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In full harmonic number join'd, their fongs

690

Divide the night, and lift our thoughts to Heaven.
Thus talking hand in hand alone they pass'd
On to their blissful bow'r; it was a place
Chos'n by the fovran Planter, when he fram'd
All things to Man's delightful ufe; the roof
Of thickeft covert was inwoven shade
Laurel and myrtle, and what higher grew
Of firm and fragrant leaf; on either fide
Acanthus, and each odorous bufhy shrub

Fenc'd up

695

the verdant wall; each beauteous flower,

Iris all hues, roses, and jeffamin

Rear'd high their florish'd heads between, and

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Moifaic; underfoot the violet,

700

Crocus, and hyacinth with rich inlay

Broider'd the ground, more color'd than with stone
Of coftlieft emblem: other creature here,

Beaft, bird, infect, or worm durft enter none;
Such was their awe of Man. In shadier bower 70;
More facred and fequefter'd, though but feign'd,
Pan or Sylvanus never flept, nor Nymph,

700.

the violet,

Crocus, and hyacinth] Our author has taken this from Homer, who makes the fame fort of flowers to Spring up under Jupiter and Juno as they lay in conjugal embraces upon mount Ida, Iliad. XIV. 347.

Τοισι δ' ύπο χθων δια φυεν νει

θήλεα ποιων, Λωτον Θ' ερσηενία, ιδε κρόκον, ηδ' υακινθον Πυκνον και μαλακον· ὁς απο χθο

νΘ ύψοσ' εεργε.

Glad earth perceives, and from

her bofom pours Unbidden herbs, and voluntary

flow'rs; Thick new-born violets a foft car pet spread, And cluftring lotos fwell'd the rifing bed,

And fudden hyacinths the turf

beltrow,

And flamy crocus made the moun

tain glow.

Nor

our author the very turn of Homer's verfes is observed, and the cadence, and almoft the words finely tranflated.

703. Of coflieft emblem:] Emblem is here in the Greek and Latin fenfe for inlaid floors of stone or cal or piatural: wood, to make figures mathemati

Arte pavimenti atque emblemate vermiculato. Bentley.

705. In fhadier bower 1 So it is in the first edition; in the fecond we read In fhadie bower, but with fuch a space as is not ufual between two words, as if the letter r had occupy'd the room, and by fome accident had made no impreffion. In fhadier bower marks more ftrongly the fhadinefs as well. as the retiredness of the place, and the fhadinefs is a principal circumftance of the defcription, and the bower is feldom mention'd but it is called hady bower, III. 734V. 367, 375. Shady lodge. IV. 720.

Where Mr. Pope remarks that in feady arborous roof, V. 137. The

purport

Nor Faunus haunted.

Here in clofe recefs

710

With flowers, garlands, and fweet-fmelling herbs
Efpoufed Eve deck'd firft her nuptial bed,
And heav'nly quires the hymenæan fung,
- What day the genial Angel to our fire

Brought her in naked beauty more adorn'd,
More lovely than Pandora, whom the Gods
Endow'd with all their gifts, and O too like

purport of the fimile then is this, There never was a more fhady, more facred and fequefter'd bower, though but in fiction, than this was in reality. Pan, the God of Thepherds, or Sylvanus, the God of woods and groves, Wood-nymph, or Faunus, the tutelary God of hufbandmen, were not even feign'd to enjoy a more sweet recess than this of Adam and Eve.

709. With flowers,] Milton ufually fpells it flours, but here it is with two fyllables flowers, which made me imagin that he writ always flour when it was to be pronounc'd as one fyllable, and flower when it was to be pronounc'd as two fyllables: but upon farther examination we find, that when he pronounces the word as one fylJable, he fometimes fpells it flower flow'r, fometimes floure, fometimes flouer and fo likewife bower he fpells differently bower, bowr, bowre; and shower likewife shower, Showr, Showre. It is fitting that all thefe fhould be reduced to fome

715 In

certain ftandard, and what ftandard more proper than the prefent practice, and efpecially fince there are feveral inftances of the fame in Milton himself?

