In troop or caravan? for fingle none

Durft ever, who return'd, and dropt not here

His carcass, pin'd with hunger and with drouth. 325
I afk the rather, and the more admire,

For that to me thou feem'ft the man, whom late
Our new baptizing Prophet at the ford

Of Jordan honor'd fo, and call'd thee Son

Of God; I faw and heard, for we fometimes

330

Who dwell this wild, conftrain'd by want, come forth

To town or village nigh (nighest is far)

Where ought we hear, and curious are to hear,
What happens new; fame alfo finds us out.

To whom the Son of God. Who brought me hither, Will bring me hence; no other guide I seek.

323. In troop or caravan?] A caravan, as Tavernier fays, is a great convoy of merchants, which meet at certain times and places, to put themselves into a condition of defenfe from thieves, who ride in troops in several defert places upon the road. A caravan is like an army, confifting ordinarily of five or fix hundred camels, and near as many horses; and fometimes more. This makes it the fafeft way of travelling in Turky and Perfia with the caravan, though it goes indeed flower, than in lefs company, or with a guide alone, as fome will do. See travels into

336 By

Perfia in Harris, Vol. II. B. 2. ch. 2.

339.-tough roots and tubs] This muft certainly be a mistake of the printer, and instead of stubs it ought to be read fhrubs. It is no uncommon thing to read of hermits and afcetics living in deferts upon roots and fhrubs, but I never heard of fubs being used for food, nor indeed is it reconcileable to common fenfe. Some have thought that the axpider, which the Scripture fays were the meat of the Baptift, were the tops of plants or fhrubs. Thyer. I find the word ftubs used in Spenfer. Faery Queen B. 1, Cant. 9. St. 34.

And

By miracle he may, reply'd the fwain, What other way I fee not, for we here

Live on tough roots and ftubs, to thirst inur'd
More than the camel, and to drink go far,

Men to much mifery and hardship born;

But if thou be the Son of God, command

340

That out of these hard ftones be made thee bread,
So fhalt thou fave thyself and us relieve

With food, whereof we wretched seldom taste, 345

He ended, and the Son of God reply'd.

Think'ft thou fuch force in bread? is it not written (For I difcern thee other than thou feem'ft)

Man lives not by bread only, but each word Proceeding from the mouth of God, who fed 350

Our

And all about old stocks and ferves in his phyfical obfervations flubs of trees:

but this only proves the ufe of the word, and not of the thing as food, which feems impoffible, and therefore I embrace the former ingenious conjecture.

340. More than the camel,] It is commonly faid that camels will go without water three or four days. Sitim & quatriduo tolerant. Plin. Nat. Hist. Lib. 8. Sect. 26. But Tavernier fays, that they will ordinarily live without drink eight or nine days. See Harris ibid. And therefore, as Dr. Shaw juftly obVOL. I.

on Arabia Petræa, p. 389. we cannot and wifdom of God in providing fufficiently admire the great care

the camel for the traffic and com-
late countries. For if this fervice-
merce of thefe and fuch like defo-
able creature was not able to fub-
fift feveral days without water, or
if it required a quantity of nou-
rifhment in proportion to its bulk,
the traveling in thefe parts would
be either cumbersome and expen-
five, or altogether impracticable.

350. Proceeding from the mouth of
God, who fed
Our fathers here with Manna ?]

D

The

Our fathers here with Manna? in the mount
Mofes was forty days, nor eat nor drank;
And forty days Elijah without food
Wander'd this barren wafte; the fame I now :
Why doft thou then fuggeft to me distrust,
Knowing who I am, as I know who thou art?
Whom thus anfwer'd th' Arch-Fiénd now undif-
'Tis true, I am that Spirit unfortunate,

355

[guis'd.

Who leagu'd with millions more in rash revolt
Kept not my happy ftation, but was driven

The feventh, and perhaps fome other editions, have pointed it thus, Proceeding from the mouth of

God who fed

a;

Our fathers here with Manna In the first and fecond editions there is a femicolon in both places, which is ftill worse. A comma would be fufficient after God, and the mark of interrogation fhould clofe the period after Manna.

Calton.

360 With

when he found himfelf difcovered, is remarkable. Hitherto he has been called an aged man, and the Swain; and we have no intimation from the poet, that Satan was concealed under this appearance, which adds to our pleasure by an agreeable furprife upon the difcovery. In the first book of the Eneid, Æneas being driven by a form upon an unknown coaft, and going in company with Achates to take a furvey of the country, is met

356. Knowing who I am,] This in a thick wood by a lady, in the

is not to be understood of Chrift's divine nature. The Tempter knew him to be the perfon declared the Son of God by a voice from Heaven, ver. 385, and that was all that he knew of him. Calton.

358. 'Tis true, I am that Spirit unfortunate, &c.] Satan's franknefs in confeffing who he was,

habit of a huntrefs. She inquires of them, if they had seen two fifters of hers in a like drefs, employed in the chace. Eneas addreffes her as Diana, or one of her nymphs, and begs he would tell him the name and ftate of the country the tempeft had thrown him upon. She declines his compliment, informs him fhe was no Goddess, but only a

Tyrian

With them from blifs to the bottomless deep,
Yet to that hideous place not fo confin'd
By rigor unconniving, but that oft

Leaving my dolorous prifon I enjoy

Large liberty to round this globe of earth,

Or range in th' air, nor from the Heaven of Heav'ns
Hath he excluded my refort fometimes.

I came among the fons of God, when he
Gave up into my hands Uzzean Job

prove him, and illuftrate his high worth;

And when to all his Angels he propos'd

To draw the proud king Ahab into fraud
That he might fall in Ramoth, they demurring,
I undertook that office, and the tongues
Of all his flattering prophets glibb'd with lies
To his deftruction, as I had in charge,
For what he bids I do: though I have loft
Much luftre of my native brightness, loft
To be belov'd of God, I have not loft
To love, at least contemplate and admire
What I fee excellent in good, or fair,
Or virtuous, I should fo have loft all fenfe.

372. To draw the proud king Ahab into fraud] That is, into mifchief, as fraus fometimes means in Latin. Fortin.

The reader may fee an inflance of fraud and fraus used in this fenfe in the Paradife Loft, IX. 643, and the note there. And this ftory of Ahab is related, 1 Kings XXII. 19, &c. I faw the Lord fitting on his throne, and all the host of Heaven ftanding by him, on his right hand and on his left. And the Lord faid, Who fhall perfuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one faid on this manner, and another on that manner. And there came forth a Spirit, and food before the Lord, and faid, I will perfuade him. And

375

380

What

the Lord faid unto him, Wherewith?
And he faid, I will go forth, and I
will be a lying Spirit in the mouth of
all his prophets. And he faid, Thou
shalt perfuade him, and prevail also:
go forth, and do fo. And this fym-
bolical vifion of Micaiah, in which
heavenly things are fpoken of after
the manner of men in condefcen-
fion to the weakness of their capa-
cities, our author was too good a
critic to underftand literally, tho'
as a poet he represents it fo.
385.

To hear attent

Thy wisdom,] Milton feems to have borrowed this word, and this emphatical manner of applying it, from Spenfer, Faery Queen, B. 6. Cant. 9. St. 26.

Whilft