A PARAPHRASE ON PSALM CXIV.*

WHEN the blest seed of Terah's faithful son,
After long toil, their liberty had won;
And past from Pharian fields to Canaan land,
Led by the strength of the Almighty's hand;
Jehovah's wonders were in Israel shown,
His praise and glory was in Israel known.
That saw the troubled sea, and shivering fled,
And sought to hide his froth-becurled head
Low in the earth; Jordan's clear streams recoil,
As a faint host that hath received the foil.
The high, huge-bellied mountains skip, like rams
Amongst their ewes; the little hills, like lambs.
Why fled the ocean? And why skipt the mountains?
Why turned Jordan toward his crystal fountains?
Shake, Earth; and at the presence be aghast
Of Him that ever was, and aye shall last;
That glassy floods from rugged rocks can crush,
And make soft rills from fiery flint-stones gush!

PSALM CXXXVI.

LET us, with a gladsome mind,
Praise the Lord, for he is kind:
For his mercies aye endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.
Let us blaze his name abroad,
For of gods he is the God:
For his, &c.

O, let us his praises tell,

Who doth the wrathful tyrants quell:

For his, &c.

Who, with his miracles, doth make
Amazed heaven and earth to shake:

For his, &c.

10

15

10

15

*This and the following Psalm were done by the author at fifteen years old, and were his earliest performances.

10. Foil: Defeat.

And caused the golden-tressed sun
All the day long his course to run:
For his, &c.

The horned moon to shine by night,
Amongst her spangled sisters bright:
For his, &c.

He, with his thunder-clasping hand,
Smote the first-born of Egypt land:
For his, &c.

And, in despite of Pharaoh fell,
He brought from thence his Israel:
For his, &c.

The ruddy waves he cleft in twain
Of the Erythræan main:

For his, &c.

The floods stood still, like walls of glass,

While the Hebrew bands did pass:

For his, &c.

Of the invading enemy:

For his, &c.

All living creatures he doth feed,

85

90

95

VERBAL INDEX.

450

ABBREVIATIONS

USED IN THE VERBAL INDEX.

[THE following Index is applicable to any edition of Milton's Poetical Works.* When I say it is an "Index to all the poems," I do not mean to say that it is an Index to all the words in those poems. There are many words which it would be absurd to notice in an Index: for instance, the articles; most of the pronouns, such as thee, whom, his, &c.; all the conjunctions; many adverbs; most of the preposi tions; and such adjectives and adjective-pronouns as present no striking idea, as all, both, each, &c. But every one who wishes to find any passage in Milton, will be able to recall some noun, adjective, verb, or participle of a distinctive character; and ALL SUCH will be found in this Index. Indeed, I can safely say that I believe there is not a line in all the poems which may not be found by some one word in it, while a great number of the lines may be found by EVERY WORD in them.-ED.]

* In those editions, however, which retain the five Italian Sonnets, five must be added after Sonnet i. For instance, what is here Sonnet v. or xvi., will be x. or xxi. in those editions.