pro

714. More lovely than Pandora, &c.] The ftory is this. Prometheus the fon of Japhet (or Japetus) had ftol'n fire from Heaven, Jove's authentic fire, the original and totype of all earthly fire, which Jupiter being angry at, to be reveng'd fent him Pandora, fo call'd because all the Gods had contributed their gifts to make her more. charming (for fo the word fignifies). She was brought by Hermes (Mercury) but was not received by Prometheus the wifer fon of Japhet (as the name implies) but by his brother Epimetheus th unwifer fon. She entic'd his foolish curiofity to open a box which the brought, wherein were contain'd all manner Richardson. of evils. The epithet unwifer does not imply that his brother Prometheus was unwife. Milton ufes unwiser, Ffa

as

In fad event, when to th' unwifer fon
Of Japhet brought by Hermes, fhe infnar'd
Mankind with her fair looks, to be aveng'd
On him who had stole Jove's authentic fire.
Thus at their fhady lodge arriv'd, both ftood, 720
Both turn'd, and under open fky ador'd
The God that made both sky, air, earth and heaven,
Which they beheld, the moon's resplendent globe,
And starry pole: Thou also mad'ft the night,
Maker omnipotent, and thou the day,

as any Latin writer would imprudentior, for not fo wife as he should have been. So audacior, timidior, vehementior, iracundior, &c. mean bolder, &c. quam par eft, than is right and fit, and imply lefs than audax, timidus, &c. in the pofitive degree. Fortin. 720. Thus at their fhady lodge arriv'd, both flood,

Both turn'd, &c.] A great admirer of Milton obferves, that he fometimes places two monofyllables at the end of the line ftopping at the fourth foot, to adapt the meafure of the verfe to the fenfe; and then begins the next line in the fame manner, which has a wonderful effect. This artful manner of writing makes the reader fee them ftand and turn to worship God before they went into their bower. If this manner was alter'd, much of the effect of the painting would be lost.

725 Which

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Lucentemque globum lunæ, Titaniaque aftra.

724.Thou alfo mad the night, &c.] A mafterly tranfition this, which the poet makes to their evening worship. Moft of the modern heroic poets have imitated the Ancients, in beginning a fpeech. without premifing, that the perfon faid thus and thus; but as it is eafy to imitate the Ancients in the omiffion of two or three words, it requires judgment to do it in fuch a manner as they fhall not be miffed, and that the fpeech may begin

naturally

Which we in our appointed work employ'd
Have finish'd, happy in our mutual help
And mutual love, the crown of all our blifs
Ordain'd by thee, and this delicious place
For us too large, where thy abundance wants
Partakers, and uncropt falls to the ground.
But thou haft promis'd from us two a race
To fill the earth, who fhall with us extol
Thy goodness infinite, both when we wake,
And when we seek, as now, thy gift of fleep.

ginus

naturally without them. There is a fine inftance of this kind out of Homer, in the 23d chapter of Longinus. Addifon. I conceive Mr. Addifon meant Sect. 27. and the inftance there given is of Hector being firft nam'd, and then of a fudden introduced as fpeaking, without any notice given that he does fo. But the tranfition here in Milton is of another fort; it is first speaking of a perfon, and then fuddenly turning the difcourfe, and fpeaking to him. And we may obferve the like tranfition from the third to the fecond perfon in the hymn to Hercules, Virg. Æn. VIII. 291.

ut duros mille labores

730

735 This

place, that is Thou mad ft &c. as in ver. 724. Thou also mad ft the night. Dr. Pearce choofes rather to read thus,

the crown of all our blifs Ordain'd by thee in this delicious place.

The conftruction no doubt is fomewhat obfcure, but without any alteration we may understand the paffage with Dr. Pearce thus, and thou mad'ft this delicious place: or with Mr. Richardfon thus, happy in our mutual help and mutual love, the chief of all our blifs, thy gift, and happy in this delicious Paradife: or thus, happy in our mutual help and mutual love, the crown of all our blifs,

Pertulerit. Tu nubigenas, invicte, and of this delicious place.

bimembres &c.

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735-thy gift of fleep.] Dr. Bentley reads the gift, and obferves that it is word for word from Homer, who has the expreffion frequently: Ff3

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