M IL T ON S PA R AD I S E L O ST

BOO K S I . AND II .
 M IL T O N
’
S

P A R A DIS E L OST ,

B OO KS I . AND II .

EDIT ED W IT H IN TRO D U O TION A N D N O TES

M . M ACM I L LAN , B A . O"ON .

PR O F ES SO R O F LOG IC A N D “OR AL P H IL O S OP HY , E L PB IN BT O N R COL LEG E ,

BO M B A Y

S unbur
n

M AC M IL L A N AND 00 .

A N D N EW Y O RK

"
All rig h t: reserved "
 C O N T EN T S .

PAG E

INT RO Do crmN ,

A U T HO R PR EFA CE T HE V ERS E,
’
S ON

TE"T or T H E PO EM

Boon I .

BOO K II .

N o rEs,
'

A PP EN DI",

24 7
“
 I N TRODU CTI ON .

IN Mil ton s life Paradise L ost may be reg arded as th e

’

g reat ce ntral
po int, to wh ich ev ery th in g el se is subo rdi
nate A ll through his y outh an d his prime of manhood
.

he was con sciously or unconsciou sly preparing himself to

write a g reat epic po em . Very slowly h is g reat purpo se
assum e d defi nite sh ape in his m in d . T h e poems in which
he fi rst sh owed h is poetic g en ius were lyric and dra
matic, but early in life h e h ad con ceiv ed th e idea of

rivallin g th e fam e of H omer and Virgil , an d b ecoming

the epic represen tativ e o f h is n ative lan d an d of m odern
C hristen dom A t fi rst h e m editated a n ational epic, bas ed
.

upo n th e le g ends of prehistoric Eng lan d In his youth .

h is mind was attracted by th e picturesque pag eantry of

chivalry an d roman ce . I b etook me, h e writes in th e
Apology for S mectymnus among th ose lofty fabl es an d

ro man ces wh ich recou n t in sol em n can tos th e deeds of

knig h th ood . Th e poet s w anderin gs in th e fi elds of old

’

rom an ce h av e left th eir traces distin ctly in some of th e

most g org eous passag es of h is epic poetry A t on e tim e .

th ey seem ed lik ely to determin e his ultimate ch oice .

Milton was in clin ed to follow th e example of Spen ser

3 V II
Viii IN T ROD U OT ION .

an d tak e th e myth ical King Arthur as his h ero , in wh ich

case th e

Til tin g fu rnitu re , e m bl azo ned sh iel ds ,

Imp resses qu aintparis o n s and steeds

, ca ,

Bases and tinsel tra ppings g o rg eous kn igh ts

,

A t j oust an d tou rn am en

instead being th e occasio nal ornaments of h is verse

of

would h ave been its co ntin ual subj ect matter H owever .
,

this proj ect, th oug h seriously en tertain ed for th e time,

was n ot of very long con tin u ance W h en on ce th e .

Great Reb ellion h ad broken out un der leaders an im ated

by determined h ostility ag ainst the feudalism of th e

middle ages, it was n ot likely th at a zealous partisan of
Puritanism and Republican ism, su ch as Milton was ,
sh oul d

have devoted his g enius to th e cele ration of

b th e exploits

in war or lov e of fi ctitious knigh ts . T o h ave don e so wh ile

th e strife was raging, or during th e period whe n th e leaders
of th e repu blican party w ere maintaining with diffi culty
th eir h ard won supremacy, w oul d h av e appeared fri v olous
in the extreme, an d to h av e reverted to such a task
during th e dark days of th e Res toration would h ave
been an insult to h imself an d his fallen party , betoken
ing a call ous indifi erentism, wh ich was far from being
'

characteristic of th e po et In deed, as long as h is g enius

.

could more directly serve th e g reat cause of political an d

relig ious lib erty, he seem s to h av e reg arded all t
po e r
y
as a matter of very secon dary importan ce It was h ow
.

e ver a great sacrifi ce to forego th e inspiration s of h is

po etical g en iu s, an d divert al l his literary powers to th e

un congenial tas k of writing despatch es and controversial

pamphl e ts o n th e burning q uestions of th e day , in th e

com osition of which h e h ad to lower himself to th e
p
 I N TRODUCTION .
ix

level of h is pedantic oppo nen ts W e kn ow from his .

own w riting s that, if h e h ad con sulted h is ow n tas te ,

h e w o uld h ave kept ou t o f th e con trov ersial fray . In
his Reason Ch rch Government, li h d i f
f u o
pu b s e n 1 6 4 2, a te r

rev ealin
g in de ta il h is h ig h am bitio n t o d evo te h is w h o l e

heart an d soul and life to th e compositio n of such a

po e m as posterity sh ou ld n ot willingly let die, h e in
fo rms h is readers th at h e wo uld n ot h ave discl osed so

mu ch beforehand ,
but th a t h e tru sted th ereby to make
it man ifest with wh at sm all will in gn ess h e in terrupted
the pursu it less h opes th an th ose, an d left a calm
of n o

and pl easing solitarin ess, fed with ch eerful an d con fi dent

th oug h ts, to emb ark in a troubled sea of n oises and

hoarse disputes ; from b eh oldin g th e brigh t coun ten an ce
of truth in th e q uiet an d still air of deligh tful stu dies to

come in to th e dim refl ection of h ollo w an ti uities sold

q
by th e seeming b ulk , an d th ere be fain to club q uotations

with m en whose learnin g and belief l ay in m arg inal

stu fiin gs Howeverite o f h is aversio n to th e
in
.
, p s

task work th at duty dictate d, be devo ted h im self to it

with a th o rough n ess th at n ecessitated a lo ng postpon e
men t of h is mo st ch erish e d desig ns . In th e wh o le

perio b etwee n h is return from Italy in 1 6 39 an d th e

d
death of Cromw ell in 16 58 , Milton g av e th e world n o
origin al po etry except a few sonn ets, man y of wh ich
were directly sug g ested by th e stirring ev en ts o f th e
day .N ev erth eless h is g reat pu rpose, th oug h its com
le tion was in de fi nite l y deferred, w as n e v er ent irely
p
banish ed from h is m in d . In su ch l eisure as h is busy
life h e was still try ing to determ ine th e
afforde d, su bj e ct

of h is g reat w ork an d th e form in wh ich it w as to be

com o sed
p . O ut of th e m any possible su bj e cts th at
x I N T RODUCT I ON .

seemed suita ble to h is g enius h e at l as t ch ose Paradise

Lost . Even after th e theme of th e poem h ad b een

settl ed, it still remaine d to determine th e form . At

fi rst the poet was in clin ed to write a drama upon the
su bj ect he h ad ch osen , and S atan s address to the S un,
’

in th e beginning of th e fOurth bOOk, was ori

gi n ally

in ten ded to be the co mme ncem e

nt But,
as time went o n, h e ch an g ed h is mind, and came to the
con clusion th at an epic po em would be the best mean s pf

rel ig ious and political

ally , h e determin ed to write a

M i
p p
o o em on th e su bj ect Of th e loss of Paradise,
which he comm en ced in 1 6 58 , at a time wh en th e
appoin t ment Of Andrew M arvell as j oint secretary
-
made
it no longer appe ar imperatively necessary for h im to
devote all his en erg ies to his offi cial work .

A great deal has been written to show th at Milton

in th e construction of Paradise Lost borrowed so much
as seriously to detract from h is claim to th e cre dit o f

orig in ality . T he b est an sw er to each particul ar c

h arg e
of th is kind is to sh o w h ow v ery widely th e critics dis
agree with one an o th er in th eir attempts to trace th e

pl ot to
previous au th o rs . Almost every commentator

h as his own candidate to bring forward for the h on our

of h av in g been copied by Milton and is therefore in clin ed ,

to disallow th e similar cl aims ut forward in fav our of

p
oth ers by rival critics Voltaire, wri ting in 1 7 27 , de
.

cl ares th at th e idea of Paradise L ost was deriv ed from a

com edy called A damo, wri tten by one Andrein i, a l
p y ,
a er
 I N TRODUCTION .
xi

wh ich Milton saw e rf rm ed at F loren ce Th e su bj ect

p o .

of th e play w as th e fall O f man ; th e actors, God, th e

D ev ils, th e A ng el s, Adam, Ev e, th e Serpen t, D eath , and
th e sev en m ortal Sins . M ilton , according to Voltaire ,

i ced th rou h th e absurdity of th at performance

p er g
to th e h idden m aj esty of th e su bj ect, wh ich , being
altog eth er un fit for th e stag e, y et might be ( fo r th e

g e n ius of Milton and h is only ) th e foun dation of an

epic poem . He took from th at ridiculous trifl e the

fi rst h in t of th e no blest work which h um an imagination
h as ever attempte d, an d which h e ex ecu te d m ore than
twenty years after In spite of Dr Joh n son s decision
” ’
. .

th at Vol taire s story is wild an d un auth orized, a com

’

pari so n Of th e plo t of Paradise L ost with th e con ten ts

ofth e pl ay of An dreini seem s to sh ow that th e g reat

Eng lish poet did n ot altog eth er disdain to borro w from
the work of th is bscure Italian playw rig ht
rath er o .

Besides n ral resemb lan ce b etween th e in ci l

a g e e pr
pa

inciden ts an d th e characters represented, th ere are so me

traces Of im itation in detail . Thus, from M r .H ayley s ’

analysis of th e A damo, w e learn th a t in A ct IV Scen e

.

III A n drein i s poem,

of Infe rn al C y clops, sum mon ed
“
’
.

by L ucifer, mak e a n ew w o rld at his comman d, and

it is n atural to su ppose th at th is sugg ested to Milton
the building Pan demonium by M ammon
Of . B esides
Andrein i s A damo th ere w ere, as M r H ay ley
’
. shows,

seve ral o th er
po e m s
pu blish ed in Italy before or a bout
the time visit to th at
’
of M ilton s co untry , th e su bj ects of
which were th e wars of th e Ang els and the fall o f Adam .

Among th ese w as a po em cal l e d th e A ngel eida ,

in w h ich

th e in ven tion of artillery is attribu ted to th e fallen an el

g s .

This h int n ot im probably sug

g este d to Milton th e chief
xii I N TRODUCTI ON .

in cident of his secon d heaven ly battle ,

and h e may
h ave incurred similar o bligations to some oth er o f th e

Italian po ems mentio ne d by M r . H ayley . H owever as ,

of m os t o f th em o nly th e n ames survive, it can Only be

sa id with certainty th at th e su bj ect of Paradise L ost was
favouri te theme in Italy the tim e of Milton s visit
’
a at

there, an d it is lik ely tha t, w hen he h ad on ce conceived

th e idea Of writing a g reat oe

p m on th e l oss of Paradise,
h e would h av e tak en n o te of any incidents or ideas
lik ely to be
. useful , th at migh t be s ug
g by th
estede

Ital ian writers wh o h ad ch osen th e same subj ect, and

n ot onl y by Italian writers but by writers in all th e many

con tin e ntal languag es w ith wh ich Mil to n w as acquainted .

T wo modern critics, M r Gosse

. an d M r. Edmundst on,
fi n d th e ch ief ori ginal of Paradise L ost n ot in Italy, but
farth er n orth in H olland Vondel w ho is
.
, . considered

the g reatest of D utch poe ts pu b lis h ed in, 1 654, fo ur

before th e date u sual ly assig n ed to th e commence
'

y ears

m ent of Paradise L ost, a fi n e drama called L ucifer . As

Vondel h ad already b ecome famous by h is previous
works an d as th e treaty of allian ce con cluded betwee n
,

E ngland a nd H olland in 1 6 5 4 h ad ren ewed friendly

relation s between the two repub lics it is lik ely th at ,

Von del s poem m ay h av e been kn own to Milton soon

’

afterits pu blication M r Go sse declares th at the g reat

. .

b etween V on del s L ucif er and Milton s

’ ’
resemb lan ce

Paradise L ost can h ardly be accoun ted for as the result

E dmundston fi nds am on V d l
’
of accide nt . Mr .
g o n e s

l th e orig in al no t on ly of Paradise L ost but also

p ya s

of S amson A gonistes On th e other h and, it must be

.

rememb ered th at, th ough P aradise L ost m ay n o t h av e

been reg ularly commen ced in its presen t form before

 IN O DU C T IO N .

1 6 5 8 , th e plan of th e em h ad b een th oug ht out m any

e rs e arlier, an d als L ucifer only cov ers
y a

a sm al l
part of the subj ect matter of Paradise L ost,
nam ely , th e re b ellion of S atan an d his war with th e
faith ful ang els . These facts are stron g eviden ce ag ain st

the b elief that Paradise Lost as a who le can be foun ded

Vondel s drama blance in in dividu al
A s for resem
’
upo n .

as s ag es th e sam e ev iden ce adduced to sh o w th at Milton

p ,

borrowed from Vondel would pro bably if accepted lead , ,

us to b eliev e th at V on del was in lik e m an n er in debted

Th us Milto n s well kn own line

’
to prev iou s writers .
-
,

Better to re ig n in h ell th an s er e v in h eaven ,

is very l ik e two lin es O f V on del s Bu t this prov es little

’
.

it may be paralleled n ot only in Vo ndel ,

but also in
Fletch er and C rash aw , an d very closely in Stafford s ’

Niobe, a prose w ork quoted by T odd, in wh ich S atan

declares th at God drov e him to h ell, in order th at h e
wh o could n ot o b ey in h eav en migh t comman d in h ell .

’
S tafi ord s N iobe was pu blish ed in 1 6 1 1 an d so if close
'

, ,

si mil arity of langu ag e an d th ough t in a later w riter is

enou g hto prove literary blig ation V on del s verse must
o ,
’

be in debted to th e prose o f S tafford It is of course n ot .

, ,

impossible th at Milto n may h av e consciously b orro wed

this an d oth er ideas from V on del in th e sam e w ay as h e
has delib erately borro wed fro m H om er an d Virgil ; but
such o b lig ation s are very h ard to e stab lish un less th e ,

poe t ch oose s him sel f to m a ni fest th em b ey o n d dou bt by

th e w ords h e employ s .

Among th e English w riters wh om M ilton is supposed

to ha ve im itated, th e fi rst in o rder of tim e an d im

portan ce is C aedmon . This Anglo -

Saxon po et co mposed,
xiv I N TRODUCTION .

in th e e
sev nth cen tu ry, a po em in which is described the
fall of the ang els , th e creation , and th e expul sion of

A dam an d Ev e from P aradise T h e po em was prin ted

.

at A m sterdam in 16 5 5 , an d must h ave been kn own

before th at date in its MS form to the learned in Eng .

lan d A s M il to n wro te a h istory of E nglan d down to th e

.

time of th e N o r man C onque st it is prob able th at h e w as ,

familiar with A ng lo Sax on literature an d h e can h ardly

-
,

be su pposed to h ave en tirely overlooke d C aedmon s poem

’
,

which from th e ch aracter of its subj ect matte r would

naturally be v er
y in ter e stin g t o h im N o o n e can read.

’
C aedmon s poe tr
y w ith o u t b ein g con tin u ally re min ded
of Parad is e L ost . L et an y on e refer to the extracts
g iv en

fro m his poem by M r T urner in h is His tory of the A nglo

.

S axons, o r even to th e sh ort extract q uoted at the com

men cemen t of C h ambers s English L itera ture, an d h e will
’

see reaso n to b elieve th at M ilton ow e s much to his

Anglo Saxon predecessor

-
. In fact, th e two po ets ,

th ough born in distan t ag es an d at v er

y differen t stag es

O f civilization , are n ot en tirely unli ke on e an oth er If .

.

we coul d take away from Paradise L ost th e melodious

flow of verse an d th e rich v arie ty of illustration s cull ed

from all
past literatures, th ere w ou ld still be left a n ar

rative of g reat po w er w hich w ould read very like th e

poetry o f Caedmon . Th erefore it is diffi cult to h elp think
ing th at Milton s mind ’
was thoroug hly saturated with
th e spiri t o f th at early po et, an d th at to th is Ang lo
Sax on orig inal Milton was to a con siderabl e exten t

indebted for th e fram e work of h is epic -

. Th e ch ief fact
militates ag ain st th is conclusion is that M il ton never
th at
appears to h ave m entioned C aedmon s n ame in th e wh ole
’

ran g e of h is writings . W h eth er this omission was due

 I N T RODUCTIO N .
xv

to th e practice of a n ag e in which literary men were not

in th e h abit of g oing far ou t of th eir way to ackn owledge
Oblig atio n s to previous writers, o r wh eth er Milto n thoug h t

he re ally o w ed n o more to C aedmo n th an to th e h ost of

in term ediate writers wh o h ad told th e s to ry of th e

begin ning of th e world, or wh eth er afte r all M ilton
was totally u n ac uain ted with C aedm on s w ork s , is
’
q a

question th at will prob ab ly never be decided . A ll th at

we can say is th at, as far as th e uncertain eviden ce of

close sim ilarity in treatmen t an d th ough t can be trusted,

Paradise Lost o w es more to Caedm on
’
s po em th an to any

oth er original . S o much can h ardly be said in fav our of

the claims pu t forward in beh alf of t he Locustae, a L atin
poem by Ph ineas Fl etch er, publish ed in 16 27 The .

spe ech of L u cifer in this poem un dou btedl y contain s

several ideas th at in the speeches o f Milto n s fallen

’
recur

ang el s, and th e striking lang uage o f on e passag e seem s

to be distin ctly im itated (see ii But this is far .

from being enoug h to mak e us accept th e u n con fi rmed

story th at M ilton ing en uously co nfessed that h e ow ed

his immortal work of Paradise L ost to M r Fletch er s .
’

L omwtae
”
D unster tries to sh ow th at Sylvester s trans ’
.

lation of a poem C reation by th e

on French poet Du ,

B artas , con tribu ted more to th e produ ction of Paradise

Lost th an an y oth er work . A s this translatio n w as very

u l ar wh en Mil ton w as a boy, and was publish ed in

p p
o

th e street in which h is fath er liv ed, it is natural to

assum e th at in h is ch ildh ood m ay have kn o wn it
Milto n
well, an d th at m an y of S yl vester s th o ug h ts an d expres
’

sion s may h ave been deeply impre ssed on his min d an d

reproduced aft erwards It is also possible th at Sy l ves
.

ter s poem may h ave fi rst distin ctly sugg este d to h im th e

’
 I N T RODUCTIO N .

idea of writing reat oe m on a rel igiou s su bj ect

a g p .

T his h owev er is mere j

co n e cture . E ven if Sylvester
Du B artas Milton s ch oice o f
’
h ad n ever tran slated ,

su bj ect co ul d be sufficien tly accoun ted for by h is own

character, rit O f th e
the th eolog ical
i ag e , an d th e prao
p s

tice of an immense number o f his literary prede cessors

in Eng land, Italy, Fran ce , Spain , and Portug al T h ere .

seems to h a ve been in the man y poems treating of th e

fall of man much similarity in the arrang em ent of th e
so

incidents th at it is diffi cul t to establish Milton s in debted

’

n ess to any particular auth or, w h ile it is perfectly ev ident

th at h e stu died th e v ario us work s on the su bj ect w ritten

in differen t lan g uag es, th at h e follow ed g en erally th eir
traditio n al treatm en t O f the pl ot, an d, when ev er h e foun d
it wo rth h is wh ile, borro w ed th eir ideas an d expression s
w ith ou t scru ple . Since the day s of H omer epic poets
h ave reg arded borrowin g as th eir peculiar privileg e, an d

rath er prided th em selve s on th eir kill in

s utilizing th e
ideas of earlier po ets . Milton av ails himself of th is epic

privil eg e as freely as Virg il , an d y et n eith er o f th ese tw o

g reat
po ets th ereby forfeits h is claim to o rigin ality .

Both of th em h ave deliberately j ustifi ed th eir practice in

this being re
proach ed for h is co n tin ual

im itations of H om er
,
L e t m y d
repl ied,
e tractors tr
y t o

steal for th em selv es, as th ey say I h ave stolen fo r myself,

an d th ey will fi nd th at it is easier to ro b H ercules Of h is

clu b th an to rob H omer Of a sing le verse Milton pro .

bably inte nded to defen d h imself ag ainst detraction on

th e sam e g round w h en h e asserte d th at to b orro w an d
better in th e borrowing is n o plag iary ”
He has told us .

h imself th at h e con sidered th at industrious an d select

re a ding w as th e chief mean s by which h e trained him

x viii IN TRODUCTIO N .

sary ,h e th ough t, th at th e poet sh oul d prepare him self

for his h ig h cal ling by h ard s tudy , apure l ife an d dev ou t
“
,

p y
ra er to th at E tern al Spirit wh o can enrich with all
utterance an d kn o wled e a n d sen ds out His seraph im
g ,

with th e h allo wed fi re ,

of His altar to to uch an d pu rify
th e lips of wh om He pleases M il ton h ad con scientiously
‘

set h imself to satisf th e in tell ectu al and mo ral tests laid

y
down by h im self All th e best work s of H ebrew , Greek ,
.

Roman , an d co ntem porary writers h ad been carefully

studiedby h im, an d he cou ld prou dly declare, like
Matthew Arnold s
’
Mycerinus th at , ,

Ra p t in reveren tial a we ,

He sat obedien t in th e fi ery prime

O f y ou th self g o vern ed at th e fo o t of law
-
.

u
Ha sa u n de
rg e
o n th e re
qu ired
m
disc lina a n d b eing .

g re at g en iu s, he h ad n o doub t th at God
h ad vg u hs afeL to inspire h
1 ns
p ire d th e pro

ph ets of th e Old T estamen t, th at h e m ig h t fulfi l his duty

as a
poet an d be bl e
a
“
to in b reed an d ch erish in a g reat

p p
eo l e th e seeds o f v irtu e an d
pu blic civility ; to alla y

th e pertu rbations of th e min d, an d set th e affection s in

ri h t tune
g t o cel eb rate in g l o rio u s an d l o ft h
y y mn s th e

th ron e an d equipag e O f God s almig h tin ess, an d w h at He

’

suffers to be wro ug h t with h ig h pro vidence in His ch u rch

to sin g victorio us ag o n ies of m artyrs an d sain ts th e ,

tri umph s an d i i d i
deeds and of j u st p ous n at o n s o n g
val ian tly throug h faith ag ain st th e en em ies of C h rist to
de plore th e g en eral relapses of k ing doms and states from
j u stice an d G od
’
s true w orshi
p H is life an d w ritin s
g .

sh ow h ow steadfastly h e d vo ted l1im

_ self tQ of
e __

rel i ion an d
g morahty . T here is no do ubt th at h is rel i
h - l ‘

i d m OraI zeal, th oug h it supplied h is w ith

'

o u an verse
g s
 IN TRODUCTIO N .
xix

th at earn estness which is an in dispensable element in al l

poe tr
y of high est rank , at th e same time often
th e
betray ed h im into undign ifi ed asperity of lang uage in
his pol itical an d relig glg p i
pj g ts
: B ut h is o
gg
ccasional

out ursts of
b pol e
m
j cal violen ce, th ough we may condemn
th em as e rro rs of j udg ment ,
are failing s arising from
en th usiasm for the great causes that h is conscience
a
ppro v ed,
an d will n ot prev ent e v en th ose , wh o fi nd it
more easy to admire than love him for h is transcenden t
virtue , from ac n owledg ing
k th at M ilton was one of the

zeal for reli Ou an d virtue th e most pro

'

N ext to his
was his love
’
min en t fg tnre in M ilton s ch ar cter of
a
hiloso h li an d th e other

fi ne arts . T his ch aracteristic was seldo m found in th e

mem bers the pol itical and religious party, to which
of

Milton adh ered in th e strugg le of th e Great Reb ellion .

Th e spirit of Puritanism w as on th e wh ole decidedl y

o
ppo sed to all kinds of cul ture, so th at poets, arch itects,

p ain ters, and musicians n aturally lo oked to C harles I . an d

his court for protection and patronag e . On this account

Mil to n must always h ave been con scious of a wide con

trast between h imself and th e party to which h e b elong ed .

Such Italian tours as he took in h is youth were reg arded

as m oral ly pernicious by th e Puritan s, wh o regarded th e
Italy of th ose days as a h ot bed of v ice, in which th e rich
-

y o ung cavaliers of th e time received in struction in all kinds

of immorality . W hen Milton s ’
en th usiasm for reli ion
g
and m orality urg ed him to write rel i i us and moral
g o

poet ry, h e felt h imself th orou gh ly in h armony with h is

own
party in th e state but his admiration for th e
beauties of literature an d th e fi n e arts, which h e s h ared
xx IN TRODUCTIO N .

with C harles I . and many of his courtiers, must h av e

been looked upon w ithby his austere pol itical
su spicion

In h is L A llegro h e n ot only glorifies th e o ld

’
as sociates .

Greek drama, but also mentions with approval th e learned

soc k o f Be n Jons on an d th e wild wood notes -
of S hake
speare . But th e Puritans, caring no thing fo r all the glories
of th e E lizabethan stag e, con demned th e whole drama
indiscrimin ately as a sch ool of immorality . In many fi ne
d
’

pas sag es o f Milto n s poetry evi en ce of h is lo v e of m usic

may be fo un d (see n ote, P L . .
,
I,
. an d we kn o w
that h is fav ourite relaxation was to play on the org an .

T h e Puri tans had so little appreciation for music th at

th ey bj ected to its use in th e service of God Milto n
o .

admired th e b eauties of ecclesiastical architecture Perisc

(
roso 1 5 5
,
which th e Republican l eaders allowed or
en couraged th eir followers to deface . In a word, w hile
Milton could appreciate everyth ing b eautiful in literature
an d art, th ose wh o professed th e gio n an d tsam e - reli
h e

sam e p rinci
pl es as h imself confi ned th eir reading to th e
B ible, an d in cluded th e innocent pleasures of literature,
ph iloso h
p y, a n d th e fi ne arts in th e sam e condemn atio n

as th e license an d irreligion with which th ey appeared,

from th e stan dpoin t of fan aticism , to be in extricably

’
conn ected . T hus an im portan t part O f Milton s ch aracter
ten ded to alien ate h im from th e po litical party to wh ich

he belonged B efore th e
. ou t rea b k of th e civil war th e
h ostility between cul ture an d religious Puritan ism was
less distinctly man ifest At th e time wh en M ilton was a
.

u n m an , Eng land h ad n ot y et been split up into two

y o g
great irreconcilable divisions, between which an a bsolute
ch oice h ad to be made .It was th us possible for h im to
in dulg e th en to th e full his love of beauty in art and
 I N TRODUCT I O N .
xxi

literatu re with out feeling s of self reproach -

. But as he
increased in austerity with adv ancin g y ears ,
he became
un a ble to main
re entirely superior the prevalent
to
n arro w -
mi n dedness . T here is g ood reas on, from th e

intern al evidence afforded by h is poems, to believe that

h is attitude towards hum an l earn ing was g radually
affected by the in fl uence of Puritan surroun dings, u ntil
in O ld ag e h e h im self cam e to reg ard Greek ph ilo so phy

and profan e literature g en erally as either unprofi ta b le or

e ven pern icio us ( see note on II .

,

Milton was btedly a sincere patriot but in times

u n dou ,

of civil war patriotism is in da ng er of b eing confo u nded

with party spirit In M ilton s case relig ious zeal and

’
.

repu b lican en th usias m rath er te nd to th ro w in to th e

W e h ave
'

sh ade his affection for his nativ e co un try . seen

that in h is y outh be con ceiv ed th e proj ect of w riting on

th e A rth urian leg en d a patri o tic poe m wh ich would h ave

cel e brate d th e g lories of England as th e E neid cele rates
b
th e h istory of Rome In this poem Arthur was to h av e
.

u nder w orld, wh ere, lik e Virg il s ZEn eas , h e

’
visited th e -

would h ave seen vision s of th e fu ture triumph s in war

and peacto be won by h is descen dants an d successors
e

in distan t ag es B ut th e carrying out of su ch a proj ect

.

was ren dered by th e Great Reb el

impossible for Milton
lion A republican poet could not celebrate th e glories
.

of h is n ation al h istory wh en all its past triumphs w ere

indissolubly connected with th e names of king s an d g reat

b arons . Thus it becam e impossible for Milton to mak e
th e gl o rifi ca tion of h is n ative lan d th e m ain su bj ect of his

i
ep c po em Th e re.w as h o w ev er o n e m e an s l eft by w h ich
he could express h is patriotism without appearing to be nu
faithful to his political pri nciples A t fi rst h e seems to h ave .
xx ii I N T RODUCTION .

con templated writing his g reat poem in L atin , th e l angu

ag e in which many o f h is earlier poems were composed .

