives.140 Man. Come, come, no time for lamentation now, acquitted Nor much more cause, Samson hath quit° himself Like Samson, and heroicly hath finish’d A life Heroic, on his Enemies Fully reveng’d, hath left them years of mourning, Philistines came from Caphtor into Canaan And lamentation to the Sons of Caphtor° Through all Philistian bounds. To Israel if only they would Honour hath left, and freedom, let but them° Find courage to lay hold on this occasion, To himself and Fathers house eternal fame; And which is best and happiest yet, all this With God not parted from him, as was feard, But favouring and assisting to the end. Nothing is here for tears, nothing to wail Or knock the breast, no weakness, no contempt, Dispraise, or blame, nothing but well and fair, And what may quiet us in a death so noble. Let us go find the body where it lies Sok’t in his enemies blood, and from the stream ritual washing With lavers° pure and cleansing herbs wash off

138 Samson is compared to both a serpent (dragon) which preys on barnyard fowl and an eagle who swoops down to destroy them. The snake attacks from below, the eagle from above. The eagle as the bird of Zeus/Jupiter is associated with thunder. 139 Only one phoenix can exist at a time. The phoenix is self-begotten because the old phoenix generates its progeny by bursting into flame, reducing itself to ashes, and then bringing forth a new phoenix. 140 The consumed body of the old phoenix serves as a womb that teems (brings forth) the new phoenix. It is secular because it lives sequences of lives that last for centuries, thus possessing a kind of immortality. Milton’s sources for the legend of the phoenix include Ovid, Met. 15.392–407; Lactantius, De Ave Phoenice; Claudian, Phoenix (27); Tasso, “La Fenice” in “Quinto Giorno,” Il Mondo Creato, 1278–591. See Epitaphium Damonis, 185–9.

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The clotted gore. I with what speed the while (Gaza is not in plight° to say us nay) Will send for all my kindred, all my friends To fetch him hence and solemnly attend With silent obsequie and funeral train Home to his Fathers house:141 there will I build him A Monument, and plant it round with shade Of Laurel ever green, and branching Palm,142 With all his Trophies hung, and Acts enroll’d° In copious Legend,° or sweet Lyric Song. Thither shall all the valiant youth resort, And from his memory inflame thir breasts To matchless valour, and adventures high: The Virgins also shall on feastful days Visit his Tomb with flowers, only bewailing His lot unfortunate in nuptial choice, From whence captivity and loss of eyes. Chor. All is best, though we oft doubt,143 What th’ unsearchable dispose° Of highest wisdom brings about,144 And ever best found in the close. Oft he seems to hide his face, But unexpectedly returns And to his faithful Champion hath in place° Bore witness gloriously; whence Gaza mourns And all that band them to resist His uncontroulable intent, His servants he with new acquist° Of true experience from this great event With peace and consolation hath dismist, And calm of mind all passion spent.145

511

condition

recorded record, inscription

dispensation, ordering of things

Ps. 30.7; Ps. 27.9 at hand

acquisition

THE END. 141 See Judg. 16.31: “his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father.” 142 Both laurel and palm symbolize victory. 143 The final fourteen tetrameter lines of the drama (the exodus of the Chorus) adapt the form of an English sonnet, rhyming ababcdcdefefef. 144 The Chorus expresses sentiments like those that conclude many Greek plays, especially those of Euripides, that the will of the gods is unknowable and that the gods bring about events unforeseen. See Euripides, Bacchae, Andromache, Medea, Alcestis, Helen. 145 “Passion spent” illustrates the Aristotelian principle of catharsis, the purgation of passion.

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Poems Published in 1671 Omissa.146 Page 89 after verse 537. which ends, Not much to fear, insert these.

What if his eye-sight (for to Israels God Nothing is hard) by miracle restor’d, He now be dealing dole among his foes, And over heaps of slaughter’d walk his way? Man. That were a joy presumptuous to be thought. Chor. Yet God hath wrought things as incredible For his people of old; what hinders now? Man. He can I know, but doubt to think he will; Yet Hope would fain subscribe, and tempts Belief. After the next verse which begins, A little stay, insert this. Chor. Of good or bad so great, of bad the sooner; Then follows in order, For evil news, &c.

146 Lines 1527–35 and line 1537, omitted from the text, were printed on the verso of the final page as Omissa.

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APPENDIX

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Bridgewater Maske

The Bridgewater Manuscript contains the earliest copy of A Mask, usually thought to be the acting version performed at Ludlow Castle in 1634. The copy belongs to the Earl of Ellesmere and was preserved at Bridgewater House. The manuscript is written in secretary hand on quarter sheets of cap paper. Not transcribed until the twentieth century, it is available in facsimile in Harris Fletcher’s 1943 edition of Milton’s Poetical Works.

A MASKE Represented before the right hoble: the Earle of Bridgewater Lord president of Wales and the right hoble : the Conntesse of Bridgewater. / At Ludlow Castle the 29th of September 1634 The chiefe persons in the representacion were:/ The Lord Brackley The Lady Alice 5 Egerton./ 6 Mr Thomas 7 Author Jo: Milton./

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516

Bridgewater Maske

A Maske. / The first sceane discovers a wild wood, then a guardian spiritt or demon descendes or enters./ ffrom the heavens nowe J flye and those happy Clymes that lye Where daye never shutts his eye up in the broad field of the skye. / There J suck the liquid ayre all amidst the gardens fayre of Hesperus and his daughters three that singe about the goulden tree. / there eternall summer dwells 10 and west wyndes with muskye winge about the Cederne allyes flinge Nard and Casias balmie smells Iris there with humid bowe waters the odorous bankes that blowe fflowers of more mingled hew then her purfld scarfe can shew yellow, watchett, greene & blew and drenches oft wth Manna dew Beds of Hyacinth and Roses 20 where many a Cherub soft reposes. / Before the starrie threshold of Joves Courte my Mansion is, where those immortall shapes of bright aereall spiritts live inspheard in regions mylde of Calme and Cerene ayre above the smoake and stirr of this dim spott wch men call earth, and wch low-thoughted Care Confinde and pestered in this pinfold heere strive to keepe vp a fraile & fevourish beeinge vnmindfull of the Crowne that vertue gives 30 after this mortall change to her true servants amongst the enthroned gods, in sainted seats yet some there be that with due steppes aspire to laye their just hands on that goulden keye that opes the pallace of Æternitie: To such my errand is, and but for such J would not soile theese pure ambrosiall weedes wth the ranke vapours of this sin-worne moulde

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Bridgewater Maske

40

50

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but to my taske; Neptune besides the swaye of everie salte flood, and each ebbinge streame tooke in by lott, twixt high and neather Jove imperiall rule of all the Sea-girt Jsles that like to rich and various gems in laye the vnadorned bosom of the deepe wch he to grace his tributarie Gods by Course committs to severall goverment and gives them leave to weare their saphire Crownes and weild their little tridents; but this Jsle the greatest and the best of all the Maine he quarters to his blew haired dieties, and all this tract that fronts the fallinge sunn a noble Peere of mickle trust and power has in his Chardge, wth tempred awe to guyde an ould and haughty nacion, proude in armes where his faire ofspringe nurst in princely lore are cominge to attend their fathers state and newe entrusted scepter, but their waye lies through the perplext paths of this dreare wood, the noddinge horror of whose shadie browes threats the forlorne and wandringe passinger and heere their tender age might suffer perill but that by quick commaund from soveraigne Jove J was dispatcht, for their defence and guard and listen why, for J will tell you now what never yet was heard in tale or songe from old or moderne bard in hall or bowre Bacchus that first from out the purple grapes crusht the sweete poyson of mis-vsed wyne after the Tuscane manners [mariners] transformed coastinge the Tyrrhene shore, as the winds listed on Circes Jsland fell (whoe knows not Circe the daughter of the Sunn, whoos charmed Cup whoe ever tasted lost his vpright shape and downeward fell into a grovelinge Swyne.) This nimphe that gazed vpon his clustringe locks wth Jvye berries wreath’d, and his blith youth had by him, ere he parted thence a sonne much like his father, but his mother more, wch therefore she brought vp and Comus nam’d, whoe ripe and frolick of his full growne age,

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at last betakes him to this ominous wood, and in thick shelter of black shades imbowr’d excells his mother at her mightie arte, offringe to everie weary traveller his orient liquor in a Christall glasse to quench the drouth of Phebus, wch as they taste (for most doe tast through fond intemperate thirst) soone as the potion workes their humane Countenance th’expresse resemblance of the Gods, is chang’d 90 into some brutish forme of Wolfe, or Beare, or ounce, or Tiger, Hogg, or bearded goate, all other parts remayninge as they were and they soe perfect is their miserie not once perceive their fowle disfigurement but boast themselves more comly then before, and all their freinds, and native home forgett to rowle wth pleasure in a sensuall stie Therefore when any favour’d of high Jove chaunces to pass through this advent’rous glade, 100 swift as the sparcle of a glauncinge starre J shoote from heaven, to give him salfe convoy as nowe J doe: but first J must put off these my skye webs, spun out of Jris wooffe, and take the weeds and liknesse of a Swayne that to the service of this house belongs whoe wth his softe pipe, and smooth dittied songe well knows to still the wild winds when they roare, and hush the wavinge woods, nor of less faith and in this office of his mountaine watch 110 likeliest and neerest to the present ayde, of this occasion, but J heare the tread of hatefull stepps, J must be viewles nowe. / Exit Comus enters wth a charminge rod in one hand & a glass of liquor in the other wth him a route of monsters like men & women but headed like wilde beasts their apperell glist’ringe, they come in makinge a riotous and vnruely noise wth torches in their hands./ Co: The starr that bids the shepheard fold now the top of Heaven doeth hold, and the gilded Carr of daye

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his glowinge axle doeth allaye in the steepe Atlantique streame and the slope sun his vpward beame shoots against the Northerne Pole pacinge toward the other goale of his Chamber in the East meane-while welcome, Joye & feast, midnight shoute, and revelry tipsie daunce and Jollitie, braide your locks wth rosie twine droppinge odours, droppinge wine Rigor now is gone to bed, and advice wth scrupulous head, strict age, and sovre severitie wth their grave sawes in slumber lye Wee that are of purer fire imitate the starrie quire whoe in their nightly watchfull sphears leade in swift round the months & years, the sounds and seas with all their finnie drove nowe to the moone in waveringe morrice move, and on the tawny sands and shelves trip the pert fairies, and the dapper Ealves by dimpled brooke, and fountaine brim the wood nimphs decte with daisies trim their merry wakes & pastimes keepe what hath night to doe with sleepe Night hath better sweets to prove Venus now wakes, and wakens love, Come let vs our rights begyn tis only day light that mak[e]s sin wch these dun shades will neere report haile goddess of nocturnall sport Darke-vayld Cotitto, whome the secret flame of mid night torches burne misterious dame that neere art call’d but when the dragon woombe of stigian Darknes, spetts her thickest gloome, and makes one blot of all the aire, staye thy cloudie Ebon chaire wherin thou rid’st with Hecatt’ and befriend us thy vow’d preists till vtmost end of all thy dues be done, & none left out

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ere the blabbinge Easterne scoute the nice morne on the Jndian steepe from her Cabin’d loopehole peepe, and to the tell tale sun descrie our Conceal’d solempnitie, come knitt hands & beate the ground in a light fantastick round./ The measure in a wild, rude, & wanton Antick./ Co: Breake of, breake of, J feele the different pace of some chast footinge, neere about this ground run to your shrouds wthin these brakes & trees/ they all scattre our number may affright; some virgin sure (for soe J can distinguish by myne arte) benighted [sure] in these woods, now to my Charms and to my wilie traynes, J shall ere longe be well stockt with as fayre a heard as graz’d aboute my mother Circe, thus J hurle my dazlinge spells into the spungie aire of powre to cheate the eye with bleare illusion and give it false presentments, least the place, and my quainte habitts breede astonishment and put the damsell to suspitious flight, wch must not be; for thats against my course, J vnder fayre pretence of freindly ends and well plac’t words of gloweinge Curtesie bayted with reasons not vnplausible winde me into the easie harted man, and hug him into snares. when once her eye hath met the vertue of this magick dust J shall appear some harmles villager whome thrifte keeps vp about his Countrie geare but heere she comes, J fayrely step aside and hearken if J may her businesse heere The lady enters La: This waye the noise was, if my eare be true my best guyde nowe, methought it was the sound of riott and ill-manag’d merriment such as the iocund flute or gamesome pipe stirrs vp amonge the [rude] loose vnlettered hindes when for their teeminge flocks and granges full in wanton daunce they praise the bounteus Pan

