To me was pleafing; all my mind was fet
Serious to learn and know, and thence to do
What might be public good; myself I thought
Born to that end, born to promote all truth,
All righteous things: therefore above my years,
The law of God I read, and found it fweet,
Made it my whole delight, and in it

grew

To fuch perfection, that ere yet my age

295

Had meafur'd twice fix years, at our great feast 219

I went into the temple, there to hear

The teachers of our law, and to propose

Swift was thy growth, and early
was thy bloom,
But earlier wisdom crown'd thy
Fortin.

infant days.
Henry Stephens's tranflation of
the latter verfe is very much to
our purpose,

Verum ætate, puer, digna es meditatus adulta:

or rather his more paraphraftical
tranflation,

Verum ætate puer, puerili haud
more folebas
Ludere; fed jam tum tibi feria
cuncta placebant,

Born to that end, born to promote all truth,] Alluding to our Saviour's words, John XVII. 37. To this end was 1 born, and for this caufe came I into the world, that I fhould bear witness unto the truth.

210. at our great feaft] The feaft of the pallover, Luke II. 41. 214. And

What might improve my knowledge or their own;
And was admir'd by all: yet this not all

To which my fpi'rit afpir'd; victorious deeds 215
Flam'd in my heart, heroic acts, one while
To rescue Ifrael from the Roman yoke,
Then to fubdue and quell o'er all the earth
Brute violence and proud tyrannic power,
Till truth were freed, and equity restor❜d :
Yet held it more humane, more heav'nly first
By winning words to conquer willing hearts,
And make perfuafion do the work of fear;

214. And was admir'd by all:] For all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers, Luke II. 47.

219. Brute violence] So again in the Mask.

220

At

--victorque volentes Per populos dat jura, viamque affectat Olympo.

Our author was always a declar'd enemy to perfecution, and a friend to liberty of confcience. He rifes And noble grace that dafh'd brute above himself, whenever he speaks violence. Thyer.

221. Yet held it more humane, more heav'nly firft &c.] Here breathes the true fpirit of toleration in these lines, and the fentiment is very fitly put into the mouth of him, who came not to defroy mens lives, but to fave them.

The allitteration of w's in this

line, and the affonance of winning and willing have a very beautiful effect,

By winning words to conquer willing hearts.

of the fubject; and he must have
felt it very ftrongly, to have ex-
prefs'd it fo happily. For as Mr.
Thyer juftly remarks upon this
paffage, there is a peculiar foft-
nefs and harmony in these lines,
exactly fuited to that gentle spirit
of love that breathes in them;
and that man must have an inqui-
feel the force of them.
fitorial spirit indeed who does not

222.-to conquer willing hearts,] Virgil Georg. IV. 561.

C 4

-victorque

At least to try, and teach the erring foul
Not wilfully mis-doing, but unware

Misled; the ftubborn only to fubdue.

225

These growing thoughts my mother foon perceiving

By words at times caft forth inly rejoic'd,

And said to me apart, High are thy thoughts

O Son, but nourish them and let them foar
To what highth facred virtue and true worth
Can raise them, though above example high;
By matchless deeds exprefs thy matchless Sire.
For know, thou art no fon of mortal man;
Though men efteem thee low of parentage,
Thy father is th' eternal King who rules

230

235

All Heav'n and Earth, Angels and Sons of men; A meffenger from God foretold thy birth

Conceiv'd in me a virgin, he foretold

-victorque volentes Per populos dat jurawhich expreffion of Virgil's, by the way, feems to be taken from Xenophon, Oeconomic. XXI. 12. Ου γαρ πάνυ μοι δοκεῖ ὅλον τελι το αγαθον ανθρωπινον είναι, αλλα θείον, το εθελοντων αρχειν. I could add other paffages of Xenophon, which Virgil has manifeftly copied.

Fortin. 226.-the ftubborn only to fubdue.] We cannot fufficiently condemn

Thou

the negligence of the former edi-
tors and printers, who have not fo
much as corrected the Errata point-
ed out to them by Milton himself,
but have carefully followed all the
blunders of the first edition, and
increared the number with new
ones of their own.
This paffage
affords an inftance. In all the edi-
tions we read

-the ftubborn only to destroy; and this being good fenfe, the mistake

Thou shouldst be great, and fit on David's throne,

And of thy kingdom there fhall be no end.

241

At thy nativity a glorious quire

Of Angels in the fields of Bethlehem fung

To shepherds watching at their folds by night,
And told them the Meffiah now was born

245

Where they might fee him, and to thee they came, Directed to the manger where thou lay'ft,

250

For in the inn was left no better room:
A star, not seen before, in Heav'n appearing
Guided the wife men thither from the eaft,
To honor thee with incenfe, myrrh, and gold,
By whose bright course led on they found the place,
Affirming it thy ftar new grav'n in Heaven,
By which they knew the king of Ifrael born.
Juft Simeon and prophetic Anna, warn'd

mistake is not fo eafily detected:
but in the firft edition the reader
is defired in the table of Errata
for deftroy to read fubdue; and if
we confider it, this is the more
proper word, more fuitable to the
humane and heavenly character of
the speaker; and befides it answers
to the fubdue and quell in ver. 218.
The Son of man came not to destroy
mens lives, &c. Luke IX.
56.
227-my mother foon perceiving
--inly rejoic'd,]

Virgil. Æn. I. 502.

255

By

Latonæ tacitum pertentant gau-
dia pectus.
Fortin.

241. -there should be no end.] We have reftored the reading of Milton's own edition, should not shall, as before

Thou should be great――

255. Juft Simeon and prophetic

Anna,] It may not be improper to remark how strictly our author

By vifion, found thee in the temple, and spake
Before the altar and the vested priest,

Like things of thee to all that present stood.
This having heard, ftrait I again revolv'd

The law and prophets, fearching what was writ 260
Concerning the Meffiah, to our scribes

Known partly, and foon found of whom they fpake

I am; this chiefly, that my way must lie
Through many a hard affay ev'n to the death,
Ere I the promis'd kingdom can attain,
Or work redemption for mankind, whose fins
Full weight must be transferr'd
upon my head.

thor adheres to the Scripture hi-
ftory, not only in the particulars
which he relates, but also in the
very epithets which he affixes to
the perfons; as here Juft Simeon,
because it is faid Luke II.
25. and
the fame man was just and pro-
phetic Anna, because it is faid Luke
II. 36. and there was one Anna a
prophetess. The like accuracy may

be obferved in all the reft.

262.--and foon found of whom they Spake

I am;] The Jews thought that the Meffiah, when he came, would be without all power and diftinction, and unknown even to himself,

265