T his h e was tempted to do in th at h is poem s m igh t

order

be read n ot on ly in Englan d, but also by th e learn ed in

every nation of th e continen t . Fortunately two reas ons ,

induced h im even tually to wri te in En g lish T h e fi rst .

reason was th e con v iction th at if h e wrote in L atin h e

would h av e th e greatest diffi culty in even attaining th e
second rank amo ng L atin w riters his o th er motive was
th e patri otic con viction th at by th e true poet th ere
ough t n o reg ard be so oner h ad than to God s glory, by
’

th e h on our an d in struction of h is country .

”
He th ere
fore resolv ed to wri te in English , ev en if by so do ing h e
sh ould lose all h o e of ob taining a
p con tin en tal reputation .

But th e ev en t sh o ws th at by th is ch oice h e g ain ed far

m ore th an h e sacrifi ced . Had h e w ritten Paradise L ost
in L atin , t h e po em m igh t h av e g ained h im a g reate r
am oun t of con tem po rary ren own , bu t it could n ev er h av e

h eld its g round in competition with th e popularity of the

du cti n s of m odern literature, and in ste ad o f b eing to
pr o o

E nglan d wh at th e Iliad, th e E neid , an d th e Divina

Commedia are to Greece, Rome, an d Ital y , w ould h av e
been con sig n ed to com parativ e blivion as a literary
o

curiosity on ly k n ow n to th e l earn ed Ho wev er th o ugh

.
,

Mil ton did n ot actu ally w ri te in L atin, clear traces of h is

adm iration for th at languag e m ay be discerned in th e
edo min an ce of L atin o ver A ng lo S axon w ords in
pr -

Paradise L ost an d Paradise Regairred an d also in th e ,

excessive prevalen ce o f L atin co nstruction s, w hich mak es

those po ems occasion al ly read lik e extremely literal

transl ation s Of L atin .

M ilton b eing deb arred from ch oosing a patriotic sub

 I N TRODUCTION .
xxiii

f r h is em naturall d rel igion

jcet o g reat po y tu rn e t o for
in s piration , an d ch ose Paradise L ost as th e su bj ect b est
adapted to h is g enius of all the man y scri
ptu ral sto i
r es ,
th e

co m parative suita which fo r poetic treatment h e

b ility of
h ad carefully estimated, as we learn from th e MS lis ts .

in h is own h andwriting in th e library of T ri nity C olleg e,

C amb ridg e . T his immen se su bj ect including
, as it does
th e fortun es of th e an g els and of the h uman race, and

e xten din
g its scene of action ov er th e wh ole universe,
afforded w ide r M il to n s po werful imag in ation
’

p fo sco e

an d for the displ ay of h is religio us fervour Such a .

lofty subj ect far surpassed in dig nity th e th emes o f his

epic p redecessors, an d may al most be re arded as
g too
vas t for th e g reatest intellect su ccessfully to grapple

with Th e partial success that Milton attain ed in his

.

bo l d u n derta king is th e b est pro of o f h is extraordin ar

y
i In spite of Macaul ay s e n th usias tic eulo ium it
’

g en us .
g
is impossib le for an y impartial critic to reg ard Paradise
Lost as a flaw less work M ore faultless w orks h av e been
.

accom plish ed by poets of inferior g en ius, wh o ch ose sub

m e within th e com pass of th e h u m an in tell ect
j ects or .

Paradise L ost is rig h tly describ ed by M T ain e as b eing .

a su blime imperfect poem . It is partly o w ing to its

imperfection s th at it h as n ever been v ery popu lar Th e .

verdict o f Eng lish taste pl aces M ilton on th e sdrne high

pede stal as S h ak espeare B ut o n th e co ntin en t,

. hil e
w
Shakespeare is m ost
al u n anim ou sl y recogn ized as one of

the g re atest, if n ot th e g reatest o f th e w orld s po ets,

’

M ilton can h ardly be said to h av e w on for h im self ,

.

the sam e un iv ersal re cog nition . In fact, j u dg ing from

the qu o tation s an d o th er referen ce s made to E n glish
writers in co ntin ental literatu re, it would almost appear
 I N T RODUCTION .

that in France and Germany th e n ame of Milton is less

familiar than th at of B yron . Even in England alth oug h,

v er al h omag e is un iversally d
’
b pai to Milton s gen ius it ,

is to be feared t hat Paradise L ost an d Paradise Regained

are more praised than read Th e g en eral rea ding pu bl ic
.

in th eir h eart of h earts is inclined to en dorse Dr Joh n.

j udg men t, th at Paradise Lost is o ne o f the boo k s

’
son s

which the reader admires and lays down and forg ets t o
tak e up ag ain ; that non e ever wish ed it lo ng er th an it
is ; th at its perusal is a du ty rath er than a pleas ure ;
that we read Milton for instru ction , retire h arassed an d

over urden ed, and

b look elsewh ere for recreation . Th is
wan t of appreciation is no doubt partly due to want o f
intellect an d imagination on th e part of th e ordin ary

reader . T h e works of Milton

Macaulay truly
, as

rem ar ks , can not be compreh en ded or enj oy ed unl ess

th e m ind of th e reader cO operate

-
with that of th e
writer, and m os t reade rs of po etry are to o in dolen t
to take this trou ble , or n ot suffi cien tly educated to en ter

th e long vistas of imagin ation su

gg ested by Mil ton s ’

many allusion s to th e literature an d history of th e past .

Bu t even th e m ost cul tured m in ds do n ot fi nd perfect satis

faction in Milton s C ritics of true poetical taste
’
po etr
y .

have h ad no diffi cul ty in discernin g th e blemish es th at

mar Paradise Lost, such as th e tiresome th eological dis

eussion s in th e th ird b ook th e inconsistent

, account
g iven

of th e ang els, wh o are som etimes represented as m aterial,

at oth er times as imm aterial, th e want of interest in th e
main actio n of th e poem, and the conve ntion al ch aracters

ascri bed to Adam an d Eve, wh o seem to M . T ain e un

interesting types of a Puritan h usband and W ife in th e

seventeenth century . In th is introdu ction it is enoug h
 xxvi I N T RODUCTIO N .

of th e con ten ding forces is ren dered too apparen t as th e

po em procee ds . A ll th e mig h ty ang elic warrio rs de

scri edb in the begin ning of th e po em turn out to be so
h elpless, th at, except Satan ,
th ey rem ain in active duri ng
th e wh ole period of th e action of th e poem , an d eventu
ally , to eth er w ith th eir leader, are de raded by b ein
g g g
con ve rte d into h issin g serpen ts . E ven Satan su ffers so

man y rebuffs an d repulses th roughou t th e course of the

poe m th at h is dig nity is h opelessly impaired If h ow .

ever we con fi n e our attention to the first two bo oks, th e

o verwh elmin omn ipoten ce o f God is at any rate kept in
g
th e b ackg round ,
an d resistance to His will does not seem
so utterly impossible . M ilton describes th e might, wis
dom, an d elo qu en ce of the fall en ang els with such sub

lime power that th e defi an ce which th ey h url to wards the

vaul t o f h eav en seems for th e m oment som eth in m ore th an
g
an e mpty boast . On e g reat con qu est th ey actually effect
in h ell, th e v icto ry of u ncon q uerable w ill s o v er adversity .

Th e fallen ang el s respon d n o bly to the th eir g reat

call of

leader and rouse th emsel ves with match less fortitude

from th eir physical an d m ental prostration Such an .

undaun ted stru l e a in t th e force of adverse circum

gg g a s

stan ces can n ot fail to attract th e deepest sy m path y .

The natural ten den cy of h um an n ature to sy m thi

pa ze

with the weak er side O ften m ak es the read er o f an e ic

p
po em feel more affection an d admiration for th e defeated
adv ersary th an for th e victo rious h ero . T he sam e n atu ral

feeling th at prompts us to prefer H ector an d T urn us to

A chilles an d A en eas predisposes us still more strong ly

to com miserate th e fate of a migh ty ang el fallen from

th e h ig h est pitch of ang elic power an d g lory In de .

scrib in t h d f hi h n l th e ic e t
g e a v e rsary o s ere , u ess e p p o
 I N TR ODUCTION .
xxvii

sh ow s g reat tact, h e will e ith er impair th e interest of his

po em o r make h is readers sy mpathize with th e side that
h e h im self does n ot fav ou r . If to o m an y virtu es are
’
as cri e d
b to th e h ero y ,
s adversar
th ere is so me d ang er o f
h is u surping in ou r sy mpathies the place th at oug h t to
be o ccu pied by th e h ero h imsel f O n th e o th er han d,
.

in av oiding this dang er th e poet may weaken th e glory

of h is h ero s triumph by represen ting th e con q uered foe
’

as too m ean an d despicable an an tag on ist to co nfer an y

real l o on th e co n queror Milton in his poem

g ry . repre

sents th e g ran d adv ersary as en dowed with such

n oble

attrib u tes, th at D ryden an d man y sub sequ ent critics

h av e th oug h t th at th e g reat religious an d Puritan poet

of En g lan d actu ally in ten ded to mak e S atan his h ero .

Th ere is cert ain ly som e l au sible round for th is

p g p ara

doxical v iew if we co n fi n e ou r atten tion to th e ran d

g
description of S atan i en in th e fi rst two boo k s Th e
g v .

o th er fallen maj estic fi g ures wh ose ch aracters

an g els are

are sk il fully discrim in ate d on e from the other, but

Satan tow ers far above th em all Milton s Satan is
’
.

distin guish ed from all oth er demon s th at h av e b een

describ ed in literature by th e absen ce o f th e grote sque .

Th e only oth er great epic poem in wh ich any demon

l minen t a part as Satan in Paradise L ost is th e
p ya s as pro

Ramayana of Valmik i In th at poem the Raksh ak a

.

Ravan a h as to con tend ag ain st th e power of man an d

God unitedin th e person of Rama, w h o is an incarnation
of th e D eity T h e In dian epic poet describes Rav an a
.

as a b eing with ten faces, copper colou red eyes, a h ug e

-

ch est, an d bright teeth l ik e th e n ew moon , tall as a

mo untain peak , stepping with h is arms th e sun an d

moon in th eir course, an d preven ting th eir rising
”
Such .
xxviii IN T RODU CTI ON .

a g rotes que description th e principal characte rs

of on e of

se riously im airs th e
p dignity of the poem T he same .

error of j u dg ment is committed by T asso, who draws a

hideous picture of Satan with blood shot eyes, blood -

drippin g j aws, and a mou th as larg e as a whirlpool N o r .

does D ante give a v ery dig nifi ed description of th e g reat

e nem y of God, wh om h e represen ts as a h ug e mon ster

with th ree h eads, one y ellow, an oth er blue, an d a third

black , crunching three wretch ed sinn ers in his th ree
mou th s . Th us it appears from th e comparison o f th e
S atan Paradise Lost with th e pictures drawn of th e
of

infern al k ing by his m ost famous predecessors, that

Mil ton co uld on occasion he boldly original, wh en
origin ality was re uired
q . In delin eating the character

of Satan his g enius led h im to treat th e g reat enemy ,

of mank ind with a g en erosity remark able for a Puritan .

Satan s ch aracter is treated with such sympath y and

’
,

described with so m uch dram atic power that C arly le ,

came to th e con clusio n th at M ilton in th e pe rson of ,

Satan h as revealed to th e w orld his own proud spirit

,

o f in depen dence and su periority to th e blows o f fortun e .

Besides intell ectual power and great courag e Milton h as ,

n ot refused to ascribe to S atan o th er redeeming q ualities .

T he g reatest poets often h uman ize th e ch aracter of

th eir worst villains by al lowing th em to sh ow distin ct
traces of a b etter n ature Valmiki s Ravan a, wh ose
’
.

repuls ive icture h as b een g iven ab ove, is describ ed b

p y
th e au th or of th e Rama yana as n ot with out h i h er feel
g
ing s, which h e manifests in th e dignifi ed courtesy of
h is demean our towards his wife Shakespeare s L ady
’
.

Macbeth is deterred from murdering D uncan by th e

resemblance of the slee in k in to her own fath er
p g g .
 I N TRODUCTIO N .

Even Sh ylo ck sh o ws affe ction for h is living daugh ter

an d g
re ar d for th e m emory of his dead wife . In l ike
m an n er M ilton does n o t represen t th e en em y of Go d
an d m an as en tirel
y destitute of g e n tle r ch aracteri stics .

He feels deep remorse ( I

. 6 05 ) at th e th oug ht of th e
ruin in wh ich h e h as in volv ed his followers, an d th is
rem o rse actu ally m oves h im to tears ( I . In th e
se co n db ook h e shows a noble sense of the duty of self
sacrifi ce incumb ent on h im on account of his position

as k ing of h ell wh en for the g en eral safety h e despised

“
,

h is o w n ( II a
. n d u n dertoo k alon e th e diflicnl t

en ter
prise which daunted th e th e m ig h tiest
cou rag e O f

of h is follo wers T he same treatment of S atan s ch ar

’
.

acter is main tained in th e later books, in wh ich h e is

twice mel ted with compassion at th e sigh t of the h arm
less in n ocence of th e v ery being s wh ose ruin he is
pl ottin
g ( IV 3 8.9 ; I" 4 6 2 .Th ese softer fee ling s

are h ow ev er on ly o ccasion al touch es in troduced to reliev e

th e g ran deur of a ch aracter essen tially terrible, a ch ar

acter w h ich , th o ug h n o t en tirely dev oid o f g en tl er

traits, is on th e wh ole m ost lik e a m ig h ty tem pest,

or an av alanch e, o r an y o th er force o f n ature th at com

bines th e beauty of su blimity with immense destructive

power .
 THE VERSE .

T HE m eas u re is En g l ish h ero ic v erse w ith ou t rim e, as th a t

o f Hom er in G re e k , a n d o f V irg il in L ati11 , rim e be in n
g o —

n e cessa ry ad u n ct j or t ru e o rna m e n t o f po e m o r g ood v erse ,

l on g er w orks es
pecia l ly , bu t th e in v en tio n of a barbarou s
a g e, to s et o ff w re tch ed m atter an d la m e m e tre ; g ra ced
in deed by th e u se o f som e
sin ce fa m o u s m odern poe ts ,
ca rri ed a way by cu sto m , bu t m u ch to t h eir o w n v e xation ,

h in dra n ce, an d cons train t to e xpre ss m a ny th in g s o th erw ise ,

an d fo r th e m ost part w ors e, th an e ls e th ey w o uld ha v e
e x re ssed th em N o t w ith o u t ca u se th erefore so m e bo th
p .

I ta l ian an d S pan ish po ets o f prim e n ote h a v e rej ected rim e

b oth in l on g er an d sh ort er w orks , a s h av e al s o l on g since o u r
best En g lish trag edie s, as a th in g o f itse lf, to a l l j u dicio us
ea rs , tri v ia l a n d o f n o tru e m u s ica l del ig h t w h ich con s ists
o nl
y in a pt n u m be rs ,
fi t q u a n t ity O f s
y ll a bl es ,
a n d t h e s e n s e

v ario u sly dra w n ou t from on e v erse in to an oth er, n ot in th e

j in g lin g so u n d of lik e en din g s ,
—
a fa u l t a v oided by th e learn ed
a n cien ts bo th in po etry an d all goo d o ra to ry Th is n eg l ect .

th en o f rim e so l ittl e is to be ta k en fo r a de fect th o u h it

, g
may s e em s o
pe rh a s
p to v u l g ar read ers , th a t it ra th er is to
be esteem ed an e xam l e set, th e fi rst in En g l ish , of an cien t
p
l iberty reco v ered to h ero ic po e m f ro m th e tro u bl esom e an d

modern bo n dag e o f ri min g .

 T HE A RG U M EN T .

b b
Th is First Boo k ropose s , fi rst in rief, th e w h ole su j ect— M an s d isobed i
’

en ce , an d th e los s ere u n of Paradise , wh erein h e w as laced : th en to u ch es

S
t h e rim e ca u se of h is is — th e erpe n t, or rath er atan S S
th e erpen t ; w h o ,
re v o ti n g fro m God , an d d rawin g to h is side m an y l eg io n s of A n g e ls , was , by
t h e co m m a n d of God , driven o u t of H eaven w ith al l h is crew in to th e g rea t
D ee p W h ich act ion sed ov er, t h e Poem has ten s in to th e m ids t of th in gs
S A H b
.

p r e se ntin g a ta n , w i t h is n g e l s , n ow fa ll en in to e ll — d e scri e
d h er e n o t in
t h e Cen tre ( for h ea v en an d earth ma y be en posed as y et n ot mad e , certainl y
n o t y et accursed ) , bu t in a place of u tte r dar ess , fl tliest ca ll ed C h aos . H ere
S a ta n , w ith h is A
n g els , l y in g on th e b u rn in g la k e , th un ders tru ck an d as ton
ish ed , af te r a certain s pace re cov ers , as from co n fus ion ; cal l s u p h im w h o ,
n e x t in o rd er an d di n i t , la
g y y by him : th ey con fer of th eir m isera l e fall b .

S ata n a w a k e n s all h is l e i ons , w h o l a

g y till th e n in th e same ma nn er con
fo un d ed . b b
Th ey rise : th e ir n u m ers ; am y o f attl e ; th eir ch ief l ead ers
n a m ed , accord in g to th e id ol s k n o w n af terw ard s in Can aan an d th e cou n tries
adj o in in g . S
To th ese a ta n d irects h is spee ch ; comf orts th em w ith h ope at
o f rega in i n
g H
ea v e n ; bu t te ll s th em , la s tl y , o f a n ew w orl d an d n ew k in of
creatu re to be crea te d , accord in
g to an an cien t ro h e cy , or re port , in
H e a ve n—
for th a t A
ng els w e re l o ng b Ig
e f ore th is v sib e crea tion w as th e
o pin ion o f m an y an cie n t Fath e rs . To fi n d ou t th e truth of th is proph ecy ,
a n d w h at to d e te rm in e th ereon , h e ref ers to a fu l l cou n cil . W h at h is as
s ociate s th en ce a tte m pt . S
Pand em on ium , th e palace of atan , rises , su dden l y
b uil t o u t of th e D
eep : th e in fernal Peers th ere si t in co un cil .
 PARADIS E L OST . 3 60 K I .

T hat, to th e hig h th of th is g rea t ar umen t

I may assert Etern al Pro v iden cef
g ,

A nd j us tify th e w ay s of Go m rnen .

S ay fi rst — for Heav en hides from th y view ,

n oth in g

N or th e deep tract of Hell say fi rst w h at cau se

—

M ov ed ou r g ran d Paren ts, in th at h a ppy sta te

Fav ou red of Heav en h ig hly , ta f al l e fl
so v
’

Fro m th eir Crea tor, an d tra n sg ress h is w ill

For on e res tra in t, l ords of th e World besides .

W h o fi rst s edu ced th em to th at fo ul re v olt ?

T h e inferna l S erpen t h e it w as w h ose g u ile,
S tirred u p w ith en vy an d rev en g e, deceiv ed A /

l r
r k
Th e m oth e of an in d, wh
m a t tim e h is rid
p e
“

Had cast him ou t from Heav en , w ith all h is best

“

Of re belA n g el s, by w h ose a id, aspirin g

To set h im s el f m g l ory a bo v e h is pee rs ,

He trusted to h av e e qu all ed th e M ost H ig h ,

If h e o ppo s ed, an d, w ith am bitiou s aim

A g ains t th e th ron e an d m ona rch y of God,

Ra ised im piou s w ar in Hea v en an d battl e prou d,
With v ain attem
pt . Him th e A lm ig h ty Po w er
Hu rled h ea dlon g flam in g from t h e e th erea l sk v

With h ideou s ruin an d combu stion , do w n

T o bottoml ess perdition , th ere to dw ell
In adam an tin e ch ain s a n d pen al fi re,
W h o du rst defy th e Om n ipoten t to arm s .

Nin e times th e space th at m easu res day an d ni h t

g 50
T o m ortal m en , h e, w ith h is h orrid crew ,
L ay van qu ish ed
, groll in
in th e fi ery g u l f ,

C onfoun ded, th ou g h imm ortal B u t h is doom .

Reserved h im tom ore w rath for n ow th e th oug h t

Both l ost h appin ess and lastin g pa in
of

T orm en ts h im rou n d h e throw s h is bal eful ey es,

T ha t w itn essed h u g e afliiction an d dism ay ,
M ixed w ith o bdu rate pride an d steadfas t h ate .

At on ce, a s far as A n g el
’
s k en , h e v iew s
s oon I
. PAR ADIS E LO ST .
3

Th e dismal situation wast e and wild .

A du n g eon horrible, on all sides rou nd,

As on e
g rea t flamed ; y et from those flames
furn ace
N o lig h t bu t rath er darkn ess v isible
S erv ed only to discov er sig h ts of w oe ,
RW W e

S uch place Eterna l J ustice h ad prepared

For th ose rebelliou s h ere th eir prison ordain ed
In u tter dark ness, an d
th eir po rtion se t,
A s far remov ed fro m God an d l i h t o f Heav en
g
A s from th e cen tre th rice to th e utm ost po l e
.

O h h ow unl i e k
th e place from w h en ce th ey fell 1
T h ere th e com pan ions of h is fall , o erwh elmed
’

With fl oods and w hirl winds of tempestu ou s fi re,

He soon discerns an d, w elte rin g by h is side,
On e n e xt himself in po w er, an d n ext in crim e
,

L o ng afte r known in Palestin e, and na m ed

‘ '

BEiiL ZE BU B . To w h om Qe Ar ch En emy ,
-

A n d th ence in H ea v en cal l ed S AT AN , w ith bold w ords

Brea kin g th e h orrid sil en ce th us began
beest
'
“
If th ou he—
bu t O h h ow fal len h ow chang ed
From him l w h o, in th e ha ppy realms of ligh t,
—

Cloth ed w ith transcenden t brig h tn ess, didst ou tshine

M yriads, th oug h brig h t if h e w h om m u tual l eag ue,
—

United th oug h ts and coun sels, equal h ope

An d ha zard in th e g l orious en terprise ,
'

Join ed with me once, now misery hath j oined

In e qual in to w h a t pit th ou seest
ruin

From w hat high th fall en so m u ch th e stron g er prov ed

He w ith his th un der : and till th en w h o kn ew
Th e force of th ose dire arms ? Y et n ot for th ose,
N or w ha t th e poten t v ictor in his ra
g e
 PARADIS E LO ST . BOOK 1 .

Can else infl ict, do I repen t, or chang e,

T h oug h chan g ed in ou tward lu stre, th at fi xed mind,
An d hi g h disdain from sens e of inj ured m erit,
T h at with th e M i gh tiest raised me to con tend,
A n d to th e fi erce conten tion brou g h t al on g
Innu merable force of S pirits armed,
T h at du rst dislike his reig n , and, me preferring ,
His u tm ost pow er w ith adv erse pow er opposed
In du bious ba ttl e th e pla in s of Hea v en,
on

An d sh oo k h is th rone Wh at th ou h th e fi eld be lost ?

.

g
w / A ll 18 n ot lost — th e un con qu erable w ill
m
,
i
A of rev en g e, imm ortal h ate,
M
0
An d cou rag e n ev er to su bm it or y ie ld
A nd w hat is e ls e n o t to be ov ercom e ?

T hat g lory n ev er sh all hi s w rath or m ig h t

Extort from me T o bow an d su e for g race
.

With su ppl ian t kn ee ,

an d deify h is pow er
W h o, from th e terror of th is arm , so late

Doubted h is em pire th at w ere low in deed

—

Th at w ere an ig n om iny an d sh ame ben eath

This downfall by fate, th e stre n g th
s in ce, of Gods,
A n d th is em py rea l substan ce, cann ot fail
S in ce, th roug h experien ce of this grea t ev en t ,
In arm s n ot w orse, in foresig h t mu ch adv an ced,
W e may w ith m ore su ccess fu l h ope resolv e

T o wag e by force o r g u il e eterna l w ar,

Irrecon cilable to ou r g ran d Foe ,
W ho n ow trium phs , an d in th e excess of j oy

S ale reig nin g h olds th e tyranny of Hea v en .

S o s pa k e th e a postate An g el, th ou g h in pain ,

Vau n tin g alou d, bu t racked w ith deep despair
And h im th u s ans w ered seen h is bold co m pe er

I ,
“
0 Prin ce, 0 Ch ief man y th ron ed Pow ers
of

T h at l ed th e embat tl ed S era phim to w ar

Under thy con du ct, an d, in dreadful deeds

Fearless, en dan g ered Hea v en s perpetual
’
K ing ,
B OO K 1 . PA RA DISE L OST . 5

A n d pu t to proof h is h ig h su premacy ,
Wh eth er u ph eld by streng th , or chance, or fate 1
T oo w ell I see and ru e th e dire ev ent
Th at, with sad ov erth row an d foul defeat,
Hath lost us Heav en , and a l l this mig h ty h ost
In h orrible destruction l a id th u s low ,
A s far as G ods an d H ea ve nly Essen ces
Ca n perish for th e m in d an d spirit re ma in s
Inv in cibl e
Th oug h
‘
all ou r
an d vig ou r soon
l ex tin ct, and
retu rns ,

ha ppy state
g o ry
Here sw al l ow ed u p in endl ess m isery .

B u t w ha t if H e ou r Con qu eror ( w h w n ow

Of force believ e al mig h ty , sin ce n o l ess

Than su ch could h av e o erpow ered s u ch force as
’
ours )
Hav e l eft u s this ou r spirit an d streng th en tire,
S trong ly to suffer an d su
ppo rt our pa in s ,

Tha t w e m ay so su fl l ce h is v en g efu l ire,

‘

O r do him m ig h tier serv ice as h is th ralls

h of w a r, w h ate er h is bu sin ess be,
’
By ri
g t
Here in th e h ea rt of Hell to w ork in fi re,
O r do h is erran ds in th e g loomy Deep ?
Wha t can it th en av ail th ou g h y et w e fe el

S treng th u n dim inish ed, o r ete rna l bein g

To u n derg o etern al pun ish m en t ?
Wh ereto w ith speedy w o rds th e A rch Fien d -
replied

Fallen Ch erub, to be w ea k is miserable,

Do in g o r su fferin g bu t of th is be su re

T o do au g h t g o od n ev er w il l be our tas k,
B ut ev er to do ill o u r sol e delig h t,
A s bein g th e con t rary to His h ig h w ill
Wh om we resis t If th en his pro v iden ce
.

Ou t of ou r ev il see k to brin g fo rt h g ood,

O ur labo u r m us t be to perv ert th at en d,

An d ou t of g ood still to fi n d m eans of ev il
Which ofttim es ma y su cce ed so as pe rha s
p
Sha ll g riev e him , if I fail n ot , an d distu rb
 PARA DIS E L OS T . soo n 1 .

His inmost co u n sels from th e ir destin ed aim .

B ut see th e a n g ry Victo r h ath reca l l ed

His m in iste rs of
v en g ea n ce an d pu rsu it
Back to th e g ates of Hea v en th e su lph u rou s hail ,

S h ot after u s in s to r m, ’
o er blo wn h a th laid
Th e fi ery sur g e th a t from th e precipice
Of Hea v en receiv ed u s fa llin g an d th e th u n der,

Wing ed w ith lig h tn in g an d im pe tu ous rag e,

red

Perh a ps h ath spen t h is sh afts, an d ceases n ow

T o bel low th roug h th e v as t an d boun dle ss Deep .

L et u s n o t sli
p th e occas ion , w h eth er scorn

Or fu ry y ield it from our Foe

sa tiate .