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Bridgewater Maske and thanke the Gods amisse, J should be loath to meete the rudenes, and swill’d insolence of such late wassailers; yet o where els 200 shall J informe my vnacquainted feete in the blinde mazes of this tangled wood, my brothers when they sawe me wearied out with this longe waye, resolvinge heere to lodge vnder the spreadinge favour of these pines, stept as they s’ed, to the next thickett side to bringe me berries, or such coolinge fruite as the kynde hospitable woods provide but where they are, and why they come not back is now the labour of my thoughts, tis likeliest 210 they had ingaged their wandringe stepps too farr and envious darknesse ere they could returne had stolne them from me./ J cannot hollowe to my brothers, but such noise as J can make to be heard fardest J ’le venture, for my new enliv’n’d spiritts, prompt me, and they perhaps are not farr hence, Songe Sweete Echo, sweetest nymphe that liv’st vnseene within thy ayrie shell by slowe Meanders margent greene 220 and in the violett imbroderd vale where the love-lorne nightingale nightly to thee her sad song mourneth well, Canst thou not tell me of a gentle payre that likest thy Narcissus are O if thou have hid them in some flowrie Cave tell me but where. Sweete Queene of parlie, daughter to the spheare soe mayst thou be translated to the skyes 230 And hould a Counterpointe to all heav’ns harmonies Comus looks in & speakes Co: Can any mortall mixture of Earths mould breath such divine enchauntinge ravishment sure somethinge holye lodges in that brest and with these raptures moves the vocall ayre to testifie his hidden residence

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how sweetely did they floate vpon the wings of silence, through the empty vaulted night, at every fall smoothinge the raven downe of darkness till she smil’d, J haue oft heard my mother Circe with the Sirens three amidst the flowrie-kyrtled Niades cullinge their potent herbs and balefull druggs whoe when they sung, would take the prisond soule and lap it in Elisium, Scilla wept and chid her barkinge waves into attention and fell Caribdis murmurd soft applause yet they in pleasinge slumber lulld the sence and in sweete madnes rob’d it of it selfe, but such a sacred and homefelt delight such sober certentie of wakinge bliss J never heard till now, Jle speake to her and she shalbe my Qweene; Haile forreigne wonder whome certaine these rough shades did never breede vnless the goddess that in rurall shrine dwel’st heere with Pan or Silvan, by blest song forbiddinge every bleake vnkindly fogg to touch the prosperinge growth of this tall wood La: Nay gentle Shepheard, ill is lost that praise that is addrest to vnattendinge eares not any boast of skill, but extreame shifte how to regayne my severd Companye Compeld me to awake the Curteus Echo to give me answer from her massy Couch Co: What Chaunce good lady hath bereft you thus? La: dym darknesse and this leavye laborinth Co: Could that devide you from neere vsheringe guydes? La: they left me weary on a grassie terfe Co: by falsehood, or discurtesie, or why? La: to seeke in the valley some coole freindly springe Co: and lefte your fayer side, all vnguarded ladye? La: they were but twaine & purpos’d quick returne, Co: perhaps forestallinge night prevented them La: how easie my misfortune is to hit! Co: imports their losse, beside the present neede? La: noe lesse then if J should my brothers loose Co: were they of manly prime, or youthfull bloome? La: as smooth as Hebes their vnrazor’d lipps.

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Co: Two such J sawe, what tyme the labour’d oxe in his loose traces from the furrowe came and the swink’t--hedger at his supper sate, J sawe em vnder a greene mantlinge vyne that crawles alonge the side of yon smale hill pluckinge ripe clusters from the tender shoots, their porte was more then humane as they stood, J tooke it for a faerie vision of some gaye creatures of the Element that in the cooleness of the raynebow live and playe i’the plighted clouds; J was awe-strooke and as J past J worship’t: if those you seeke it were a Jorney like the path to heav’n helpe you finde them; La: gentle villager what readiest waye would bringe me to that place? Co: due west it rises from this shrubbie pointe, La: to finde out that good shepheard J suppose in such a scant allowance of starr light would overtaske the best land pilots arte wthout the sure guesse of well-practiz’d feete; Co: J knowe each lane, and every Alley greene, dingle, or bushie dell, of this wide wood, and everie boskie bourne from side to side my daylie walks and antient neighbourhood and if your straye attendance, be yet lodg’d or shroud wthin these lymitts, J shall know ere morrowe wake, or the lowe rooster larke from her thatcht palat rowse, if otherwise J can conduct you ladie, to a lowe, but loyall cottage, where you may be safe till furder quest; La: Shepheard J take thy word and trust thy honest offer’d Curtesie wch ofte is sooner found in lowly sheds with smoakie rafters, then in tap’strie halls and Courts of princes, where it first was nam’d and yet is most pretended, in a place lesse warrented then this, or lesse secure J cannott be, that J should fear to change it Eye my blest providence, and square my tryall to my proportion’d streingth; shepheard leade on. The two brothers El: bro. Vnmuffle yee fainte starrs, and thou faier moone

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that wonst to love the travailers benizon 320 stoope thy pale visadge through an amber cloude

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and disinherit Chaos, that raignes heere in double night of darkness, and of shades or if your influence be quite damm’d vp wth black vsurpinge mists, some gentle taper though a rushe candle, from the wicker hole of some claye habitacion visite vs wth thy long levell’d rule of streaming light and thou shalt be our starr of Arcady or Tirian Cynosure: 2 bro. Or if our eyes be barr’d that happines might wee but heare the folded flocks pen’d in their watled cotes or sound of pastorall reede with oaten stopps or whistle from the lodge, or village Cock count the night watches to his featherie dames t’would be some solace yet, some little cheeringe in this lone dungeon of inumerous bows, but O that haples virgin our lost sister where may she wander nowe? whether betake her from the chill dewe, amongst rude burrs & thistles perhaps some could banke is her boulster nowe or gainst the rugged barke of some broade Elme leanes her vnpillow’d head fraught wth sad teares or els in wild amazement and affright, soe fares as did forsaken Proserpine when the bigg rowling flakes of pitchie clouds and darkness wound her in: El bro. peace brother peace J doe not thinke my sister soe to seeke or soe vnprincipl’d in vertues booke, and the sweete peace that goodness bosoms ever as that the single want of light and noise (not beinge in danger, as J hope she is not) could stirr the constant mood of her calme thoughts and put them into misbecomminge plight vertue could see to doe what vertue would by her owne radiant light, though sun & moone were in the flatt sea sunke, and wisdoms selfe of seeks to sweete retired solitude where, wth her best nurse contemplacion she plumes her feathers, and letts grow her wings that in the various bustle of resorte,

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were all to ruffl’d and sometimes impayr’d he that has light within his owne cleere brest may sit i’th Center, and enioye bright daye but he that hides a darke sowle, & foule thoughts walks in black vapours, though the noone tyde brand blaze in the summer solstice. 2 bro: tis most true that musinge meditacion most affects the pensive secrecie of desert Cell farr from the cheerefull haunte of men or heards, and sitts as safe as in a senate house for whoe would robb an hermitt of his weeds, his few bookes, or his beads, or maple dishe or doe his graye haiers any violence? but bewtie like the fayre hesperian tree laden with bloominge gould, had neede the guard of dragon watch with vninchaunted eye to save her blossoms, and defend her fruite, from the rashe hand of bold Jncontinence, you may as well spreade out the vnsum’d heapes of misers treasures by an outlawes den, and tell me it is safe, as bid me hope dainger will winke at opportunitie and she a single helpeles mayden passe vniniur’d in this wide surroundinge wast of night or lonelinesse, it recks me not J feare the dread events that dog them both lest some ill greetinge touch attempt the person of our vn owned sister. El bro. J doe not brother inferr as if J thought my sisters state secure, wthout all doubt or question, no; J could be willinge though now i’th darke to trie a tough encounter, with the shaggiest ruffian that lurks by hedge or lane, of this dead circuit to have her by my side, though J were suer she might be free from perill where she is, but where an equall poise of hope, & feare does arbitrate th’event, my nature is that J encline to hope, rather then feare, and gladly banish squint suspition, my sister is not soe defencelesse left as you immagine brother, she has a hidden strength wch you remember not, 2 bro. what hidden strength?

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vnless the strength of heav’n, if you meane that? el: bro J meane that too: but yet a hidden strength wch if heaven gave it, may be tearm’d herowne, tis Chastitie, my brother Chastitie she that has that is clad in compleate steele, and like a quiver’d nimphe with arrowes keene, may trace huge forrests, and vnharbour’d heaths infamous hills, and sandie perrilous wildes, where through the sacred rayes of Chastitie noe salvage, feirce, bandite, or mountaneere will dare to soile her virgin puritie, yea even where, very desolacion dwells by grots, & Caverns shag’d wth horrid shades and yawninge denns, where glaringe monsters house she may pass on wth vnblensh’t maiestie, be it not done in pride or in presumption naye more noe evill thinge that walks by night in fogg or fire, by lake or moorish ffen, blew meager hag, or stubborne vnlayed ghost that breaks his magick chaines at Curfew tyme noe goblinge, or swarte fayrie of the mine has hurtefull power ore true virginitie, doe you beleeve me yet, or shall J call antiquitie from the ould schooles of Greece to testifie the armes of Chastitie, hence had the huntress Dian her dread bow faire silver shafter Queene, for ever chast wherewith she tam’d the brinded Lyonesse and spotted mountaine Pard, but sett at nought the frivolous bolt of Cupid, Gods and men feard her sterne frowne, & shewas Queene o’th’woods what was that snakie headed Gorgon sheild, the wise Minerva wore, vnconquer’d virgin wherewith she freezed her foes to congeald stone? but rigid lookes of chast awsteritie and noble grace that dasht brute violence with sudden adoracion, and blanke awe soe deere to heav’n is sainctly Chastitie that when a sowle is found cinceerely soe a thousand liveried Angells, lackey her drivinge farr of, each thing of sin, & guilte and in cleer dreame and solemne vision

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tell her of things that noe grosse eare can heare till oft converse with hevenly habitants begins to cast a beame on th’outward shape the vnpolluted temple of the mynde and turnes it by degrees to the soules essence till all be made immortall, but when lust by vnchast lookes, loose gestures, and foule talke and most by lewde lascivious act of sin letts in defilement to the inward partes, the soule growes clotted by contagion, imbodies, and imbruts till she quite loose the divine propertie of her first beeinge, such are those thick, & gloomie shadowes dampe oft seene in Charnell vaults, and sepulchers, hoveringe and sittinge by a new made grave as loath to leave the bodye that it loved and linc’kt it selfe by carnall sensualitie to a degenerate, and degraded state./ 2 bro: How charminge is divine philosophie not harshe and crabbed as dull fooles suppose but musicall as is Appolloes lute and perpetuall feast of Nectard sweets where noe crude surfeit raignes, EL: bro: list, list, J heare some farr of hollowe breake the silent ayre 2 bro: me thought soe too what should it be, El: b: for certaine either some one like vs night founderd heere or els some neyghbour woodman, or at worst, some roavinge robber callinge to his fellowes; 2 bro heav’n keepe my sister: agen, agen, & neere best drawe, & stand vpon our guard, El: bro. Jle hallowe if he be freindly he comes well, if not defence is a good Cause, and heav’n be for vs he hallows and is answered, the guardian dæmon comes in habited like a shepheard./ El.bro. That hallowe J should knowe, what are you speake, come not too neere, you fall on Jron stakes els Dae: what voice is that? my young Lord? speake agen. 2 bro: O brother tis my fathers shepheard sure el: b: Thirsis? whose art full straynes have oft delayed the hudlinge brooke to heere his madrigall and sweetned every muskerose of the dale, how camst heere good shepheard, hath any ram

