NOTES TO AL AARAAF. Note 1 page 128. Al Aaraaf. A star was discovered by Tycho Brahe which appeared suddenly in the heavens-attained, in a few days, a brilliancy surpassing that of Jupiter-then as suddenly disappeared, and has never been seen since. 2 P. 130. On the fair Capo Deucato. On Santa Maura-olim Deucadia. 8 P. 130. Of her who loved a mortal-and so died. Sappho. 4 P. 130. And gemmy flower, of Trebizond misnamed. This flower is much noticed by Leuwenhoek and Tournefort. The bee, feeding upon its blossom, becomes intoxicated. 5 P. 130. And Clytia pondering between many a sun. Clytia-The Chrysanthemum Peruvianum, or, to employ a better-known term-the turnsol-which turns continually towards the sun, covers itself, like Peru, the country from which it comes, with dewy clouds, which cool and refresh its flowers during the most violent heat of the day.-B. de St. Pierre. 6 P. 131. And that aspiring flower that sprang on Earth. There is cultivated in the king's garden at Paris a species of serpentine aloes without prickles, whose large and beautiful flower exhales a strong odour of the vanilla, during the time of its expansion, which is very short. It does not blow till towards the month of July -you can perceive it gradually open its petals-expand them-fade and die.-St. Pierre. 7 P. 131. And Valisnerian lotus thither flown. There is found, in the Rhone, a beautiful lily of the Valisnerian kind. Its stem will stretch to the length of three or four feet-thus preserving its head above water in the swellings of the river. 8 P. 131. And thy most lovely purple perfume, Zante! The Hyacinth. 9 P. 131. And the Nelumbo bud that floats for ever; With Indian Cupid down the holy river. It is a fiction of the Indians that Cupid was first seen floating in one of these down the river Ganges-and that he still loves the cradle of his childhood. 10 P. 129. To bear the Goddess' song, in odours, up to heaven. "And golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of the saints."-Revelations. 11 P. 132. A model of their own. The Humanitarians held that God was to be understood as having really a human form.-Vide Clarke's Sermons, vol. i. page 26, fol. edit. The drift of Milton's argument leads him to employ language which would appear, at first sight, to verge upon their doctrine; but it will be seen immediately that he guards himself against the charge of having adopted one of the most ignorant errors of the dark ages of the Church. Dr. Sumner's Notes on Milton's Christian Doctrine.. This opinion, in spite of many testimonies to the contrary, could never have been very general. Andeus, a Syrian of Mesopotamia, was condemned for the opinion, as heretical. He lived in the beginning of the fourth century. His disciples were called Anthropomorphites. -Vide Du Pin. Among Milton's minor poems are these lines : Dicite sacrorum præsides nemorum Deæ, etc. And afterwards "Non cui profundum Cæcitas lumen dedit 12 P. 132. By winged Fantasy. Seltsamen Tochter Jovis Der Phantasie. -Goethe. 13 P. 133. What tho' in worlds where sightless cycles run. Sightless-too small to be seen.—Legge. 14 P. 134. Apart-like fire-flies in Sicilian night. I have often noticed a peculiar movement of the fireflies; they will collect in a body and fly off, from a common centre, into innumerable radii. 15 134. Her way-but left not yet her Therasaan reign. Therasæa, or Therasea, the island mentioned by Seneca, which, in a moment, arose from the sea to the eyes of the astonished mariners. 16 P. 135. Of molten stars their pavement, such as fall Thro' the ebon air. Some star which, from the ruin'd roof Of shaked Olympus, by mischance, did fall.-Milton. 17 P. 136. Friezes from Tadmar and Persepolis. Voltaire, in speaking of Persepolis, says, "Je connois bien l'admiration qu' inspirent ces ruines-mais un palais érigé au pied d'une chaine des rochers sterils-peutil être un chef-d'œuvre des arts?" 18 P. 136. Of beautiful Gomorrah! O, the wave. "O, the wave."-Ula Deguisi is the Turkish appellation; but, on its own shores, it is called Bahar Loth, or Almotanah. There were undoubtedly more than two cities engulfed in the "Dead Sea." In the valley of Siddim were five-Adrah, Zeboin, Zoar, Sodom, and Gomorrah. Stephen of Byzantium mentions eight, and Strabo thirteen (engulfed)-but the last is out of all reason. |