Bartas, defcribes the fatal confequences of The ARGUMENT of it opens

the FALL.

thus:

The world's transform'd from what it was at first;
For Adam's fin all creatures else accurf'd;
THEIR HARMONY DISTUNED BY HIS JAR:
Yet all again CONCENT, to make him war; &c.

P. 201.

where the two laft lines may illuftrate a preceding verfe in this finely-conceived, and exquifitely - finished, little poem ;

That UNDISTURBED fong of pure CONCENT,

The Book itself, after an invocation, thus begins;

Ere that our fire, (O too too proudly base!)
Turn'd tail to God, and to the fiend his face,
This mighty world did feem an inftrument
True-ftrung, well-tun'd, and handled excellent;
Whofe fymphony refounded, fweetly fhrill,
The Almighty's praife,

While

While man ferv'd God, the world ferv'd him;

the 'live

And lifeless creatures feemed all to ftrive

In fweet accord; the base with high rejoic'd,
The hot with cold, the folid with the moift;
And innocent Aftræa did combine

All with the maftic of a LOVE DIVINE.

For th' hidden love that now a days doth hold
The fteel and loadftone, Hydrargire and gold,
Is but a fpark and fhadow of that love,
Which at the first in every thing did move,
When the earth's Mufes with harmonious found
To Heaven's fweet mufick humbly did refound.
But Adam, being chief of all the strings
Of this large lute, o'er-reached, quickly brings
All out of tune; and now, for melody
Of warbling charms, it yells fo hideously,
That it affrights fell Enyon *, who turmoils
To raife again old Chaos' antique broils. p. 202.

I must request you here to make some allowance for the ftylus Enniani fæculi.

* The fame as Bellona, fifter to Mars, and Goddefs of Battle. Gloffary to Sylvefier. See Milton's iv th. ELEGY, ver. 75.

I might

I might obferve to you, that " Phan"tafy," ver. 5, "Noife" for Mufic, ver. 18, and " Diapafon," ver. 23, fimilarly used, are all to be found in Sylvefter. At prefent I hasten to the two delightful poems of L'ALLEGRO and IL PENSEROSO; in each of which I fhall point out an obligation, or two, to my wormeaten volume.

L'ALLEGRO.

IO.dark Cimmerian defert,

Mr. Warton, having obferved that "Cimmerian darkness was a common al"lufion in the poetry then written and "ftudied," cites inftances from Shakefpeare, Fletcher, and Spenfer. It is alfo frequent in Sylvefter;

The

In Sylvefter's Du Bartas, it is faid, God

created the Angels,

immortal, innocent,

Good, FAIR, and FREE;

25. Hafe thee, Nymph, and bring with thee
Feft and youthful Follity;

Quips, and Cranks, and wanton Wiles,
Nods and Becks and wreathed Smiles,
Such as hang on Hebe's cheek, &c. &c.]

P. 14.

Pray just caft your eye on Du Bartas's groupe of attendants on the "laughter

Fair dainty Venus,

Whom wanton Dalliance, Dancing, and Delight, Smiles, witty Wiles, Youth, Love, and Beauty bright,

With foft blind Cupids evermore confort. p. 81.

45. Then to come, in spite of forrow,

And at my window bid good-morrow.]

Bishop Newton takes occafion, from this paffage, to admit, with Dryden, that rhyme was not Milton's talent." " Se"veral things," he obferves," are faid

66

66

by Milton, which would not have been "faid, but for the fake of the rhyme;" and he particularly refers to the "in "Spite of forrow," in this place; which he intimates to be, what we used to call at school a botch, a mere expletive, foifted in pro carminis ufu. You and I, (who have a higher opinion of Milton's talent for rhime,) fhould not, I believe, eafily accede to this accufation against him. I had once fuppofed it intended ftrongly to characterise the en

livening