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slipt from the fould, or young kyd lost his dam or straglinge weather the pent flock forsooke how couldst thou finde this darke sequesterd nooke? De: O my Lov’d masters heire, and his next Joye J came not heere on such a trivall toye as a strayed Ewe, or to pursue the stealth of pilferinge wolfe, not all the fleecie wealth that doeth enrich these downes is worth a thought to this my errand and the Care it brought./ but O my virgin lady where is she howe chaunce she is not in your Companie? El:bro: To tell thee sadly shepheard, wthout blame or our neglect wee lost her as wee came, De: Ay me vnhappie then my feares are true./ El:bro: what feares, good Thirsis prithee briefly showe De: Jle tell you, tis not vayne, or fabulous, (though soe esteem’d by shallowe ignorance) what the sage poets, taught by th’ heav’nly muse storied of old in high immortall verse of dire Chimeras, and enchanted Jsles and rifted rocks, whose entrance leads to hell for such there be, but vnbeliefe is blinde, within the navill of this hidious wood immured in Cipress shades a sorserer dwells of Bacchus and of Circe borne, greate Comus deepe skild in all his mothers witcheries and heere to everie thirstie wanderer by slye enticement gives his banefull Cup with many murmurs mixt, whose pleasinge poyson the visage quite transformes of him that drinkes and the inglorious likeness of a beast fixes insteed, vnmouldinge reasons mintage charactred in the face, This have J learnt tendinge my flocks, hard by i’th hillie Crofts that browe this bottome glade, whence night by night he and his monstrous route are heard to howle like stabled wolves, or tigers at their prey doeinge abhorred rites to Heccate in their obscured haunts of inmost bowers, yet have they many baites and guylefull spells to invegle, and invite the vnwarie sence of them that passe vnweetinge by the waye,

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this eveninge late, by then the chewinge flocks had tane their supper on the savorie herbe of knot grasse dew-besprent and were in fold, J sate me downe to watch vpon a banke with Jvie Cannopied and interwove with flauntinge hony sucle, and began wrapt in a pleasinge fitt of melencholy to meditate my rurall minstrelsie till fansie had her fill, but ere a close the wonted roare was vp amidst the woods and filld the aire with barbarous dissonance at wch J ceast, and listned them a while till an vnvsuall stop of suddaine silence gave respite to the drowsie frighted steeds that drawe the litter of close-curtain’d sleepe at last a sweete, and solemne breathinge sound rose like a softe steame of distill’d perfumes and stole vpon the aire, that even silence was tooke ere she was ware, & wisht she might deny her nature and be never more still to be soe displac’t, J was all eare and tooke in th streines that might create a sowle vnder the ribbs of death. but O ere long two well J might perceive, it was the voice of my most honor’d lady, your deere sister amaz’d J stood, harrow’d with greife, & feare, and O poore hapless nightingale thought J how sweete thou singst, how neere the deadly snare, then downe the lawnes J ran wth headlonge hast through paths and turnings, often trod by daye, till guyded by myne eare, J found the place where that damn’d wizard hid in slye disguise (for soe by certaine signes J knowe) had met alreadie eare my best speede could prevent the aideless innocent ladie his wisht prey whoe gently askt if he had seene such two, supposinge him some neighbour-villager, longer J durst not stay, but soone J guest yee were the two she meant, wth that J sprung into swift flight, till J had found you heere but furder know J not; 2:bro O night & shades how are you ioyn’d with hell in triple knott

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against the vnarmed weaknes of one virgin 570 alone, and helpeless, Js this the confidence?

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you gave me brother? el: bro: yes & keepe it still leane on it salfly, not a period shalbe vnsaid for me, against the threats of malice, or of Sorcerie, or that powre wch erringe men call chaunce this J hould firme virtue may be assail’d but never hurte surpris’d by vniust force, but not enthrall’d, yea even that wch mischiefe meant most harme shall in the happie triall prove most glorie, but evill on it selfe shall back recoyle and mixe noe more with goodnesse, when at last gather’d like scum, and setl’d to it selfe it shalbe in eternall restless change selfe fed, and selfe consum’d, if this fayle the pillard firmament is rottennesse and earth’s base built on stubble. but come lets on: against the opposinge will, and arme of heav’n may never this iust sword be lifted vp, but for that damn’d magitian, let him be girt with all the grisley legions that troope vnder the sootie flagg of Acheron, Harpies, & Hydraes, or all the monstrous buggs twixt Africa, and Jnde, J’le finde him out and force him to restore his purchase back or drag him by the Curles, and cleave his scalpe downe to the hipps, Dem: Alas good ventrous youth J love the Courage yet, and bold emprise, but heere thy sword can doe thee little stead farr other armes, and other weopons must be those that quell the might of hellish Charmes, he with his bare wand can vnthred thy ioynts and crumble all thy sinewes, El: bro: why prithee shepheard how durst thou then approach soe neere, as to make this relacion; Dem: Care, & vtmost shifts how to secure the lady from surprisall brought to my mynd a certaine shepheard lad of smale regard to see to, yet well skill’d in every verteus plant, and healinge herbe that spreades her verdant leafe to th’morninge ray, he lov’d me well, and oft would begg me singe,

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Bridgewater Maske wch when J did, he on the tender grasse would sit, and hearken even to extasie and in requitall open his leatherne scrip, and shew me simples of a thousand names tellinge their strange, and vigorous faculties, amongst the rest a smale vnsightly roote but of divine effect, he cull’d me out the leafe was darkish, and had prickles on it, he call’d it Hemony, and gave it me, 620 and bad me keepe it as of soveraigne vse gainst all enchauntments, mildew blast, or dampe, or gastlie furies apparition, J purst it vp, but little reckoninge made till now that this extremitie compell’d, but now J finde it true, for by this meanes J knew the foule Enchaunter, though disguis’d entered the very lymetwiggs of his spells and yet came off, if you have this about you (as J will give you when wee goe) you may 630 boldly assaulte the Negromancers hall, where if he be, with dauntlesse hardy-hood and brandisht blade, rushe on him, breake his glasse and shed the lussious liquor on the ground, but cease his wand, though he and his curst crew fierce signe of battaile make, and menace high or like the sonns of Vulcan vomitt smoake yet will they soone retire, if he but shrinke. El: bro Thirsis leade on apace, J followe thee and some good Angell beare a shield before vs. The Sceane changes to a stately pallace set out wth all manner of delitiousness, tables spred with all dainties Comus appears wth his rabble, and the lady set in an inchaunted chayre, to whome he offers his glasse wch she puts by, and goes about to rise./ 640 Co: Nay ladye sit, if J but wave this wand your nerves are all chain’d vp in alablaster and you a statue, or as Daphne was roote bound, that fled Apollo. La: foole doe not boast thou canst not touch the freedome of my mynde with all thy charmes, although this corporall rind thou hast immanacl’d, while heav’n sees good, Co: Whye are you vext ladie, why doe you frowne

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heere dwell noe frownes, nor anger, from these gates sorrowe flies farr, see heere be all the pleasures that fansie can begett on youthfull thoughts when the fresh blood grows lively, and returnes briske as the Aprill budds in primrose season. and first behould this cordiall Julep, heere that flames, and dances in his christall bounds, with spiritts of baulme, and fragrant sirrops mixt; Not that Nepenthes wch the wife of Thone in Egipt gave to Jove-borne Hellena is of such power to stirre vp Joye as this to life, soe freindly, or soe coole too thirst, poore ladie thou hast neede of some refreshinge that hast been tired aldaye without repast, a timely rest hast wanted. heere fayre Virgin this will restore all soone; La: t’will not false traytor twill not restore the trueth and honestie that thou hast banisht from thy tongue wth lies, was this the Cottage, and the safe aboade thou touldst me of ? what grim aspects are these? these ougley headed Monsters? Mercie guard me, hence with they brewd enchauntments, fowle deceaver were it a draffe for Juno, when she banquetts J would not taste thy treasonous offer, none but such as are good men; can give good things, and that wch is not good, is not delitious to a well-govern’d and wise appetite; Co: O foolishnes of men, that lend their eares to those budge Doctors of the Stoick furr and fetch their precepts from the Cinick tub praisinge the leane, and shallow abstinence; wherefore did nature power her bounties furth with such a full, and vnwithdraweinge hand, coveringe the earth with odours, fruits and flocks throngeinge the seas with spawne innumerable but all to please, and sate the Curious tast, and set to worke millions of spinninge wormes that in their greene shopps, weave the smoote-haired silke to deck her sonnes, and that noe corner might be vacant of her plentie, in her owne loynes she hutch’t th’all worshipt oare, and pretious gems to store her children with if all the world

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drinke the cleere streame, and nothinge weare but freeze th’allgiver would be vnthank’t, would be vnprais’d not halfe his riches knowne, and yet despis’d and wee should serve him as a grudgeinge Master, as a penurious niggard of his wealth and live like natures bastards, not her sonns, who would be quite surcharg’d wth her own waite and strangl’d with her vast fertillitie, th’earth cumberd, and the wing’d ayre dark’d wth plumes the heards would overmultitude their Lords the sea orefraught would swell, and th’vnsaught diamonds would soe emblaze with starrs, that they belowe would growe enur’d to light, and come at last to gase vpon the sunn with shameles browes. la: J had not thought to have vnlockt my lipps in this vnhallowed ayre, but that this Jugler would thinke to charme my Judgement, as my eyes obtrudinge false rules prank’t in reasons garbe. J hate when vice can boult her arguments and vertue has noe tongue to check her pride. Jmposter doe not charge most innocent nature as if she would her children should be riotous with her abundance, she good Chateresse means her provision onely to the good, that live accordinge to her sober lawes, and holy dictate of spare temperance. Jf every Just man that now pynes with want had but a moderate and beseeminge share of that wch leudly-pamper’d luxurie now heap’s vpon some fewe, with vast excesse natures full blessinge, would be well dispenst in vnsuperfluous even proportion, and she noe whit encomberd with her store: and then the giver would be better thank’t his praise due payed, for swinish gluttonie neere looks to heav’n, amidst his gorgeous feasts but wth beesotted base ingratitude crams, and blaspheames his feeder, Co: Come, noe more this is meere morrall babble, and direct against the Canon lawes of our foundacion J must not suffer this; yet tis but the lees

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and setlinge of a mellancholy bloud, But this will cure all streite, one sip of this will bath the droopinge spiritts in delight beyond the blisse of dreames. bewise, and tast; The brothers rushe in with swords drawne, wrest his glasse of liquor out of his hand, and breake it against the ground his rowte make signe of resistance, but are all driven in, the Demon is to come in with the brothers./ De: What have yee left the false Jnchaunter scape? O yee mistooke, yee should have snatcht his wand, and bound him fast, without his rod reverst and backward mutters of disseveringe power 740 wee cannot free the lady that sitts heere in stonie fetters fixt, and motionlesse. yet staye, be not disturb’d, nowe J bethinke me some other meanes J haue that may be vsed wch once of Millebeus old J learnt the soothest shepheard that ere pipt on playnes There is a gentle Nimphe not farr from hence that wth moist Curbe, swayes the smoote seaverne streame, Sabrina is her name, a virgin pure, whilome she was the daughter of Locrine 750 whoe had the scepter from his father Brute. she guiltless dam’sell, flyinge the mad pursuite of her enraged stepdame Gwendolen commended her faire innocense to the floud, that stayed her flight with his Crosse floweinge course, the water nimphs that in the bottom played held vp their pearkled wrists, and tooke her in bearinge her straite to aged Nereus hall whoe piteous of her woes, reard her lanke head and gave her to his daughters to imbath 760 in nectar’d lavers, strewd with Asphodill and through the portch and inlet of each sence dropt in abrosiall oyles, till she revived and vnderwent a quick immortal change made goddess of the River. still she retaines her maiden gentleness, and ofte at Eve visitts the heards alonge the twilight meadowes helpinge all vrchin blasts, and ill luck signes that the shrewd medlinge Elfe delights to make, for wch the shepheards at their festivalls

