573. since created man, after the creation of man. 574. embodied, assembled in a body. named, compared. 575. small infantry, the Pygmies. Homer's Iliad iii, 5. 577. Phlegra, in Macedonia where the Gods defeated the Giants. See 1. 509. 578. Thebes and Ilium, the chief battle grounds of Greek tradition. 580. fable, Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Britons. romance, Malory's Morte D'Arthur. 581. Armoric, Breton. 583-6. The references are to scenes famous in medieval romances. 586. peerage, the twelve peers of the Chanson de Roland. 588. observed, obeyed. 596-9. Curiously enough, this was the only passage in the poem objected to by the official Licenser for the Press (chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury), when the book was first printed. Either he did not like the suggestion of a 'change' of government, or he would not admit that Charles II could be perplexed' even by an eclipse. 597. disastrous, threatening disaster. 603. considerate, thoughtful, reflective. 605. remorse and passion, pity and suffering. 609. amerced, condemned to loss. 613. scathed, injured. 252. 615. blasted, withered. 24. 624. event, outcome. 632. exile. Accent on second syllable. 646. work, accomplish. 656. eruption, expedition, sortie. 662. understood, agreed on secretly. 670. grisly, horrible. 675. brigade. Pronounce brigad. 678. Mammon, riches (Syriac). See Matthew vi, 686. ransacked the center, dug into the earth. 690. ribs, bars. admire, wonder. 253. 694. Babel. See Genesis xi, 1-9. Memphian, Egyptian, i.e., the Pyramids. 703. founded, melted. 704. severing, separating. 713. pilasters, pillars set in a wall and lightly projecting from it. overlaid, surmounted, 715. architrave, the main beam. 716. cornice, frieze, adornments of the architrave. bossy, in relief, projecting. 717. fretted, worked in designs. Serapis, an Egyptian deity. 728. cresset, an iron lantern. 738. his name, Hephaistos or Vulcan. 739. Ausonian land, Italy. 740. Mulciber, the welder of metals. 746. Lemnos, sacred to Hephaistos. The story of his fall is told in Homer's Iliad i, 591. 750. engines, machines, contrivances. 756. Pandemonium, the place of all the demons. 764. wont, were wont to. soldan, sultan. 765. paynim, pagan. 769. The sun is in Taurus (one of the signs of the zodiac) April 19-May 20. 254. 774. expatiate, walk abroad. Latin use. confer, discuss. 780-1. Pliny placed the Pygmies beyond the source of the Ganges. 781-5. Reminiscent of A Midsummer Night's Dream and the Eneid. 785. arbitress, witness. The moon was supposed to be influenced by fairy incantations. 795. recess, retirement. conclave, the name given to a meeting of Cardinals in the Roman Church. 797. frequent, crowded. Latin use. 798. consult, consultation. 2. Ormus, Persia. BOOK II 9. success, result, experience. 16. from no fall, if they had not fallen. 27. whom, him whom. 29. Your bulwark, as your defense. 50. recked, cared. 255. 52. unexpert, inexperienced. 59. of, imposed by. 60. By, in consequence of. 63. our tortures, what tortures us. 69. Tartarean, infernal. 73. such, those who think so. 74. forgetful, making forgetful. 75. proper, natural. 77. who but felt, who did not feel? 82. event, outcome. 83. stronger, superior in strength. 89. exercise, harass, torment. 97. essential, substance. Latin usage. 234. former, to disenthrone.' argues, proves. 235. latter, to regain.' 245. Ambrosial, divinely excellent. 249. pursue, seek to regain. 251. unacceptable. Accent on second syllable. 263-5. See Psalms xvii, 11, 13; xcvii, 2. 277. needs, of necessity. 278. sensible, sense; adj. for noun. 281. Compose, arrange, adjust. 288. o'er watched, worn out with watching. 294. Michael, the leading archangel, whose discomfiture of Satan and his followers is described later: vi, 320–327. 258. 301. aspect. Accent on second syllable. 303. public care, care for the common weal. 305. Majestic qualifies face. con 306. Atlantean, worthy of Atlas, a Titan demned by Zeus to bear the skies on his shoulders. 324. first and last. See Revelation i, 11. 330. determined, made an end of. 336. to, to the extent of. 337. Untamed reluctance, invincible resistance. 341. want, be wanting. 346. fame, report. Latin fama. 367. puny, literally, later born; hence, weaker. 375. original, origin, or perhaps originator. 376. Advise, consider. 380. By Satan. See I, 650-654. 259. 382. confound, utterly destroy. 387. states, authorities, or bodies of representatives, as in the phrase, the three estates of the realm,' meaning the King, Lords, and Commons in Great Britain. 391. Synod, assembly, meeting. 462. mansion, abode. 467. prevented, forestalled. 468. raised, encouraged. Refers to Others. 260. 470. erst, before. 471. opinion, reputation. 