S eest th ou y on dreary pla in , forlorn an d w ild,

The sea t of des olation , v oid of lig h t ,

Sa v e w h at th e g limm erin g of th ese li vid fl am es

Casts pa le an d drea df ul ? Th ith er l et u s tend
From ofl th e tossin g of th es e fi ery w av es
'

T h ere rest, if any rest ca n h arbou r th ere

A nd re assem blin u r affl icted w
g o po e rs,
-

Co ns u l t h ow w e may h enceforth m ost o fl en d

'

O ur en emy , o ur ow n loss h ow repa ir,

How ov ercom e this dire ca lamity ,

Wha t reinf orcement w e m ay from h ope,

g a in

If n ot, wh at resol u tion from despair .

With h ead u plift abo ve th e w av e, a n d e es

y
Th at sparklin g bla zed h is oth er parts besides
Pron e on th e fl ood, e xten ded lon g and larg e,
L ay fl oa tin g m an y a rood, in bu l k as h ug e
A s w h om th e fabl es na m e of m onstrous size,
Titani an or Earth h e m , t hat w arred
-
on J ov e ,

Briareos or T y ph on , w h om th e den
By an cient T a rsus h eld, or th a t sea - beas t

L ev iathan , w hi ch God of all hi s w orks

Created h ug est tha t sw im th e ocea n -
m
strea .

Him, h aply slu m bering on th e No rway foam ,

BOOK 1 . PA RA DIS E L OST .
7

Th e pilot of som e sm all nig h t fo un dered skiff, -

Deem ing som e islan d, oft, as seam en tell,

With fi x ed an ch or in h is sca ly rin d,

M by his side un der th e lee, while nig h t

o ors

Inv ests th e sea , an d wish ed m orn delay s .

So stretch ed o u t h u g e in l en g t h th e A rch Fiend lay -

Ch ain ed on th e bu rn in g la k e n o r ev er th en ce
Had risen , or h ea v ed h is h ead , bu t th at th e w ill
An d hi g h permission of all rulin g Heav en -

L eft him at larg e to h is own dark desig ns ,

Th at w ith reitera te d crim es h e m ig h t
Hea p on h imself da m n ation , w h ile h e sou g h t

Ev il to oth ers , an d en rag ed m ig h t see

How all hi s malice s erv ed bu t to brin g forth

In fi n ite g oodn ess, g race , an d m ercy , sh ew n
On M an by h im sedu ced, bu t on himself
Trebl e confus ion , w rath , an d v eng ean ce po u red .

Forth with u prig h t he rea rs from OR th e pool

His m ig h ty sta t u re on each ha n d th e fl am es
Driv en backw ard slope th e ir poin ting spires, and, roll ed

In bill ow s, l ea v e i th e m idst a h orri d v al e

’
.

Th en w ith e xpan ded win g s h e st eers h is fligh t

Al oft, in cu mben t on th e dusky air,

Tha t felt un usua l w eig h t till on dry lan d

He lig h ts —
if it w ere lan d th at e v er bu rn ed
With solid, as th e lak e w ith liqu id fi re,
An d su ch appea red in h u e as w h en th e force
Of su bterran ean w in d tran sports a h ill
To rn from P el orus, or th e sh att ered side

Of th u n derin g ZEtn a, w h ose com bu stibl e

An d fu el led en tra ils, th en ce con ceiv ing fi re,
S u blim ed w ith m in eral fu ry , aid th e w in ds,
A nd l eav e a sin g ed bottom al l in v olv ed
With sten ch an d sm o ke . S u ch restin
g fou n d th e sol e

Of un b l es t f ee t . Him foll ow ed his n e xt m a te

Both g l or in
y g to h a v e sca ped th e S tyg ian fl ood
 PA R A DIS E LOST . soon 1 .

A s g ods, and by th eir own recov ered streng th ,

N ot by th e sufl erance of superna l pow er
'

Is this th e reg ion , this th e soil , th e clime,

Said th en th e lost A rch an g el, this th e seat

That w e mu s t chang e for Heav en —

th is m ournfu l g loom
For th at celestial lig h t ? B e it so, since He
W ho n ow is sovran can dispose an d bid
Wh at sh all be righ t farth est from Him is bes t ,

Wh om reas on h ath equ all ed fo rce h ath made su preme ,

A bov e h is e qu als Farew ell h appy fi elds

.
, ,

Wh ere j oy for ev er dw ells 1 Hail h orrors l hail 25 0 , ,

Infernal World 1 and th ou profoun dest Hell , ,

Receiv e th y n ew possess or o ne w h o brings —

A mind n ot to be ch an g ed by place or time .

is its o wn place, an d in itself

Can ma k e a H ea v en of H ell , a Hell of Hea v en .

Wh at matter w h ere if I be still th e same

, ,

A n d t a t I sh ou ld be al l but l ess th a n h e
,

Wh om th u n der hath made g reater ? Here at l east

W e sh all be free th e Al mig h ty ha th n ot built
Here for h is en vy , w ill n ot driv e u s h ence
Here w e may reig n secure and, in my ch oice,
is w orth ambition , th oug h in Hel l
reig n in Hell th an serv e in Hea v en .

B ut w h erefore l et we th en our faith ful friends ,

Th e as sociates and co -
pa rt n ers of ou r l oss,
L ie th u s as ton ish ed on th e obliv iou s
poo l ,

A nd ca ll th em n ot to sh are with us th eir part

In this un h a ppy m ansion , or once m ore
With ral lied arms to try w h at may be y et
R egained in H eav en , or w h at m ore lost in H ell ?
S o S a ta n spak e and h im Beelzebu b
T h us ans w ered L e ader of th ose armi es brig h t
Wh ich , bu t th e Omn ipo ten t, n on e cou l d h av e fo iled l
If on ce th ey h ear th at ,
thv o ice
e ir l iv eliest pledg e
Of h ope in f ears an d dan g ers— h ea rd so oft
10 PA RA DIS E LO ST . BOO K 1.

Abject and lost, lay th ese, cov erin g th e fl ood,

Un der amazem en t of th eir hi deou s ch an g e .

t al l th e h ollow dee p

Warriors ,
th e Flow er of Hea v en —
on ce y o u rs now lost,
If su ch as tonish m en t as th is ca n se ize

Eterna l S piri ts 1 O r h av e y e ch os en this place

A fter th e toil of battle to repose
You r w earied v irtu e ,
for th e eas e y ou fin d
T o sl u mber h ere, as in th e v al es of Hea v en ?
Or in this ab ect j po st u re h a v e y e sw orn
To adore th e C on qu eror, w h o n ow beh olds
Ch eru b an d S eraph rollin g in th e fl ood
With s catt ered arm s an d en sig n s, til l an on

His sw ift pu rsu ers from Heav en g ates discern -

Th e v
ad an tag e, an d, descen ding , tread us do wn
T h u s droopin g , or k
w ith lin ed th un derbolts
T rans fi x us to th e bottom of th is g ulf
A w a k e, aris e, o r be for e v er fall en 1 ”

Th ey h eard, an d w e re abash ed, an d u th ey sprun g

p
Upon th e w ing , as w h en m en w t to w atch ,
On du ty sl eeping fou n d by w h om th ey dread,
Re use an d bestir th em sel v es ere w ell aw ak e .

N or did th ey n ot pe rceiv e th e evil li

p g h t
In w hi ch th ey w ere, or th e fi erce pa in s n ot feel
Y et to th eir Gen era l s
’
v oice th ey soon obey ed

In n u m erabl e . A s w h en th e potent rod

Of A m ra m son , in Eg y pt s evil da ,
’ ’
s
y
W av ed roun d th e coast, u p- ca ll ed a
p itch y clou d

Of locu sts, w arping on th e eastern w in d,

T h at
’
o er th e real m of im pious Ph araoh h un g
L ike Nig h t ,
an d dark en ed al l th e lan d of Nile
So n um berl ess w ere th e se bad A n g el s seen
Hov erin g on w in g u n der th e cope of H ell ,
u pper, 11 eth er an d su rrou n din fi res
g
Till , as a sig na l g iv en ,
th e u pl ifted s
pea r
s o o n I. PARA DISE L OS T . 11

O f t h e ir g rea t S ul tan w avin g to direct

Th eir cou rse, in e v en bal an ce dow n th ey lig h t
On th e fi rm brim ston e, an d fi l l al l th e plain
A m u l tit ude like w hich th e popu lous N orth
P o ured n ev er from h er frozen l oins to pass
Rh en e or th e Dana w , w h en h er ba rbarou s sons

Cam e lik e a del ug e on t h e S o u th , an d sprea d

Ben eath Gibra ltar to th e L iby an san ds .

Forth w ith , from‘ev ery s qu adron an d each ban d ,

Th e h eads an d l eaders thi th er has te w h ere stood

Th eir g rea t Comman der— g odlik e Sh apes , and F0
Excellin g h uman prin cely Dig nities
An d P ow e rs tha t erst in H ea v en sat on th ron es,
Th oug h of th eir na m es in H ea v en ly records now

Be no m em oria l , bl otted ou t an d ras ed

By th eir rebell ion from th e Book s of L ife .

N or h ad th ey y et am on g th e sons of Ev e
Ge t th em n ew names, til" d i h earth ,
’
, w a n e r n g o e r t e

Th roug h God s h ig h su fl eran ce for th e trial of man,

'
’

By falsities an d lies th e greatest part

Of ma n k in d th ey corrupted to forsa ke
God th eir Crea tor, an d th e in v isibl e
Glory of Him tha t made th em to transform
Oft to th e im ag e of a bru te, adorn ed

With g y
a rel ig io ns full of po m p an d g o l d,

A nd devils to a dore for deities

Th en w ere th ey kn own to m en by v ari ou s names,
An d v ariou s idols th rou g h th e H eath en World .

S ay , M u s e, th e ir n am es th en kn ow n ,
w h o fi rst ,
w h o

Rou sed from th e slu m ber on th at fi ery cou ch ,

A t th eir g reat Em peror s call , as n ext in w orth

’

Cam e sin g ly w h ere h e stood on th e bare strand,

Wh il e th e rom is cu ou s crow d stood y e t al oo f
i
.

T h e chie w ere th ose w h o, from th e pit of Hell

Roamin g to seek th eir prey on Ea rth , durst fi x
Th eir seats , long after, n ext th e seat of God,
 PA RADISE L OST . BOOK 1 .

Th eir altars by His altar, g ods adored

A m ong th e nation s roun d, a nd durst abide
J eh ov ah th unde ring ou t of S ion throned ,

Betw een th e Ch erubim y ea often placed ,

Within His sanctu ary its elf th eir shrines ,

A bomination s an d w ith cu rsed th ing s

His h oly rites an d s ol emn feasts profan ed,
A nd w ith th eir dark n ess du rst a fl ron t His l ig h t
'

ht Fi rs t,
W h orrid k in g ,
besm eared w ith bl oo d
O f h u man sacrifi ce, an d paren ts tears
’

Th oug h , for th e n o is e of

Th eir children s cries nu

’

T o his grim idol H im th e A mm onite

.

Worshipped in Rabba and h er w atery plain ,

In Arg ob an d in Basan , to th e stream
Of u tmost A m en N or con ten t w ith su ch
.

A u daciou s n eig h bou rh ood, th e w isest h eart

O f S olom on h e l ed by frau d to bu il d
His temple rig h t ag ain st th e temple of Go d
On th at bri ou s h ill an d m ade h is g rov e
oppro ,

Th e pl easan t val ley of H inn om T oph et th en ce ,

A nd black Geh enna ca lled th e ty pe of Hell ,

.

01ext
w t h e o bscen e drea d of M oab s sons

From A roar to N ebo an d th e w ild

’
,

Of sou th most A barim in H esebon

A n d Horona im , S e on s real m , bey on d
’

The fl ow ery dal e of S ih m a cl ad with v in es,

A n d Elealé to th e A sph al tic Pool

Pee r his oth er n am e, w h en h e en ticed
Israel in S ittim , on th eir march from N ile ,

T o do him w an ton rites, w hich cost th em woe .

Y et th en ce his lu stfu l o rg ies he enlarg ed

Ev en to th at hill of scan dal , by th e g rov e

Of M ol och h omicide, l us t h ard by h ate,
Till g ood J osiah dro v e th em th ence to Hell .

With th ese ca m e th ey w h o, from th e bordering fl ood

soon x
. P ARADIS E L O S T .
13

Of Eu ph rates to th at broo k that parts

old

Egypt from S yria n g roun d, h ad g en eral nam es

Can eith er s ex as s um e, or both so so

f
t
An d un com poun ded is th eir ess en ce pu re,

N ot tied mor j oin t o r m

ad ei w ith
li b ,

N or foun ded on th e brittle strength of bones ,

L ik e cu mbrous flesh bu t in wha t sh ape th ey , cho ose,

Dilated or con densed brig h t or obscure , ,

Can ex ecu te th eir aery u

p pr os es

"
,

An d w orks of lov e or enm ity fu l fi

For th ose th e race of Israe l oft
l k
fors oo
Th eir L iving S treng th , an d u nf re qu ented left
His rig h teou s altar, bowing low ly down
T o bestia l g ods for w hich th eir h ea ds, as low
Bow ed down in battle, sun k before th e spear
Of despica bl e foes With th ese in troop
.

Ca m e A storetk, w h om th e Ph oen icians ca ll ed

A start e, queen of h eav en with crescent h orns ,

To w h ose brig h t ima g e n ig h tly by th e m oon

S idon ian v ir in s id th i w n d
g pa e r v o s a so n gs ;
In S ion also n ot u ns u n g , w h ere stoo d

Her tem pl e on th e v
offen si e m ou n ta in , bu ilt
By tha t g oriou s kin g w h ose h eart, th ou g h large,
Beg uil ed by fair idolatresses, fell
( T o idols fou l . Tha mmuz came n ext beh ind ,

Wh ose ann u al w ound in L eban on al l u red

Th e S y ri an dam sels to lam en t h is fate

In am oro us ditties all a su mm er s day ,
’

Wh il e sm ooth A donis from his n ativ e rock

Ran pu rple to th e sea, su pposed w ith blood
Of Th amm u z y early w oun ded th e lov e tale -

In fected S ion dau g h ters w ith like h eat,

’
s

Wh ose w anton passions in th e sacred po rch

Ezekiel saw w h en by th e v ision led
, , ,
14 PA RA DIS E L OS T . s oon 1 .

His ey e survey ed th e dark idolatries

Of aliena ted J udah . N ext ca me o ne

W h o mourned in ea rn est , w h en th e ca ptive a rk

M d his brute imag e, h ead and han ds le pt o ff,

In h is own tem ple, on th e g unned edg e, -

Wh ere h e fell fl at and sh am ed h is w orshippers

fl Dag on h is name,
sea m on s ter, u pw ard man -

A n d down w ard fi sh y et had his tem pl e h ig h

Reared in Azotu s, drea ded th roug h th e coast
Of Pa lestin e, in G ath an d A scal on ,
A n d A cca ron an d Gaza s fron tier bounds
’
.

Him follow ed Rimnwn, w h ose del ig h tf ul sea t

W as fair Damascu s, on th e fertil e ban ks

O f A bh ana an d Ph arph ar, l u cid streams .

He also again st th e h ou se of G od w as bol d

A l epe r on ce h e l ost, an d g a in ed a k in g
A h a z, h is sottish con qu eror, w h om h e drew
G od s al tar to disparag e an d displace
’

F or on e o f S y rian m od e, w h ereon to bu rn
His odious o ffe rin g s, an d adore th e g ods
W h om h e h ad v an qu ish ed . Af te r th es e a
ppea red
A crew wh o , u n der na m es of ol d ren ow n

O iris, Isis, 0m , an d th eir train

y s

With mon strou s sha pes an d sorceries abu sed

Fan atic Eg ypt h er priests to seek

an d

Th eir w an derin g g ods disg u ised in bru tish forms

Ra th er th an h um an N or did Isra el scape
.

T in fection , w h en th eir borrow ed g old composed

he

Th e ca l f in O reb an d th e rebel k in
g
Doubled th at sin in Beth e"an d in Dan ,
L iken in g h is M k er to
th e g razed ox
a

J eh ovah , w h o, in on e nig h t, w h en h e pas sed

From Egy pt m arch in g , e ualled w ith on e stro e q k
Both h er fi rst born-
an d all h er bl ea tin g g ods .

B elia l ca m e l ast th an w h om a S pirit m ore lew d

x
Fell n ot from Hea v en , or m ore g ross to lov e
s oo x r. PA RADIS E LOST. 15

Vice for itself To h im no temple stood

.

Or altar sm ok ed y et w h o m ore oft th an he

In tem ples an d at al ta rs w h en th e priest
T urn s ath eist, as did E11 8 sons, w h o fi ll ed
With l us t an d v iol en ce t h e h ou se of God ?
In cou rts an d pa la ces he also reig ns,

A n d in l uxu riou s cities , w h ere th e n oise

Of riot ascen ds abov e th eir l oft iest to w ers,

A n d in j u ry an d o u tra g e an d, w h en n ig h t

Dark ens th e streets, th en w an der forth th e son s

Of Belial fl own
,
w ith ins ol en ce an d w in e .

Witn ess th e streets of S odom , an d th at ni g h t

In Gibeah , w h en th e h ospitabl e door
Expos ed a matron , to a v oid w orse ra
pe.

Th ese w ere th e prim e in order an d in m ig h t

Th e rest w ere lon g to tell th oug h fa r ren own ed
Th e Ionian g ods oi J avan s issu e h eld
’
—

Gods , y et confessed later th an H eav en an d Earth ,

" T h e ir
boasted p Tita n , H eav en s fi st born ,
’
a ren ts —
r -
5 10
With his en orm ou s brood, an d birth rig h t seized

$ By y oun g er S a twm h e from m ig h tier J ov e,

His own an d Rh ea s son , lik e m easu re foun d
’

1 S o Jove u su rpin g reig n ed . T h es e, fi rst in Crete

An d Ida kn ow n , th en ce on th e sn o w y top
Of col d O ly m pu s ru l ed th e m iddl e air,

Th eir h ig h est h eav en or on th e Del ph ian cliff,

Or in Dodon a , an d th rou g h all th e bo unds

Of Doric lan d or w h o w ith S atu rn ol d

Fled o v er A dria to t h e H esperian fi elds,

And th e Ce ltic roam ed th e u tm ost Isl es
’
o er .

A ll th ese an d more cam e fl ock in g bu t w ith looks

Down ca st an d dam p y et su ch w h erein a ppea red

Obscu re so m e g lim pse of j oy to h av e fou n d th eir Ch ief

N ot in despair, to h av e found th em sel v es n ot l os t
In l e s s itself w hich on his cou n t en an ce cast

L ik e dou btfu l h u e . B ut h e , his w on t e d pride

 PARADIS E L OST . BOO K 1 .

Soon with hig h words, that bore

recoll ecting ,

Semblance of worth , n ot su bstan ce, g ently raised

Th eir fainting courag e and dispell ed th eir fears
Th en straig h t comman ds th at, at th e warlik e soun d

Of trumpets lou d an d clarions , be u preared

His mig hty standard . Th a t proud h onour claimed

A zazel his rig h t, a Ch eru b ta ll
a s

W h o forth with from th e g littering stafl unfurled

'

Th e im peria l ensign w h ich , fu ll hig h advanced,

S h on e lik e
meteor streaming to th e wind,
a

With g ems and g olden lustre rich emblazed,

S eraphic arms and trophies ; all th e w hile
S onorous metal blowing martiiil sounds :
A t which th e un iv ersal h ost u
p
—
sent

A sh out that tore Hell beyond

s con cav e, and
’

Frig h ted th e reig n of Ch aos an d ol d N igh t .

Al l in momen t th rou g h th e g loom w ere seen

a

T en th ou sand bann ers rise into th e air,

With orien t colours w av ing with th em rose
A forest h ug e of spears an d th ron g ing h el ms
A ppeared, and serried sh iel ds in th ick array
Of depth imm easurable . A n on th ey m ov e
In
Of flutes an d soft recorders —
su ch as raised

T o hi g h th of n oblest tem per h eroes old

A rmin g to battl e, an d ins tead of rag e
Deliberate v al ou r

N or wan tin g pow er to mitig ate and swag e

With solemn tou ch es troubled th oug h ts, an d ch as e
x A n g u ish an d doubt an d fear an d sorrow an d pa in

From mortal or imm ortal min ds . Th us th ey ,

Breathing un ited force with fi xed th oug h t,
M oved on in silen ce to so ft i
pp e s th at cha rm ed
Th eir painful steps o er th e burnt soil A n d n ow
’
.

A dv an ced in v iew th ey stan d —

a h orrid fron t
 18 PARA DIS E LOST . s oo n 1 .

A bov e th em all hi s face

Deep scars of th d, and care

S at on h is fad ed ch ee k , bu t under brows

Of dauntl ess co urag e, a n d cons iderate pride

Waiting reveng e . Cruel his ey e, bu t cast

S ig ns of remorse an d pass io n , to beh old

T h e fell ows of h is crim e, t h e foll ow ers rath e r

( Far o th er once beh eld in bliss ), condemn ed

For e v er now to ha v e th eir lo t in pain

M illions of S pirits fo r h is fa u lt
w
Of H ea v en, an d from
pl en do u rs fl
e tern a l s
u n g
For his revol t y et faithf ul h ow th ey stood,
—

Th eir g lory with ered as , wh en h eav en s fire

’

Hath scath ed th e forest oa ks or moun ta in pin es,

With sing ed top th eir stately g rowth , th ou g h bare,
S tan ds on th e blasted h ea th He n ow prepa red
.

T o spea k wh erea t th eir do u bled ran ks th ey ben d

From w ing to wing , an d h alf en close hi m rou nd
With all h is peers A tt en tion h eld th em mu te .

Th rice h e assa ed an d th rice, in spite of scorn,

y ,
T ea rs, su ch as A ng els w eep, bu rst forth at last
Words in terwov e w ith sig h s fou n d ou t th eir way

s
z O myriad s of immortal S pirits O Pow ers
tchl ess, bu t w ith th e Al mig h ty l— an d tha t strif e
W as n ot ing lorious , tho u g h th e ev en t w as dire,
A s th is place testifi es , and th is dire cha ng e,
Hateful to u tter B u t w h a t pow er of min d,
.

Fores eein g or p resa gin g , from th e depth

Of kn ow l edg e past or presen t, could hav e feared
How su ch united force of g ods ,
h ow su ch

A s stood like th ese , co u l d e v e r k no w repuls e ?

For wh o can y et believe, th ou g h after loss,
Th at all th ese M legion s, w h ose exile
Hath emptied Heav en, sh al l fail to re ascen d,
-

S elf -
th eir nativ e seat ?
raised, and re - poss ess

For me, be witn ess all th e h ost of Heav en ,

B OO K r . PA RADISE LOST .

If co u n sel s differen t, or dang ers sh unn ed

By m e h av e lost ou r h opes . Bu t h e w h o reigns

M onarch in Hea v en till th en as on e secu re

S at on h is th ron e, ph e ld b
uy o l d re
pu te,

Co n sen t or cu stom , an d h is reg al sta te

Pu t forth at f ull , but still hi s stren g th concea l ed

Wh ich tem pted ou r attem pt, an d wrou g h t ou r fa ll .

Hen ceforth his m ig h t wekn ow an d kn ow , ou r ow n .

So as n ot eith er to rov o k e or drea d

p ,

N ew w a r pro v ok ed ou r better pa rt rem ains

T o w o rk in cl ose desig n , by fra u d or g u ile,
Wh at force efl ected n ot th at h e n o l ess
'

A t len g th from us may fi nd, W h o ov ercomes

B y force h ath o v ercom e bu t h a lf his fo e

S pace m ay produ ce n ew W orlds wh ereof so ri fe
0
Th ere w e n t a fam e in Hea v en th at H e ere long I
In ten ded to crea te , an d th e rein pla n t
A g en era tion w h o m his ch o ice reg ard
S h ou ld fav ou r eq ual to th e S o n s of H ea v en .

T h it h er, if bu t to pry , sh a ll be perh aps

O ur fi rst eru ption thith er, or elsew h ere
—

For this in fern al pit sha ll n ev er h old

Ce lestial S pirits in bondag e, n or th e A by ss
L on g u n der darkn ess cov er . B u t th es e th o ug h ts
Fu ll cou n sel m ust m atu re . Peace is despa ired
For w h o ca n th in k su bm ission ? W ar th en , w ar
Open or un derstood, m u st be resol v ed .

He spa k e an d, to con fir m h is w ords, ou t -

fl ew
M ill ions of flamin g sw ords, draw n from th e th ig hs
O f mig h ty Ch erubim th e su dd en blaze
Far rou n d illu m in ed Hell . Hig h ly th ey rag ed

A g ains t th e H ig h est, an d fi erce w ith g rasped arms

C las h ed on th eir soun din g shie lds th e din o f w ar,
Hurlin g defian ce tow ard th e vau lt of h eav en fi
fl l
l
"

q q 6 70
.

T here stood a hill n ot fi r, wh ose g riT

s y to p
"

Belch ed fi re an d roll in g sm o ke th e rest e n tire

20 PA RADIS E LOST . BOO K 1 .

S h on e wi th a
W —
u n do ubted sig n

Tha t in h is w o mb w as h id m etall ic ore,

Th e w ork of su l ph u r . Thith er, w in g ed w ith 8 ed,

A nu m erous briga d h as t en ed a s w h e n ban d

Of pion eers, w ith spade an d pick axe arm ed,
Forerun th e ro al ca
y mp, to tren ch a fi eld,
Or cast a ram pa rt . M a m m on led th em on
M amm on , th e lea st erect a Spiri t th at fell
From H ea v en ; for ev en in H ea v en h is look s an d th
We re a lw ay s down w ard bent, adm irin g m ore
T he r ich es o f Heav en ’
s pa v em en t ,
t rodd en g o l d,
T h an au
g h t div in e or h oly els e en oy ed j
In v is io n bmfifi0
By h im fi rs t
.

M en als o, an d by h is s ugg estion tau g h t,

Ransack ed th e Ce n tre , an d w ith im piou s h an ds
Rifl ed th e bow els of th eir m oth er Earth
For treas ur es better h id . S o on h ad h is crew

O pen ed in to th e h ill a spa cio u s w o u n d,

A n d dig g ed o u t ribs of g old L et n on e ad m ire .

Tha t rich es g row in H el l th at soil m ay best

W h o beas t in

L earn h ow th eir g reatest m on u m en ts o f fam e

A n d stren g th , a n d art, are easily ou tdon e
By S piri ts re probate, an d in an h ou r
Wha t in an ag e th ey , w ith in cessan t to il
A n d h an ds inn um erable , sca rce
pe rfor m .

w
Nig h th e plain , in m any cel l s prepared,
on

T h at u n dern ea th had v ei11s of l i u id e

__
q m
w
,

Sla from th e lak e, a se con d m u ltitu de

‘
With w on drous art fQun ded th e massy ore,
‘
W
S ev ering each k in d ,
an d scum m ed th e bu ll ion dross
M
-
.

A th 1rd h ad form ed w 1th 1n th e g ro un d

o o o

as soon

A v ariou s m ou ld, an d from th e boilin g cell s

By stra n g e co n v ey an ce fi ll ed ea ch h ol l ow n oo k
B OO K 1 . PA RA DIS E L OS T . 21

A s in an org an , from on e blas t of wind,

T o many a row of ppi es t h e s o u n d board brea th
-
es .

i A n o n ou t of th e ea rth a fabric h u g e

Ro se l ike an exh alation , w ith th e so u n d

Of du lcet sym ph on ies an d v oices sw eet

Bu ilt lik e a tem pl e, w h ere pilas ters rou nd
Were set an d Doric pillars o v erla id
,

With g olden arch itra ve n or did th ere w an t

Co rn ice or fri eze, w ith bossy scu l ptu res g rav en

Th e ro of w as frett ed g ol d Not Baby lon

.

N or g rea t A l ca iro s u ch ma g n ifi ce n ce

Equ all ed in th eir g lories , to ensh rin e

al l

B e lu s or S era pis th eir g ods, or sea t

Th eir kin g s, w h en Egy pt w it h A ssy ri a strov e
In w ea l th an d luxu ry T h e a scen din g pil e
.

