Temper'ft thy providence through his short course, Not ev'nly, as thou rul’st 671 Th' angelic orders and inferior creatures mute, Irrational and brute. Nor do I name of men the common rout, 675 Grow up and perish, as the fummer flie, Heads without name no more remember'd, But fuch as thou haft folemnly elected, With gifts and graces eminently adorn'd To fome great work, thy glory, And people's fafety, which in part they' effect: Amidst their highth of noon 680 Changeft thy count'nance, and thy hand with no regard Of highest favors past From thee on them, or them to thee of service. Nor only doft degrade them, or remit 685 To life obfcur'd, which were a fair difmiffion, [high, But throw'ft them lower than thou didst exalt them 693. their carcafes To dogs and fowls a prey,] Plainly alluding to Homer's Iliad I. 4. αυτές δ' έλωρια τευχε κύνεσσιν Οιωνοίσιτε σασί. 695. Or to th' unjust tribunals, under change of times, &c] Here no doubt Milton reflected upon the trials and fufferings of his party after the Restoration; and probably he might have in mind particularly the cafe of Sir Harry Vane, whom he has fo highly celebrated in one of his fonnets. If these they fcape, perhaps in poverty &c; this was his own cafe; he efcaped with life, but lived in poverty, and tho' he was always very fober and temperate, yet he was much afflicted with the gout and other painful diseases, in crude old cruda fenectus, when he was age, not yet a very old man : Though not difordinate, yet Some time after I had written this, I had the pleasure to find that I had fall'n into the fame vein of thinking with Mr. Warburton : but he has open'd and pursued it much farther with a penetration and liveliness of fancy peculiar to himself. God of our fathers to ver. 704. is a bold expoftulation with Providence for the ill fuccefs of the good old cause. But fuch as thou haft folemnly elected, With gifts and graces eminently adorn'd To fome great work thy glory, In thefe three lines are described the characters of the Heads of the Independent Enthufiafts. which in part they effect: That is by the overthrow of the raise their projected republic. monarchy, without being able to Yet toward these thus dignify'd, Unfeemly falls in human eye, 690 Too grievous for the trefpafs or omiffion; Oft leav'ft them to the hoftile fword Of Heathen and profane, their carcafes 694 To dogs and fowls a prey, or else captív'd ; After Richard had laid down, all power came into the hands of the enthufiaftic Independent Republicans, when a fudden revolution, by the return of Charles II., broke all their measures. with no regard Of highest favors paft And tional religion as Ludlow advised. - captiv'd; Several were condemn'd to perpetual imprisonment, as Lambert and Martin. Or to th' unjust tribunals under change of times &c. From thee on them, or them to thee The trials and condemnation of of Service. That is without any regard of thofe favors fhewn by thee to them in their wonderful fucceffes against tyranny and fuperftition [Church and State] or of those services they paid to thee in declaring for religion and liberty [Independency and a Republic.] Nor only doft degrade &c. Vane and the Regicides. The If these they scape, perhaps in The punishment of diffolute days: His loffes in the Excife, and his Too grievous for the trefpafs or gout not caufed by intemperance. omiffion; By the trefpafs of these precious faints Milton means the quarrels among themfelves: and by the omifion the not making a clear ftage in the conftitution, and newmodeling the law as well as naVOL. I. But Milton was the most heated enthusiast of his time; fpeaking of Charles the firft's murder in his Defenfe of the people of England he fays Quanquam ego hæc divino potius inftinctu gefta effe crediderim, quoties memoria repeto And condemnation of th' ingrateful multitude. If these they scape, perhaps in poverty With fickness and disease thou bow'ft them down, Painful diseases and deform'd, In crude old age; Though not difordinate, yet caufless suff'ring The punishment of diffolute days: in fine, For oft alike both come to evil end. 700 704 So deal not with this once thy glorious champion, The image of thy ftrength, and mighty minister. What do I beg? how haft thou dealt already? Behold him in this state calamitous, and turn His labors, for thou canft, to peaceful end. But who is this, what thing of sea or land? 710 With all her bravery on, and tackle trim, Sails fill'd, and ftreamers waving, Courted by all the winds that hold them play, Her harbinger, a damfel train behind; 720 feem, Than Some rich Philiftian matron she may |