478. awful, full of awe. 485. close, concealed. varnished o'er, speciously covered with. 490. louring element, dark and threatening sky. 491. Scowls, covers the face of nature with a dark cloud of rain or snow. 492. If chance, if it chances that. 503. accord, agreement. - AREOPAGITICA In November, 1644, when this pamphlet was published, the parliamentary cause was triumphant in the field, and high hopes were entertained for its future success in the promotion of real and substantial liberty whose existence depends not so much on the terror of the sword as on sobriety of conduct and integrity of life.' But Parliament was already showing an inclination to adopt the intolerant and tyrannical measures which it had condemned in its adversaries, and it was against one of these an order that books should not be printed without license that Milton was here directing his efforts. His object was to secure the free publication of thought, that the power of determining what was true and what was false; what ought to be published and what to be suppressed, might no longer be entrusted to a few illiterate and illiberal individuals, who refused their sanction to any work which contained views or sentiments at all above the level of the vulgar superstition.' Beside Milton's general devotion to the cause of liberty, he had a special incentive in the attempt which was being made by the Stationers Company to suppress his divorce pamphlets, which had aroused a good deal of hostile feeling. 260. b. 15. Julius Agricola, governor of Britain 7885 A. D. 16. Cæsar, a general name for the Roman Emperor. preferred French. This statement is made on the authority of Tacitus. - 44. 52. fabricked, fabricated, manufactured. 56. casements, windows. collusion, deception. 58. wise man, Solomon. See also Matthew xiii, b. 6. equipage, equipment. 8. battle, army. 22. shifts, sleights, contrivance 31. Micaiah. See Kings xxii, 1-2 40. nailed to the cross. See Colossians ii, 14. purchase, boon, achievement. 42. His doctrine. Romans xiv, 5-9. 50. outward conformity, under royal and episcopal government. 52. linen decency, the outward conformity of a white surplice is abolished, but the spirit remains. 264. a. 1. care not, do not take care. truth sep arated from truth, i.e., essentials from non-essentials. 8. wood, and hay, and stubble. See 1 Corinthians iii, 12. 43. 11. subdichotomies, sub-divisions. 16. wheat from the tares. See Matthew xiii, 24 17. fry, small fish; properly, spawn. 27. extirpate, extirpated. 38. unity of Spirit. Ephesians iv, 3. 45. bejesuited, made into Jesuits. 53. unplausible, unappreciated. 56. see to, look upon. b. 30. Convocation House, where the governing body of the Church of England met. 31. Chapel. The Puritan Assembly of Divines met in Henry VII's Chapel at Westminster in 1643, and drew up a Confession of Faith and two Catechisms. 33. canonized, embodied in canons or rules. 34. convincement, argument and conviction. 35. supple, cure. 36. edify, build up, establish. 41. liege tombs. Henry VII's Chapel contains several royal tombs beside his own. 47. that we do not give, from giving. Latin construction. 56. manage, handle. 265. a. 8. Priests, Pharisees. See Matthew v, 20. 9. precipitant, precipitate. 18. the beginning of this Parliament. Nov. 3. 1640. 20. Imprimatur. The Licenser's stamp or inscription,Let it be printed.' 27. Moses. 40. Inquisition. One of the duties of the Inquisition was the prohibition of heretical books. The Dominican Order was especially active in the campaign against heresy. Both the Inquisition and the Dominicans were especially unpopular as Roman Catholic institutions to the Puritan readers to whom Milton was appealing. 52. next before this. The earlier order passed on Jan. 29, 1642. was 57. fire-executioner. Seditious books were burnt in public by the hangman. DRYDEN: HEROIC STANZAS Cromwell died on September 3, 1658, and was buried on November 23. When this poem was published in 1659, there was every appearance that Richard Cromwell was firmly established as his father's successor. Dryden's family was Puritan, and his admiration of the great Protector was no doubt sincere, though his expression of it is conventional and exaggerated. 266. 1-4. And now 't is time. At the end of a Roman emperor's funeral ceremonials, they let fly the sacred eagle which was supposed to carry his soul to heaven. 8. authentic, authoritative, beyond dispute. 15. prevent, anticipate. 18. circular, perfectly rounded. 267. 25. bays, garlands. royalist poet, his enemies interpreted this line as a condonation of the execution of Charles I. 49. went, became. 51. prevent, anticipate. 56. the vestal. Tarpeia was crushed to death by the shields of the Sabines to whom she betrayed the citadel of Rome on the promise of the shields as reward. 58. That giant-prince. Blake, the great Puritan admiral, died and was buried in Westminster Abbey about a year before Cromwell. 64. halcyons, kingfishers. It was an ancient myth that the sea was calm during their breeding season sea, correctly rimed with obey, according to the pronunciation of the time. ASTRÆEA REDUX Immediately after the Restoration Dryden welcomed that event as a return of the golden age of Justice, this being the significance of the title of his poem. The contrast with the political sentiments of the previous poem is as marked as it was sudden. 5. the white (cliffs of Dover). 10. ravish, take away. 13-16. Moses -name. See Exodus xxxiii, 20; xxxiv, 6. 268. 33. Preventing, running before. 36. May. Charles II entered London in 1660 on May 29, his birthday. 39. That star, Venus, which on the day of Charles II's birth shone brightly at noon. 43. whiter, more fortunate. A Latinism. 45. morn, youth. 53. Cronos (later identified with Chronos, Time) in Greek mythology, was said to devour his own offspring. 