And when to all his Angels he propos'd To draw the proud king Ahab into fraud I undertook that office, and the tongues Of all his flattering prophets glibb'd with lies 375 For what he bids I do: though I have loft 372. To draw the proud king Ahab into fraud] That is, into mifchief, as fraus fometimes means in Latin. Fortin. The reader may fee an inftance of fraud and fraus ufed in this fenfe in the Paradife Loft, IX. 643, and the note there. And this ftory of Ahab is related, 1 Kings XXII. 19, &c. I faw the Lord fitting on his throne, and all the host of Heaven Standing by him, on his right hand and on his left. And the Lord faid, Who fhall perfuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one faid on this manner, and another on that manner. And there came forth a Spirit, and food before the Lord, and faid, I will perfuade him. And 380 What the Lord faid unto him, Wherewith? To hear attent Thy wisdom,] Milton feems to have borrowed this word, and this emphatical manner of applying it, from Spenfer, Faery Queen, B. 6. Cant. 9. St. 26. What can be then lefs in me than defire To fee thee and approach thee, whom I know 385 Thy wisdom, and behold thy Godlike deeds? Men generally think me much a foe To all mankind: why fhould I? they to me I loft not what I loft, rather by them 390 I gain'd what I have gain'd, and with them dwell If not difpofer; lend them oft my aid, And duration of the war they were going upon, is called by Homer ya ona, a great fign, Iliad II. 308. What were the Lacedæmonians profited before (faith Cicero De Div. II. 25.) or our own countrymen lately by the oftents and their interpreters? which, if we muft believe them to be figns fent by the Gods, why were they fo obfcure? Quid igitur aut oftenta, aut eorum interpretes, vel Lacedæmonios olim, vel nuper noftros adjuverunt? quæ fi figna Deorum putanda funt, cur tam obfcura fuerunt? This paffage of Cicero will lead us to the fenfe of the next word, which very naturally follows prefages and figns, and is conD 3 nected And anfwers, oracles, portents and dreams, nected with them. In Cicero we have figns and their interpreters, and here figns and their interpretations; for this I take to be the meaning of anfwers. The harufpicum refponfa amongst the Romans are obvious authorities. 2. There are three fpecies of divination diftinguished from the former by figns, in Cicero's first book on that fubjea, viz. dreams, vaticinations or prophecies, and oracles. Carent autem arte ii, qui non ratione, aut conjectura, obfervatis ac notatis fignis, fed concitatione quadam animi, aut foluto liberoque motu futura præfentiunt ; quod & fomniantibus fæpe contingit, & nonnunquam vaticinantibus per furorem, &c. Cujus generis oracula etiam habenda funt. De Div. I. 18. These three frequently occur together; as again in this first book. 51. Item igitur fomniis, vaticinationibus, oraculis, &c. And again in de Nat. Deor. II. 65. Multa cernunt harufpices: multa augures provident: multa oraculis declarantur, multa vaticinationibus, multa fomniis (and I will fairly add, tho' it may be thought to make against me) multa portentis. Here portents are joined with oracula, vaticinationes, and 395 Nearer fomnia; and why might not Milton join them with oracles and dreams? In anfwer to this I obferve, that the word portents in our poet is not only irregularly inferted, but excludes another fpecies of divination out of a place, where the authority of Cicero himself, and in this very paffage too, would make one expect to find it; which cannot be faid of portentis. And now perhaps a conjecture may appear not void of probability, that the poet dictated, And answers, oracles, prophets, and dreams. Calton. I have given this learned note at length, though I can by no means agree to the propofed alteration. My greatest objection to it is, that I conceive Milton would not have inferted prophets between oracles and dreams, any more than Cicero would have inferted vates_between oracula and fomnia. Cicero has faid oracula, vaticinationes, fomnia; and Milton in like manner would have faid by prefages and figns, and anfwers, oracles, prophecies, not prophets, and dreams. But I fuppofe the poet was not willing to afcribe prophecy to the Devil; he might 400 Nearer acquainted, now I feel by proof, think, and very juftly think, that it lay not within his fphere and capacity and by portents he plainly understands fomething more than prefages and figns, as portenta are ranked with monftra and prodigia in the best Latin authors. The gentleman feems apprehenfive that his laft quotation from Cicero may be turned against him and indeed that paffage and this reflects fo much light on each other, as would incline one to believe that Milton had it in mind as he was compofing. Multa cernunt harufpices: multa augures provident: thefe are the prefages and figns and anfwers: multa oraculis declarantur, multa vaticinationibus, multa fomniis, multa portentis: here portents are annumerated with oracles and dreams: quibus cognitis,, multæ fæpe res hominum fententia atque utilitate parta (or as Lambin reads, ex animi fententia atque utilitate parte) multa etiam pericula depulfa funt: the fenfe of which is very well expreffed by the following line in Milton, Whereby they may direct their future life. in Man That fellowship in pain divides not Smart,] Our author here had his eye this line of the poet, Solamen miferis focios habuiffe doloris. Thyer. 402. Nor lightens aught each man's peculiar load.] I think it wil not be cavilling to fay, that each man's peculiar load fhould not be put in the mouth of Satan, who was no man, who had confeffed to Chrift that he was the unfortunate Arch-Fiend, and who fpeaks of himfelf. If Milton had been aware of it, he would have corrected it thus, Nor lightens aught each one's peculiar load, or in fome other manner. Befides, the word man is repeated here too often. Nor lightens aught each man's peculiar load. Small confolation then, were man adjoin'd: This wounds me moft (what can it lefs?) that man, Man fall'n fhall be reftor'd, I never more. Man fall'n fhall be reftor'd, I never more. To whom our Saviour sternly thus reply'd. Defervedly thou griev'st, compos'd of lies From the beginning, and in lies wilt end; 405 Who boast'st release from Hell, and leave to come Comes to the place where he before had sat To all the host of Heav'n; the happy place 415 |