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Bridgewater Maske 770 Carroll her goodnes loud in rustick layes

and throwe sweete garland wreaths into her streame of pancies, pinkes, and guady daffadils. and, as the ould swayne said, she can vnlock the claspinge Charme, and thawe the numminge spell if she be right invok’d in warbled songe: for maydenhood she loves, and wilbe swifte to ayde a Virgin such as was her selfe (in hard besettinge neede) this will J trie and add the power of some adiuringe verse./ Songe./ 780 Sabrina faire listen where thou art sittinge vnder the glassie, coole, transelucent wave in twisted braides of lillies knitting the loose traine of thy Amber-droppinge haire; listen for deere honors sake Goddess of the silver lake Listen & save./ The verse to singe or not. listen and appeare to vs in name of greate Oceanus, 790 by th’earth-shakinge Neptunes mace, and Tethis grave maiestick pace, El bro: by hoarie Nereus wrincled looke, and the Carpathian wizards hooke, 2 bro: by scalie Tritons windinge shell, and ould sooth-sayinge Glaucus spell, El br: by Lewcothoas lovely hands, and her sonne that rules the strands, 2 bro: by Thetis tinsel-slipperd feete, and the songs of sirens sweete, 800 El br: by dead Parthenopes deare tombe, And fayer Ligeas golden Combe, wherewith she sitts on diamond rocks, sleekinge her soft alluringe locks, De: By all the Nimphes of nightly daunce, vpon thy streames with wilie glaunce, rise, rise, and heave thy rosie head, from thy Corall paven bed, and bridle in thy headlonge wave, till thou our summons answered have,

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Listen & save. Sabrina rises attended by the water nimphes and singes./ By the rushie fringed banke where growes the willow, and the Osier danke my slydinge Charriott stayes, Thick sett with Agate, and the Azur’d sheene Of Turkiss blew, and Emerald greene that in the Channell strayes, Whilst from of the waters fleete thus J rest my printles feete ore the Couslips head 820 that bends not as J tread gentle swayne at thy request J am heere De: Goddess deere Wee ymplore thy powerfull hand To vndoe the Charmed band Of true virgin heere distrest through the force and through the wile of vnblest inchaunters vile. Sab: Shepheard tis my office best 830 To helpe ensnared Chastitie, brightest lady looke on me, thus J sprincle on this brest drops that from my fountayne pure J have kept of pretious Cure, thrice vpon thy fingers tip, thrice vpon thy rubied lip, next this marble venom’d seate smeard with gumms of gluttenous heate J touch with chast palmes, moist, & could 840 now the spell hath lost his hold and J must hast, ere morninge howre to waite in Amphitrites bower Sabrina descends and the lady rises out of [t]he seate. De: Virgin daughter of Locrine sprung of ould Anchises lyne, may thy brimmed waves for this their full tribute never misse 810

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from a thousand pettie rills that tumble downe the snowie hills Summer, drouth, or singed aire never scortch thy tresses fayer nor wett Octobers torrent floud thy molten Cristall fill with mud may thy billowes rowle a shoare the beryll and the goulden Oare may thy loftie head be Crownd with many a towre, and terrace round and heere and there thy bankes vpon with groves of mirhe and Cynamon. songe ends./ El bro: Come sister while heav’n lends vs grace let vs fly this cursed place least the Sorcerer vs intice wth some other newe device, not a wast or needles sound till wee come to holier ground De: J shalbe your faithfull guide through this gloomie Covert wide, and not many furlongs thence is your fathers residence, where this night are met in state many a freind to gratualte his wisht presence, and beside all the swaynes that neere abide with Jiggs, and rurall daunce resorte wee shall catch them at this sporte, and our suddaine Cominge there will double all their mirth, and cheere, el br: come let vs hast the starrs are high but night sitts Monarch, yet in the mid skye The sceane changes then is presented Ludlow towne and the Presidents Castle, then come in Countrie daunces, and the like &c, towards the end of these sports the demon with the 2 brothers and the ladye come in. the spiritt singes./ Back shepheards, back, enough your playe till next sunshine holy daye heere be without duck, or nod other trippings to be trod

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of lighter toes, and such court guise as Mercurie did first devise with the mincinge Driades on the lawnes, and on the leas 2 songe presents them to their father & mother./ Noble Lord and Lady bright J have brought yee new delight heere behould soe goodly growne 890 three fayer branches of your owne Heav’n hath timely tri’d their youth their faith their patience, and their truth and sent them heere through hard assaies wth a Crowne of death lesse praise to triumphe in victorious Daunce ore sensuall folly and Jntemperance They daunce, the daunces all ended the Dæmon singes or sayes./ Now my taske is smoothly done J can flye or J can run quickly to the earths greene end 900 where the bow’d welkin slow doeth bend, and from thence can soare as soone to the Corners of the Moone Mortalls that would follow me love vertue, she alone is free she can teach you how to clyme higher then the sphearie chime or if vertue feeble were Heaven it selfe would stoope to her Finis

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Figure 7

Manuscript of songs by Henry Lawes from A Mask Presented at Ludlow-Castle

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Figure 7

(Continued)

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Figure 7

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Figure 7

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Trinity Manuscript

The Trinity Manuscript is an autograph notebook of Milton’s shorter poems dating from about 1631 to 1659, now in the Wren Library of Trinity College, Cambridge. It was donated to Trinity College by Sir Henry Newton Puckering, who probably obtained the notebook either from Milton or Edward Phillips. It contains copies of Arcades, On Time, At a Solemn Musick, On the Circumcision, A Mask at Ludlow-Castle, Lycidas, sonnets 7–23, and On the forcers of Conscience, many with extensive corrections and revisions. It also contains a list of topics for future composition, most of them for tragedies. Except for the later sonnets in the hand of amanuenses, the manuscript is in Milton’s own hand.

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Figure 8

Page from the Trinity Manuscript illustrating Milton’s autograph corrections of A Mask

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SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Major Editions (in chronological order) A Maske Presented At Ludlow Castle, 1634. London: Humphrey Robinson, 1637. “Lycidas,” Obsequies to the memorie of Mr. Edward King in Justa Edovardo King naufrago, ab Amicis mœrentibus, amoris & mneias charin. Cambridge, 1638. Poems of Mr. John Milton, Both English and Latin, Compos’d at several times. London: Humphrey Moseley, 1645. Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is added Samson Agonistes. London: John Starkey, 1671. Poems, & c. Upon Several Occasions. By Mr. John Milton: Both English and Latin, &c. Composed at several times. With a Small Tractate of Education To Mr. Hartlib. London: Tho. Dring, 1673. Letters of State, Written by Mr. John Milton, To most of the Sovereign Princes and Republicks of EUROPE. From the Year 1649. Till the Year 1659. To which is added, an Account of his Life. Together with several of his Poems; And a Catalogue of his Works, never before Printed. London, 1694. Thomas Newton, ed. Paradise Regained, A Poem, in Four Books, To which is added Samson Agonistes; and Poems upon Several Occasions. London, 1752. Thomas Warton. Poems upon Several Occasions by John Milton. London, 1785. Milton’s Comus, Being the Bridgewater Manuscript. With Notes and a Short Family Memoir, By the Lady Alix Egerton. London: J. M. Dent, 1910. John S. Smart, ed. The Sonnets of Milton. Glasgow, 1921, reissued Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966. Lycidas. Reproduced from the Original Edition, 1638. New York: Columbia University Press, 1939. E. A. J. Honigmann, ed. Milton’s Sonnets. London: St. Martin’s Press, 1966. Scott Elledge, ed. Lycidas: the Tradition and the Poem. New York: Harper & Row, 1966. Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes. 1671. A Scolar Press Facsimile. Menston, England: Scolar Press, 1968. John Carey, ed. Complete Shorter Poems. Burnt Mill, Harlow, Essex: Longman, 1971, 2nd edn. 1997. Poems. Reproduced in Facsimile from the Manuscript in Trinity College, Cambridge. With a Transcript. Menston Ilkley, England: Scolar Press, 1973. Poems, 1645. Lycidas, 1638. Facsimile. Menston Ilkley, England: Scolar Press, 1973. Edward Le Comte, ed. Facsimile Edition and translation of Justa Edouardo King. Norwood Editions, 1978. J. B. Leishman, ed. Milton’s Minor Poems. London: Hutchinson, 1969. John Hale, ed. John Milton, Latin Writings. A Selection. Tempe, AZ: Medieval and Renaissance Texts & Studies, 1998. Henry J. Todd, ed. The Poetical Works of John Milton. 6 vols. London, 1801; 4th edn. 1842. A. W. Verity. Milton’s Ode on the Morning of Christ’s Nativity, L’Allegro, Il Penseroso, Lycidas. Cambridge, 1891. A. W. Verity. Milton’s Samson. Cambridge, 1897. A. W. Verity. Comus. Cambridge, 1909. F. A. Patterson, et al., eds. The Poetical Works of John Milton. 18 vols in 21, with 2-vol. index. New York: Columbia University Press, 1931–8. Harris Francis Fletcher, ed. The Complete Poetical Works of John Milton. Reproduced in Photographic Facsimile, 4 vols. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1943–8.

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Helen Darbishire, ed. The Poetical Works of John Milton. 2 vols. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1952–5. Merritt Y. Hughes, ed. John Milton: Complete Poems and Major Prose. New York: Odyssey Press, 1957. John T. Shawcross, ed. The Complete Poetry of John Milton. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1963. Douglas Bush. The Complete Poetical Works of John Milton. London, 1965. Gordon Campbell, ed. The Complete English Poems. New York and London: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. John Leonard, ed. John Milton: The Complete Poems. London: Penguin, 1998. Roy Flannagan, ed. The Riverside Milton. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. William Kerrigan, John Rumrich, and Stephen Fallon, eds. Complete Poetry and Selected Prose. New York: Random House, 2007. Laura Lunger Knoppers, ed. The 1671 Poems: Paradise Regain’d and Samson Agonistes. The Complete Works of John Milton, Volume II. Oxford: Oxford Univesity Press, 2008.

Major Biographies and Bibliographical Sources (in chronological order) David Masson. The Life of John Milton, Narrated in Connection with the Political, Ecclesiastical, and Literary History of his Time, 7 vols. London: Macmillan, 1859–94; repr. Gloucester, MA: Peter Smith, 1965. Helen Darbishire, ed. The Early Lives of Milton. London: Constable, 1932. Contains contemporary lives by John Aubrey, [Cyriak Skinner], Anthony à Wood, Edward Phillips, John Toland, and Jonathan Richardson. John S. Diekhoff. Milton on Himself: Milton’s Utterances upon Himself and his Works. New York: Oxford University Press, 1933; repr. New York: Humanities, 1965. J. Milton French, ed. The Life Records of John Milton, 5 vols. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1949–58. Harris F. Fletcher. The Intellectual Development of John Milton. 2 vols. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1956–62. William Riley Parker. Milton: A Biography, 2 vols. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968; rev. Gordon Campbell. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996. Gordon Campbell. A Milton Chronology. London: Macmillan, 1997. Christopher Hill. Milton and the English Revolution. London: Faber & Faber, 1977. Barbara K. Lewalski. The Life of John Milton: A Critical Biography. Oxford: Blackwell, 2000; rev. 2003. John Shawcross. The Arms of the Family: The Significance of John Milton’s Relatives and Associates. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2004. Neil Forsyth. John Milton: A Biography. Oxford, 2008. Gordon Campbell and Thomas N. Corns. John Milton: Life, Work, and Thought. Oxford, 2008.

Scholarly Resources Boswell, Jackson C. Milton’s Library: A Catalogue of the Remains of John Milton’s Library and an Annotated Reconstruction of Milton’s Library and Ancillary Readings. New York: Garland, 1975. Bush, Douglas, ed. “The Latin and Greek Poems”; J. E. Shaw and A. Bartlett Giamatti, eds. “The Italian Poems.” A Variorum Commentary on The Poems of John Milton. New York: Columbia University Press, 1970.