58. Holland, at this time England's great rival in the eastern trade. Each nation accused the other of misdoings in its foreign possessions, and denied the accusation when leveled against itself. 61. France had reluctantly been Charles II's host during part of his exile. 72. Augustus, the first Roman emperor, whose reign was marked by peace, prosperity, and progress in the arts. ABSALOM AND ACHITOPHEL This satirical poem, written, it is said, at the suggestion of Charles II, was directed against Shaftesbury, the minister whom Charles had dismissed, and who had retaliated by arousing public alarm in connection with the Popish Plot and by furthering the claims of the Duke of Monmouth, the king's illegitimate son, to the throne, in opposition to the lawful heir, Charles's brother, the Duke of York, who later succeeded as James II. In November, 1681, when the poem was published, Shaftesbury was a prisoner in the Tower on a charge of high treason, and Dryden's attack was no doubt meant to influence public feeling (and the Jury) against him. In this respect it failed, for Shaftesbury was acquitted; but it made a great sensation and remains the most remarkable example of political satire in the English language. The 66. Achitophel, Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury, formerly Lord Chancellor, at this time the leader of the party in favor of making the Duke of Monmouth the next heir to the throne and excluding the Duke of York as a Roman Catholic. 68. close, secret. 73. pigmy body. Shaftesbury was of small stature and his frame was enfeebled by disease. 78. boast his wit, show off his skill. 86. unfeathered two-legged thing. A humorous description of man ascribed to Plato. Shaftesbury's heir was a man of no ability and insig nificant character.' 87. huddled, confused. 91. the triple bond, the Triple Alliance of England, Holland, and Sweden against France, made in 1668 and exceedingly popular in England. It was broken in 1670 without Shaftesbury's knowledge by Charles II, who made a secret treaty with the French king. 96-107. Added in the second edition, after Shaftesbury's acquittal. 104. abbethdin, president of the Jewish judicature. Shaftesbury was Lord Chancellor 1672-3. 270. 111. cockle, weed. 113. wanted, lacked. Dryden's compliment to himself as David, the sweet singer of Israel, is shameless, but true. His poem has proved 'im mortal.' 120. manifest, convicted. A Latinism. 125. more he makes. The charge that Shaftesbury invented the Plot is absurd; but he undoubtedly used it for political purposes by fomenting public agitation. 129. Jebusite. One of the stories current at the time was that the king himself had become a Roman Catholic. It is now known that it was true. 135. instinct. Accent on second syllable. 137. warlike Absalom, the favorite son of the Biblical David, here signifying the Duke of Monmouth, Charles II's favorite son, though illegiti mate. He had commanded an expedition sent to suppress a Scottish rising. 140. title not allowed. Monmouth's claim to the succession was barred by his illegitimacy. 143. democracy, then a form of government in disfavor. Dryden was so fond of this line that he repeated it in The Hind and the Panther (p. 273, 1. 211). THE HIND AND THE PANTHER In this religious and satirical allegory, which appeared two years after James II's accession and about a year after Dryden's conversion to Roman Catholicism, the milk-white Hind' stands for the Church of Rome; the Panther, fair but spotted, for the Church of England; and the less attractive beasts for the Puritan sects which were most bitterly opposed to Romanism. 6. Scythians, famous archers of antiquity. 8. doomed, sentenced, condemned. 11. obnoxious, liable to injury from. 13-16. The Roman martyrs in Great Britain since the Reformation. 35. Bear, the Independent, or modern Congregationalist. 37. Hare, Quaker. 39. Ape, Freethinker. 41. Lion, King of England. 271. 43. Boar, Anabaptist. The following lines refer to the excesses committed in connection with the Anabaptist rising in Germany in the sixteenth century. 53. Reynard, the Arian. Arius, one of the early heretics of the Christian Church, held that God the Son was not co-existent or co-equal with God the Father; this doctrine was combated by Athanasius and condemned at the Council of Nice. 55. Socinus, an Italian nobleman who revived Arian beliefs in the sixteenth century. 70. her, the Roman Church. 79. Three in One, the doctrine of the Trinity. 93. host, the consecrated wafer of the Eucharist. 95. Impassible, incapable of suffering. 96-9. See John xx, 19–26. 104. quarry, game, object of pursuit. 121. proponent, proposing, putting forth. 272. 128. bilanders, a Dutch word for small coasting vessels. 135. A reference to the Roman doctrine of transubstantiation. 139. His clearest words. This is my body.' See Luke xxii, 19. 144. compound, compromise. 152. Polonian, Polish. The Polish Protestants adopted Socinianism. See 11. 54-55. 153. Wolf, Presbyterian. 165. An allusion at once to the Presbyterian doctrine of predestination and the Puritan habit of cropping the hair close, which made the ears project. 168. ruled a while. During the Commonwealth. 171. Cambria, Wales. The wolf was exterminated in Wales by the exaction of wolves' heads as tribute. |