S tood fi xed h er sta tely h ig h th and straig h t th e doors,

O pe ni ng th eir brazen folds discov er, w ide
Within h er am pl e spaces o er th e sm ooth
,
’

A n d lev el pav em en t from th e arch ed roof ,

Pen den t by su btl e mag ic, m any a row

m la m ps an d blazin g cressets, fe d
With n aph th a an d as ph a l tu s,
y ie l de d lig h t
A s from a sky Th e h asty m u ltitu de
.

A dm irin g en tered an d th e w ork som e praise,

A nd so m e th e arch itect . His h an d w as kn own
In Heav en by many a to wered stru ctu re hig h ,
Wh ere sceptred A ng els h eld th eir res iden ce
A nd sat as Prin ces, w h om th e su prem e

Exal ted to su ch po w er, an d g a ve to ru l e,

Each in h is h ierarch y , th e Orders brig h t .

N or w as hi s na m e un h eard or u n adored

In ancien t Greece an d in A u soni an lan d

M en ca ll ed h im M u l ciber an d h ow h e fell
From H ea v en th ey fabled, th row n by an g ry J ov e
S h eer o er th e cry stal battlem en ts from m orn
’

To n oon h e fel l , from n oo n t o d ew y ev e ,

22 PA RADIS E L OST . soon i .

su mm er s day , an d w ith th e s ettin g sun

’
A
Dro pt from th e zen ith , lik e a falling star,

O n L em n os, th e E g aean isl e T h u s th ey . rel ate,

Erri ng for h e w ith th is rebel lio us rou t

Fell lon g before n o r au g h t a vail ed h im n ow

T o h av e bu il t in H ea v en h ig h to w ers n or did h e sca pe

By a ll h is en g in es, bu t w as h ea dl on g sen t, 75 0
With his in du striou s cre w , to bu il d in H el l .

M ea n w h il e th e w in g ed Haralds, by comm a n d

Of so vran po w er, w ith a w fu l cere m o ny

A n d trum pe t s th rou g h ou t th e h os t procla im
so u n d,
’

A s ol em n cou n cil fort h w ith to be h eld

A t Pan dem on iu m , th e h ig h ca pital

Of S atan an d
h is peers T h eir su mm on s ca ll ed
.

From ev ery ban d a n d s quared reg im ent

By place o r ch o ice th e w orth iest th ey an on
With h u n dreds an d w ith th ou sa n ds tro opin g ca m e 76 0
A ttended . Al l access w as th rong ed th e g a tes
A n d porch es w ide, bu t chi ef th e spaciou s h al l
( Th o u g h l ik e a co v ere d fi el d,
w h e re ch am ion s bold
p
Won t ride in arm ed, a n d at th e S o ldan
’
s cha ir

Defi ed th e best of Pan im ch ival ry

T o m ortal com ba t, or ca reer w ith lan ce) ,
T hick sw arm ed, both on th e g roun d an d in th e air,
Brush ed with th e h iss of ru stlin g w in g s A s bees .

In sprin g tim e, w h en th e S u n w ith T aurus rides,

-

Pour forth th eir po pu l ou s y ou th abou t th e hiv e

In cl u sters th ey am on g fresh dew s an d fl ow ers
Fly to an d fro, o r on l an k,
th e sm ooth ed
p
Th e su bu rb of th eir straw bu il t citad el, -

N ew ru bbed w ith balm expatj ate an d con fer

, ,

Th ei s t affairs
r t a e -
so th ick th e aery crow d

S w arm ed an d w ere straiten ed till, th e sig n al

g iv en ,

B eh o l d a w on der T h ey bu t n ow who seem ed

In big n ess to surpass Earth s g iant sons ,

’

N o w l ess th an smal l est dwarfs, in narrow ro o m

B O OK I . PA RA DIS E L OS T . 23

Th ro ng n umberl ess— like th a t pyg mean race

Bey on d th e In dian m ou nt or faery elv es,
Wh ose midn ig h t rev els by a forest side
,
-

O r fou n tain som e belated peasan t sees

, ,

Or drea ms h e sees w h ile o v erh ead th e M oon

,

S its arbitress, an d n ea rer to th e Earth

W h eels h er pale co u rse th ey , on th eir mirth and dan ce
In ten t, w ithj ocun d music ch arm h is ea r
A t on ce w ith j oy an d fea r h is h eart rebo un ds .

Th u s in corporea l S pirits to sm al l est forms

Redu ced th e ir sh a pes imm ense, an d w ere at la rg e, 790
Th ou g h with ou t n um ber still , am idst th e h all
O f th at infern al cou rt . B u t far w ithin ,
A n d in th eir ow n dim ens ions lik e th em sel ves,
T h e g reat S eraph ic L ords an d Ch erubim
In close recess an d secret conclav e sat,
A th ousa nd dem i g ods on g olden seats,
-

Frequ ent an d f ul l A fter sh ort sil en ce th en ,

.

And summ on s read , th e g reat consu lt began .

T HE END OF T HE FI RS T BOOK.
 T HE ARGU M ENT .

b S b
Th e con sul tatio n eg un , atan de ate s w h eth er an oth er attl e be to beb
h azarded for th e recov ery of H eave n som e ad v is e it , o th ers d iss uad e
. A
b S
th ird pro sal is preferred , m en tion ed efo re by atan to search th e tru th o f
—

th at pro p ecy o r trad ition in H eaven co n ce rn in g an o th er w orld , an d an oth e r

kin d of crea ture, b
u al , or n o t m u ch in ferior, to th e m se l ves , a ou t th is tim e
to be crea te d . b
T e ir dou t w h o s h all be sen t o n th is difi cul t search
S a tan , t h e ir ch ie f, u n d e rtak es al o n e th e v oy ag e ; is h on ou red an d ap
pla u ded . b
T h e co un cil th u s en ded th e res t e tak e th em se veral w ay s an d to
se veral em pl oy m ent s , as th eir in cli n ations l ea d th em , to e n te rtain th e ti m e
S
t ill a tan re tu rn . He pa ss es on h is j ou rn ey to H ell g tes ; fi nd s th e m sh ut ,
-
a

an d wh o sat th e re to g ua rd th e m ; by w h o m at l e ng t h t h ey are ope n ed , a n d

b
dis co ve r to h im th e g reat ulf etw ee n H e ll an d H ea v en . W ith wh at dith
cul ty h e es th ro ng irected by Ch aos , th e Po wer of th at pla ce , to th e
sig h t o f t is n e w W orld w hi ch h e so ug h t .
 PA RA DIS E L OST . BOOK n .

Yielded w ith full T h e ha ppier state

con s en t .

In Hea v en , w h ich fo ll o w s dign ity , m ig h t draw

En vy fro m each inf erio r bu t wh o h ere
Will wh om th e h ig h est place e xposes
en v y

Foremost to stan d ag ain st th e Th u nderer s

’
aim
Yo u r bu lw ark , and con d emn s to g rea te st sh are
Of en dl ess
pa in ? W h ere th ere is, th en , n o g ood
Fo r w h ich to st riv e, n o strife ca n
g ro w u
p th ere
From faction fo r n on e su re w ill cla im in Hell
Preceden ce no n e w h ose portion is s o smal l
Of pres ent pain th a t w ith am bitiou s min d
W ill cov e t m ore 1
) With this ad van tag e, th en,
To u n ion and fi rm faith , an d firm accord,

M ore than can be in Hea v en , w e n o w retu rn

T o claim ou r j ust in h eritance of old,

S urer to prospe r th a n prosperity

C ou ld h av e assu red u s an d by wh a t bes t way,
W h er o f o e n w a r or cov ert
.
p g ui le,

W e n ow debate W h o ca n advise may spea k

. .

He ceased an d n ext hi m M ol och , sceptred king ,

S tood up — th e stron g es t an d th e fi ercest S pirit
Th at fou g h t in Hea v en , n ow
fi ercer by despair .

His trust w as with th e Etern al to be de em ed

Equal in streng th , an d ra th er th an be less
Ca red n ot to be a t al l w ith th at ca re l ost
W en t a l l his fear of God, or Hell , or w orse,
He regkedn g t,
'
and th es e w o rds th erea fter spa ke
My sen ten ce is for o pen w ar . Of wil es,
M ore u n ex pert, I boas t n ot th em l et th e se
Con triv e w h o n eed, o r w h en th ey n eed n ot n ow .

For, w hil e th ey sit con tri vin g ,

sh all th e rest

M il l ion s th at stan d in arm s, an d l on g in g w ait

Th e sig n al to ascend sit l in g ering h ere,
—

Hea v en s fugitives, an d for th eir dw el lin g place

’
-

A ccept this dark opprobriou s den of sh am e,

Th e prison of His tyranny wh o reig n s
BOO K n . PA RA DIS E L O ST .
27

By ou r delay ? N o l et u s ra th er ch oose,

Ar m ed w ith Hel l fl am es -
an d fu ry , al l at once

O er H ea v en
’ ’
s hig h towers to force res is tless way ,
I\1rning to rt ures in to h o rrid arm s
’
ou r

A g a in st th e T ort urer wh en , to m eet th e noise

Of his al m i h t en g in e, h e sh a ll h ea r
g y
Infern al th u n der, an d ,for l ig h tn in g , see
Black fi re an d h orror sh o t w ith equ al ra e
g
A m on g h is A n g el s, an d h is th ron e its elf
M ix ed with T arta rea n su lph u r an d strang e fi re,
H is ow n in v en ted torm en ts
B ut perh aps
.

T h e w ay seem s diflicu lt, an d stee p to scal e

With u pri g h t w in g ag ain st a h ig h er fee 1
L et su ch beth in k th em , if th e sl eepy drench
O f t h a t fo rg e t f u l l a k e benumb -
n o t s til l,

T h a t in o ur proper m o tion w e as cen d

U p to v
ou r na ti e sea t des cen t an d fall
To us is ad v erse . W h o bu t felt o f la te,
Wh en th e fi erce fo e h u n g on o u r brok en rear

In sul tin g ,p an d u rsu ed u s th ro u g h th e Deep,

With w h at com pu lsion an d la borious fl ig h t
We su n k th u s l ow ? Th e a scen t is easy , th en
Th e e v en t is fea red S h ou ld w e ag ain pro vok e
O u r strong er, s om e w orse w ay h is wra th may fi n d
To ou r destruction , if th ere be in H ell
Fea r to be w ors e d estroy ed Wh at can be w orse
T h a n t o dw ell h ere, driv en ou t from bliss con demned
,

In this abh orred deep to u tter wo e

Wh ere pa in of u n extin g u isha bl e fi re
M ust ex ercise u s w ith ou t h ope of end,
Th e v assal s of h is an g er, w h en th e scou rg e

In exorably , an d th e tortu ri n g h ou r,
Calls u s to pen a n ce ? M ore destroy ed th an th us ,
W e sh ou ld be qu ite a bo lish ed, an d e x
pire .

Wh a t fea r w e th e n ? w h at dou bt w e to in cen se

His u tm ost ire ? w hi ch , to th e hig h th enrag ed ,
 PAR ADISE LOST . BOO K 1 1 .

Will eith er qu ite con su m e u s, a n d redu ce

To n othin
g th is ess ential — h appier far
T h an m is erabl e to hav e e te rna l be in g 1

Or, if ou r su bsta nce be indeed divin e ,

An d ca nn ot ceas e to be, w e are a t w orst
On th is side n oth in g an d by pro o f w e fee l
O u r pow er su ffi cien t to distu rb his Hea v en ,
A n d w ith perpetual in roa ds to a larm ,

Th o u g h in acce ssibl e, his fa tal th ron e

y ,
is y etrre v en g e .

He en ded frow n in g , an d his loo k den oun ced

Des pera te re v en g e ,
an d battl e dan g erou s
T o l ess th an g ods On th e oth er side u p rose
.

Belia l, in act m ore g racefu l an d h u man e .

éj ai reL p eraon l ost n o t H ea v en h e seem ed

For dig nj tm om po sed, an d hig h expl oit .

B u t al l w as false an d h oll ow th ou g h h is to n g u e
Dropt ma n na, an d cou l d mak e th e w orse a
ppea r

Th e better rea son , to perpl ex an d dash

M atu rest cou n se l s for his th ou g h ts w ere low
To v ice in du striou s, bu t to n obl er deeds
Tim orou s an d sl oth fu l . Y et h e pl eased th e ear,

And w ith persu as iv e a ccen t th u s began

s I sh oul d be m u ch for o
pe n w ar, 0 Peers,
As n ot behin d in h ate, if w h at w as u rg ed
M ain reason t o persu ade imm ediat e w ar

Did n ot dissu ade m e m ost, an d se em to ca st

Omin ou s j
con ectu re on th e w h o l e su ccess

Wh en h e w h o m ost excel s in fact of a r ms ,

In w h at h e cou n sels an d in w hat excels

M i stru stfu l , g roun ds h is cou rag e on des pair

An d u tter dissolu tion , as th e scope
Of a ll h is aim, after som e dire re v eng e .

First, w h at rev en g e ? T h e tow ers of Heav en are

W ith arm ed w atch , th at ren der al l access

Im preg n abl e oft on th e borderin g Deep

s oon it . PA RA DIS E m en 29

En cam p th eir leg ions, or w ith obscure w in g

S cou t far an d w ide in to th e real m of Nig h t,
Scorn ing su r
prise . Or, cou ld we break ou r w ay
By force, an d a t o ur h eels all Hell sh ou ld rise
With blackes t insu rrection to con foun d
Hea v en s purest lig h t, y et
’
ou r g rea t En emy ,
Al l in corru ptibl e, w ou ld on h is th ron e
S it un pollu ted, an d th e eth erea l m ou l d ,
In ca pa bl e o f s ta in , w ou ld so on ex
p el

Her m isch ie f, an d
pu rg e off th e bas er fi re,
Victo riou s . T h us re
pu l s ed, o u r fi nal h ope
Is fl a t d es pa ir w e m u st exas pe ra te

Th e A l m ig h ty V icto r to s
pen d a ll his rag e

A n d th at m u st en d u s th a t m u st be ou r cu re

( Th
T o be
ou g h
no m ore
ful l of
.

in
Sad cure for w h o w o u ld lose,
this in te ll ectu al bein g
pa , ,

T h ose th ou g h ts th at w an der throu g h eternity ,

T o pe rish rath er sw al l o w ed u p an d l ost

In
Dev oid of s en se an d m otio know s ,

Let th is be g ood, w h eth er ou r a n r

g y Fo e
Can g iv e it, o r w ill e v e r ? H ow h e ca n

Is dou btfu l tha t h e ne v er will is su re .

Will He so w ise l et loose at on ce his ire

, , ,

Belike th rou g h im poten ce or u naw are ,

T o g iv e h is en emies th eir w ish an d en d ,

Th em in h is ang er w h om his ang er sa v es

T o pu n ish en dless ? Wh erefore ceas e w e ,
th en ? ’

Say th ey w h o cou nsel w ar we are decreed,

Reserv ed , an d des tin ed to eterna l w oe
Whatev er doin g what can w e su ffer more
, ,

Wh at can w e su ffer w orse ? Is this th en ’

, ,
w ors t
Th us sittin g , th us consu l ting , th us in ar ms ?
What w h en w e fl ed ama in pu rsu ed and strook ,

With Heav en s affl icting th un der and besou g h t

’
,

T h e Deep to sh elter us ? T h is Hell th en seem ed

80 PARADISE LO ST . BOO K n .

A refug e from th ose w ou n dsO r w h en w e lay .

Ch ained on th e bu rn in g lak e ? That su re w as w orse

What if th e breath tha t k indled th os e g ri m fi res,
A waked, sh ou ld blow th em in to se v en fold rag e ,

A n d plung e us in th e fla m es or from a bo v e

Sh ou ld in termitted v eng ean ce arm ag ain

His red rig h t h an d to plag u e u s ? W ha t if all

H er stores w ere open ed , and this fi rma m en t
Of Hell sh ou ld spou t h er catara cts of fi re,
Im pen dent h orrors , th reaten in g hid eo us fal l
O n e day u pon o ur h eads w h ile w e perh a ps ,
Desig n in g or exh orting g lorious w ar,
Ca u g h t in a fi ery tem pest, sha l l be h u rled,
Each on his roc k tran sfi x ed, th e spo rt an d
p y
re

Of ra ck ing w h irlw in ds , or for e v er s u n k

Under y on bo ilin g o cea n , w ra pt in cha in s ,

Th ere to con verse w ith e verlas ting g roa n s ,

Un respited ,
u n pitied, u n re prie v ed ,

A g es Of h o pe l ess en d ? T h is w o u ld be w orse .

W a r, th erefore , open or co n cea l ed , a li ke

M y v o ice dissu ades for w h at ca n fo rce o r g u il e
With Him, or w h o deceiv e His m in d, w h ose ey e 18 9
View s all thin g s at o n e v iew ? He from H ea v en s ’
h ig h th
A ll th ese ou r m otions va in sees an d derides ,

N ot m ore al mig h ty to resis t o ur m ig h t

T h an wis e to frus trate a ll Ou r plots an d w iles .

S h all w e, th en , liv e, th u s v ile —

th e race of Hea v en
Th us tram pl ed, th us expelled , to su ffer h ere
Cha ins an d th ese torm en ts ? Better th es e tha n w orse,
By m y adv ice sin ce fa te in ev itable
S u bdu es u s, an d omn ipoten t decree,
The Victor s ’
w ill . To suffer, as to do,
Our streng th is e qual n or th e la w j
u n u st

Th at so ordain s . T h is w as at fi rst resolv ed,

If w e w ere w is e, ag ain st s o g rea t a fe e

Co n ten din g , a n d so dou btful w h at m ig h t fall .
B OO K n . PA RA DIS E L OS T .

I lau g h w h en th ose w h o at th e spear are bold

A nd v en tu rous ,
if th a t fail th em , sh rin k , an d fear
Wh at y et th ey kn ow m u st follow —
to en du re

Exile, or ig n om iny , or bon ds, or pain ,

Th e sen t en ce of th eir con qu eror This is . n ow

Our doom w hich if w e can su stain an d bear,

O u r S u prem e Foe in tim e may m u ch rem it
His ang er, an d perh a ps, th u s far rem oved,
N ot m in d u s n ot ofl en din g , sa t is fi ed
'

W ith w ha t is pu n ish ed w h en ce th ese raging fi res

Will slack en if his breath stir n ot th eir flames
, .

O u r pu rer essence th en w ill ov ercom e

Th eir n ox iou s vapou r or jn urfl n ot feel
, ,

O r, ch an g ed at len g th , an dto th e place conformed

In tem per an d in n atu re, w ill receiv e

Fam ilia r th e fi erce h eat an d, v oid of pain ,

Th is h orror w ill g row mild, th is darkn ess lig h t

Besides w h at h ope th e n ever ending fl ig h t -

Of fu ture day s may brin g , w h at ch an ce, w h at ch an g e

Worth w aitin g since ou r presen t lot appears
—

For h appy th oug h but ill , for ill n ot w orst,

”
If w e procu re n ot to ou rs el v es m ore w oe .

C ou n sell ed
N ot peace an d aft er h im th u s M ammpn spa k e
Eith er to dis en thr one th e K in g of H ea v en
W e war, if w ar be best, or to reg ain
Our own rig h t lost Him to u n th ron e w e th e n
.

M ay h ope, w h en ev erlastin g Fate sh all y ield

T o fi ckl e Ch an ce, an d C h aos j u dg e th e strife .

Th e former, v ain to h e m ,
arg u es as v ain

Th e latter ; for w h at pla ce can be for us

Within Hea v en s bound, u nless Heav en s L ord S uprem e
’ ’

W e ov erpow er ? S u ppose h e sh ould relen t,

An d pu bl ish g race to all, on prom ise m ade
Of n ew su bjection w ith w h at ey es cou ld we
 PA RA DIS E LOS T . BOO K 1 1
.

S tand in his presence h umble, and receiv e

S trict la w s im posed, to celebra te h is th ro n e
With w arbl ed h y mns , an d to h is Godh ead sing

Forced Hal lel u iah s, w h ile h e lordly s ite

Ou r env ied so vran , a n d h is al ta r brea th es
A m brosial odo u rs an d am brosia l flow ers ,

O ur s erv ile offerin g s ? This m u s t be ou r tas k

In H ea v en , th is ou r delig h t . How w eariso m e
Etern ity in w orsh ip paid
so s
pe n t
T o w h om w e h a te L e t u s n o t th en pu rs ue,
B y fo rce im poss ibl e, by l ea v e O bta in ed
Unacceptable, th oug h in H eaven , ou r state
O f spl en did v assa lag e bu t rath e r s ee k
Ou r own g ood from ou rsel ves, an d from ou r ow n
L iv e to ou rselv es, th ou g h in this v as t recess,
Free an d to n on e acco u n ta ble , p referrin
g
Hard liberty be fore th e easy y o ke
Of serv il e po mp
Ou r g rea tn ess w ill appear
.

Th en m ost co ns picu ou s w h en g rea t th in g s O f smal l,

Usefu l of h u rtful , prospe rous o f ad v erse,
We crea te, a n d in w h a t place soe er
’
ca n

Thriv e u nder ev il , an d k
w or ease ou t of pa in

Th rou g h labou r a n d en du ran ce . Th is deep w orld

Of darkn ess do w e dread ? How oft am idst
Thick clou ds an d dark do th H ea v en s all ruling S ire
’
-

Ch oose to reside, h is g lory u n obscured,

A n d w ith th e maj esty of darkn ess rou nd
Co v ers h is thr on e, from w h en ce deep th u n ders roar,
M u sterin g th eir rag e, an d Hea v en resembl es H ell
A s He ou r darkn ess, cann ot we His lig h t
Imitate w h en we pl eas e ? This desert soil
Wan ts not her hidden lu stre, g ems and g old
N or wan t w e s kill or art from w h ence to raise

M ag nifi cence an d w h at can Heav en sh ow more ?

Ou r torm ents also may , in l eng th Of tim e,
Become our elemen ts, th ese piercin g fi res
34 PAR ADIS E LO S T . B OO K It .

M us t we renounce, and, ch ang ing styl e, be called

Prin ces of Hell ? for so th e popu lar v ote

In cl in es— h ere to con tin u e, an d build u p h ere

A growing empire dou btl ess w hile w e drea m,
A nd know not that th e Kin g of Heav en h ath doom ed
T h is place our du ng eon n ot ou r safe retreat
—

Bey on d his poten t arm, to l iv e exempt

From Heav en h ig h j u risdiction
’
s , in n ew l eag ue
Banded ag ainst his th ron e, bu t to remain
In strictest bon dag e, th ou g h th us far remov ed,
Under th e in ev itable cu rb ,
reserv ed

His captiv e mul titu de . For He, be sur e,

In hig h th or depth , still fi rst a n d last will reign

Sol e king , an d of h is kin g dom lose n o part
B y our rev ol t, bu t ov er H ell exte n d
Hi s em pire, and with iron sce ptre ru l e

U s h ere, w ith his g olde n th ose in Heav en

as .

Wh at sit w e th en proj ectin g peace and w ar ?

W ar h ath determ in ed u s an d foil ed with loss
Irreparabl e terms of pea ce
y e t n on e

or w h a t peace w il l be g iv en
or sou g h t
f
V afg i
p p ts

To us enslav ed, bu t cu stody sev ere,

A nd stripes an d arbitrary punish men t

In flicted ? and wh at peace can w e return,
B ut, to our pow er, h ostility an d h ate,
Untamed reluctance , an d rev eng e, th oug h slow ,

Y et pl
ev er ottin g h ow th e C on q u eror l east

M ay reap his con qu est, an d may l eas t rej oice

In doin g w hat w e most in su ffering feel ?
N or w ill occasion wan t, n or sh all w e n eed
With dan g erous expe dition to in v ade
Heaven, w h ose hig h w all s fear n o assaul t or s ieg e,
Or am bush fr om th e Deep Wh at if w e fi nd.

S ome eas ier ente rprise ? Th ere is a place

( If ancien t an d p p
ro h et ic fam e in Heav en
Err n ot ) -
ano th er World ,
th e happy seat
BOO K n . PA RADIS E L O ST .
35

Of some n ew race, ca ll ed M an , a bout th is time

T o be crea ted lik e to us, th oug h l ess
In pow er and excell ence, bu t favou red more
Of Him w h o rul es a bov e ; so w as His w ill
Pron ounced a mon g th e g ods, and by an oath
Th at sh oo k Hea v en s w h ole circu mferen ce con fi rmed
’
.

Thith er l et us ben d al l o u r th o ug h ts, to l ea rn

Wh at crea tures th ere in h abit, of w h a t m ou ld
Or su bstan ce, h ow en du ed, an d w h at th eir pow er
A n d w h ere th eir w ea kn ess h ow attem pted best,
By force or su btlety T h ou g h H ea v en be sh u t,
.

A n d Hea v en s hig h Ar bitrator sit secu re

’

In h is ow n stren g t h , this place may lie ex posed ,

Th e u tm ost border of h is k in g dom , l eft

T o th eir defen ce w h o h old ith ere, perh aps ,

S ome ad van tag eous a ct ma y be achiev ed
By su dden ons et e ith er w ith Hell fi re
— -

T o w aste h is w h ol e creation , o r poss ess

A ll as ou r o w n , an d driv e, as we are dri v en ,

Th e pun y ha bitan ts or, if n ot dri v e,
S edu ce th em to our p ar ty , th at th eir Go d
W fe e , an d w ith re
pe n t ing h an d
A bolish his ow n w orks . This w ou ld surpa ss

Co mm on rev en
g ,
e an d in terrupt His j oy

In our confu sion , an d ou r j oy u praise

In His distu rban ce w h en his darlin g sons,

Hurled h eadlon g to partak e w ith us , sh al l curse

Th eir frail orig inal , an d faded bliss

Faded so soon i A dv ise if this be w orth
A ttempting , or to sit in darkn ess h ere
Hatch in g vain em pires .
”
T h us Beelzebub
Pl eaded his devilish cou ns el —
fi rst dev ised
By S atan , an d in part proposed for w h en ce,
Bu t from th e au th or of all ill, cou ld s rin
p g
So deep a malice, to confou nd th e ra ce
Of ma nkin d in on e roo t, an d Earth w ith Hell
 PARADISE L OST B OO K II
36 . .

To ming le and involv e, don e all to spite

Th e g reat C rea tor ? B u t th eir s ite still
p serves

His g lory to au g men t . Th e bold design

Pleased high ly th ose Inf ernal S tates, an d j oy
S parkled in all th eir ey es w ith ful l assent
T h ey v o te w h erea t h is speech h e th us ren ews
Well h av e y e j udg ed w ell en ded long debate
, ,

Sy n od of Go ds, and lik e to w h at y e are

, ,

Grea t thi ng s resol v ed w hich from th e low est deep

,

Will once more lift us up in spite of fate , ,

N earer our ancient seat perha ps in vi ew —

Of th ose brig h t con fi n es w h en ce with n eig h bouring arms

, ,

A nd opport u n e ex cu rs ion , w e may ch an ce

Re -
en ter Hea v en or els e in som e m ild zon e

Dw ell, not un v isited of Hea v en s fair l ig h t,

’
1

S ecure, th e brig h ten in g orien t beam

an d a t
‘
w w u

P urg e off this g loom th e soft deliciou s air,

T o h ea l th e sca r of th ese corrosiv e fi res,
S h all brea th e h er bal m . B u t, fi rst, w h om sh al l w e send

In search of th is n ew World ? w h om sh al l w e fi n d
S u ffi cien t ? w h o sha ll tem pt w ith w an dering feet
Th e dark , u n bottomed, in fi n ite A by ss,
An d th rou g h th e palpa ble obscur e fi nd out
His un cou th w ay , or spread h is aery flig h t,
U pbom e with in defatig abl e wing s
O v er t h e v as t A bru pt, ere he arriv e

Th e h a ppy Isle ? Wh at stren g th , w h at art, can th en 410

S u ffi ce, or w ha t ev asion bear h im safe
Th rou g h th e strict s an d sta tions th ick
M
Of an g els w atch in g round ? Here h e had need

Al l circu ms pection an d we n ow n o less

Ch oice in our suffrag e for on w h om w e send
Th e w eig h t of all, an d o ur last h ope, relies .