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Cooper, Lane, ed. A Concordance of the Latin, Greek, and Italian Poems of John Milton. Halle: Max Niemeyer. 1923. Corns, Thomas. Milton’s Language. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1990. Corns, Thomas, ed. A Companion to Milton. Oxford: Blackwell, 2001. Danielson, Dennis, ed. A Cambridge Companion to Milton, 2nd edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Frye, Roland Mushat. Milton’s Imagery and the Visual Arts. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978. Gilbert, A. H. A Geographical Dictionary of Milton. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1919. Huckabay, Calvin. John Milton: An Annotated Bibliography, 1929–1968, rev. edn. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 1970. Huckabay, Calvin. John Milton: An Annotated Bibliography, 1968–1988, ed. Paul J. Klemp. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 1996. Hunter, William B., et al., eds. A Milton Encyclopedia, 9 vols. Lewisburg, PA: Bucknell University Press, 1978–83. Ingram, William, and Kathleen Swaim, eds. A Concordance to Milton’s English Poetry. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972. Kirkconnell, Watson. Awake the Courteous Echo: The Themes and Prosody of Comus, Lycidas, and Paradise Regained in World Literature with Translations of the Major Analogues. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1973. Kirkconnell, Watson. That Invincible Samson: The Theme of “Samson Agonistes” in World Literature with Translations of the Major Analogues. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1965. Lindley, David. The Court Masque. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1984. MacKellar, Walter, ed. Paradise Regained. A Variorum Commentary on the Poems of John Milton. New York: Columbia University Press, 1975. Norbrook, David. Writing the English Republic: Poetry, Rhetoric and Politics, 1627–1660. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Orgel, Stephen, and Roy Strong, eds. Inigo Jones: The Theatre of the Stuart Court. 2 vols. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1973. Osgood, Charles Grosvenor. The Classical Mythology of Milton’s English Poems. New York: Holt, 1900. Patrides, C. A., and Raymond B. Waddington, eds. The Age of Milton. Totowa, NJ: Barnes, 1980. Rogal, Samuel. An Index to the Biblical References, Parallels, and Allusions in the Poetry and Prose of John Milton. Lewiston, NY: Mellen, 1994. Shawcross, John, ed. Milton 1732 –1801: The Critical Heritage. London and Boston: Routledge, 1972. Smith, Nigel. Literature and Revolution in England, 1640–1660. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994. Sprott, S. E., ed. A Maske. The Earlier Versions. Toronto and Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 1973. Starnes, De Witt T., and Ernest William Talbert. Classical Myth and Legend in Renaissance Dictionaries. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1955. Wittreich, Joseph A., Jr. The Romantics on Milton: Formal Essays and Critical Asides. Cleveland: Press of Case Western Reserve University, 1970. Woodhouse, A. S. P., and Douglas Bush, eds. “The Minor English Poems.” A Variorum Commentary on the Poems of John Milton. 3 vols. New York: Columbia University Press, 1972.

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550 Milton Quarterly, 1967– . Milton Studies, 1969– . Seventeenth-Century News, 1942–.

Critical Books and Studies (relating to Poems, 1645 and 1673) Arthos, John. Milton and the Italian Cities, New York: Barnes & Noble, 1968. Benet, Diana Trivino, and Michael Lieb, eds. Literary Milton: Text, Pretext, Context. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 1994. Bevington, David, and Peter Holbrook, eds. The Politics of the Stuart Court Masque. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Breasted, Barbara. “Comus and the Castelhaven Scandal,” Milton Studies 3: 201–24. Ed. James Simmonds. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1971. Brooks, Cleanth, and John Edward Hardy. Poems of Mr. John Milton: The 1645 Edition with Essays in Analysis. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1951. Brown, Cedric C. John Milton’s Aristocratic Entertainments. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985. Burnett, Archie. Milton’s Style: The Shorter Poems, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes. London and New York: Longman, 1981. De Filippis, Michele. “Milton and Manso: Cups or Books,” PMLA 51 (1936): 745–56. Demaray, John. Milton and the Masque Tradition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1968. Di Cesare, Mario, ed. Milton in Italy. Binghamton: Medieval & Renaissance Text & Studies, 1991. Diekhoff, John S., ed. A Maske at Ludlow. Essays on Milton’s Comus. With the Bridgewater Version of Comus. Cleveland: The Press of Case Western Reserve University, 1968. Evans, J. Martin. The Road from Horton: Looking Backwards in “Lycidas.” Victoria: University of Victoria Press, 1983. Evans, J. Martin. The Miltonic Moment. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1998. Evans, Willa McClung. Henry Lawes, Musician and Friend of Poets. 1941. Fallon, Stephen. Milton’s Peculiar Grace. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2007. Flannagan, Roy, ed. Milton Quarterly, 21 (Special Issue of Comus). Athens, OH, 1981. Fletcher, Angus. The Transcendental Masque: An Essay on Milton’s Comus. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1971. Freeman, James, and Anthony Low, eds. Urbane Milton, The Latin Poems in Milton Studies 19. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1984. Haan, Estelle. John Milton’s Latin Poetry: Some Neo-Latin and Vernacular Contexts. Belfast: Queen’s University of Belfast, 1987. Haan, Estelle. From Academia to Amicitia: Milton’s Latin Writings and the Italian Academies. Philadelphia: American Philological Society, 1998. Hale, John K. Milton’s Languages: The Impact of Multilingualism on Style. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Hale, John K. Milton’s Cambridge Latin; Performing in the Genres, 1625–1632. Tempe, Arizona: ACMRS, 2005. Hanford, James Holly. John Milton, Poet and Humanist: Essays by James Holly Hanford. Cleveland: Press of Western Reserve University, 1966.

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Haskin, Dayton. Milton’s Burden of Interpretation. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1994. Hunt, Clay. Lycidas and the Italian Critics. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1979. Hunter, William B., Jr. Milton’s Comus: A Family Piece. Troy, New York: Whitston, 1983. Hunter, William B., Jr. The Descent of Urania: Studies in Milton, 1946–1988. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press, 1989. Marcus, Leah. The Politics of Mirth: Jonson, Herrick, Milton, Marvell and the Defense of Old Holiday Pastimes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986. McGuire, Maryann Cale. Milton’s Puritan Masque. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1983. Moseley, C. W. R. D. The Poetic Birth: Milton’s Poems of 1645. Aldershot: Scolar Press, 1991. Nardo, Anna. Milton’s Sonnets and the Ideal Community. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1979. Norbrook, David. Poetry and Politics in the English Renaissance. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1984. Nyquist, Mary, and Margaret W. Ferguson, eds. Re-membering Milton: Essays on the Texts and Traditions. New York and London: Methuen, 1987. Patrides, C. A., ed. Milton’s Lycidas: The Tradition and the Poem. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1983. Prince, F. T. The Italian Element in Milton’s Verse. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1954. Revard, Stella P. Milton and the Tangles of Neaera’s Hair: The Making of the 1645 Poems. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1997. Røstvig, Maren-Sofie. The Happy Man. Studies in the Metamorphosis of a Classical Ideal, 1600–1700. Oslo: Oslo University Press; New York: Humanities, 1962. Rumrich, John. Milton Unbound. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Stanwood, P. G., ed. Of Poetry and Politics: New Essays on Milton and His World. Binghamton: Medieval and Renaissance Texts & Studies: 1995. Shawcross, John. “Henry Lawes’ Setting of Songs for Milton’s Comus.” Journal of the Rutgers University Library 28 (1964). Steadman, John M. Milton’s Biblical and Classical Imagery. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 1984. Steadman, John M. Moral Fiction in Milton and Spenser. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1993. Summers, Claude, and Ted-Larry Pebworth, eds. The Muses Common-weale: Poetry and Politics in the Seventeenth Century. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1988. Summers, Joseph, ed. The Lyric and Dramatic Milton. New York: English Institute Essays, 1965. Tayler, Edward W. Milton’s Poetry: Its Development in Time. Pittsburgh, 1979. Tuve, Rosemund. Images & Themes in Five Poems by Milton. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1957. Walker, Julia M., ed. Milton and the Idea of Woman. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1988. Wilding, Michael. “Milton’s Early Radicalism,” in Dragons’ Teeth: Literature in the English Revolution. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987. Wittreich, Joseph A. Visionary Poetics: Milton’s Tradition and his Legacy. San Marino: Huntington Library and Art Gallery, 1979.

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Critical Books (relating to Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes) Achinstein, Sharon. Milton and the Revolutionary Reader. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994. Achinstein, Sharon. Literature and Dissent in Milton’s England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Barker, Arthur, ed. Milton: Modern Essays in Criticism. New York: Oxford University Press, 1965. Bennett, Joan. Reviving Liberty: Radical Christian Humanism in Milton’s Great Poems. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1989. Cummins, Juliet, ed. Milton and the Ends of Time. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Fish, Stanley. How Milton Works. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2001. Fixler, Michael. Milton and the Kingdoms of God. London: Faber & Faber, 1964. Frye, Northrop. The Return of Eden. Toronto: Toronto University Press, 1965. Kelley, Mark, and Joseph Wittreich, eds. Altering Eyes: New Perspectives on Samson Agonistes. Newark; University of Delaware Press, 2002. Knoppers, Laura Lunger. Historicizing Milton: Spectacle, Power, and Poetry in Restoration England. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1994. Krouse, F. M. Milton’s Samson and the Christian Tradition. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1949. Labriola, Albert C., and Michael Lieb, eds. The Miltonic Samson. Milton Studies 33. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1996. Labriola, Albert C., and Michael Lieb, eds. Milton in the Age of Fish: Essays on Authorship, Text and Terrorism. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 2006. Labriola, Albert C., and David Loewenstein. Paradise Regained in Context: Genre, Politics, Religion. Milton Studies, 42. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2002. Lewalski, Barbara Kiefer. Milton’s Brief Epic: The Genre, Meaning, and Art of Paradise Regained. Providence and London: Brown University Press, 1966. Lieb, Michael. The Sinews of Ulysses: Form and Convention in Milton’s Works. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 1989. Lieb, Michael. Milton and the Culture of Violence. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1994. Lin, Walter S. H. John Milton, Radical Politics, and Biblical Republicanism. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2006. Loewenstein, David. Milton and the Drama of History: Historical Vision, Iconoclasm, and the Literary Imagination. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Loewenstein, David. Representing Revolution in Milton and his Contemporaries: Religion, Politics, and Polemics in Radical Puritanism. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2001. Low, Anthony. The Blaze of Noon: A Reading of Samson Agonistes. New York: Columbia University Press, 1974. MacCallum, Hugh. Milton and the Sons of God: the Divine Image in Milton’s Epic Poems. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1986. Maclean, Gerald, ed. Culture and the Stuart restoration: Literature, Drama, History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Martz, Louis. The Paradise Within: Studies in Vaughan, Traherne and Milton. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1964. Martz, Louis. Milton: Poet of Exile, 2nd. ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986.

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Medine, Peter, John Shawcross, and David Urban, eds. Milton and the Visionary Mode: Essays on Prophecy and Violence. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 2008. Miner, Earl. The Restoration Mode from Milton to Dryden. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1974. Parker, William Riley. Milton’s Debt to Greek Tragedy in Samson Agonistes. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1937. Parry, Graham, and Joad Raymond, eds. Milton and the Terms of Liberty. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 2002. Pope, Elizabeth M. “Paradise Regained”: The Tradition and the Poem. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1947. Quint, David. Epic and Empire: Politics and Generic Form from Virgil to Milton. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993. Radzinowicz, Mary Ann. Toward Samson Agonistes: The Growth of Milton’s Mind. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978. Radzinowicz, Mary Ann. Milton’s Epics and the Book of Psalms. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989. Rajan, Balachandra, ed. The Lofty Rhyme: A Study of Milton’s Major Poetry. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1970. Rajan, Balachandra, ed. The Prison and the Pinnacle. Toronto: Toronto University Press, 1973. Revard, Stella P. “Dalila as Euripidean Heroine,” PLL 23 (Summer 1987): 291–302. Rudrum, Alan. A Critical Commentary on Milton’s Samson Agonistes. London: Macmillan, 1969. Samuel, Irene. Plato and Milton. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1947. Sims, James, and Leland Ryken. Milton and the Scriptural Tradition: The Bible into Poetry. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1984. Sims, James H. The Bible in Milton’s Epics. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1962. Sims, James H. “Jesus and Satan as Readers of Scripture in Paradise Regained,” Milton Studies 33 (1995): 190–204. Simpson, Ken. Spiritual Architecture and Paradise Regained: Milton’s Literary Ecclesiology. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 2007. Skulsky, Howard. Justice in the Dock: Milton’s Experimental Tragedy. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1995. Stein, Arnold. Heroic Knowledge. Minneapolis, 1955. Tournu, Christophe, and Neil Forsyth, eds. Milton, Rights and Liberties. Berne, Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt am Main, New York, Oxford, and Vienna: Peter Lang, 2007. Wittreich, Joseph. Interpreting Samson Agonistes. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986. Wittreich, Joseph. Shifting Contexts: Reinterpreting Samson Agonistes. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 2002. Wittreich, Joseph, ed. Calm of Mind: Tercentenary Essays on Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes. Cleveland and London: Case Western Reserve, 1971. Wood, Derek. Exiled from light: divine law, morality, and violence in Milton’s Samson Agonistes. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2001. Worden, Blair, “Milton and Samson Agonistes,” in Literature and Politics in Cromwellian England. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Zwicker, Steven. Lines of Authority: Politics and English Literary Culture 1649–1689. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1993.

