NOTES. MILTON'S PREFACE. of all other poems-comp. the often-criticised expression, P. L. iv. 323-4, "Adam the goodliest man of men since born things of melancholic hue and quality—the poet refers to the medica doctrine of Signatures," broached by Paracelsus (1530-—40), the principle of which was, that the use of medicines was indicated by their having the colour characteristic of the disease which it was sought to relieve. Thus, turmeric would be administered for jaundice. So much for the word hue; the word quality points to a wider application of the principle, such as was contained in the ancient maxim, "Similia similibus curantur," and has been developed in the system of homoeopathy (Hahnemann, 1755-1843). a verse of Euripides-this verse is found among the fragments of Menander. Clement of Alexandria, however, speaks of it as a verse of Euripides, and it is, included, possibly on Clement's authority, among the fragments of that poet. It is doubtful, however, whether St. Paul intended a quotation. The received text, indeed, has φθειρουσιν ἤθη χρῆσθ ̓ ὁμιλίαι κακαί. But the best MS. authority gives xpηará, which is inconsistent with the scanning of the verse. Paraeus-a foreign theologian, whose commentary on the Revelation was translated into English in the year 1643. Dionysius the elder-this prince is said to have gained a prize for tragedy at Athens. Augustus Caesar-Ajacem tragoediam scripserat, eandemque quod sibi displicuisset, deleverat. Postea Lucius, gravis tragoediarum scriptor, interrogabat eum "quid ageret Ajax ejus." Et ille, “In spongiam," inquit, "incubuit." Seneca-there seems to be little doubt that he was the author of the tragedies. Gregory Nazianzen-this was the younger bishop of the name (329-390). Nazianzus was a town in Cappadocia. the poet's error-Milton probably alludes to Shakespeare, Beaumont and Fletcher, and others; hardly to Dryden, whose first drama was acted 1663. Martial-The passage is to be found in the Introduction to the Second Book of Epigrams, "Nunc video quare tragoedi et comoedi epistolam faciant," etc. produced beyond the fifth act-so Hor. Ars Poet, 189-90, "Neve minor neu sit quinto productior actu Fabula.' The Samson' equals in length one of the longer tragedies of the Greek dramatists, and is shorter than most of Shakespeare's. Milton means that he has not exceeded the length of the ordinary fiveact tragedy. THE ARGUMENT. " equals "aequales," equals in age; the word is used in Gal. i. 14, to render συνηλικιωταί, ransom-I have substituted a comma for the semicolon commonly put before this word, the clause depending on "tells him.' The sentence is not accurately put together. The word "lastly" indicates that what follows is the third topic of Manoa's discourse, the three being-first, the giving of comfort; secondly, the announcing of his purpose to obtain his deliverance by ransom; thirdly, the imparting of the news about the festival at Gaza. SAMSON AGONISTES. Agonistes-the word signifies "one who contends in public contests." In later times these persons formed a professional class of athletes; in the earlier age of the Greek games they were ordinary citizens, though generally of the higher class. The word has another sense of "player" or "performer"; this is not inappropriate to Samson's appearance at the Philistine festival, and to the expression (Judges xv. 25), "making sport." I A little onward- the opening of the tragedy has been compared to the Hecuba of Euripides, when the Trojan dames lead forward their former queen; and to the Aedipus Coloneus 2 6 II of Sophocles, where the blind old man is conducted to a resting-place by his daughter Antigone. dark the Latin, caecus, has exactly this double sense of that which cannot see and that which cannot be seen. else-" at other times"; the Latin alias, with which word it is connected. with day-spring born-a breeze may be commonly observed to spring up at sunrise. 13 Dagon their sea-idol-comp. P. L. i. 462-3. 20 " Dagon his name; sea-monster, upward inan Comp. also 1 Sam. v. 4, where for stump, the marginal reading hornets a well-known and dreaded insect in. Palestine; for so much we may gather from Josh. xv. 33, whether this passage be taken literally or not. 24 twice-comp. 1 Sam. xiii. 3, and 9 foll. 27 charioting-this image of the chariot appears to be borrowed from Josephus. 28 as from some great act-the angel departed as if he had revealed some great benefit. 31 separate-Samson was to be "a Nazarite unto God from his womb.' Comp. Num. vi. 2, "When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the Lord." 35 task--"an order enjoining a certain portion of labour;" connected with taxare, and, possibly, ráσσew. 41 Gaza-called in line 147, Azza. It was one of the five cities of the Philistines (comp. Josh. xiii. 3). The others were Gath, Ashdod (Azotus), Ashkelon (Ascalon), and Ekron. 48 bereft me-this and the modern usage of bereave, "to bereave of," are indifferently used. So Shakespeare, "All your interest in these territories Is utterly bereft you." Comp. line 85. 53 But what is strength, etc.-comp. Hor., 3 Odes, iv. 65, "Vis consili expers mole ruit sua. " 61 of highest dispensation-i.e., "to which belongs the supreme power of dispensing or ordering." 67 O loss of sight, etc.-the whole of this lamentation of Samson over his blindness has, without doubt, a reference to the poet's own situation. Lines 75-8 seem to express a bitter complaint of wrongs which he felt even more keenly than he did the loss of sight. See the Introduction, where this subject is discussed. 70 the prime work of God-comp. Gen. i. 3. 73 inferior-this adjective must be referred either to me in line 70, lines 71-2 being taken as a parenthesis, or by a well-known Latin construction, to the personal pronoun latent in my in the line preceding. 84 and light was over all-the poet finishes the quotation from Gen. i. 3, slightly altering the phrase, "and there was light," for the sake of the verse; grammatically the whole line is an apposite of "Thou great Word." 87 Silent as the moon-Cato and Columella call the new moon silens luna, and the elder Pliny (H. N. xvi. 39), has the expression, "in coitu ejus (i.e., in the conjunction of the moon with the sun) quein diem alii interlunii alii silentis lunae adpellant." This also accounts for the word " interlunar, which means, in fact, between the moon. In speaking of cave," Milton may have been thinking of the appearance of the dark part of the satellite sometimes to be seen when the moon is new-the cave, as it were, out of which the new moon has come. " 90-3 There seems a reference here to Matt. vi. 22, "the light of the body is the eye," etc. 93 She all in every part-the argument is, If light is in the soul as an essential part of it, and if the whole of the soul be everywhere in the man, making his life, then must the loss of sight be in a great degree the loss of the life." We may compare the idea of the anima mundi, the soul, which certain philosophers believed to be "in every part" of the world. 95 obvious in the way," i.e., of any injury. 100-1 " a living death-this is a parenthetical expression, explanatory of "a life half dead"; buried is joined by the conjunction and to dead. Miserable-this is used as the Latin miserum is in such passages as "Pendere poenas Cecropidae jussi miserum! septena quotannis Corpora" (Verg. Aen. vi. 20). 102 myself my sepulchre-comp. Comus, 383—5. "But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts Benighted walks under the mid-day sun, Himself is his own dungeon." 106 obnoxious-"liable"; the first meaning of the word being "liable to injury or punishment." 110 joint pace-depends on "steering"=stepping together. III steering-thus κvßepváw and the kindred Latin word, guberno, "to steer a ship," are used of other kinds of motion. |