This said, he sat a nd expecta tion h el d

His look sus pense, aw aitin g wh o a
ppea re d
To secon d, or oppose, or u nderta ke
BOO K n . PARADIS E LO ST .
37

Th e perilous attempt B u t all sat mute,

.

Pon deri ng th e dan g er w ith deep th oug h ts ; and each

In oth er s cou n tenance rea d h is own dismay ,

’

A ston ish ed . None among th e ch oice an d p rim e

Of th ose Hea v en w arri ng cham pions

-
coul d be foun d

S o ha rdy as to proffer or accept,

Al one, th e dreadf ul v oyag e ; till, at las t,

Satan , w h om transcenden t g lory raised
n ow

A bo v e his fellows, w ith monarcha l pride

Co nscious of h ig h est w orth , un m ov ed th u s spa ke
O Prog eny of Hea v en Em pyrea l Th ron es
With reaso n h ath deep silen ce and demur
S eized u s, th ou g h undismay ed
L ong is th e way .

A nd h ard, th at out of Hell l eads u p to L ig h t .

Our prison stron g , this h ug e con v ex of fi re,

O utrag eous to dev our, imm pr e s u s roun d

Nin efold an d gates of burnin g adamant,

Barred ov er u s , pro h ibit al l eg ress.

T h es e passed , if any pass, th e v oid profound

Of u n essen tial Nig h t receiv es him n ext,
Wide -
a in
g p g ,
an d w ith u tter loss of bein g
Th rea ten s h im , plu n g ed in th at a bortiv e g u lf .

If th en ce h e sca pe, in to wh atev er w orld,

Or u n known region , w h at remains him l ess
Th an un known dan g ers, and as hard esca pe ?
But I sh ould ill become this th ron e, 0 Peers,
A n d this imperial sovranty , adorn ed
With splendour armed with power if aug h t proposed
, ,

A nd j udg ed of pu blic mom ent in th e sh ape

Of difliculty or dang er, cou l d deter
M e from attempting . Wh erefore do I assume
Th ese royalties, an d not refu se to reig n,

Refusin g to accept as at a sh are

g re

Of hazard as of h on our, du e ali ke

T o him w h o reig ns, an d so mu ch to him due
Of h azard more as h e above th e rest
 PA RA DIS E L OS T .

Hig h h on oured sits ? Go, th erefore, mig h ty Powers,

T error of Hea v en , th oug h fall en intend at h ome
,

Wh ile h ere shall be ou r h om e, w hat best may ease

Th e presen t m isery , and ren der Hell
M ore tolerable if th ere be cure or charm
T o respite, or deceiv e, or slack th e pa in
O f th is ill mans ion in termit no watch
A gainst a wa k eful fo e, w hi le I a broad
T h roug h al l th e coas ts of dark destru ction seek
Deliv eran ce for u s al l . Thi s en te rprise

None sha ll pa rta ke w ith me .

”
T h us say in g , ros e

Th e M onarch , and
prev en ted all re l
py
Prudent lest, from his resol ution raised
,

O th ers am ong th e ch ief mig h t offer ne w ,

Ce rtain to be refused, w ha t erst th ey feared,
A n d, so refused, m ig h t in o pinion stan d

His rivals , w inn in g ch ea p th e h ig h re u te

p
Which be th roug h h azard h ug e m ust ea rn B ut th ey .

Dreaded n ot more th e adv en tu re th an h is v oice

Forbiddin g an d at on ce w ith h im th ey rose .

Th eir ris ing all at on ce w as as th e soun d

Of th un der h eard rem ote . T owards him th ey bend

With awful rev eren ce pron e,
an d as a Go d
Ex tol him e qual to th e Hig h est in Heav en .

N or failed th ey to ex pressh ow m u ch th ey pra is ed 48 0

That for th e g en eral safety h e d espised
His own for n eith er do th e S piri ts damn ed
L ose all th eir v irtu e l est bad m en s h ou ld boast
Th eir speciou s deeds on earth w h ich g lory excites,

Or cl ose ambition va rn ish ed o er w ith zea l .

Th u s th ey th eir dou btf ul con su l ta tio ns dark

En ded, j
re oicing in th eir match l ess Ch ief
A s, wh en from m o un tain to ps th e du sky -
clo uds

A scen ding , w h il e th e North win d sl eeps , o erspread

’

Heav en s ch eerfu l face, th e n

’
ig n el em en t

S cowls o er th e dark en ed landskip sn ow or sh ow er,

’
s oo n 1 1 PA RA DISE LOS T
. .

If ch an ce th e radian t sun, with farewell sw eet,

Exten d h is ev enin g bea m, th e fi elds rev iv e,

Th e birds th eir n otes ren ew , an d blea tin g h erds

A ttes t th eir j oy , th at hill a n d v all ey rin g s .

0 sham e to men 1 Dev il w ith devil dam ned

Firm co ncord h o lds men on ly disag ree
Of crea tu res ra tiona l, th ou g h un der h ope
Of h ea v enly g ra ce, an d,God procla iming peace,
Y et liv e in h atred,
enm ity , and strife
-”

A m ong th emsel v es , an d l ev y cruel wars

Wasting th e earth , each oth er to destroy
A s if ( w hich m ig h t indu ce us to accord
)
M an ha d n ot h ellish foes en ow bes ides ,
Tha t day and nig h t for h is destruction wait l
T h e S ty g ian coun cil th u s dissolv ed and forth
In o rder ca m e th e g rand Inf ernal Peers
M idst ca me th eir m ig h ty Param oun t, and seemed
A lon e the antag on ist of Hea v en, n or less
T h an Hell dread Em peror, w ith pomp supreme,
’
s

A n d g od lik e im ita ted sta te h im round

-

A g l obe o f fi ery S era phim en cl os ed

With bri g h t embla zo n ry , an d h orrent arms .

Th en of th eir s ession en ded th ey bid cry

With tru m pet s
’
reg al sou n d th e g rea t resu lt

T oward th e fou r win ds four speedy Ch eru bim

Put to th eir m outh s th e so un din g a lch y my ,
By h a rald s voice expla in ed th e h oll ow A by ss
’

Hea rd fa r and w ide, an d a ll th e h ost of Hell

With deafen in g sh ou t ret u rn ed th em lou d accla im . 520
Th en ce more a t ease th e ir m in ds, an d so m ew h at raised

By fa lse presu mptu ous h ope, th e ran g ed Pow ers

Disband an d, w a n derin g , each h is sev eral way
Pursu es , as in clina tion or sad ch oice

L ea ds h im perplexed, w h ere h e m ay likeliest fin d

T ruce to his restl ess th ou g h ts , an d entertain
Th e irk som e h ours, til l his g reat Ch ief return .
40 PA RA DIS E LOST . BOO K II
.

Part on th e plain , or in th e air su blime ,

Upon th e win g or in swift race con ten d,

As th e O ly m pian games or Py th ian fi elds

at

Part curb th eir fi ery ste eds, or sh u n th e g oal

With rapid wh eels, orfront ed brig ade form
A s w h en , to warn prou d cit ies ,
w ar a ppea rs

Wag ed in th e trou bled sky , and armies rush

TO battle in th e clouds before each v an
Prick forth th e aery knigh ts ,
an d cou ch th eir spears,
Till thickest l eg ion s close with feats of arms
From eith er en d o f h ea v en th e w elk in bu rns .

Oth ers, w ith y es t T y ph oean rag e, m ore fell,

Ren d up both roc s an dk h ills , and ride th e air

In wh irl win d Hel l scarce h olds th e w il d u proar

A s w h en A lcides, from ( B eh alia crown ed

With con q u es t ,
fel t th e en ven om ed robe, an d tore
Th roug h pain u p by th e roots Th essalian pin es,
A n d L ich as from th e to p of ( Eta th rew
In to th e Eu boic sea . O th ers , m ore mild,
Retreated in a s il en t vall ey , sin g

With n otes an g elical to many a h arp

Th eir own h eroic deeds, an d h apl ess fall
By doom of battle, an d com plain th a t Fate
Free Virtue sh ou ld enth ral l to Force or Ch ance .

Th eir song was partial bu t th e h arm ony

( W ha t cou l d it l ess w h en S piri ts imm ortal sin
g ?)
S uspended H ell, an d too k w ith ravishm en t
T h e throng in g au dience . In discourse more sw eet
( Fo r El o q u en ce th e S o u l, S on
g cha rms th e S ense)
Oth ers apart sa t on a h ill retired,
In th ou g h ts more elevate, an d reason ed h ig h
Of Providen ce, Fo rekn ow ledg e, Will, an d Fa te
Fixed fate, free w ill, forek n ow le dg e absol ute
A n d found n o en d, in w anderin g mazes lost .

Of g ood an d evil mu ch th ey arg u ed th en,

Of h appin ess an d fi nal misery ,
42 PA RA DIS E LOS T . BOOK 11.

h our beds of raging fi re to starve in ice

Th eir soft eth erea l w armth , an d th ere to pin e
Im mova ble, in fi xed, an d frozen rou n d

Periods of tim e,— th en ce h u rried back to fi re .

Th ey ferry o ver this L e th ean sou nd

Both to an d fro, th eir sorrow to a

pgm pt
g ,
A n d w ish an d s tru g g l e, as th ey pass, to reach

T h e tem pting strea m, w ith on e sma ll drop to lose

In sw eet forg etfu ln ess all pa in an d w o e,
A ll in on e m om en t, and so n ea r th e brin k
B u t Fate w iths tan ds, an d, to oppo se th e attempt,

M edu sa w ith Go rg onian terro r g uards

Th e ford, an d O f itse lf th e w ater fl ies
A ll ta s te l iv ing w ig h t, as once it fl ed
of

Th e lip of Tan ta lus Th u s ro v ing on

.

In confu sed march forlorn , th e ad v en turous bands,

With sh u dderin g h orror pale and ey es ag has t , ,

View ed fi rst th eir lam en ta ble lot an d foun d ,

N o rest Th rou g h many a dark and drea ry vale

.

T h ey pas s ed, an d ma ny a reg ion dolorous,

O er many a fro zen , m any a fi ery A lp,
’
6 20
Rocks, v
ca es, la k es
,
f en s , bog ,
s d en s ,
a n d sh ades of dea th
A un iv erse of dea th , w h ich G o d by cu rse

Crea ted evil , for ev il on ly g o od ;

Wh ere all life dies , dea th lives, an d Natu re breeds ,

Perverse, all mon strous, all prodi ious

g thin gs,
Abomina bl e, in utterabl e, an d w orse
Than fabl es y et hav e feig n ed or fea r con ceived,
Gorg ons , an d Hy dras , an d Chim aeras dire .

M ea n while th e A dv ersary of God and M an,

Satan, w ith th oug h ts in flam ed of h ig h est des ig n ,

P uts on swift tow ard th e g ates of Hell
w in g s, and

Explores h is solita ry fl ig h t som etim es

He scou rs th e rig h t h an d coast, som etimes th e l eft ;
N ew sh av es w ith lev el win g th e dee p, th en soars
U p to th e fi ery con ca v e tow ering h ig h .
B OO K rr. PA RA DIS E L O ST .
43

A s wh en far off at sea a fleet descried

Hangs in th e clouds, by eq ui noctial w inds

Cl ose sailing from B engals, or th e isl es

Of T erna te an d Tidore, w h ence merchan ts bring
Th eir spicy drug s th ey on th e trading flood,
Th roug h th e wide Ethiopian to th e Cape,
Ply stemming toward th e pole so seemed
nig h tly

Far off th e fly ing Fiend A t last appear .

H ell bounds , hig h reaching to th e h orrid roof,

-

A n d th rice th reefold th e g a tes three folds w ere brass,

T h ree iron, th ree of ad aman tin e rock,

Im penetrabl e, im pa led w ith circling fi re,
Y et un con su med Before th e gates
. th ere sat

On eith er s ide a formida bl e S h ape .

Th e on e seemed w om an to th e waist, and fair,

Bu t ended foul in m any a scal y fold,
V ol u m in ou s and v as t — a serpen t ar med
With mortal sting . A bou t h er middle round

A cry of H ell h oun ds nev er ceas ing ba rk ed

- -

W ith w ide Cerberean m ou th s ful l loud, and rung

A hideous peal y et, wh en th ey list, w ould creep,

If aug h t disturbed th eir n oise, into h er w om b,
A nd kenn el th ere y et th ere still ba rked an d h owled
Within u nseen Far less abh orred than th ese
.

Vexed Scy lla bathing in th e sea that parts

,

N or u g l ier follow th e n ig h t -
h ag , w h en, called

In secret, riding th roug h th e air sh e com es,

L ured w ith th e sm ell of in fan t blood , to dance

With IA pland w itch es, wh il e th e la bouring moon
E l i h ir cha rms T h h h
p
t c pses a t t e e o t e r S a
p
.e

If shape it mig h t be called tha t sha pe h ad non e

Distin g uishable in member, j oin t, or limb ;
Or su bstance mig h t be ca ll ed tha t sh adow seem ed,

For each seemed eith er— black it stood as Nig h t ,

Fierce as ten Fu ries, terribl e as Hell ,

 PA RA DIS E L OST . BOO K 1 1 .

A nd sh oo k a dread ful dart w h at see med h is h ead

Th e lik en ess of a king ly crow n had on .

Sa tan was n ow at h an d, an d fro m h is seat

Th e mon ster mov ing onw ard cam e as fast

With h orrid strides Hell trem bl ed as h e strode .

"I‘h e Fiend w hat this mig h t be admired

un daunted

A dmired, n ot feared ( God and his S o n except,

Created thin g nau g h t valued h e nor sh unn ed) ,

A nd w ith disdainf ul loo k th us fi rst beg an

Wh ence and w h at art th ou , ex ecrabl e S h ape,
Th at dar st, th ou g h g rim and t erri ble, ad van ce
’

Th y m iscrea ted fron t ath wa rt my w ay

T o y onder g ates ? Th rou g h th em I m ean to pass,
Th at be assured, w ith out lea v e ask ed of th ee .

R etire tas te thy fol ly , an d l earn by proo f,

or

H ell -born , not to con ten d w ith S pirits o f Hea v en .

T o w h o m th e G oblin , fu l l of w rath , replied

A rt th o u tha t T raitor A n g el, art th ou h e,
-

W h o fi rst bro k e peace in Hea v en an d fa ith , till th en

Unbroken , an d in prou d rebelliou s arm s
Drew after h im th e th ird part of Hea v en s
’
so n s,

j
Con ured against th e Hig h est —
for w h ich bo th th ou
A nd th ey , ou tcast from God, a re h ere con demn ed

T o w aste eternal day s in w oe an d pain ?

A nd reck on st th ou th y self w ith S pirits of H eav en ,
’

Hell doom ed,

-
an d brea th st defi an ce h ere an d seem ,
’

Wh ere I reig n king , an d, to enrag e th ee m ore,

Thy king an d lord ? Ba ck to th y pu n ish m en t ,

Fals e fug itiv e an d to th y speed add win g s ,

L est with a wh ip of scorpions I pu rs u e

Thy lin g ering , or w ith on e stro k e of th is dart

S tran g e h orror seize th ee, and n

p g
a s u n fe l t before .
”

S O spa k e th e g risly T error, and in sh ape,

So spea kin g an d so th rea ten in g , g rew ten fo ld
M ore dreadful and deform . On th e oth er side,

Incensed with indig nation, Satan stood

BOOK n . PA R A DIS E LOST .
45

U n terrifi ed, an d lik e a comet burned ,

Th at fi res th e leng th of
O phi u ch us h u g e
In th e arctic sky , and from his h orrid h ai r
S ha k es pestilen ce an d w ar Ea ch a t th e h ead.

L ev ell ed h is dea dly ai m th eir fa tal h an ds

NO second stro ke intend an d su ch a frown
Each cas t at th e o th er as w h en tw o black clouds,

With h ea v en
’
s artil l ery fraug h t, co m e rattling on

O v er th e Caspian , —
th en stan d front to front
Hoverin g a spa ce, till w inds th e sig n al blow
To j oin th eir dar k encou n ter in mid -
air .

S o frow n ed th e m ig h ty combatants th at Hell

G rew dark er at th eir frown ; so m atch ed th ey stood

For n ever but on ce m ore w as eith er l ik e

T o m eet so g rea t a A n d n ow g rea t deeds
fe e .

Had been achiev ed, w h ereof all Hell h ad run g ,

Had n ot th e sna ky S orceress, th at sa t

Fast by H g atell -
e a n d k e t th e fatal k e ,
p y
Risen , an d w ith hideous ou tcry rush ed betw een .

"
7 O fa th er, w h at in ten ds thy ha n sh e cried,
“
A g ain st th y only son ? Wh at fu ry , O son ,
Possesses th ee to ben d th at m ortal dart
A g ainst th y fath er s h ea d A n d k now st for wh om "
’ ’

For H im w h o sits abov e, an d lau g h s th e while

A t th ee, ordain ed h is drudg e to execu te

Wha te er his wrath

’
,
w hich He ca lls j ustice , bids
His wrath w hich on e da y will destroy y e both "
S h e spa k e, a n d at h er w ords th e h el lish P est

Forbore th en th ese to h er S a tan return ed

S o strang e th y ou tcry , an d th y w ords so strang e

'

Th ou in terposest, th a t m y su dden ha n d,
Prev ented, spares to tell th ee y et by deeds
Wh at it intends, till fi rst I know of th ee
Wh at thin g th ou a rt , th u s dou bl e form ed,
-
an d w hy ,
In this in fern al va l e fi rst m et, th ou cal l et
’

M fath er, an d th at pha n tasm ca l l st my

’
e s on .
 PA RA DIS E L OST BOOK n
46 . .

I know th ee not ,
nor ev er saw till no w

S ig h t more detestable than h im and th ee .

”

T o w h om th us th e n tress of Hell g ate -

Hast th ou forgot m e, th en ; a nd do I se e m
‘
N ow inth ine ey e so fou l I —
on ce deem ed so fair
In Hea v en , wh en at th e as sem bly ,
an d in sig h t

Of al l th e S eraph im w ith th ee com bin ed

In bold conspiracy ag ain st Hea v en s K in g , ’

Al l on a sudden miserable pain

S urprised th ee, dim thin e ey es, and dizzy sw um
In darkn ess, wh il e th y h ea d flam es th ick an d fast
Th rew forth , till on th e left side open in g wide,
L ikest to th ee in sh ape and coun tenan ce brigh t,
Th en shin ing h eav enly fair, a g oddess armed,
Out thy head I sprun g
of A maze men t seized
.

All th e h ost of Hea v en back th ey recoil ed a fra id

A t fi rst, an d ca ll ed m e S in , an d for a sig n

Porten to us h eld m e bu t, familiar g rown ,

I pleased, an d with attractiv e g races w on
Th e most av erse —
th ee chie fly ,
w h o, full oft

Th yself in me th y perfect imag e v iew ing ,

B ecam at enamoured an d su ch j oy th ou took st
’ ’

With m e in secret that my wom b con ceiv ed

A g rowin g burden M ean while W ar arose,
.

A nd fi elds were fou g h t in Heav en : w h erein re ma in ed

( For w h at coul d else 2) to our Almig h ty Foe
Cl ear vi ctory ; to our part loss an d rou t
T hroug h all th e Em pyrean Dow n th ey f ell,
.

Driv en h eadlong from th e pitch of Hea v en, down

Into this Deep ; an d in th e g en eral fall
I al so at which tim e th is pow erfu l k ey
Into my hands w as g iv en , with charg e to k eep
Th ese g ates for ever sh ut, w hich n on e ca n pass
With out my open in g . P ensiv e h ere I sat

A l on e ; but long I sat n ot, till y wom ,

b m ‘

Preg nan t by th ee, an d n ow excessiv e g rown ,

noon n . PARADIS E L OST .
47

P rodig iou s m otion felt an d ru efu l th roes .

A t la st thi s odiou s o ffspring w h o m t h ou seest ,

Th in e ow n beg o tten , brea kin g v iolen t way ,

T ore th rou g h m y en tra ils , th a t, with fea r and pa in

Distort ed, all my n eth er sh a pe th u s g rew

T ran sfo rm ed bu t h e my in bred en emy

Fort h issu ed, bran dish in g h is fatal dart,

M ade to destroy . I fl ed, an d cried ou t Dea th "
Hel l trem bl ed at th e hideou s na m e, an d sig h ed

From a ll h er ca v es, an d back resoun ded Dea th

I fl ed bu t h e pu rsu ed ( th oug h m ore, it seem s,
In fl am ed w ith l u st than rag e ) , an d, swifter far,
M e ov erto ok, h is m oth er, all dismay ed,
A n d, in mbraces forcibl e an d fou l
e

Eng en derin g wi th m e, of th a t ra pe beg ot

Th ese y ellin g m on sters, th at w ith ceaseless cry
S urrou nd m e, as th ou sa w st h ou rly con ceiv ed
’ —

A n d h ou rly born , w ith sorrow in fi n ite

T o me for, w h en th ey l is t, in to th e w om b
Th at bred th em th ey retu rn , an d h ow" ,
an d g naw
M y bow els, th eir 1 m
; th en , bu rstin g forth
A fresh , w ith con scious terrors v ex m e roun d,

T ha t rest or in term ission n on e I fi nd .

Before m in e ey es in o pposition sits

Grim Dea th , my son an d foe, w h o sets th em on ,

A n d m e, hi s pa ren t, w ou ld fu ll soon dev ou r

For wan t of oth er
p rey , bu t th at h e kn ow s
His en d w ith m in e in vol ved, an d kn ows tha t I
S h ou ld prov e a bitter m orsel , an d h is ban e,
Wh enev er th at sh all be so Fate pron ou nced .

B u t th ou , O fath er, I forew arn th ee , sh un

His dea dl y arrow n eith er v ain ly h 0 pe
T o be inv uln erabl e in th ose brig h t arms,
T h ou g h tem pered h ea v en ly for th at m ortal din t
S av e He w h o reig n s abo ve ,
n on e ca n res ist .
”

Sh e fi n ish ed ; an d th e su btl e Fien d h is lore

48 PA RADISE L OST . 130 0 : n .

Soon lea rned, now milder, and th u s ans wered smoo t h

Dear daug h ter— s ince th ou cla im st m e for thy sire,

’

A nd my fair son h ere sh ow st me, th e dea r pl edg e

’

Of dallian ce h ad w ith th ee in Hea ven , an d j oy s

Th en sw eet, now sad to men tion , th rou g h dire chang e 820
B e fal len u s un fo esee ,
r n u n th o g h t of—
u -
know ,

I com e n o en emy , bu t to set free

h orn ou t this dark an d dismal h ou se of pain

Both h im and th ee, and all th e Heaven ly h ost

Of S pirits tha t, in our j ust pretences armed,
Fell w ith us from on h ig h From th em I g o
.

Th is u nco uth errand sol e, and on e for al l

M y self expose, w ith lon ely steps to tread
Th e u n foun ded Deep, and th rou g h th e void im mense
To sea rch , w ith wan deri ng qu est ,
a place fo re to l d 830
S h oul d be— an d, by con cu rring sig n s, ere n ow

Crea ted vas t a n d rou nd— pla ca

e o f bliss

In th e m l ieu s of Hea v en ; and th erein placed

A race o f u s tart creatu res, to s u l
p pp y .

Perhaps ou r v acan t room, th oug h m ore remov ed ,

L est Hea v en , surch ar ed w ith potent mu ltitu de,

M ig h t h ap to m ov e n ew broils B e this , or aug h t
.

Th an this more secret, n ow desig ned, I h as te

To kn ow an d, th is on ce k n ow n , sh all soon retu rn ,

A nd brin g y e to th e place w h ere th ou and Dea th

S h all dw ell at ea se, and up and dow n u n seen
Win g silently th e buxom air, emba l med

With odou rs T h ere y e shall be fed and filled

.

Imm easu rably all thin g s shall be y ou r prey .

He ceased for both seemed h ig hly pleased, an d Death

Grinn ed h orrible a g ha stly sm il e , to h ear

His famin e sh ould be fill ed, and blessed his ay

m
Destin ed to th at g ood h ou r N o less rej oiced
.

His m oth er bad, and thu s bespake h er sire

Th e k ey of this infern al Pit, by du e
An d by command of Heav en s all pow erfu l K ing
’
-
,
 PA RA DIS E LO ST . s oon n .

So wide th ey stood, and like a furnace mouth -

Cast forth redoup ding smoke and ruddy

-
flame .

Before th eir ey es insli dden v iew appear

Th e secrets of th e h oary Deep— a da rk
Illimitable ocean , w ith out bound ,

With out dimension w h ere len g th , breadth , an d h ig h th ,

A nd tim e, and place , are lost w h ere eldest Nigh t
A nd Ch aos, an cesto rs of Natu re , h old
Eternal an arch y , am idst th e n oise

Of en dless w ars, an d by conf usion stand .

For Hot, Co ld, M o ist, an d Dry , four ch am pions fi erce,

S triv e h ere for mastery , an d to battle brin g
Th eir embry on atoms th ey around th e fl a g
Of ea ch h is faction , in th eir sev eral clans,

L ig h t armed or h eavy , sh arp, smooth , swift,

-
or slow ,

S warm populous, unn u mbered as th e sands

Of Ba rca or Cy ren e s to rrid soil
’
,

L ev ied to side w ith warring w in ds , and

poise

Th eir lig h ter w ing s . T o w h om th ese m ost ad h ere

He rul es a mom ent Chaos um pire sits,

A nd by decision m ore embro ils th e fray

By w hich h e reigns n ext h im , h ig h arbiter,
Ch mcag ov erns al l In to th is wild A by ss,
.

Th e w om b of Natu re, an d perh aps h er g rav e,

Of n eith er S ea , nor S h ore, n or A ir, n or Fire,
B u t all th ese in th eir preg nant ca uses m ixed
Co nfus edly , an d w h ich th u s m ust ever fi g h t,
Unl ess th e A lmig h ty M a k er th em orda in
His dark materials to crea te more w orlds
Into th is wild A by ss th e wary Fiend
S tood on th e brin k of Hell , an d l ook ed a while,
Pon dering h is voyag e for n o narrow fri th
He h ad to cross . N or was h is ear l ess pealed
With n oises l oud an d ru in ou s ( to com pa re

Great thin g s w ith small ) than wh en Bellona stor ms

With al l h er batterin g eng in es, ben t to rase
soon 11 . PA RA DIS E LOST .
51

Some capital city or less than if th is frame

Of h ea v en w ere fallin g , and th ese el em ents

In m u tiny h ad from h er axle torn

Th e stea dfast Earth . A t last his sail - broad vans

He spreads for fl ig h t, and, in th e su rg in g sm o ke

Uplifted ,
spurns th e g ro un d th ence many a l eag ue,
A s in a cl ou dy ch air, ascendin g rides

A u dacious bu t, that sea t soon failing , m eets

A v ast A ll u na wares ,

Flu ttering h is pennon s va in , plu m b down h e drops

Ten th ousand fath om deep, an d to th is h our
Dow n had been fall in g , h ad by ill ch an ce,
n ot,

Th e strong rebufi of som e tum u ltu ous clou d,

'

In stin ct w ith fi re an d n itre, h u rried him

A s ma ny m il es aloft . T h at fu ry sta y ed

Q u en ch ed boin S
ggy y rt
ais ,
n e it h er

N or g ood dry lan d nig h foun dered,

—

Treading th e cru de consistence, ha lf on foot,

Half fly in g beh ov es h im n ow both oar an d sail .

throu g h th e w ildern ess

As wh en a
gzyph p
c

With w in g ed cou rse, o er

’
h ill or moory dale,
Pu rsu es th e A ri maspian , w h o by stea lth
Had from h is wak efu l cu stody pu rloin ed
Th e g uarded g old so eag erly th e Fien d
O er bog or steep, th roug h strait, rou g h , dense,
’
or rare,

With h ead, h ands, wing s, feet, pu rsu es his way ,

or

A nd sw im s, or sin ks , or wades, or creeps, or fl ies .

A t l en g th a u n iv ersal h ubbu b wild

Of stunn ing sou n ds an d v oices al l confu sed,

Born e th roug h th e h ollow dark , assau l ts his ear

With lou dest v eh em ence T h ith er h e plies .