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TEXTUAL NOTES

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Textual Notes to English and Italian Poems, 1645 Title Page 1645. Pauls (most copies) S. Pauls (some copies) THE STATIONER TO THE READER. 1645, not in 1673

On the morning of CHRISTS Nativity Title: On the morning of CHRISTS Nativity (1645) On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity (1673) Compos’d 1629. (1645, not in 1673) 21. And (1645) And and (1673) 23. sweet: (1645) sweet, (1673) 32. aw (1645) awe (1673) 54. around: (1645) around (1673) 55. hung; (1645) hung, (1673) 126. human (1645) humane (1673) 143–4. Th’enameld Arras of the Rainbow wearing, / And Mercy set between, (1645) Orb’d in a Rain-bow; and like glories wearing / Mercy will sit between, (1673) 171. wroth (1673) wrath (1645) 180 Inspires (1673) Inspire’s (1645) 185. pale, (1673) pale. (1645) 207. hue, (1645) hue; (1673) 210. blue; (1673) blue, (1645) 231. wave, (1673) wave. (1645) 239. ending, (1645) ending: (1673) 241. Car, (1673) Car. (1645) 242. attending. (1645) attending: (1673)

Psalm 136 2. kind, (1645) kind (1673) 7, 11, 15. For, &c. (1645) For his, &c. (1673) 10, 13, 17, 21, 25. That (1645) Who (1673) 38. Smote (1673) mote (1645) 78. in (1645) in in (1673)

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The Passion 22. latter (1645) latest (1673) 24. acts, (emendation) acts; (1645, 1673)

On Time To be set in a clock case (TM) heading crossed out and the first two words covered over

At a solemn Musick 6. concent, (1673 and TM) content, (1645) 23. perfect (1645) perfet (1673) pfect (TM) 28. To live with him, and sing in endles morn of light (1645, 1673) To live & sing wth him in endlesse morne of light (TM)

An Epitaph on the Marchioness of Winchester 52. lease, (1645) lease; (1673)

On Shakespear. 1630 Title: On Shakespear. 1630. (1645, 1673) An Epitaph on the admirable Dramaticke Poet W. SHAKESPEARE (Second Folio, 1632) Text in italics except for Shakespeare, line 1, and Fame, line 5, in some copies (1632). Poems: Written by Wil. Shake-speare. Gent (London: Tho. Cotes, 1640). 1. needs (1645, 1673) neede (1632, 1640) 4. Star y-pointing (1645, 1673) starre-ypointing (1632, 1640) starre-ypointed (some copies of the second folio, 1632) 6. need’st (1645, 1673) needst (1632) needs (1640) weak (1645, 1673, 1640) dull (1632) name? (1645, 1673, 1632) name. (1640) 8. live-long (1645, 1673, 1640) lasting (1632) 10. heart (1645, 1673, 1640) part (1632) 13. it self (1645, 1673) her self (1632) our selfe (1640)

On the University Carrier 2. And (1673) A (1645) 5. ’Twas (1673) ,Twas (1645)

L’Allegro 33. ye (1645) you (1673) 104. And he by Friars (1645) And by the Friars (1673)

Il Penseroso 49. leasure, (1645) leasure; (1673) 57. In (1673) Id (1645) 88. unsphear (1645) unsphear. (1673)

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Sonnet II 3. Ben (1645) Bene (1673) 6. suoi (1645) sui (1673)

Sonnet V 2. sian (1645) fian (1673) 12. a trovar (1645) e trovar (1673)

Sonnet VI 8. se, e d’intero (1645) se, d’intero (1673)

Sonnet VII 2. stoln (1645) soln (1673) twentith (1645, TM) twentieth (1673)

Sonnet VIII Title: When the assault was intended to ye Citty 1642 (date deleted) (TM) replaces deleted title, On his dore when ye Citty expected an assault (TM) No title (1645, 1673) 3. If ever deed of honour did thee please, (1645, TM) If deed of honour did thee ever please, (1673)

Sonnet IX 5. Mary and with Ruth (1673) Mary, and the Ruth (1645) Mary & with Ruth (TM) 13. Passes to bliss at the mid hour of night, (1645, 1673) passes to bliss at ye midd night howr (TM) replaces opens the dore of Bliss, that houre of night (crossed out) (TM)

Sonnet X Title: To ye Lady Margaret Ley (TM). No title (1645, 1673)

Arcades 22. hunderd (1645) hundred (1673, TM) 28. ye (1645, 1673) you (TM) 40. ye . . . ye (1645, 1673) you . . . you (TM) 46. grove (1645, TM) grove. (1673) 81. ye (1645, 1673) you (TM); toward (1645, 1673) towards (TM) 91. you (1645, 1673) yee (TM) 97. banks. (1645) banks, (1673) bancks (TM)

Lycidas (1645, 1638, TM) LYCIDAS (1673) Italic and Roman print are reversed in the headnotes of 1645 and 1673 except for the date, which is Roman in both. “And by occasion . . . height” is not in TM. No headnote in the version included in Justa Edovardo King Naufrago. 1638 is printed entirely in italics and is

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signed J. M. Collation is normally 1645, 1673, 1638, TM, but when a reading is taken from another version, it is cited first. 2. never-sear, (1645, 1673) never-sere, (1638, TM) 9. Young Lycidas, (1645, 1673, TM) (Young Lycidas!) (1638) 10. he knew (1645, 1673, 1638) he well knew (TM) In the Cambridge University copy of 1638 (Add, 154) in Milton’s hand and a BL copy of 1638 (C.21.c.42), possibly also in Milton’s hand, “well” is written in the margin (to come between “he” and “knew”) 14. som (1645, 1673) some (1638, TM) 15. Line indented in 1645, 1673, TM and in all copies of 1638 examined except for BL. 1077.d. 51. 21. passes turn, (1645, 1673, TM) passes, turn (1638) 25. no indentation (1638) 26. opening (1645, 1673, TM) glimmering (1638) 30. Oft till the Star that rose, at Ev’ning, bright (1645, 1673) Oft till the ev’n-starre bright (1638) oft till the starre that rose in Evning bright (TM) 31. westering (1645) burnisht (1638) westring (TM) 36. Damœtas (1645, 1673, TM) Dametas (1638) 37. O (1645, 1673, TM) oh (1638) 39. Shepherd, (1645, 1673) shepheard, (TM) shepherds, (1638) 47. wardrop (1645, 1673) wardrobe (1638) wardrope (TM) 50. no indentation (1638) 51. lov’d (1645, 1673, TM) lord (1638) lov’d written in the margin of the Cambridge University copy (Add. 154) and BL copy (C.21.c.42) of 1638 53. your old (1645, 1673, TM) the old (1638) your written in the margin of the Cambridge University copy (Add. 154) of 1638 56. Ay (1645, 1673, TM) Ah (1638) 63. Lesbian (1673, 1638, TM) Letbian (1645) 64. no indentation (1638) 64. uncessant (1645, 1673, 1638) incessant (TM) 65. tend (1645, 1638, TM) end (1673) 66. strictly (1645, 1673, TM) stridly (1638); Muse, (1645, 1673, TM) Muse? (1638) 67. use, (1645, 1673, TM) do, (1638); use written in the margin of the Cambridge University copy (Add. 154) and BL copy (C.21.c.42) 69. Or with (1645, 1673) Hid in (1638) “hid in” changed to “or with” in TM; Neæra’s (1645, 1673, TM) Neera’s (1638) 73. when (1645, 1673, TM) where (1638) 79. glistering (1645, 1673 TM) glistring (1638) 82. perfet (1645, 1673) –p fect (TM) perfect (1638) 85. no indentation (1638); O (1645, 1673) Oh (1638, TM) 103. no indentation (1638); Camus (1645, 1673, TM) Chamus (1638) 105. Inwrought (1645, 1673, 1638) scraul’d ore changed to inwraught (TM) 107. Ah; (1645, 1673) ah (TM) Ah! (1638) 114. Anow (1645, 1673) Enough (1638) anough (TM) 129. nothing (1645, 1673) little (1638) nothing replaced by little (TM) 131. smite no more. (1645, 1673, TM) smites. (1638); second s deleted in smites in the BL copy (C.21.c.42) of 1638

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142–50. On a separate page in TM, in two versions much worked over, keyed for insertion in this place by the words “Bring the rathe &c.” 146. well attir’d Woodbine (1645, 1673, 1638) garish columbine crossed out in TM and wellattir’d woodbine written above. 149. Amaranthus (1645, 1638, TM) Amarantus (1673); beauty (1645, 1673, 1638) beauties (TM) 157. whelming (1645, 1673) humming (1638, TM) whelming is written in the margin of the Cambridge University copy (Add. 154) and BL copy (C.21.c.42) of 1638 173. waves; (1638, 1645?) waves (1673) 175. oozy (1645, 1673) oazie (1638) oozie (TM); oosie written in the margin of the Cambridge University copy (Add. 154) of 1638 177. line not in 1638. “in the blest kingdoms meek [badly worn] / of Joy and Love” written in the margin of the Cambridge University copy (Add. 154); “in the blest kingdoms of Joy and Love” BL copy (C.21.c.42). 182. Now Lycidas, (1645. 1673, TM) Now, Lycidas, (1638)

A Mask Collation is normally 1645, 1673, 1637, TM except when another source is used and so is cited first. Title: A MASK Presented At LUDLOW-Castle, 1634. &c. (1645, 1673) A MASKE PERFORMED BEFORE the Præsident of WALES at Ludlow, 1634 (1637) A maske 1634. (TM) The Persons. The attendant Spirit afterwards in the habit of Thyrsis. Comus with his crew. The Lady. 1. Brother. 2. Brother. Sabrina the Nymph. (1645) Not in 1673, 1637, TM) The cheif persons which presented, were The Lord Bracly, Mr. Thomas Egerton, his Brother, The Lady Alice Egerton. (1645). Not in 1673. The principall persons in this Maske; were The Lord BRACLY, Mr. THOMAS EGERTON, The Lady ALICE EGERTON. (1637, added at the end of text) [stage direction] The attendant Spirit descends or enters (1645, 1673, 1637) A Guardian spirit, or Dæmon (TM) 20. by (1645, 1673, TM) my (1637) 26. gives (1645, 1673, 1637) give (TM) 43. ye (1645) you (1673, TM) yee (1637) 62. shades (1645, 1673, 1637) shade (TM) 69. of (1645, 1673, 1637) o’ (TM) 73. is (1645, 1673, TM) in (1637) 90. Likeliest, and neerest (1645, 1673, 1637) neerest & likliest (TM) 93a. [stage direction] Comus enters with a Charming Rod in one hand, his Glass in the other, with him a rout of Monsters headed like sundry sorts of wilde Beasts, but otherwise like Men and Women, their Apparel glistring, they com in making a riotous and unruly noice, with Torches in their hands. (1645, 1673, 1637) Comus enters wth a charming rod & glasse of liquor with his rout all headed like some wild beasts thire garments some like mens & some like womens they come on in a wild & antick fashion intrant κωµaζοντ{ς. (TM) 123. hath (1645, 1673, 1637) has (TM) 131. art (1645, 1673, TM) at (1637) 132. spets (1645, 1673, 1637) spitts (TM)

