His luftre vifibly impair'd; yet feem'd
Undaunted. If I must contend, faid he,
Beft with the best, the fender not the fent,

Or all at once;

more glory will be won,

850

Or lefs be loft. Thy fear, faid Zephon bold,
Will fave us trial what the least can do

Single against thee wicked, and thence weak.
The Fiend reply'd not, overcome with rage;
But like a proud steed rein'd, went haughty on,
Champing his iron curb: to ftrive or fly

855

He held it vain; awe from above had quell'd 860 His heart, not else dismay'd. Now drew they nigh The western point, where those half-rounding guards Juft met, and closing stood in fquadron join'd,

Firtue in her shape how lovely is manifeftly borrow'd from Plato and Cicero, Formam quidem ipfam & quafi faciem honefti vides, quæ fi oculis cerneretur, mirabiles amores (ut ait Plato) excitaret fapientiæ. Cic. de Off. I. 5. as what follows, faw and pin'd his lofs, is an imitation of Perfius Sat. III. 38. Virtutem videant intabefcantque relicta.

858. went haughty on,] Satan is afterwards led to Gabriel, the chief of the guardian Angels, who kept watch in Paradife. IIis

Awaiting next command. To whom their chief
Gabriël from the front thus call'd aloud.

O friends, I hear the tread of nimble feet
Hafting this way, and now by glimpse discern
Ithuriel and Zephon through the fhade,
And with them comes a third of regal port,
But faded fplendor wan; who by his gate
And fierce demeanour feems the prince of Hell,
Not likely to part hence without conteft;
Stand firm, for in his look defiance lours,

865

870

He scarce had ended, when those two approach'd, And brief related whom they brought, where found, How bufied, in what form and posture couch'd. 876 To whom with ftern regard thus Gabriel fpake.

865. Gabriel from the front] Gabriel is pronounced here as a word of three fyllables, tho' commonly it is ufed as only of two; a liberty which Milton takes in the names of the Angels.

866. O friends, I hear &c.] Gabriel's discovering Satan's approach at a distance is drawn with great ftrength and livelinefs of imagination. Addifon.

The learned Mr. Upton in his Critical Obfervations on Shakespear remarks that Milton in this whole epifode keeps clofe to his mafter Homer, who fends out Ulyffes and VOL. I.

880

Why haft thou, Satan, broke the bounds prefcrib'd
To thy tranfgreffions, and difturb'd the charge
Of others, who approve not to tranfgrefs
By thy example, but have pow'r and right
To queftion thy bold entrance on this place;
Employ'd it seems to violate fleep, and those
Whofe dwelling God hath planted here in blifs?

To whom thus Satan with contemptuous brow. 885
Gabriel, thou hadst in Heav'n th' efteem of wife,
And fuch I held thee; but this question ask'd
Puts me in doubt. Lives there who loves his pain?
Who would not, finding way, break loose from Hell,
Though thither doom'd? Thou wouldst thyself, no
And boldly venture to whatever place

[doubt,

Fartheft

nou, Iliad. III. and ofpa greffions, but he could tranfgrefs in dwy, torve intuitus, Iliad, IV.

his thought and mind every moHume. ment; yet it is good fenfe, if Mil878.-broke the bounds prefcrib'd ton meant (as I fuppofe he did) To thy tranfgreffions,] Dr. Bentley that the bounds of Hell were by reads tranfcurfions; and Mr. Ri- God prefcrib'd to Satan's tranfgrefchardfon understands tranfgreffions fions, fo as that it was intended he in the fame fenfe. But as Dr. Pearce should tranfgrefs no where else, but obferves, though it is right to fay within those bounds; whereas he that bounds are prefcrib'd to hinder was now attempting to tranfgrefs tranfcurfions, yet I think it is not without them. And by this interproper to fay, that bounds are pre- pretation we fhall not understand ferib'd to tranfcurfions. And the tranfgreffions in the sense of the pure common reading is juftifiable: for Latin, and tranfgrefs in the very though (as Dr. Bentley fays) no next line in the ufual English acbounds could be fet to Satan's tranfceptation, but fhall affix the fame

Fartheft from pain, where thou might'ft hope to change
Torment with eafe, and fooneft recompenfe

Dole with delight, which in this place I fought;
To thee no reason, who know'ft only good,
But evil haft not try'd: and wilt object

His will who bound us? let him furer bar
His iron gates, if he intends our stay

895

In that dark durance: thus much what was afk'd. The reft is true, they found me where they fay; 900 But that implies not violence or harm.

Thus he in fcorn. The warlike Angel mov'd,
Disdainfully half fmiling thus reply'd.

O lofs of one in Heav'n to judge of wife,
Since Satan fell, whom folly overthrew,

905 And

And now returns him from his prison scap'd,
Gravely in doubt whether to hold them wife
Or not, who ask what boldness brought him hither
Unlicenc'd from his bounds in Hell prescrib'd;

So wife he judges it to fly from pain
However, and to scape his punishment.

910

So judge thou ftill, prefumptuous, till the wrath,
Which thou incurr'ft by flying, meet thy flight
Sev'nfold, and scourge that wisdom back to Hell,
Which taught thee yet no better, that no pain 915
Can equal anger infinite provok'd.

But wherefore thou alone? wherefore with thee
Came not all Hell broke loofe? is pain to them.
Lefs pain, lefs to be fled? or thou than they
Lefs hardy to indure? courageous Chief,
The first in flight from pain, hadft thou alledg'd
To thy deferted hoft this cause of flight,

920

Thou furely hadft not come fole fugitive.
To which the Fiend thus anfwer'd frowning ftern.

gation, by joining it in conftruction with what goes before; but afking the queftion gives a spirit and quickness to it.

926.well thou know'st I stood Thy fierceft,] Dr. Bentley reads

Not

The fierceft, that is pain: but Thy fierceft is right, and we may underftand it with Dr. Pearce Thy fierceft attack, or with Mr. Richardfon Thy fierceft enemy. Fierce is ufed as a fubftantive, as our author often ufes

adjectives.