Undau n ted to m eet th ere w h ate ver Pow er

,

Or S pirit of th e n eth erm ost A by ss

M ig h t in th at n oise reside, of w h om to ask

Wh ich w ay th e n earest coast of darkn ess lies

Bordering on l ig h t w h en straig h t be h old th e throne
52 PARADIS E L OS T . soo n 11 .

Wide on th e wasteful Deep 1 With him enthroned

Sa t sable v ested N ig h t eldest of thing s
-
, ,

Th e consort of h is re ig n by th em stood
and

O rcus and A des, an d th e dreaded name

Of Demog org on Rum our next, and Chance,

A n d T umu l t, a nd Co nfusion, all embroiled,
A nd Discord with a th ousand various mouths .

T o w h om Satan, tu rning boldly , th us Y e Powers

A nd S pirits of th is n eth ermost A by ss,
Chaos and a ncient N ig h t, I come n o spy
With u
p pr ose to expl ore or to dis tur b
Th e secrets of y our rea m
but, by constrain t
l
Wan dering this darksom e desert, as my way
L ies th rou g h y our spaciou s empire u p to lig h t,
A l on e with ou t g uide, h alf lost, I s eek ,
and

What readiest pa th leads w h ere y our g loomy boun ds

Co nfi n e w ith Heav en or, if some oth er pla ce,
From y ou r dom in ion w on , th e Eth ereal K in g
Possesses lately , th ith er to arriv e
I tra v el this profoun d Direct my course
.

Directed, n o m ean recom pense it brings

T o y ou r beh oof, if I th at reg ion lost,
A ll us u rpa tion th en ce expel l ed, reduce
T o h er o rig ina l darkn ess an d y ou r sw ay
( Wh ichis my presen t j ourn ey ) , an d once more
Erect th e stan dard th ere of ancien t Nig h t .

Yours be th e adv an tag e al l , m in e th e rev en e

g 1 ”

T hu s S atan an d him th us th e A n arch old,

With falterin g speech an d v isag e incom posed,

A nsw ered I know th ee, strang er, w h o th ou art 990
Th at m ig h ty l eadin g A n g el, w h o of late
M ade h ea d ag ain st Hea v en s K ing , th oug h
’
ov erthrown .

I saw and h ea rd for su ch a n u m erous h ost

Fl ed n ot in silen ce th rou g h th e frig h ted Deep,
Wi th ru i n u pon ru i n , ro u t on rout,
noo x 1 1 .
r PA RA DIS E LO ST .

Co nf usion w orse con fou nded an d H ea en gates

v -

Po ured ou t by million s h er v icto rious bands ,

P ursu ing . I u pon my fron tiers h ere

K eep residence if a ll I ca n w il l se rv e

Th at little w hich is left so to defen d,

En croa ch ed on still th roug h ou r in testin e bro ils
Wea kening th e sceptre of old N ig h t fi rst Hell , ,

Your du ng eon stretch ing far and w ide beneath

,

N ow la tely Heav en an d Earth , an oth er w orld

Hu ng o er my rea l m, link ed in a g olden ch ain
’

T o th at side Hea v en from w h en ce y o ur l eg ions fell

If th a t w ay be y ou r w al k, y o u ha v e n ot far
S o m u ch th e n earer dan g er . Go , an d speed

Ha voc, an d spoil, an d ru in , are my g ain .

”

He ceased an d Satan sta id n ot to reply ,

B u t, g lad th at n ow h is sea sh ould fi n d a sh ore,

W ith fresh alarmity and force ren ew ed

S pri n g s u
pw ard, l i ke a pyram id of fi re,
Into th e wi l d expa n se, an d th roug h th e sh ock

O f fi g h tin g el em en ts, on all sides roun d

En v iro n ed, w ins h is way h arder beset
A n d m o re en dan g ered than w h en A rg o pas s ed
Th rou g h Bosporus betw ixt th e j u stlin g rocks ,

Or w h en U ly sses on th e larboa rd sh u nn ed
Ch a ry bdis an d by th e oth e r Wh irl poo l steered
,
.

S o h e w ith diffi cul ty an d la bour h ard

M ov ed on . With diffi cu lty an d la bour h e
B u t, h e on ce pas sed, so on a fte r, w h en M an fell,
S tran g e a l te ra tion S in an d Dea th am ain ,

Follow in g h is track ( su ch w as th e w ill of Heav en )

Pa v ed after h im a broad an d bea ten w ay
Ov er th e dark A by ss, w h os e boilin g g ul f
T am ely en du red a bri dg e o f w ondrou s len g th ,
From Hell con tin u ed , rea ch in g th e u tm os t O rb
O f th is frail World
by w h ich th e S pirits perv erse
With easy in tercou rse pass to an d fro
54 PARADIS E L OS T . soon 11 .

To tempt or punish morta ls, eg cppi mhom Cg V M

God and good A ng els g uard by special g race .

Bu t now at last th e sacred infl uence

Of lig h t appears, and from th e wall s of Heav en
S h oo ts far in to th e bosom of dim N ig h t
A g limmerin g dawn Here Nature fi rst beg
'

Her farth est verg e and Ch aos to retire,

,
A s fro m h er ou tmost w o rks, a brok en foe,
With tumult less and with l ess h ostile d in ;
That S atan w ith less to il , an d now w ith ease,
Wafts on th e calmer w av e by du bious lig h t ,

A nd like a w eath er bea ten v essel h olds

,
-
,

Gladl y th e port th oug h sh rouds an d tackl e torn

,

O r in th e em ptier was te, resemblin ir

g a ,

Weig h s his spread wings, at leisure to beh old

Far off th e em py rea l Hea ven , exten ded wide
In circu it, u n determ in ed s quare or round ,

With opa l tow ers and ba ttlemen ts adorn ed

Of livin g sapph ire on ce h is nativ e sea t
, ,

An d, fast by , h an g ing in a g olden ch ain ,

Th is penden t World, in big n ess as a star
O f small es t mag nitu de close by th e moon .

Thith er, full fraug h t w ith mischiev ous rev enge,

A ccurst, an d in a cursed h our, h e h
i s;

T HE END OF T H E SECOND BO O K.
 N OTES .

1 . fi rst disobedience . Until A dam sinn ed and disobeyed God

man w as with ou t sin.

2 th at forbid den tree, th e tree of th e kn ow l edg e of g oo d a n d

.

evil , t h e fru it o f w h ich A dam an d E ve w e re forbidden to taste .

A s forbid in th e active voice ca n g overn t wo accu satives , on e o f

th e person , an o th er of th e th ing , in th e pa ssiv e we may sa y
eith er th at a p erso n is fo rbidden to do som eth in g , o r, as h ere ,
th at so methin g is forbidden .

mortal p
ta ste, taste rodu cin g death M orta l is used in th e .

sam e sen se in th e comm on p

h rase mortal w ou n d
’
S ee i 766 ; . .

ii 729 an d n ote on i 26 6
. . .

3
d eath
. T h e w h o l e h uma n race w as made liable to death in
.

order to p
u nish A dam an d Ev e for th eir act of disobe dien ce .

4 l o ss of Ed en
. .A dam an d Ev e w ere al so, as a pu n ish m en t
for t h e sam e o ffen ce , driven o ut o f th e beautifu l g arden o f Eden ,
in w hi ch th ey d wel t be fore th eir fa l l In th is lin e Eden m ea n s
.

th e g arden of Eden in th e l ast lin e o f th e poe m , an d in iv 210, .

Eden m ean s th e coun try in which t h e g arden w as situ ated After .

A dam an d Ev e h ad been e xpell ed from th e g arden of Eden th e y

were still in th e cou ntry of Eden .

one greater M an , Jesu s

Ch ris t , wh o by His death on th e cross
ato n e d for th e sin o f th e fi rst m an an d obtain ed for th e h u m an
race re storation to Paradise M il t on does n o t seem to thin k th at
.

th e n ew Paradise wil l be iden tical with th e o l d S ee book xii. .

46 3 , w h ere h e does n o t decide w h eth er th e n ew bl issfu l seat

is to be in h eav en o r e arth It mu st be remembered th at, th oug h
.

Ch rist by His life an d death se cure d th e ev en tu al restoration o f

man kin d to Para dise, th e a ctu al restoration w ill n ot be realized
un til t h e en d of th e w o rld, wh en He w ill j u dg e th e w orl d a n d
‘

rece iv e t h e ri h t eo u s in to bliss T h f t h p t u bj un c
g e re
. ore e re s e n s
tive re store , n ot th e im perfe ct su bj u n ctive, is u sed , be ca u se th e
’

resto ration to Ede n is stil l in th e f u t u re as com p are d w ith th e

time at w h ich M ilton is w riting Th ese words s e em to sug g est

.

that th e idea of w riting a poem o n th e subj ect of P a rad ise

 PARADIS E LOS T .

Reg a ined , as th e n a tu ral sequ el to P a ra d ise L ost, may h ave be e n

rese n t in M ilton s min d lo n
g be fore Ell w oo d, afte r read ing
’

a rad ise L ost th rou h , sa id to h im ,

g T h o u h as t said m u ch h e re
of Parad is e L o st , bu t w h a t h ast th ou to say of Paradise Fo u nd ?
’

5 . Reg ain for th e h u man race th e blissful seat, Paradise .

6 Sins , Heavenl y M use In th e o n ing lin es of h is two g reat

Pz
. .

epics Ho mer as k s for in sp iratio n r m th e M use , th e Gree k

g o dd ess o f po e try A l l.l a ter e p ic po e ts a re fon d of im itatin g th e

ra ctice o f Ho m e r, t h e fath er o f e ic poetry , a nd in th is spirit of

p
un ita tion M il ton dete rm in es , l ik e om er, to be in w ith an in v o
g
cation addresse d to a M use Be ing a Ch ristia n h e cann o t ask fo r
.

inspiration from o ne of th e od de sses o f Greek my th ol og y ,

articu l arl as els ew h ere h e i en tifi es th e Gree k deities w ith
s
.

e vil s o r alle n an els ( se e lin e H e th e re fore in ven ts a

g
n e w M us e , w h om h e s u po se s to h ave in sp ired M o s es an d th e
oth e r sacred w rite rs ilto n s M u se m ay be con s idered as a
’

m
.

on ifi catio n of d ivin e in s piration In th e open in g l in es of

.

k vii , borro wing , as Dante h ad don e before h im, th e nam e

.

o f th e Gree k M u se of ast ro n omy , h e ca ll s h is M u se Urania (l it , .

‘
th e h eaven l y o n e a nd a ddress es h er as a o ddes s , t h ereby
addin g a fo u rth pe rso n an d pe rh a ps a secon d eity to th e t h ree
persons a nd one God of th e C h ristian h i n ity It is diffi cul t
'
.

in de e d for th e poe t to escape su ch incon sisten cies wh en h e

a tte mpts to combin e Greek m y th o l o y w ith C h ristia n th eol o y
g g .

7 . T h e t wo S in ai an d Horeb, for so th e w ord is usu al l y

n a m es
spe l t , are a ppl ie d in th e Bibl e to o n e an d t h e s ame m oun tai n ,
n am e l th at on wh ich M o se s m ore th an o nce rece ive d inspiration
f rom o d S e e xii 227 Exodu s iii l
. . xix 20 T h e conj a n e
. . .

tion or h e re sh ow s t hat e ith er M ilto n d id n ot iden tify th e two

n am es , o r p oss ibl y th at, if h e did so , h e was doubtfu l w h ich was
t h e m ore su itabl e ap el l ation For a simil ar doubt see iii 7
h
. . .

Horeb al so m ean s in t e Bibl e a val l e y o r district u nder M oun t

o

Horeb, in which sen se th e w ord is used in l 484 . .

Be ntl e y very n e edl essl y s u bs titu ted th e commonplace sacred

fo r se cret ’
T h e to p o f S in a i is ca l l e d se cret , becau se wh en
.

M o ses w en t th ere to re ce ive Go d s comm an dmen ts h e w ent alon e

’

in to a th ick cl o u d , an d th e rest o f th e childre n of Isra el w ere for

bid den to a ppro ach .

8 . Th at M ose s, w h o , be fore h e w as call ed by God

sh eph erd ,
to del iv er Isra e l fro m th e Egy ptian yo k e , ‘
k ept th e flock o f
Je th ro h is fath er in l a w , th e pri e st o f M idian ( Exo du s iii
- -
’
.

T o h im is a scribed th e au th o rsh ip o f th e fi rst fi v e bo o k s o f th e

B ibl e , cal l e d th e Pen tateu ch , in t h e o pe n in g verses o f w h ich w e
a re to ld h ow
‘
in th e be g in n ing G o d create d th e h eav en an d th e
e a rth (Gen esis i C h ao s, w h ich preva il e d e verywh ere befo re
’
.

th e creation o f th e w orld , is des cribe d in book ii 8 90-9 15 , an d .

th e creation is describe d in boo k v n .

 PA RADIS E L OST .

l ike the m His wido w u sed to tel l those wh o co nversed w ith

. .

h er t ha t s uch was h is be lief S ee al s o th e e fro m Th e

I
.

Reason of C h urch Go vernm en t quo te d in th e ntro d uction,

18 . Before all templ es . 1 Cor iii 16
. . .

19 from th e first , from th e beg in nin of th e world An d th e

g
. .

S p irit of God moved u po n th e face o f t 1e waters ( G enes is i

’
.

22 . mad st
it preg nant
’
T h e fi rs t ch apter of Ge n esis , a fter
.

th e v e rs e quo te d abo ve , g o es o n to te l l u s h ow th e world w hich

w a s a t fi rst wit hout form an d v oid, success ively rodu ce d th e
’

veg eta bl e worl d, th e h eavenly bo dies , fi sh , fowl , casts of th e

ea rth , an d fi n al ly man .

24 t o th e h ig h th ,
. n ot fal ling bel ow th e sublimit y of th is g ran d
eu1 j ect .

arg ument, j
su b ect of a poem T hu s M ilton calls th e sh ort
.

epito mes prefixed to each boo k of P a radise L ost arg um en ts .

25 Provi dence, wh en u sed in a re l i ious sense , eith er means

.

th e w isdo m an d fores ig h t w ith w hich cd g o vern s th e w orl d, or

G o d Himsel f, th e wis e rul e r o f th e w orl d In th e fo rm er case it .

is an abstract term mea n in a quality , in th e l atter it is a co ncrete

term m ea ning th e pe rson w 0 h as th e qu al ity Here an d in l 1 6 2, . .

providence mea ns the qu ality, but in xii 647 th e con crete

’
.

m e anin g is in ten ded to be combined with th e abstract mea n in g .

26 Po bo rrowed th is line with l ittle al teration S ee Essay

.

pe .

on M a n, 1 . 16.

27 M il ton was fo nd o f w orking into h is poe m m any verses

.

taken fro m th e Bibl e T h is paren th esis is evide ntly a remin

.

is cen ce of Da vid s w ords , Wh ith er sh all I fl ee from th y presence ?

’

If I as cen d 11 in to h ea ven th ou a rt th ere ; if I ma k e my be d in

h ell, beh ol d t on art th ere (Psa lm cxxxix 7, .

29 .
g rand Parents, rem ote an cestors . A gran dpa ren t ( written
in one w ord) is a parent s parent’
.

30: F voured of S e e 1 508

a
. . .

fal l ofl h em,
‘
re vol t ag ainst .

3 2 For one restraint

. T h e on e restraint was th at th ey were
.

forbidden to eat th e fru it of th e tree of th e n ow l e dg e of g oo d k

a n d e vil .

T h e pre po sitional p hras e for on e res train t m ay be

tran sg ress His wil l , th e th oug h t be ing th at th e on e restrain t
’

w as th e cause th at made th e m tran sg ress His w il l T h e y w ere .

irritated at this restrain t, an d th erefo re transgressed Go d s w ill ,

’

al th o u h th ey w ere l ords of th e w h ol e worl d except th e fo rbidden

g
tre e
o
S me commentators prefer to pu t a comma after wil l , and ’
 NOT ES —
BOO K I .

ta ke W ith
‘
fo r on e restra in t w ith
th e w o rld bes ides l o rds of
‘ ' ’
.

th is pun ctu ation fo r m ust m ea n in s ite of , a mean in g w h ich

’
p
th is p p
re os ition bea rs in th e co mm o n h rase fo r all th at ( as , p
‘
v
h e w as ad ised n o t to g o , bu t, fo r al l th at, h e The
me an ing wil l th en be th a t th is roh ibitio n did n o t re ent th em p p v
fro m be ing l ords of al m ost t h e w h ol e w orl d, n am el of al l th e y
w orl d e xce t th e forbidden tree W h ere er fo r m eans in
‘
. v
p
s ite o f it
’
as its comm on m ean ing as in trodu cin g a re enti e p v v
cau se ( see n ote o n 1 t h e w rite r o r s eake r rea ll ha in g in
. p y v
v
his m in d a n eg ati e th ough t, th o ug h h e e x resses himself p
affi rm ati el v y ‘
T h us, if fo r in th is pass e e mean s
.
’ ‘
in s ite . p
o f, it is be ca use fo r on e restrain t l o rds of t e worl d besides is
q v
e u i al en t to
‘
n o t th e l e ss fo r ( be ca use o f) o n e res train t l ord s of
th e w o rl d b eside s Fo r h ere wou ld th en h a e e xactl
. th e v y
sa m e m ea ning as in t h e Ode on th e N a tivity, l 73 , e xce t th at . p
p v
th e re that w h ich is n ot re ented is ex ressed n e g a ti el , w h il e p v y
h ere it h a pp
en s to be e x resse d a ffi rma tiv e ly p ‘
T his u se o f for
’
.

is th e refore an in sta nce o f co n stru ction accordin g to th e sen se , as

th e p p
re os ition does no t su it th e e x re ssed w ords , bu t o th er p
v
wo rds t h at mig h t h a e be e n used to ex ress e xactl th e same p y
meanin g . p
C om are 11 5 21, 6 29 . .

36 wh at time hi s pride Ha d cast hi m out of Heaven, wh en

.

ow in g to his p ride h e h ad rev o l te d ag a in st God an d be en driv en

ou t o f h eaven .

39 It is diffi cul t to recon cil e th is l in e with w h at M ilton e lse

.

w h e re sa ys o f Sata n s e xal ted position am o n g th e an g els , a nd

’

es pe cia l l y w ith v 8 12, w h ere h e is d e cl are d by A bdie l to h av e

.

be en al rea dy , befo re h is rebell ion , in pl ac e h ig h a bo ve h is pee rs

’
.

T odd g ets o ver th e diffi cul ty by em ph asizing t h e w ords in g l o ry

an d re arding above h is pee rs as u n impo rta n t S atan h a d .

al way s 11 a bo ve h is pe ers , bu t was ambition s to be abo v e th e m

in g lory as a g od an d m onarch , n ot merely as a su perior an g el .

T h e wo rd l ory is ofte n th roug h o u t th e po em u se d to express

th e g lory 0 God , as in l 370, ii 265 , an d we read in ii 427 . . .

o f th e transcen dent g l ory wh ich rais e d S atan as mon arch of h el l

’

abo v e h is fe ll o w s , so th at it m ig h t po ssibly be pressed to mean

more th an th e ordinary pre em in en ce o f a more mig h ty ov er a l ess
-

mi h ty ang el .

u t th ere is an o th er way of e xpl a in in g t h e pass a e , wh ich

g
s eem s prefe ra bl e Now h ere in th e po em do es th e sen se n eces
.

sa ril y requ ire th at th e term Peers sh all in clu d e a ll th e an g el s,

an d in most pa ssag es w h e re th e term is u se d it eviden tly h as a
narro wer m ean in g T h u s in i 6 18 , 75 7, n 507 , x 45 6 th e P eers
. . . .

meant are evident l y th e h ig h er fall en an g els, t h e g rea t S era phic

L ords an d C h erubim o f i 794, as dis ting uish ed from th e ordi .

n ary l o wer fall en an g el s T h is be in g th e case w e may as su me

.

th at, in th e pass ag e before u s , th e Pee rs w h om S atan asp ired to

 PA RA DIS E LOS T .

s ur pass in
g lory w e re n o t t h e o rd in ary a n g els , but o nl y t h os e w h o

were A rch a ngels l ik e h ims elf ( M ich ae l , Gabriel , Ra ph ael , Uriel ) ,

and th erefore h is e q ual s in pow er an d g l ory .

41 . If h e opposed , if h e ( Sa ta n ) p God
o p os ed .

45 fl aming , be cau se th ey w ere bu rnt with th e M essiah s

’
.

th un de r S ee 1 6 01 a nd th e
. . acco unt o f th e fi n al o v ert hro w of
Satan s h ost in th e en d of boo k
’
v i.

eth ereal . M an y ancien t

G ree k p h ilosop h ers to th e fou r ordi
n ary el em e nts ( eart h , air, fi re , and w ate r) added a fi fth e le m ent
call ed th e aet h er, wh ich w as h ig h abo ve th e comm on air and
form e d th e su bstan ce of th e stars of h eaven M il to n ado pts this .

doctrine ( see iii an d, al th oug h h e n ev er u ses th e n oun

.

ae th e r, th roug h o ut h is poetry , dis tin g uish es betw een th e air

’

bel ow and th e aet h er abo ve , w h ich be re ards as th e su bs tance

o ut o f which h ea ven an d th e an g els o h eav en w ere created .

Form e d from aet h er w e fi n d th e adj ective eth erea l h ere an d in

i 285 ; ii 139, 3 1 1, 6 01, wh ich m u st be carefull y dis tin g uish ed
. .

from aerial an d aery ( see i 430, 775 ; ii th e adj ectives

’
. .

sta n din g for th e com mon air A s th e a eth er was su p posed to be

.

a k in d of su btl e fi re, we fi n d e mpy real ( derived from th e Greek

word for fi re ) used as a syn onym for e th ereal ( i 117 ; ii 430, . .

Empy rea l substan ce (i 1 17) is e xactl y equ ival en t to .

e th e real m ou l d (ii For th e sam e reason th e h ea ven , as

.

being formed of a eth er, is cal l ed t h e empyrea n ( ii T h u s in .

this passag e th e e th ereal sk y m ea n s h ea ven , th e e m py rean , th e

re g ion occup ied by God an d His an g els .

46 . ruin, in th e s en se of th e L atin m ina , dow n fall .

47 T o b ottoml ess perdition, to ete rnal m ise r in th e botto ml ess

i
.

p it . Th e e p ith e t bo tto m l ess , p ro p erl y a

p icab l e to th e pit,

t h e pla ce o f perdition , is trans ferre d to pe r 1 tion , in co nn ectio n

’

w ith w h ich it s ugg ests u nf ath oma bl e depth s of endless mis ery .

Perdition is the o pposite of sal vation .

48 . ada mantine . S ee n ote on n . 6 46 .

49 Wh o durst , be cause h e durst

. . Th e anteceden t is him in
lin e 44 .

50 Th e poet perh aps u ses , in stead of the o rdin ary w o rds n in e

.

day s an d n ig h ts , th is p eriph ra sis to remin d u s o f th e fact th a t

th ere w as n o s u n in h el l to mark by its rising an d settin th e
su ccess ion of day s and ni h ts I n f t t t h t im w h tan
g ac , a e e . e n a
fel l t he sun h ad n ot y et been created T h e creatio n of th e w o rl d, .

including th e su n , too k place in th e co urse o f th e n in e da ys dur

ing wh ich th e fall en ang els la y prostrate .

5 7 T h e foll ow ing line , w h ich eviden tl y d escribes S ata n s ow n

.
’

state of min d , mak e s it cl e ar th at w itness d mean s n ot saw

’

bu t ga ve e viden ce o f ’
Fro m th e e xpress io n of Satan s eyes it
.
’
 NOT ES —
BOOK I .

was man ifest that S atan w as, th ough afi icted, full of obdurate

pride an d ste adfast h ate .

5 9 as far as Ang el s k en, as far as an angel can see T he nou n

’
. .

‘
k e n ( conn ected with m eans rang e
’
cu nn ing an d k no w
Co mpare Keats S onn et on Ch apman s Homer
’ ’
of sig h t
’
.

T h en felt I as some w atch er of th e sk ies

Wh en some new pl anet sw im s into h is k en .
’

T o dd far k en , ta k in g v erb
’
re ad s , as as ang els k en as a .

63 , 64 T h e g roun dw ork of th is description of th e fi res of h ell is

.

to be foun d in th e w ords o f Job ( x w h o des cribes death as a

.

lan d of darkn ess , as darkn ess itself, and wh ere th e ligh t is as

dark ness T h e tw o l ines contain an oxymo ron or apparen t con
.

tradiction A s th e ey e can on l y see visibl e obj ect s by m ean s

.

of lig ht , darkn ess tem pe re d by n o l ig h t wou ld be itch darkn ess,

in w h ich n o obj e ct could be se en W e m u st th ere o re u n de rs tan d
.

th e poe t to m e an by h is con trad icto ry l ang uag e th at th e flam es

did g iv e a l ittl e l ig ht , al th oug h th is dim l i h t, co m pa re d with
an y o th e r l ig h t , w ou l d a pear to be perfect
’

ark n ess , a bsen ce o f d

B
lig h t , n o lig h t, an d t h at y th is dim ligh t sig h ts o f wo e coul d
j ust be seen Visibl e dark ness will th en mean darkness th roug h
.

w h ich o bj ects co uld be seen , th oug h w ith diffi cul ty T h e ex .

pression may be regarded as an in stance of h ypall ag e , th e epith et

vis ible being transferred from th e obj ects in th e darkn ess to th e
darkn ess in wh ich th ose obj e cts are visibl e S e e n ote on w an .

dering mazes, ii 5 6 1 T h is see m s better th an to su ppose th at th e

’
. .

m d ark n ess ca pabl e of be in g seen , for as all dark n ess

’
t nt
p oe ea
is pe rce ptibl e to th e ey e, such an attribu te wou l d n ot distin g uish
th e dark ness of h ell from any oth er k ind of darkn ess .

6 4 di scover,
. re veal .

66 Th is is an oth er v erbal contradiction

. If h ope comes to all .

it mu st co m e al so to th ose in h ell T h erefo re all mu st be .

limite d so as to inclu de al l excep t t h ose w h o are in h ell M il to n .

no doubt is th in k in of th e w ell k n o w n in scriptio n ov e r th e g ate

-

of Dan te s Hel l , A I h op e aban don , y e wh o enter h ere

’ ’
.

70 Justi ce is
. j
su b ect of h ad prepared ,
’
( h ad) ordain ed,
’
and

( h ad ) set
’
.

71 th ose rebelli ous (an g els )

. S ee 1 5 21 . . .

72 utter dark ness, total darkn ess

. In li ke mann er an u tter .

st ran g er is a perfe ct st rang er W e h ave seen th at th is does not

.

exactl y ag ree with l ines 63 , 6 4 Utter is a comparative formed

.

from a n d is th erefore by de riv ation th e sam e w ord as

’
ou t ,
oute r,
’
w h ich retains literal m ean ing
its Th e corre
orig in al .

n din g su pe rl atives are outmost an d utmo st It is possibl e

’
s .

t at u t te r in t h is pa ssag e m ay be u sed in its l iteral sen se , as

th e dark ness o f h e ll w as o u tside of th e brig h t reg ion of h eaven .
 PA RA DIS E LO ST .

U tte r is used a ain in iii 16 of th e darkn ess of h ell Perh aps

g
. .

in both passag es t e t wo mean ings of u tter are combined .

74 T h e distance betw een h eaven

. h ell is th rice as g rea t as
a nd

th e distance betw een th e earth an d th e farth e st extremit y of th e

sk y th at is, th rice as g rea t as th e rad iu s of th e starry u n iv erse .

Th e centre h ere mea ns t he ea rth , th e ce ntre o f th e side rea l sy ste m

accordi ng to th e Pto l e maic astron o my , w h ich M il ton u su all y
ado pts for oe tical purposes th rou bo u t th e po em , al th ou g h in
th e eig h th p
ook h e mak es th e ang e Raph ae l su gg est th e po ss i
bil ity of t h e C o pernican th eory being tru e P o l e in this pas .

sag e m ean s t he v au lt of h eaven , as in iv 724 In ii 6 42 it . . .

m eans th e S ou th Pol e .