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135. Hecat’ (1645, 1637) Heccat’, (1673 errata corrects to Hecat’) Hecate (TM) 144a. [stage direction] The Measure. (1645, 1673, 1637) the measure (in a wild rude & wanton antick) (TM) 148. [stage direction] none (1645, 1673, 1637) they all scatter (TM) 167. Whom thrift keeps up about his Country gear, (1645). Omitted in 1673. From this point on line numbers for 1673 are one lower in 1673 than in 1645 and 1637. 168–9. these lines appear thus in 1645, 1637, and TM, but are reversed in 1673 169. if I may, her business here (1645, 1673) if I may her business hear (1673 errata) Errata of 1673 wrongly deletes the comma after may and wrongly corrects here to hear. 170. mine (1645, 1673, 1637) my (TM) 174. among (1645, 1673, 1637) amoungst (TM) 181. mazes (1673, 1637, TM) maze (1645) 189. weed (1645, 1673) weeds (1637, TM) 195. stoln (1637, TM) stole (1645, 1673) 200. Travailer? (1645) Traveller? (1673) Travailer. (1637) travailer (TM) 201. the missing in TM 214. hovering (1645, 1673) flittering (1637) flittering changed to hov’ring in TM 223. sable (1645, 1673, TM) sables (1637) 227. farthest (1645, 1673) fardest (1637, TM) 229. off (1645, 1673, 1637) hence (TM) 231. shell (1645, 1673, 1637) cell in margin but shell not deleted (TM) 243a. [stage direction] none (1645, 1673, 1637) Comus looks in and speaks (TM) 252. it (1645, 1673) she (1637, TM) 291. Two such (1645, 1673, 1637) Such tow (TM) 294. saw them (1645, 1673, 1637) saw ’em (TM) 330a. [stage direction] The two Brothers (1645, 1673, 1637) the tow brothers enter (TM) 331, 359, 408, 419, 480, 483, 488, 509, 584, 615, 657. Eld. Bro. 494, 512 El. Bro. (1645, 1673, 1637) 1 Bro. (TM) 349. ’Twould (1673) T’would (1645, 1637, TM) 357–65. After the words “and affright” TM omits these lines but has three other lines in its place which are crossed out 390. a (1645, 1673, TM) an (1637) 409. controversie: (1645, 1673, 1637) question, no (TM) Extra lines in TM that would come between 409 and 410 in printed texts: “I could be willing though now i’th darke to trie / a tough encounter wth the shaggiest ruffian / that lurks by hedge or lane of this dead circuit / to have her by my side, though I were sure / she might be free from perill where she is” 410. Yet (1645, 1673, 1637) but (TM) 415. imagine, (1645, 1673, 1637) imagine brother (TM) 418. if you mean (1645, 1673, TM) if meane (1637) 428. there, (1645, 1673, 1637) even (TM) 433. moorish (1645, 1673, 1637) moorie (TM) 437. Hath (1645, 1673) Has (1637, TM) 443. she (1645, 1673, TM) we (1637)

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465. But most (1645, 1673, 1637) & most (TM) 472. Lingering, (1645, 1673) Hovering, (1637, TM) 474. sensualty (1645) sensuality (1673) sensualitie (1637) sensualtie (TM) 481. far off hallow (1645) far of hallow (1673) farre off hallow (1637) farre-of hallow (TM) 481. [stage direction] none (1645, 1673, 1637) hallow farre off (TM) 487. line given to 1. Bro. in TM 489a. [stage direction] The attendant Spirit habited like a Shepherd. (1645, 1673, 1637) he hallows the guardian Dæmon hallows agen & enters in the habit of shepheard (TM) 492, 501, 513, 609, 618. [speaker designation] Spir. (1645, 1673, 1637) Dæ[mon] (TM) 493. fathers (TM) father (1645, 1673, 1637) 497. Swain? (1645, 1673) Swaine, (1637) shepheard, (TM) 498. the fold (1645, 1673, 1637) his fold (TM) 511. [speaker designation] Spir. (1645, 1673, 1637) Sheph. (TM) 513. ye, (1645, 1673) you, (1637, TM) 547. meditate (1645, 1637, TM) meditate upon (1673) 553. frighted (1645, 1673, 1637) flighted (TM) 556. steam (1645) stream (1673) steame (1637, TM) 563. did (1645, 1673, 1637) might (TM) 580. furder (1645, TM) further (1673) farther (1637) 605. forms (1645, 1673) bugs (1637) buggs (TM) 608–9. to a foul death. / Curs’d as his life. (1645, 1673) and cleave his scalpe / Downe to the hipps. (1637, TM) 637. That (1645, 1673, 1637) wch (TM) 657. Ile (1645, 1673, 1637) I (TM) 658a. [stage direction] The Scene changes to a stately Palace, set out with all manner of deliciousness: soft Musick, Tables spred with all dainties. Comus appears with his rabble, and the Lady set in an inchanted Chair, to whom he offers his Glass, which she puts by, and goes about to rise. (1645, 1673, 1637) the scene changes to a stately pallace set out wth all manner of deliciousnesse. tables spread wth all dainties. Comus is discover’d wth his rabble. & the Ladie set in an inchanted chaire. She offers to rise (TM) 662. Apollo. (1645, TM) Apollo, (1673) 672–703. on a pasted page in TM, with note: “that wch follows here is in the pasted leafe begins and first behold this &c.” 698. forgery, (1645, 1673, 1637) forgeries (TM) 731. over-multitude (1645, 1673, TM) over-inultitude (1637) 737. and (1645, 1673, 1637) nor (TM) 742. self. (emendation) self (1645, 1673) selfe (1637, TM) 743. a (1645, 1673, 1637) an (TM) 746. and high (1645, 1673, 1637) on high (TM) 749. coarse (TM) course (1645, 1673, 1637) 751. sampler, and (1645, 1673, 1637) sample, or (TM) 779. beginning “Shall I go on?” to 806 (not in TM) 780. anough? (1645) anow? (1673) enough? (1637) 781. contemptuous (1645, 1673) reproachfull (1637)

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Textual Notes to English and Italian Poems

807. this is meer (1645, 1673, 1637) this mere (TM) 813a. [stage direction] The Brothers rush in with Swords drawn, wrest his Glass out of his hand, and break it against the ground; his rout make signe of resistance, but are all driven in; The attendant Spirit comes in. (1645, 1673, 1637) the brothers rush in strike his glasse downe the shapes make as though they would resist but are all driven in. Dæmon enters wth them (TM) [speaker designation] 814, 902, 922, 958, 976 Spir. (1645, 1673, 1637) Dæ[mon] (TM) 821. which (1645, 1673, 1637) that (TM) 829. She (1645, 1637, TM) The (1673) 846a. and often takes our catell wth strange pinches (extra undeleted line in TM) 857. besetting (1645, 1673, 1637) distressed (TM) 866a. [stage direction] none (1645, 1673, 1637) to be said (TM) Lines 879–82 crossed out in TM 889a. [stage direction] Sabrina rises, attended by water-Nymphes, and sings (1645, 1673, 1637) Sabrina rises attended wth the water nymphs Sings (TM) 927. tumble (1645, 1637, TM) tumbled (1673) 937a. [stage direction] none (1645, 1673, 1637) Song ends (TM) 951. there (1645, 1673, 1637) neere (TM) 956. grow (1645, 1673, TM) are (1637) 957. [stage direction] none (1645, 1673, 1637) Exeunt (TM) 957a. [stage direction] The Scene changes, presenting Ludlow Town and the Presidents Castle, then com in Countrey-Dancers, after them the attendant Spirit, with the two Brothers and the Lady (1645, 1673, 1637). the scene changes and then is præsented Ludlow towne & the presidents castle then enter countrie dances & such like gambols &c. at those sports the Dæmon wth ye 2 bro. & the Ladie enter the Dæmon sings (TM) SONG. (1645, 1673, 1637) 958. [speaker designation] Spir. (1645, 1673, 1637) none (TM) 965a. [stage direction] This second Song presents them to their father and mother. (1645, 1673, 1637) 2 song. (TM) 975a. [stage direction] The dances ended, the Spirit Epiloguizes (1645, 1673, 1637) they dance. the dances all ended the Dæmon sings. or says (TM) 988. That there (1645, 1673, 1637, TM) errata of 1673 wrongly deletes That.

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Textual Notes to Poemata, 1645

ELEGIARUM Liber primus Elegia prima 2. nuntia (1645) nuncia (1673) 12. me laris (1673) melaris (1645) 29. auditur (1645) auditor (1673) 30. Seu procus, (1773) Seuprocus, (1645) 40. Interdum (1645) Intredum (1673) 54. possit (1673) posset (1645) Iovis; (1645) Jovis; (1673)

Elegia tertia 3. imago (1645) Imago (1673) 23. cælo (1645) cœlo (1673) [cæl usual in 1645; cœl in 1673] 34. Phœbus (1645) Phœbus, (1673) 53. præsul (1645) Præsul (1673)

Elegia quarta 89. fœtus (emendation) fætus; (1645, 1673) 123. miseris (1645) miseri (1673)

Elegia quinta 30. quotannis (1645) perennis (1673) 66. Tænario (1645) Tenario (1673) 74. titulos (1645) ticulos (1673) 106. Litus (1673) Littus (1645) 110. Virgineos (1673) Virgineas (1645) 115. Navita (1645) Natvia (1673)

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566

Elegia sexta Headnote 1.4 amicis (1645) amisis (1673) 13. quereris (1645) queretis (1673) 22. modis? (1645) modis, (1673) 27. Jaccho (1645) Iaccho (1673) [ J usual in 1645, I in 1673] 73. monstrificam (1645) Monstrificam (1673) 79. si quid (1673) siquid (1645) 87. illa, (1645) illa (1673)

Elegia septima 2. fuit (emendation) suit (1645, 1673) 8. tuæ. (1645) tuæ: (1673) 21. æterno (1673) ærerno (1645) 88. loqui; (1645) loqui! (1673)

Retraction 10. ipsa (1645) ipse (1673)

In eandem (“Siccine tentasti”) 2. Bellua (1645) Belua (1673)

In eandem (“Purgatorem derisit”) 1. Jäcobus (1645) Iäcobus (1673) [ J usual in 1645, I in 1673] 4. cornua (1645) coronâ (1673) 12. not indented (1673)

Ad eandem (“Altera Torquatum”) 5. canentem (1645) canentam (1673, errata corrects) 8. desipuisset (1673 errata corrects) despulisset (1673) desipuiisset (1645)

Sylvarum Liber In obitum Procancellarii 4. Jäpeti (1645) Iäpeti (1673) [ J usual in 1645, I in 1673] 40. Faucibus (1645) Fausibus (1673)

In quintum Novembris 13. unanimes (1645) unamimes (1673) 38. adamantinus (1645) adamantius (1673) 1673 errata corrects

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Textual Notes to Poemata, 1645 43. tentamina (1645) tantamina (1673) 45. natat (1645) notat (1673) 1673 errata corrects 75. 1673 indents 92. artus? (1673) artus (1645) 93. tuorum! (1673) tuorum, (1645) 110. Relliquias (1645) Relliquas (1673) 1673 errata corrects 122. quoscunque (1673) quoscumque (1645) 125. casúmque (1673) casúque (1645) 143. semifractaque (1645) præruptaque (1673) 149. Manes, (1673 errata calls for a comma) Manes (1645) 150. Exululat (1673 errata calls for no comma) Exululant, (1645)

In obitum Praesulis 2. lumina; (1673) lumina (1645) 63. Crystallinam, (1645) Chrystallinam, (1673)

Naturam 2. tenebrisque (1645) tenebrisq; (1673) 17. Temporis (1645) temporis (1673) 33. Pater (1645) pater (1673)

De Idea Platonica 8. sollers (1645) solers (1673) 23. diis (1645) iis (1673) 36. induxti (1645) induxit (1673)

Ad Patrem 8. possint (1645) possunt (1673)

Psalm 114 2. ΑHγeπτιον (1645) ΑHγeπτον (1673) 15. σκαρθµοmσιν (1645) σκαφµοmσιν (1673) 16. σφριγdωντ{ς (1645) σφριγdωντης (1673) 18. µητbρι (1645) µητSρι (1673)