78 wel tering , rollin g

. Th e v erb is g eneral l y use d to expr
.

rollin g in so m ethin g u n pl eas an t , e g , to w el ter in bl ood o r in

. .

fi l th , and so ap ro pria tel y de scribes th e u n easy m ove ments o f

Beelzebub as h e a y ou tstre tch ed on th e burnin g so il of h ell .

81 . Beel zebub w as o ne of wh om M ilton repre

th e h ea th en ods
sen ted as being in real ity d ev ils In t e case o f Be e lzebub, at
.

an y rate , t h is iden tifi cation is su pport ed by Je wish tra dition , as

is sh o wn by M att x 25 , wh ere Be e lzebub is cal led th e prin ce
. .

of th e de vil s T h e sa me verse e xpl ain s o n wh at a uth ority

.

M il to n ch ose Beelzebub as S atan s secon d in command

’
.

82 th ence , on th at account , becau se h e w as th e

. arch -en em y .

Sa tan in Hebrew means a dve rsa ry

’
.

84 bee st is a n ow o bs ol e te form of th e secon d pe rson p resent

.

indicative of th e substantive verb .

T h e con dition al cl ause with w hich th is s ech comm en ces h as

n o prin cip al se n tence Its m eanin g is re y compl ete in itself,
.

an d a pr incip al sen te n ce is on l y re qu ired o n g ra mm atical g ro u n ds .

T h e dou bt e xpress ed by th e con dition a l pa rticl e if is an in dire ct

exp ress ion of w on de r at th e g reat ch an g e th at h as made Beelzebu b
a ppear to be a differen t pe rson from wh at h e w as be fore Th e .

w h ol e sp eech is fu ll o f brok en senten ces p u rpo sely l e ft with out

re g ul a r syn ta x in order to exp res s th e distu rbed state of th e
spe ak er s m in d
’
.

87 if h e, if ( th ou beest ) h e
. Th e con dition al cla u se bein g
.

p
resu m ed a fter an in terru t ion , th ese tw o words are re e ate d so p
th at th e sense may be m o re easil foll o wed y .

92 fall en m ay be said to agree with

. w h om ( l th e .

obj ect o f j oin ed, or w ith me (l

‘
bu t it is m ore pro
’
.

bably pl ural agreeing with u s un derstood, na me l y, Satan a nd

Beelz ebub, th e tw o perso ns j oined by misery, alth o u h th e am
matical obj e ct of j oin ed h appe ns to be n ot u s
‘
w om
’ ’
ut .

In to wh at pit th ou seest fro m w h at hig h th fall en is ell i tical

for fa llen th ou seest in to w h a t pit an d from wh a t h eig t w e
—

h ave fall en In stead of o rdinary p repositio n al p h rases in to

’
.
 NOTES BOOK —
I .

a deep pit from h eigh t) fol lowing fall

a g reat a ch ang e o f
construction a pare nth etic v erb, th ou se est , g ov ernin g an el l ip
’

ticall y e xpre ss ed in direct q u estion as ch eet is in trodu ced By

'

t h is ch an g e S ata n appeals to Bee lzebub s own eye s as verifyi ng

w h a t h e sa s T h e se n ten ce is fu rth er co m plicate d by in trodu c
y .

in g , acco rdi ng to G ree k idiom , t wo qu estions, in th is case indirect

qu e st ions , in to one noun sentence with ou t a co nj un ction to j oin
t h em In Gree k y o u can say Wh en ce will y o u g o wh ith e r, in
’
.

E ng l is h w e mu st say W h en ce will y ou g o , an d wh ith er ’

.

M il to n , h o wever, in h is fo n dn ess for th e classical l ang uag es,

n e v er h esitates to combin e En gl ish wo rds in to th e idio ma tic
f o rms of Greek and L atin T h is con tin ual ado ptio n o f Gree k
.

a n d L atin idio ms is on e o f th e ch aracteristics of h is sty l e , o f

w hich we sh a ll h ave n um erous exa mples Ow in g to th is pecu li .

a rity man of h is sen tences re ad lik e too literal tran sl atio n s of

G reek an Roman writers .

93 As Newton rem arks , h ere an d in 1 25 7 S a ta n disda in s to

. .

u tte r th e nam e o f God, th o ug h h e can n o t bu t ack n o w l edg e His

s u periority All th roug h th e spee ch es in th e l st an d 2u d boo k s
’
.

t h e fallen ang els avoid s pea kin g of God or Je h o vah , as th es e

’

t w o n am es are too s ugg estive of reverent awe to su it th eir

ch a ra cte rs .

94 for th ose,
. on acco u nt of th ose ms
ar .

95 . an y thin g else w h ich Else 18 an

. j
ad ective
a g reeing w ith th e co mpo un d rel ativ e p ro no un wh at
’
.

105 th e fi el d , th e place on w h ich a battl e is fou g h t, an d so th e

.

ba ttl e In th e ph rase to lo se th e fi eld th e w ord fi e l d m ay

.

a ll y retain its ori n al mean in g , as it is a co nf e s sio n o f d e fea t

'

p a rti
t o retrea t from th e fi e d of battle an d l ea v e it in possess io n o f t h e
v ictorio us en em y In ii 768 fi eld is u sed for battl e with o ut
. .

a ny reg ard to th e literal mean ing of th e w ord .

106 Un derstan d
. a re n o t l o st from th e p revio us sentence
w ith th e un con qu erable w ill an d th e th ree fo l l ow ing su bj ects ,
to w h ich line 109 will add a fifth su bj ect unl ess it is tak en a s a
question .

1 09 . Th e P a ra dise L ost an d all e dition s pre

origin al edition of
vions to th at of Dr Ne wton pl ace a n o te of in terrog ation at th e
.

en d o f th is l in e Th is n ote of inte rro g a tio n , w hich w as l eft ou t

.

in th e edition s of Newto n , T o dd , an d Ke ig h tley , h as been re

store d by Profe ssor M as son .

If w e tak e th e lin e as interro g ative , n o t t o be overcom e rs

equiv al en t eith er to th e n o u n in vincibil ity o r to th e adj ective
‘
invin cible T h u s th e sen ten ce will m ean e ith er W h at e ls e is
’
.

invin cibility a qu estio n expectin g th e an sw er N o , an d th erefore

‘ ’

equival en t to Inv incibility is n o th ing e lse bu t, i e , is iden ti cal . .

with t h e reten tion o f an u n co nqu erabl e wil l , rev eng e, i mmorta l

 PARA DIS E LOS T .

hate , and courage, never to submit or W h at else is in vincibl e,

’

an oth er question expecting th e ans wer N o, and th erefore equi

v al en t to Nothing else is in vincibl e but an un conqu erabl e will,
T h us by th e ques tion Satan lays claim eith er to in vin cibili ty
’
etc .

on of th e onl y fo ur invin cible qu alities

°

or to th e .

If we p e a se micol on after o vercome th e mean ing is sligh tl y

different Th en th e line means an d all oth er in vin cibl e quali
.

ties ( still remain s to t h a t is , th e fo ur in v in cibl e u alities

men tion ed and all oth er in vincible qualities, th at migh t e m en
tion ed , remain .

1 10 Al l th e best edito rs, including Prof M as son , put a fu ll

. .

sto p at th e e nd o f th is sen ten ce Foll owing th eir pu n ctuatio n

.

w e must tak e that gl o ry as refe rring to wh at g oes befo re , an d

me aning th e in vin cibil it in wh ich S a tan gl orie d in th e imm edi
atel y p receding lines th erw ise we mig h t be tempted to r a rd
e
g
.

th at g lory as in apposition to to b ow and sue for g race an d ei

‘

his ower, acts of h o mage which if ren dered woul d in S atan s

p
opini on be a g rea t g l o ry and triumph to God .

1 16 by fate
. M il to n , or rath er Satan , seems to adopt th e view
.

of so me Gree k tragic poets, th at even th e Gods are su bj ect to

th e decrees of destiny S atan in his pride exal ts himself an d th e
.

oth er ang els to th e ran k of Gods See ii 391 . . .

1 17 empyreal substance
. T h e ang el s were
. not like men
crea ted out of th e du st of th e earth ; th eir bodies con siste d of a
oh ler substan ce , wh ich is h ere call ed emp yreal S ee no te on
p
.

45 .

. k
1 22 M il ton li es to in trodu ce su ch l on w ords as irreco ncil
g
a ble to add dig nity to his verse an d rel i eve th e monosyll abic
mo noto ny general ly ch aracteris tic of Eng l ish try A s th ere
fi
.

are not many su ch p ol ysy ll abic w ords in th e g lish l an u

g g ,
a e
th e po et often has reco u rse to l on g res ou n ding n ames o f places an d
persons ta en from foreign lang u ag es S ee end of note on 1 288
k . . .

123 In this verse th e a cce nt fal ls on th e second sy l labl e of

.

t rium ph s M any w ords h ave ch ang ed th eir accent since th e

’
.

tim es of M il ton an d S h a ke spe are S ee 1 58 , wh ere obdurate . .

h as th e accent on th e s eco n d syll able instead of, as in modern

En gl ish , on th e fi rst sy l labl e .

1 24 tyranny in Greek m eant monarch y usurp ed, wh eth er ’

.

th e sov ere ig n w as m il d o r cru e l If M ilto n is using th e w ord in

.
'

k
its Gree sense, h e d oes n ot in th is line ma e Satan attribute to k
God cruel exercise of power .

126 rack ed , to rtured

. Th e rac was an instrument of torture
. k
in th e form of a frame o n wh ich p risoners were stretch ed .

128 . th roned Powers . S ee 1 324

. .

th rough out P ar adise L ost uses th e

 PARA DIS E L OS T .

into th e t wo forms h is a nd its Ev entuall y its ‘ ‘ ’

rupte d
'

dro ve ou t th e o th er neute r form h is , w hich was incon venie nt as

’

be ing in disting uishable from th e mas cul ine his but in M ilton s
'

tim e h is was u se d both as th e m ascul ine and n euter possessive .

In t h is line and in ma n y oth er passag es we can n o t be su re

w h et he r h is is inte n ded to be th e possessive o f th e mascu lin e
‘ ’

o r of th e n eute r pron ou n .

1 78 Let u s not sl ip, l et u s l et sl ip.

‘
Slip is h ere
’
. n ot used
tran sitivel y S e e ii 789 , 920
. . .

179 . satiate, M il ton an d th e Elizabeth an w riters

satiate d .

o fte n l ea ve out th e participial su flix d in th e case of v erbs

e ndin g in
‘
d, ’ ‘ ’ ‘
t , an d te
’
T h is is most frequently do ne by .

M il to n wh en, as in th is case , th e ve rb is deriv ed fro m th e L a tin ,

an d th e o miss io n o f d m ak es t h e Eng lish more l ike th e L at in
‘ ’

rticipl e Th us, satiate w ith o ut th e d is v e ry l ike th e

fi
.

tin sa tia tus But see 1 1 93

. Th e former p reval en ce of this
. .

practice is sh own by th e num ber of rticipial adj ectives in

modern Engl ish wh ich do n ot end in e g , insatiate , sedate , . .

1 80 forl orn, desolate

. an d g l o o my .

1 82 . dis tin ctly tol d, in con tradiction to 1 63, th at

Here we are .

th e fla mes o f h el l did ive fo rth so m e l ig ht Th e w eird h o rro r of .

th e s cen e is enh ance by th e fact t ha t th e flame s w ere n ot in

col o u r l ike ordin ary fl an es , bu t livid , th at is , blu e bla ck The -
.

bl u en ess of th e flames m u st be s uppo sed to be due to the pre

val en ce ih h ell of sul ph u r (1 w h ich bu rn s w ith a blu e flam e. .

Ke igh tl ey explains th e see min g co n tradiction bet wee n pal e l igh t ’

an d
‘
l ivid flames by sug gestin g th at M il to n h ad in h is m in d th e
e ffect of s uch l ig h t o n t h e h u m an cou n te nan ce Cf .

p oo l in l 266 M ore proba bl y a le means faint In Haml et

’

p
. . .

i 5 th e g l owworm, w h en his 11 1: becomes fainte r at th e ap

ni
. .

proach of dawn , is said to pal e n efl ectual fi re

” ’

186powers, armies
. .

19 1 If ( we can ) n ot (g ain any reinforcement from h o pe, let

. us
consul t) , wh at resol ution ( we may g a in ) nom despair
'
.

192 Th us Satan
. (spak e) .

1 93 uplift, upl ifte d T h e sufi x d is l eft out, alth ou h up ‘ ’

.
g
.

lift is not o f L ati n deri vation

’
S ee 1 179 . . .

1 96 many a rood
.
‘
Rood is in th e obj ective case to den ote
’
.

exte n t A m od 18 a quarter of an acre

.
.

wh om, as th ose wh om . T he antecedent is mitted,

o as
In n . O

198 Jupiter or Jove su bdu ed th e T itans an d th e Gi an tes in

g
two di stinct wars M il to n s eem s to use Ea rth born as equ iv a
.

l ent to Giants, for th e w ord g ian t , acco rdin

‘ ’
t t h su al
g o e u
 NOT ES BOOK —
I
.

derivation, means earth bo rn It is n ot h o wever a well ch osen

.
-

wo rd to expre ss th e distinction betw ee n th e Titans and th e

Giants , as th e Tita ns also h ad Gaea , th e Earth , for th eir moth er .

Typh oe us or T yph on was o n e of th e Gian ts w h o ma de w ar ag ains t

Jupiter, an d fro m h is l ace in th e co ntext w e sh ould e xpect
B ri areos to be on e o f t e lea ding T ita n s p B riareos h o w ever .

with a h un dred h an ds w h o ,
ssist ed Ju iter in h is w ar
p
an cien t ci ty o f C il icia, in

T yp h oeus h ad h is den .

Whe th er th e creatu re m
croco dil e, or so me tim es
u n certain . M il ton h ere
th e w h al e , al th o ug h h e
This attribu te is g iven
ch apter th e sacre d writer is d e scribin th e L eviath a n in
g
th a t se em to sh o w th at th e crocodile 18 mea n t W h al es .

h ave n o scal es .

202 Th is line mu st be scann ed

.

C reat le d h ug est lth at sw im lth e o | cean

T h e seco n d foo t m ay be co nsidere d an iam bu s, h ug est being
’

pron ou n ced h ug st as a monosy llabl e, or it may be an irreg u la r

’

t risyl labic foo t w ith an accen t on th e mid dl e sy l labl e , lik e th e

fi rst fo ot of ii 8 77 T h e h ea vy m ovem e nt of th e lin e h e l ps to
. .
,

brin g be fore th e m ind th e u n wiel dy bulk of th e mon ste r de

scribed

swi m, properl y in transitive ve rb, is h ere u sed transitivel y

an
traverse by swimmin g
’
in th e se nse of
‘
S ee L 5 21
. .

ocean - stream . Ocean is described by Homer as a g reat v

ri er
flowing roun d th e eart h .

204 pil ot h ere means captain , wh ich seems to have bee n th e

.

ig i l m ean in f th e w o rd I t a f t erw ar ds ca m e to m ea n
or n a g o .

steers m a n , a n d n ow mea n s o n e w h o g u id es sh ip s in to a n d ou t o f
t icu l ar h arbou rs P il ot is oppose d to steersm ate ( steers
pa r .

man ) in S A 1044 . . .

nig h t found ered, th at

-
h as lost its wa in th e darkn ess o f n igh t .

A fou n dered ship ordinarily m ean s a s i t h at h as sun k to th e

bottom o f th e sea , bu t th at meanin g ev i en tl y does n ot su i t th e
pres en t conte xt
‘
N ig h t fo
.un d ere d
’
is u
- s ed in Camus 483 of a
n l ost in th e ni h t
pe rso g .

205 Deeming some island

. Olau s M agnu s, a S w edish auth or
.

of th e sixteen th cen tu ry , wro te a ch apter about a n ch ors fi x ed

back s of whal es, an d th at ch apter is perh aps th e so u rce
’

from which M il ton derives his information A similar in ciden t .

 PA RADISE LOS T .

is rel ated in th e A ra bia n N ig hts as occurring in th e fi rst vo yage

o f S in d ba d .

207 under th e l ee, on th e side o f th e mon ster sh eltered from

.

th e wind T h e side o f a shi or isl and th at is exposed to th e

.
p
win d is call ed th e win dward si de .

208 . Invests, co vers as with a g ar men t .

wist morn del ays Th e sail ors so eag erl y wish for th e ligh t
.

of m orn ing to come an d sh ow th em w h ere th ey are , th at th e

nig h t see ms u n us uall y l on T he fact th at, w h e n we are v ery
ea g e r fo r so m eth in g in th e u tu re , tim e s ee ms to pass v ery sl o wl y,
is e xp es ed in th e h ome ly En glish proverb, A w atch ed kettle
n e ve r gg
01 s .

21 1 . B ad risen, w o ul d h a v e risen .

212 h ig h permissi on
. T he . e pith et hig h p v
ex resses re eren ce
for G od s will S ee xi 8 1
’
. . .

213 . at l arg e, free , u n con fi n ed .

222 A s h e rises, th e waves of fi re are by h is motion drive n

.

v iol en tl y awa from h im w ith th eir po in ts n o l ong er pointin g

straig h t u ut 3 10 in o u tw ard s as th ey to ppl e o v er T he .

h orrid v a e is th e ol o w sp ace w h ere S ata n h ad been l y in

T h is 8 e is te mp o raril y le ft va can t, un til th e wa ves ro l l bac
an d fi it up a a in T h e fa ct th at th is h oll ow rem ain s fo r a pe r
.

ce ptible pe rio a fter S at an s rise , a n d th a t th e w aves a re repre

’

sen te d as to pplin g o ver, sh o ws t h at M il ton regarded th e l ak e of

fire as o nl y pa rtia ll y flu id .

230 An d such appeared in h a s is a rel ative sentence , co

ordin ate with tha t e ver burn ed ( l Th is an d th e fo ll ow .

ing l in es describe th e app ea ran ce n ot of Sata n , but o f th e sh o re

of th e la e , w hich resem bl e d th e s pecta cl e prod u ce d w h e n a h il l
k
is torn from Pel orus o r from M o un t A otu s s sh attered side
’
.

In th is way of taking th e p assag e sh a ttere d s ide as w ell as

Pel orus is g o vern e d by th e p repo sition from‘
T h e e xact m ean
’
.

ing is h ow e ve r, it m u st h e co nfesse d, very doubtful T h e re is .

n oth in g in t h e sense or in t h e g rammar to prev en t s h attered

side from be ing th e o bj ect of trans ports , or th e su bj e ct o f
’

a ppe ars u n dersto o d In th e l as t m ention ed w ay o f ta king th e

.
-

p as sag e , t h e m ea n in
g e xp res sed in full w ou l d be,
‘
A n d s uch
a ppeare d m h u e , as Pe l oru s appea rs w h en su bte rra nean w in d
t ransports a h ill fro m it , or as th e sh attered side o f A etna
a pp ears un der similar circum stan ces
’
.

234 . f uell ed , full of fuel or co mbu stibl e matter .

th en ce, fro m th e su bterran ean win d Th e in side of A etna .

catch es fi re fro m th e win ds , an d th en aids th e win ds in th e w or k

o f te a ring th e h ill .

235 . S ublimed, lif te d u p, from th e literal meaning of th e L at .

 PARA DIS E L OS T .

25 7 W ha t I sh oul d be, all but l ess th an h e, all th at I sh o ul d be ,

.

bu t less , i e e xcept fo r th e fact th at I a m l ess T h e mea n ing wou ld

. . .

‘
be cl earer if a co mma w ere in se rte d bet ween all a nd but ‘
T he
’ ’
.

diffi cul ty o f th e passag e a ris es f ro m th e fact th at al l but in mo dern

’

English u suall y means al mos t, an d comes n o t, as h ere , befo re

’

th e e xceptio n , wh ich pre v e nts th e w h o le fro m be ing predica ble ,

bu t be fore th e wh ole , wh ich , ow ing to so me trifling e xce t ion , is
n ot p red icabl e T h us in ordina ry En g l is h S atan mig t h ave
.

sa id, W h a t matters wh ere, if I still be all but a l m os t ) w h at

I sh ou ld be Ho w ever, even in ordinary En g lish , we sometimes
fi n d al l but fo l l owe d by a w ord mean ing an exce ption, e g , . .

C aesar was k in g o f Ro m e in al l bu t th e n am e Prof M as son . .

su
gg es ts th e oss ibilit f al b it
’
h v in g be n th w d c t u l l y
p
o e a e e o r a a
dictate d by 1 il ton y .

25 8 h ath not buil t h ere for h is envy , h as not con stru cted in
.

h ell any th ing th at h e could possibl y covet S a tan e xpe cts .

th e refore that h e wil l be l eft in undisturbed possession o f

h ell .

T odd compares P Fletch er s L ocus ts

’
26 3 . .

T o be in h eaven th e seco nd h e dis dains

S o n o w th e fi rst in h el l a nd fl ames h e raig n es
’
.

For oth er parallels see Intro duction p xiii , . .

26 6 obli vi ou s pool pool th at ca us es forg etfulness

. , Cf th e . .

insan e roo t th at tak es th e re as on p rison er M acbeth i 3 an d

’
.
, ,

sw e e t o bl iv iou s an tidote M acbeth v 3 So in l 2 m orta l

’
. . .
,

tas te m ea n t tas te th at cause d m o rtality o r made m en mo rta l , .

M il to n call s th e l ake oblivio us because th e river of L eth e in

,

th e h ell of Gree k myth olog y m ade a ll wh o dran k of it fo rg et

th eir form er e xisten ce Here , as elsew h ere , h e mixes tog et h er
.

cl ass ical an d bibl ical con ce ption s In th e referen ces to h ell in

.

t h e B ibl e th e re is n o men tio n o f a lake or riv er of forg etfu l ness .

T h e epith et obl iviou s m ay h ow ever be de fen ded on bibl ical

au t h orit y by q uot in g fro m t h e Ps al m s th e de scriptio n of h e ll as
th e l an d w h ere al l t h in g s are for otte n , al th ou g h th e re ferences
’

to h el l in th e N ew T es ta m en t imp y th at sinn ers un ish ed th ere

re m em be r th e sin s co mm itted o n ea rth for w ich th ey are
p un is h ed .

276 peril ous edg e, most critical p oin t M il to n is probabl y

: .

th i nk ing of a v ery o m mon Gre ek proverb u se d by Home r an d

c
o th ers , w h i ch des cri bes th in s at a pe ril ou s cris is a s bein n t h e
g g o
edg e o f a razo r k
T h e Gree w ord for edg e also by itself m ea ns
.

a cris is Pe rh ap s h owev er edg e h ere merely means fro n t

.
‘ ’
.

282 An d it is n o w o nder th at th ey sh o uld be astoun ded , see

.

in g th at th ey ha ve fal l e n su ch a pe rn iciou s h eigh t A measure .

of th e pern icio us h ei h t th ey fell is g iv en in l 74

g . .
 NOTES —
BOO K I .

Pern iciou s, from L at .

pernicies ( destru ction ) here means
tremen do us
’ ’
g rea t ,
.

28 4 W as movi ng toward s th e sh ore

. From th is w e m ust in fer .

th at S atan in l 227 h ad alig h te d o n dry la n d at som e dista nce

.

fro m th e m argin o f th e l ak e He ne w moves to w ards th e beach ,

.

in o rder th at h e may address h is fol lo we rs , w h o are still ro llin g

in th e l ak e of fi re .

28 5 Eth ereal temper, a iece o f armo ur tem pered in h eaven

. .

T e m pe r h e re me an s an 0 j e ct te mpe red, j u st as dread in l

’
.

406 m ea ns so mething dreaded, an d a s work often m ean s a

bridg e , or a ra il w ay st at ion , or an y o bj e ct produ ced by wor k .

T e m p er in t h is pass ag e , be in g co n crete in mean in g , can stand

in apposition to th e con crete te rm shiel d .

28 8 . tel esco
Opti c g l a s s, In this line M il ton is referring
to v
Ga lileo , w h om h e isite in Fl o ren ce, w h en h e was trav e ll in
in Ita l Galil eo is mentio ne d by n am e in
y
. 26 2, an d is re fe rre v .

to ag ai n in iii 5 90 Feso l e is a h ill abo ve Floren ce , an d V ald

. .

arn o ( th e val l ey o f th e A rn o ) is th e vall ey in w h ich Fl oren ce

lie s . M il ton is g l ad to in trodu ce th es e t wo Italian n ames an d
th e st ill mo re son o ro u s Val lom brosa ( l 303 ) to in crease th e e ffe ct .

o f h is v e rse, n ot o n ly by th e pow er of associat ion ( see e n d o f n ot e

on 1 5 74) bu t al so by th e soun d
. He an d Dry den w h en th ey
. ,

im ita ted th e l on g reso un din g lin es of th e ir Greek an d L atin

m o de l s, fo un d th em s el ves pla ced at a disa dvan tag e by th e ex
ce e d in g l y m on osyllabic ch a ra cte r o f th e En g l is h l an u a e T
g g o .

re m ed y this t h ey freel y int ro du ced in to th e ir ve rses pro p e r n a m es

fro m fore ig n lang uag es , an d preferred pol ysyl labic w ords o f L atin
de riva tion to th e ir sh o rte r An g l o S axon e qu ival en ts -
Th u s, .

a ccordin t o M r M arsh , w h il e in th e vo cabul a ry o f th e En g l ish

.

Bibl e an in Sh akesp eare about sixty per cent of th e wo rds are .

o f En g l ish origin , in t h e p o etical wo rk s o f M il to n l ess th an th irty

t h ree pe r cen t a re An l o S axon
. T h is pro ce dure is cl early l aid
-
.

dow n an d j u s tifi ed by ry den in his De dica tion of th e A eneid If .

so rm din g w o rd s , h e ar u es , n ot o f ou r g row th an d m an u fac

’
g a re
tu re , w h o sh al l h in der m e to im port th e m fro m a foreig n co u ntry ?
I carry n ot o u t th e treasure of th e n ation which is n e ver to
re tu rn but w h a t I bring from Italy I spen d in En glan d : h e re
it rem a ins and h ere it circul ate s fo r if th e coin be g oo d it wil l
pa ss fro m on e h an d to an othe r I t rade both w ith th e livin and
.

t h e d ea d fo r th e e n rich m e nt of ou r n ative l angu ag e W e av e .

e n ou h in En l an d to su
g g l
pp y ou r n e ce s s it y bu t , if w e w il l h av e
thin g s o f m ag n ifi cen ce an d spl en do u r, w e m ust g et th em by com
merce Po e try re quires orn am en t, an d th at is n ot to be h ad
.

from o u r old T euton mon osy ll abl es ’

.

29 1 sp otty g l obe
. T h e e ith e t spo tty i s app rop riate in th e
.

co nte xt as t h e dark an d bri t p o t in t h e mo o n are disco vered

g s s
by m eans of th e tel esco p e to be m o untain s an d seas .
 PA RA DIS E LOST .

292 T h e mea nin is th at the l arg e st pin e tree woul d be like a

.

w an d or small stic in co m arise n w ith S ata n s s pear

’
T his .

m ean in is e x resee d m ore o rcibl y by th e emp lo y men t o f th e

fi g ure 0 spee c call e d p ra eter expecta tu m ( disa ppoin tm en t o f ex
p e c ta tio n ) U n t il
. t h e v e ry en d o f t h e s en te n ce w e e x ct to be
tol d th at to equal S atan s sp ea r w e m ust th ink of a ta ll
’
orw eg ian
pin e , an d, j ust as w e are m anag ing with diffi cul ty to imag in e su ch
a n im mense 8 ca r, t h e w o rd s we re bu t a wan d are u n e x
ectedly intro n e ed to inform u s th at ev en th is co m paris on is far
e l o w th e m ark .

294 ammiral.
‘
i s de riv e d from A r a mir ( co mm an der) ,
or adm iral .

th e l ast sy llabl e be ing pro bably t h e A rabic a rticl e T h e w o rd .

fo rm erl y mea n t e ith er th e co mm an de r o r t h e prin cipal s hip o f a

flee t M ilton h ere uses th e w ord in th e latter sense , w hich h as
.

become o bsol e te in mo dern En g lis h .

were but . a wand , w ou ld a ppea r to be

big g er th a n a wan d no .