Philosophus ad regem 2. insontem (1645) in tem (1673) 4. Μαψιδcως δ2 Fρ2 wπ{ιτα τ{Dν πρDς θυµdν IδυρT, (1673) ΜAψ α[τως δ2 Kρ2 wπ{ιτα χρdνY µaλα πολλDν IδeρQ (1645)

Ad Salsillum 5. lectum. (1645) lectum, (1673)

567

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Textual Notes to Poemata, 1645

Mansus 2. choro notissime (1673) choronotissime (1645) 4. Galli (1645) galli (1673) 27. longinquam (1645) longinguam (1673) Musam, (1645) musam, (1673) 82. Aut (1645) Ant (1673)

EPITAPHIUM DAMONIS. ARGUMENTUM 11. oriundus, (1645, 1673) onundus, (1640) EPITAPHIUM / DAMONIS 8. pererrans (1645, 1640) perrerans (1673) 17 Cœpit (1645, 1673) Cæpit (1640) 18, 26, 35, 44, 50, 57, 62, 68, 74, 81, 87, 93, 112, 124, 139, 156, 161, 179 jam (1645, 1673) iam (1640) 19. mihi! (1645, 1673) mihi (1640) cœlo, (1645, 1673) cœlo? (1640) 20. Damon; (1645, 1673) Damon! (1640) 39. fœta (1645, 1673) fæta (1640) 40. herbis? (1645, 1673) herbis (1640) 66. juvant; (1645, 1673) juvant, (1640) 67. Mœrent, (1645, 1673) Mærent, (1640) magistrum. (1645, 1673) magistrum (1640) 80. plumbo. (1645, 1673) plumbo (1640) 83. ayunt (1945, 1640) aiunt (1673) 90. fluenti; (1645, 1673) fluenti, 1640) 98. onagri; (1645, 1673) onagri, (1640) 107. Gens homines (1645, 1673) Gens, homines (1640) 135. Fiscellæ, (1645, 1640) Fiscellæ; (1673) 141. hœdos. (1645, 1673) hædos. (1640) 166. Jögernen (1645, 1673) Iogernen (1640) 170. Multùm (1645, 1640) Mnltùm (1673) 178. undis. (1645, 1673) undis (1640) 192. pyropo; (1645, 1673) pyropo (1640) 214. honores; (1645, 1673) honores, (1640) 216. umbracula (1645, 1673) umbtacula (1640)

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Textual Notes to English Poems Added in 1673 On the Death of a fair Infant dying of a Cough 34. Oh no! (emendation) Oh no? (1673) 53. Youth? (emendation) Youth! (1673) 54. crown’d (emendation) cown’d (1673)

SONNETS Sonnets are placed and numbered in Roman numerals according to 1673; in arabic numerals according to TM, which indicates Milton’s intentions. 1673 omits the sonnets to Fairfax, Cromwell, Vane, and the second sonnet to Cyriack Skinnner. The sonnets to Fairfax, Cromwell, and Skinner were first published in 1694 in Milton’s Letters of State, prepared by Edward Phillips. The sonnet to Vane was first published anonymously in 1662, in George Sikes’ The Life and Death of Sir Henry Vane. The texts of the Trinity Manuscript are more authoritative, and are normally followed here. General Heading in 1673, SONNETS. XI (1673) 12 (TM) Two copies in TM, TM1&2, both marked 12, and evidently intended to follow the previous sonnet. Only printed copy is 1673. 1. was (TM 1 & 2) was (1673) 6. bless us! (1673) bless us (TM 1 & 2) 8. is it harder (TM 1 & 2) is harder (1673) errata inserts it 9. Colkitto (TM 1 & 2) Coliktto (1673) errata corrects to Colkitto XII On the same (1673) 11 (TM) Two copies in TM. TM1 marked 11, TM2 marked 12, but preceding the next sonnet on the same page, also marked 12. TM2 shows Milton’s desired placement for publication, introducing these two sonnets with the heading, “these sonnets follow ye 10 in ye printed booke.” Title: “On the detraction wch follow’d upon my writing certain treatises” Detraction crossed out (TM1) “On the detraccon which followed upon my writeng certaine treatises” (TM2) 4. Cuckoes (1673, TM2) buzzards (TM1)

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Textual Notes to English Poems Added in 1673

XIII (1673) 13 (TM) First published in a book of Lawes’ songs, Choice Psalmes Put into Musick For Three Voices (London: Humphrey Moseley, 1648). 3 drafts in TM, the first crossed out. Title: To M r. H. Lawes, on his Aires (1673) To my Friend M r. Henry Lawes (1648) “To my freind Mr Hen. Laws Feb. 9. 1645” (TM 1) “To Mr. Hen: Laws on the publishing of his Aires” (TM 2) “To M r. H. Lawes on his Aires” (TM 3) 7. the man (TM 2, 3, 1648) the man, (1673) a man (TM 1) 8. that didst reform thy art the chief among (TM 1) tongue. (1648, TM 1, 2) tongu (1673) in copies of 1673 that I examined the vowel after g is unreadable. 9. lend (1648, TM 1, 2, 3) send (1673) 11. Story (1673, TM 1, 2, 3, 1648) *story (marginal note in 1648: “The story / of Ariadne / set by him in / Music. /”) XIV (1673) 14 (TM) First printed in 1673. Three copies in TM, the first two in Milton’s hand. Title in TM1 (crossed out) On ye religious memorie of M rs Catharine Thomason my christian freind deceas’d 16 Decemb. 1646.” The a in Thomason in TM is very faint. 1. which (1673, TM 1&2) that (TM1) 7. Faith (1673, TM 2&3) Truth (TM1) 9. Love led them on, and Faith who knew (1673, TM 2&3) Faith led ye way, & she who saw (TM1) 12. speak (1673) spake (TM1, 2, 3); on (1673, TM3) in (TM 1, 2) XV (1673) [18] On the late Massacher in Piemont. the only text; number in brackets indicates its intended place in TM sequence 10. sow/so (1673) errata corrects, so (1673) XVI (1673) [19] the only text; number in brackets indicates its intended place in TM sequence XVII (1673) [20] the only text; number in brackets indicates its intended place in TM sequence XVIII (1673) [21] the only text except for lines 5–14 in TM; number in brackets indicates its intended place in TM sequence 8. intends (TM) intend (1673) XIX (1673) 23 (TM)

At a Vacation Exercise in the Colledge Anno Ætatis 19. At a Vacation Exercise in the Colledge, part Latin, part English. The only text. Misplaced in 1673 after “Ad PYRRHAM.” Errata sheet indicates this poem should have been placed “at the end of the Elegie,” i.e. after “On the Death of a fair Infant dying of a Cough” and before “The Passion,” evidently to group it with the other juvenilia. 14. daintiest (emendation) daintest (1673) 40. Spheres (emendation) Spherse (1673) 98. hallowed (emendation) hollowed (1673)

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571

On the new forcers of Conscience under the Long PARLIAMENT (1673) On the forcers of Conscience (directive in TM: “to come in as is directed in the leafe before”) and (on that leaf,) “to come in heer” [after sonnet 12 (XI in 1673)] 1. off (TM) of (1673) 8. Rotherford? (1673) Rotherford (TM) 14. packings (TM) packing (1673) 15. Parliament (1673) Parlament (TM) 17. bauk (1673 errata corrects) bauke (TM) bank (1673). A marginal note in a BL copy of 1673 corrects bank to baulk. cancelled line in TM. “Cropp ye as close as marginall P___s eares.” 19. you crossed out and they written above (TM)

Psalms Psalms I–VIII and LXXX–LXXXVIII the only texts PSAL. I. 13 judgment (emendation) jugdment (1673) PSAL. VIII. 2 earth! (emendation) earth? (1673)

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Textual Notes to Sonnets Published in 1694 15. number from TM Title: “On ye Lord Gen. Fairfax at ye seige of Colchester” crossed out (TM) To my Lord Fairfax (1694) 2. Filling (TM) fills (1694) 4. that (TM) which (1694) 8. their (TM) her (1694) 9. yet (TM) yet! (1694) 10. endless warr (TM) Acts of War (1694) 11. Truth, and Right (TM) injur’d Truth (1694) 12. cleard (TM) be rescu’d (1694) shameful brand (TM) Brand (1694) 13. Fraud. (TM) Fraud; (1694) 14. share (TM) shares (1694) 16. number from TM Title “To the Lord Generall Cromwell May 1652 On the proposalls of certaine ministers at ye Commtee for Propagation of the Gospell” crossed out (TM) To Oliver Cromwell (1694) 1. who (TM) that (1694) cloud (TM) Croud (1694) 5. line missing in 1694 6. Hast reard Gods Trophies (TM) And Fought God’s Battells (1694) 7. stream (TM) Streams (1694) 9. Dunbarr feild (crossed out in error, replaced by Worsters laureat wreath, also used in next line, TM) Dunbarfeild (1694) 11. renowned then (TM) than those of (1694) 12. wth (TM) in (1694) 17. number from TM Title: “To Sr Henry Vane the younger” crossed out (TM) To Sir HENRY VANE (1694) 1. counsell (TM) counsel (1662) Councels (1694) 6. drift (1662, 1694) drift(s) (TM)

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Textual Notes to Sonnets Published in 1694

573

7. upheld, (TM, 1662) be upheld, (1694) 8. Move (TM, 1662) Mann’d (1694) 10. spirituall powre (TM, 1662) Spiritual (1694) 11. Thou hast learnt well, a praise that few have won (TM) What seuers each thou hast learn’t, wch few have won (TM, rewritten in margin) which few have done (1662) What serves each, thou hast learn’d (1694) 13. firme (TM, 1662) Right (1694) 14. In peace, & reckon’s thee (TM, 1662) And reckons thee in chief (1694) 22. number from TM No title (TM) To Mr. CYRIAC SKINNER Upon his Blindness (1694) Text in TM in Cyriack Skinner’s hand 1. Cyriack, (TM) CYRIAC (1694) 4. sight (TM) day (1694) 5. Of (TM) Or (1694) 7. a jot TM) one jot (1694) 10. overply’d (TM) over ply’d (1694) 12. talks (TM) rings (1694) 13. the (TM) this (1694) 14. better (TM) other (1694)

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Textual Notes to Unpublished Poems Carmina Elegiaca 3. praenuncius ales (reading recorded by Horwood)

Ignauus Satrapam 4. Stratus purpureo procubuit thoro / str( )tus purp( )eo p( )buit ( ) Horwood

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Textual Notes to Paradise Regained Book 1 62. being / being. (1671) errata corrects 226. subdue / destroy (1671) errata corrects 333. aught (emendation) / ought (1671) 373. demurring / demuring (1671) errata corrects 400. Nearer / Never (1671) errata corrects 417. Imparts / Imports (1671) errata corrects 425. (emendation) righteous / corrects misprint irghteous (1671) 470. wrested (emendation) / rested (1671)

Book 2 128. threat’ns then / threat’ns (1671) errata adds then 313. Thebez / Thebes (1671) errata corrects 341. pil’d / pill’d (1671) errata corrects 371. errata calls for a comma after works rather than after knowledge

Book 3 324. showers / shower (1671) errata corrects

Book 4 102. victor people / victor, people (1671) errata cancels the comma 124. compliments (emendation) / complements (1671)

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217. wast (emendation) was (1671) 288. ought (emendation) / aught (1671) 424. their (some copies 1671) thir (other copies 1671) 497. will; desist, (some copies 1671) will desist; (other copies 1671) 578. tryumphals (some copies 1671) triumphals (other copies 1671) 598. Conceiving (some copies 1671) Conceiving, (other copies 1671)

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Textual Notes to Samson Agonistes 126. Irresistible / Irresistable (1671) errata corrects 157. complain / complain’d (1671) errata corrects 222. motion’d /mention’d (1671) errata corrects 354. And such / Such (1671) errata supplies And 390. scent (emendation) sent (1671) 656. life / life. (1671) Errata deletes period 660. But with / But to (1671) errata corrects 720. scent (emendation) sent (1671) 1248. divulge /divulg’d (1671) errata corrects 1313. rate / race (1671) errata corrects 1325. Mimics / Mimirs (1671) errata corrects 1553. here / heard (1671) errata corrects

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