296 th e burning marl e is th e bu rnt so il o f l 56 2

. M a rl e . .

prope rl y mean s a rich ch al ky clay used to fertilize poo r land, but

is u s ed h ere in a wider sen s e as a sy n on y m for so il ’
.

297 . Heaven
’
s azure , th e blu e vau lt of Heaven .

299 . v
Nathl ess ( n e e rt h el ess ) is a co n traction fro m n e -t h e-l ess

( n o t by th a t l ess, n o t o n th at a ccou n t l ess ) .

302 T h e co m pa rison is a clo se on e

. T h e lea ve s rese mble th e
.

fa ll e n a ng el s becau se th ey are ( 1 ) in fi nitel y n u m erou s , (2) h ave

l ost th e ir fo rme r s pl en do u r, an d ( 3 ) are fl oa ting h e lpl essl y on
th e su rface of th e w ater M il to n in t h is case s kilfu l ly bo rro ws
.

a n d im pro ve s u po n a n ill u s t ra tion th at m ay be fo un d in th e

po etry of se veral of h is epic pre decesso rs T asso in his Jerusal em .

Delivere d, ix 6 6 , de scribin g th e retu rn of th e devi ls to Hell ,

.

sa ys
N o t l e aves in w o o ds , wh en A utu mn s fi rst n ig h t frosts
’
-

N ip th e ir seared be auty , in such numbers e er

’

Heap th e l o w val l ey s, ’

fol lo w in g Virg il , w h o u se s th e sam e comp arison to describe th e

n um ber o f g h os ts ( A e neid v i bu t e ven in th e A eneid th e
.

s im ile can n o t be said to be o ri in al , be in t bl fi t t

g g ra cea e rs o
A pol l on ius R h o dia s , a nd th e n u l tim atel , l ik e ma n y oth er g ood
y
s imil es , to a n Homeric ori in
g .

303 Val l ombrosa ( sh a d y v al l e y ) is th e n am e o f an Ital ian

.

val ley so me ei g htee n mil es fro m Florence , w h ich M il to n probably

v isited in th e au tumn o f 1638 B rew er in h is Dictiona ry of
.

P hras e a nd Fa ble decl ares th at th e tree s of V all ombrosa are n ot

deciduou s, th at th ey are pin es , an d th ere fore n o th ick a u tu mnal
l ea v es ever stro w th e broo k s o f th at fo rest ”
B u t th e e vide n ce of .

th os e w h o h ave s een th e vall ey sh ow th at th is criticism is wro ng .

 PARADIS E LOS T .

309 T h e Israelites are cal le d h ere th e soj o urners of Gosh en , be

.

cau se t h ey h ad tem p o ra ril y dwel t in th at district of Egy pt .

3 10 Th e po et whil e el aboratin g th e details of th e se con d simil e

.

re all y sl ides in fo rmal l y into a th ird comparison, which , fro m its

sition immedia tel y be fo re so th ick
’
th e wo rds bes tre wn
wel ls in ou r m in d as mu ch as th e main simil e to w h ich it is
n omin al ly a mere appen dag e .

S af e sh ore, th e sh ore on which th ey were safe S ee no te on 11 . .

56 1 .

3 16 Fl ower of Heaven , n obl est o f th e inh abitan ts of Heave n

.
.

If ye
3 17 . y p rostrate it is eviden t th at you h ave
are so u tte rl ,

e nergy to strik e an oth er bl o w for Heaven

n ot su ffi cien t .

3 18 Notice th e sarcas tic iron y of th e two questio ns by w h ich

. ,

S atan tries to re use h is foll ow ers out of th eir ig no min ious position
of m ental an d bodil y p rostra tio n .

3 20 For,
. cau sal , on a ccoun t o f, as in lin e 32 .

324 T h e vario u s orders o f an gels are n ot v ery cl earl y distin

.

u i h ed e it h e in C h ristian t raditi o n or P a ra dise L ost G reg ory

g s r .

th e G reat described th e a ng elic h o st as divided into th e n in e ord ers

of an g el s, arch an g el s , v ir tu e s , po we rs , prin cedo m s , domin a tio n s,
t h ro n es , ch erubim, an d sera phim Al l th ese titl es a re fo un d in
.

Pa ra d ise L ost, an d a co m pa rison of th e difl eren t passa es in w h ich

'

th ey o ccu r sh ows h ow fa r th e po et u sed th em in a de nite s e n se fi .

A n g el is used in its ordina ry m od ern sense as a g eneric te rm ih

’

cl u din g th e membe rs o f all th e o th e r orders T h e arch an gels , as

.

th e ir n a m e impl ies , are th e hi be st o f all in dignity Onl y S ata n .

(1 M ich ael , Ra h ael , an Uriel are e ‘ ressly men tion e d by

lb
.

M il ton as being arc angel s, but h e n o do i t inte nds G abriel to

h ol d th e same ran k , al th ough h e n ev er h appen s to call him an
arch ang el T h e ch erubim an d s era him seem to be rega rde d as
fi
.

t w o m u tu all y excl usive g ro u ps in cl u n g all o r mo st o f th e an g el s .

Th us in th e p assa e be fo re u s th e w h ol e a rmy of fal l en an g els is

g
described as co n si sting of seraph im an d ch erubim So metim es .

( i 129, 6 65 ; ii 75 0) larg e bodies of ang el s th at mu st h ave ia

. .

cl u de d both serap h im a n d ch e ru bim are in clu de d u n de r o n e

o f th e two terms , j u s t as th e soldie rs of th e British army are
o fte n with o u t discrimin a tion cal l ed En lish m en, th ou h s o me o f
g
t h e m a re S cotch men an d Irish m en W en an indiv idu al a ng el is
.

m e n ti o n e d w e are g e n eral l y told w h eth er h e is a se raph o r a

o

ch e ru b T h u s Bee lzebub (i 15 7 ) A zazel ( i

. . a n d Gabrie l
.

( W 97 1 ) a re ch erubim, w h ile Uri el (iii 6 6 7) an d Ra ph ael ( v

. . .

7 atan a pp e ars from 1 5 39 t o be a se ra ph ,

2 7 ) a re sera h im .S .

i f th e arms isplay ed on his im pe rial en sig n w ere h is ow n , n ot

th ose of h is con quered e n emies .M il to n doe s n ot se em e ve r to
call o n e an d th e s am e an g el a ch eru b and a sera ph , so th at
t h ese two classes of ang els m a y be reg arded as mutuall y e x
 N OT S
E —
BOOK I .

el u s i e v Th e fi ve remain in g titles ( th ro nes, dominatio n s , v irt ues ,

.

p r in ce do m s , po w e rs ) a re g en era l l y u se d in a ddre ss es to th e a n el ic
a rm ies , a n d th e po e t does n o t te l l us cl ea rl y t h eir di s tin g uis in
g
c h aracteris tics W e fi n d th ron ed po w ers (i 1 28 ) an d po w ers
. .

t h at erst sa t on th ron es ( i f ro m wh ich w e m ay g et a n ide a

.

o f th e articu l ar dis tin ction e n j o y ed by t h ose an g el s w h o w e re

cal l e d t ron es ; bu t of th e o th er fou r titl es n o defi n ite inf orma tion
is g iven .

328 Th e idea see ms to be th a t God will sen d do w n th un der

.

bo l ts conn ecte d to g eth er by ch ain s, an d th a t t h e th un derbolts

w il l act as n ail s to fasten th e ch a in s an d th e angel s bo un d in th e
ch a ins fi rm l y to th e bottom of t h e l a k e .

If y e do may p rise
23
3 . n ot n ow ris e ye ex e ct never to . S ee
1 1
332 . as wh en, etc .
, like men fo und sl eep ing at th eir po sts .

333 . by wh om, by th o se w h om . T he p
elli se of th e an te ced e nt
is v ery comm o n in M il ton .

335 . Nor did th ey not perceive, n or did th ey fa il to perce ive ,

ti c. y did
th e re ci e v . T h e two n eg atives can ce l each oth er
a n d mak e an a rm ativ e .

33 7 M ilto n h ere imitates th e L atin u se

. of th e dativ e after
v e rbs o f obey in
g In or din ary En glish . obe y go verns th e
a ccu sa tive .

3 39 Amram s son , M oses T h e plag ue of l ocu sts was th e fi fth

’
. .

o f t h e seve n ) lag ue s by w h ich Ph arao h a n d th e Egy p tian s w e re

a ffl icte d u n t i l
th e y co nsen te d to le t th e Is rae lites g o M o ses .

stretch ed fort h h is red o ver th e la n d of Eg ypt an d a s tron g

eas t w ind broug h t u p th e locu sts .

3 40 .
p iat ch y cl ou d , cl ou d black as pitch . Co mpare th e com

m on p p
h ras e kn ess
itch dar .

34 1 T h
. e pe cu liar ity o f t h e m o v e m en ts o f l o c u
sts in th e a
ir is

t h at th e y do n ot move straig h t an d sw iftly to th eir desti na ti o n ,

bu t g o w h ere ver an d a t w h ate ver pace th e W i n d bl ows th em .

T h e re fore M il ton applies to th em th e word warpin g w h i ch ex

.
’
,

presses irregular zig zag mo tion T his explan ati on corresponds

,
.

w ith th e n au tical mea n in g o i w arp wh ich is to tow a sh i p on

’
,

by atta ch in g ro pes to an ch o rs bu oy s or oth er sh i ps a ,

n d by th at , ,

m e an s mak e sl o w labo rious prog ress w ith m an y de vi ati on s from a

straig h t l in e A p iece o f w o o d is said to be w arped wh en i t is
.

twiste d an d made crooked by h eat or any oth er caus e .

345 cope ( conn ected with cap

.
‘
vault .

346
"
l wi xt (
. co n n
‘
ec te d w it h tw o g en er a ll y in d ica tes p os itio n

be tween two obj ects .

 PARA DIS E L OST .

347 Till ,
. as a sig nal , e tc . t ill , wh e n S a ta n s
,
’
u plifted spea r ,

g iv e n as a s ig nal , w aved to dire ct th eir co u rse .

348 Notice th e terms u se d to e xpre ss Sa tan s sove re ig n t y

’
. .

He is h ere called su ltan , an d in lin e 3 78 a nd ii 5 10 em peror . .

S ul ta n n o t o n l y im lie s ran de ur a nd abso lu te po w e r, but also ,

p
as be ing th e u s u al ti tl e 0 M ah om etan rul e rs , o p po sitio n to th e
tru e faith Th e te rm em pe ror is in ten de d to call u m emo ries
.

o f t h e im mens e sw a f th e g re at pa g an e m pe ro rs of m e
y o .

3 49 in even bal ance, with e ve nl po is ed wing s Th e m ea ning

g
. .

is th a t th ey fl e w w ith th e ir win g s ea ting th e air in e rfe ct h ar

m on y a n d so a l ig h te d gra cefu l ly on th e sh ore o f th e ak e .

350 . bri mstone ( by derivation burning stone ) is s ul ph u r , w h ich

th e so il o f h el l is po pul arl y su pposed to co ntain in g rea t abun d
ance . S ee 11 69, 6 74
. .

35 1 If th e meanin w ere e xpress ed in ful l, w e sh oul d h a ve a ‘

h
.

m ul titude , l ike whic ( mul titu de ) th e North n ever p ou red a

m u ltitude ; but , as th e re petitio n woul d be clu m sy , t h e word
’

m ultitude does do u bl e du ty, n o t onl y acting as n omina tiv e in

a po sition to th e y ( 1 which , but
’
an d as antecedent to
p
.

a so ser vin g as o bj ect o f po ured ’

.

35 3 . Rh one or th e Danaw, th e R h in e or th e Danu be .

354 lik e a del ug e

. M ilton is re fe rring to th e Vandal s wh o
.

cro sse d th e S traits of G ibral ta r, a n d by t h e capture of C arth a g e

in 429 establ ish ed th emsel v es fi rml y in Africa On e l ong w a ve .

of th e g rea t Ge rma n del ug e w rites De Quin ce y in hi s m onog ra ph

,

o n th e Ca esars w h e n describin g th e s am e e ve n ts an d pe rh ap s co n

s ciou sl y im ita tin g M il ton s l in es , h ad stretch e d be yon d th e Py r

’

en ees an d th e p ill a rs o f He rcu l e s to th e ve ry h o m e s te ad s of an cien t

Carth ag e B oth w rite rs com pare th e barbarian s w h o o vert h re w
’
.

th e Ro man Em pire to an imm en se floo d th a t co u ld n o t be k e pt

w ith in th e bo u nd s o f Eu ro pe , but e sca pin g by th e ou tle t a ffo rde d
by th e S tra its of G ibra l tar co vered a g rea t part o f A frica Th e .

peculiarity of th e com parison is th a t it m akes u s thin k of a flood

w alle d in by w a ter T h e m e taph orica l fl o od co nsisting o f
.

barba rian s is re presented as con fi n ed by a ba rrier of real water,

a nd as bu rstin g t h at w atery boun dary a t th e S tra its o f Gibra l tar ,

w h ere th e s urro u n din g se a w a s t h in n est and th erefo re o ffered

l e ast re sis tan ce to th eir ad van ce .

C o m pare with th is passag e th e fi n e lin es in P a ra dise L ost ( iv .

270 wh ich des cribe in m etaph orical l an ag e h ow th e e ffects

o f A th e n ian el o qu en ce co uld n ot be con fi n e with in th e limits of
Greece , but e xten ded to t he capital s o f M acedon an d Persia .

355 . Beneath Gibral tar, to th e so uth of Gibral tar .

3 60 . erst (conn ecte d with e arl y ’

) su perlative of ere .
 PA RA DIS E LOST .

d evils, an d w h o the su bj ect of th e noun senten ce refe rs to the

de vils w h o afte rwards bore th ese n a mes .

It is po ssibl e th at w h o ma y be a rela tive, in w hich cas e th e

ssag e m us t be ta ken say th e n a me s o f th em wh o fi rst, etc
a
.

m pa re l 1 6 1 . .

377 . Roused , passive participl e .

3 79 bare , de st it ute o f trees

. an d plants , wh ich cou l d n ot g row

on th e stran d o f so lid fi re .

38 5 . d ur st abi d e Jeh ovah , ven tured to h old th eir groun d in

th e presen ce of Je h o vah .

3 8 7 T h e t wo ch erubim h ere referred to w ere t wo w in g ed

.

an g el ic fi res in th e inn ermost sanctu ary o f th e tem pl e on M o unt

S ion . T eir wings form ed a k in d of th ro n e , from w h ich Je h ovah
ut te red h is oracl e s to th e ch ief p ries ts in a v o ice li e th u n de r k .

39 1 aff ront ( fro m L at f rom , a fore h ea d ) h e re see ms to co m

. .

bin e th e ori inal mean ing to stan d o pp os ite w ith th e la te r

g
m ean ing to i nsu l t op en l y T h e fact t h at th e sh rin es o f th ese
.

de vil s stood o pposite to th e sh rin e of God was an o pen in sul t

to Go d .

3 92 M ol och , th e fi re g od o f Amman, w as w ore pped w ith

"

. - .

inh u man rites A ccordin g to Je wis h traditio n in an ts were

.

placed in to th e h an ds of h is graven im ag e, th e g rim idol of l -

.

3 96 , fro m w ich th y ro l l ed iiy o a fu rn ace M o lo ch is conn ecte d '

- .

w ith th e He rew mel ee (a kin g ) , o n w hich acco un t M il ton cal ls.

him h o rrid king

’
.

From besmea re d w e m ust u n de rsta n d be de we d or so m e

o th e r p articipl e to g o with
’
a ren te tears , wh ich canno t w el l be
’

said to bes m ear a n y o ne h is is an i stan ce of th e fi gu re o f

.

speech call e d zeu g m a C f Pope s l in e

’
. .

S ee Pan w ith fl ocks , w ith fru its Pom ona crown d,

’ ’

wh ere , as C an on Farrar re mark s in h is Greek S y nta x, we must

u n derstan d su rrou n ded to : e e w ith Pan , w h o could h ardly
be re presen ted a s crow ned w flo cks For oth er instan ces of ith .

zeug ma see 1 441 an d ii 245 . . .

394 for com m on l y , a s h ere , in trodu ces a

.
rev ent ive cau se .

T h e n o ise of th e dru m s an d cy mbal s prev en te th e cries o f th e

chil dre n fro m bein g h e ard .

39
5 chil dren s cries Th e sub
’
.
(w ere) unh eard .

stanti v e verb i s o mitted as in l 141 . .

397 Her A s th e n am e s of cities are fe min ine in L atin , Rabba,

. .

th e n am e o f th e capital of A mm on , is h ere trea te d a s a fe min ine

n o un S ee 1 723
. R abba is ca ll ed th e city of waters in 2 S am
. . .

xi i 27
.

400 th e wisest h eart

. of Sol omon, th e h eart of S ol omon , th e
 N OTES — BOO K I
.

wise st of all h earts . A s S ol omon was th e w isest of men, h is

heart w as t h e wisest o f all h earts .

402 . rig h t ag ainst , exactl y O pposite .

403 . h ill , infamou s h il l

opprobriou s T h e sou th ern a rt of th e . p
v
M ou n t o f O li es is bl asted with in fam , a n d call ed th e h ill o f y
‘
o fi ens ive m ou n tain
'

sca n d al th e (l
’
(1 . an d in t h e .

B ibl e th e m o u n t o f co rru tio n ( 2 Kings xxiii pbe ca u s e it .

was d isg ra ce d by th e sh rin es of fa lse g ods For th e sa me reas on .

th e beau tif u l all e o f Hinno m, a ft er it h ad bee n con erte d in to

v y v
a sacred g rov e for M ol och , be ca m e h ateful to th e ew s, wh o J
p
mad e it a rece ta cl e for all th e fi lth o f th e cit It th en cam e to y .

be n o wn as T o h et ( from Hebrew top h , a d ru m ) , because d ru ms

k p
were used at t h e sa crifi ce to M ol och to drown th e ch il dren s ’

cries , ( l 394) o r Geh en n a

. T h e w o rd Ge h en n a is rea ll de
. y
rived fro m Hin n om, bu t obta in ed a bad m ean in , w h en th e
g
val le y
was defi l ed an d became a t e o f h ell T h e Hin dus tani yp .

Ja ha n na m (h ell ) is derived from G e h e nna .

406 dread of M oab s sons , t h e g od worsh ipp ed in fear a n d

’
.

trembl in g by th e M oa bites Dread is an in sta n ce o f an abs tract

’
.

used for a con cre te term T h e n a m e of a n em o tio n is h ere a pp lied

.

to th e p erson w h o cau ses th e e mo tio n In lik e mann er a p ers on .

or th in g w h ich e xcites h o pe is cal l ed a h O pe , as , for in sta n ce , in

S h a k esp ea re , Rich a rd III is sa id to h av e been l ess th an a
.
‘

moth er s h ope , i e , an o bj ect n o t an swerin g to a mo th er s e x

’ ’ ’
. .

tation s S o a l so j oy o ften m ean s source of j oy , as in

‘ ’
.

eats w ell k n ow n lin e

’
-

A th ing of beau ty is a j oy for e ver .

’

41 1 th e Asph al ti c Pool , th e Dead S ea , call ed by o se h u s an d

. J p
p k
others th e A s h al tic L a e , on acco un t o f t h e l arg e u an tit of q y
p
as h a l t it con ta in s in a li u id state on its surf ace q .

412 S ee . Nu mbers x v.

417 T h e cl o se neigh bo urh oo d o f cruel M ol o ch and l ustful C h em os

.

is reg a rded by M il to n as a 1 6 o f th e clo se co nn ection between

lust an d h ate . . 35
In ix 1 123 1 ton de scribes l ust a s soo n su cceeded
by h ig h passion s , an ger, h ate , mistrust, su spicion , disco rd
’
.

qu ival ent to sitiou o f

°

l us t h ard by h ate, e a cl ose uxta lu st

is in loose apposition to th e i th e preceding
’
an d h a te , ea 0

lin es .

41 8 Josiah w as th e l ast goo d king o f Ju dah

.
It w as h e wh o .

defi led th e v al l ey of Hin nom an d destro yed th e h eath en sh rin es

th at h ad be en erecte d th ere by S ol om on .

419 borderin g , becau se it is m en tion e d in th e Bibl e, Ge n xv

.
. .

18, as on e of th e boun dari es of th e Prom ised L an d .

420 E pu h
. ra t es is ca ll e d ol d beca u se it is men tion e d in th e

oldest records o f th e h uman race .

 PA RADIS E L OST .

422 M . mTh e Hebrew word baal means l ord It is fo un d

.
‘ ’
.

in co mpositio n in th e n am e Beelzebu b ( Baal zebub) , l 8 1 , w hich -

.

m ean s th e l ord of flies T h e Ph oe nician sun god is call ed Baa l in

.

th e B ible Here Baalim, th e Hebrew l ural of Baal (see 1

. .

is a pplied as a g eneral term to all th e evils worsh ipp ed as mal e

g o ds by th e C an aa n itas l iv in g al o n g th e sea coas t o f P a l es t in e .

In like mann er Ash ta roth , th e l u ral of A storeth (1 h ere .

mean s th e dev ils worsh ipp ed as s male deities .

th ose— th ese, th e fo rmer, th e l atter .

43 0 th eir aery purposes , th e ir j ourn eys th roug h t h e

. a ir to
ca rry ou t th eir p urp o ses For th e distin ction between y ’
. ae r
eth ereal s ee i 45
’
an d . .

433 Th eir Living S treng th , th e l ivin g God who w as th e so u rce

.

of t h eir stren g th T h e a bstract stren th is u sed fo r th e con

.

g
cre te, li ek dread in l 406 Je h o va h 18 called in th e B ible th e
. .

L iving God; to contrast h im with t h e unrea l imag in a ry d eities

worein pped by th e h ea th en Th e epith et h owever does n ot
.

serv e to po int th e con trast in ten ded by th e poet in this pa ssag e ,

for M ilton is represen ting th e g ods of th e h eath en as living
bein g s , th o ug h not gods ou t devils .

435 bestial g od s , g o ds in th e form

. of beasts, such as the
Egyptian g o ds, referre d to in 11 478 48 1 .
-
.

for whi ch , as a pun ish men t for w hich ofl en ce .

'

438 Astoreth , or A starte , th e g o ddess o f th e mo on , is repre

.

sen ted in Ph oen icia n m yt h o l og y as th e wife of th e sun g od, Ba al -

.

440 by th e moon, by th e l ig h t of th e moo n

. B y in su ch .

phrases give s an accom pan im en t contributing to a resul t He .

read by l ampl ig h t m ean s th a t th e la mp h t e nabl ed him to read .

T h us to say tha t th e Sido n ian v irg ins pai th eir vo ws by th e m o o n

implies th at th e prese nce o f th e moon ga ve th em as sistance w h e n
th ey paid th e ir v ow s T his it did in two way s , fi rst by e nabl in g
.

th e m t o g o out at nig h t, a n d seco n dl y by th e fact th at th e m oo n

itsel f, reg ar de d as t he brig h t image of A starte , ga ve th em a
v isibl e obj ect of ado ration .

441 paid th eir vows

. and ( su n g ) song s . For anoth er instance
of zeug ma see 1 393 . .

443 . offensive moun tain . S ee 1 403 . .

444 . Uxo riou sness m ean s excessive fondness for wives an d

submission t o th eir w h inis S ol om on was pro-emine ntl y u xo
.

inasmuch as h e h ad seven h un dred wives an d all owe d th em to

sedu ce him from h is alle ian ce to Jeh ov ah T h w th f i
g ey e re e a r .

idolatresses mention ed in th e n ext line, for wh om h e buil t

h eath en tem l es in J eru sal em
p .

l arg e, wise Th e adj ective is pa rticu larl y

. e ressive o f th e
w isdom of S olomon, o win g to th e g reat extent of is kn owledge .
 PAR ADISE LOST .

472 Ah a"did not con quer th e S yrians himself, but persu aded
.

th e Assy rians to do so Wh en Damas cu s h ad been take n b h is

.

Ass yrian allies , Ahaz went to th at ci to meet th e A ssy rian

an d see ing th ere an al tar th at pl ease h im sent a
g,
tte rn of it to ty
Je r l em, that a similar altar migh t be e in his o wn
u
capi al fa
479 . monstrous brutish forms of bul ls, cats, an d dog s,
sh apes,
un de r which th e Eg y tians w orshipped th eir g o ds T h e stran g e .

forms attributed to t e E tian god s w ere sa id to be du e to th e

story in distinct l y al l ude to in l 48 1, th at the g o ds , to esca pe .

from th eir enemies th e giants , were forced to wander abo ut dis

g uise d as an imal s .

seek , del uded th em so th at th ey so u gh t .

483 T he Israelites bo rro w ed from th e E

. tians a t th e tim e
of th r departure many j ewels of g ol d w ich th ey n ev e r
return
e i;
484 in Oreb
. Th e p reposition in sh ows that th e
. vall ey , n ot
th e moun tain, is meant S ee note o n 1 7 . . .

485 Jeroboam, wh o rebell ed again st th e son of S o lom on an d

.

ma de himself ing ov er th e g reater part of Pal es tin e, made two

k
o l de n cal v es, an d so d ou bl ed th e sin of th e Israel ites in O reb,

g
o r th e
y h a d o nl y made one cal f .

48 6 .g razed ox, o x fed u po n g rass T h e verb .

g raze is some
times u sed t ra nsitive l y g o ve rn ing as an obj ect ei th er th e fo od
eaten or th e anim al th at is fe d .

487 . Jeh ovah is in a pposition previous l ineto M ak er m th e .

489 Th e l ast and worst o f th e plagu es wh ich afl iicted Eg y pt

.
‘

was th e destructio n of th e fi rst born immediate l y after w h ich -

,

th e Israelites left th e co u n try A t midn ig h t th e l o rd smo te all

.

th e fi rst-bo rn in the l an d of Eg t, from th e fi rst bo m o f Ph arao h -

th a t sat on th e th rone u nto th e rst born o f th e ca ti e th a t w as -

p v
in th e dung eo n ; an d al l th e fi rst born of cattl e From t h is
’
-
.

v e rse we mu st su pp
o se l in e 48 9 to m ean th at God in ol ed th e v v
Eg yp y
tians an d th e an imals th e w o rsh i ed a s g ods in th e sam e pp
de s tru ctio n wh en He sl e w th e fi rst born both of Eg tian m en
- yp
p
a n d of Egy tian an imal s W e sh ou ld ex e ct l o w in g g o ds
.
‘ ’
p
rath er th an bl eating g ods For, th o ugh th e E tian s w o r yp
g
.

sh ipp v
ed se eral animal s , incl u din
g A mm on an d en des , w h o
p
we re re rese nte d u n de r th e fo rm s o f a ram an d a g oa t , th e ch ief
o bj ect of
t p
h eir w orsh i w as th e bu l l A is, in imitatio n o f w h ich p
t h e Israeli tes ma de th e cal f in O reb l e wto n su
gg e s ts . N
th at M il ton may p p
erh a s h a e u sed th e e ith et v bl ea tin g in p
order to su
gg e st co n te m t , as s h e e pan d g oa ts a re s m a ll a p
n d
insig nifi cant an imal s ( C f ii 494 fo r an oth er o ss ibl e e xpl an a
. . . p
t ion )
. It must als o be n oticed t h at. un less we read g od s the
 NOT ES —
O
B OK I .

gen itiv e instead of ods, th ere is a conf usion in th e comparison,

as th e fi rs t born of t l e Eg
-
g
tians are co m pared by th e w ords of
th e se n tence no t to th e fi rst orn o f th e bestial g o ds , but to th e
best ial g ods g en erall T his con f usio n may h ow ever be par
fi
allel ed by man y simi r instances o f elliptica l comp aris on e g . .

Byron’ s T h ere be none of bea u ty s daugh ters with a m ag ic like

’ ’

th ee, i e , l ike th
. . mag ic Th ere is i n th e use of th e wo rd
.

both a th ird ifi cu lty Both preceding and, w ould

.

n atural ly ca ll em ph atic atten tion to th e fact th at th ere are two

o bj e cts to t h e verb equ all ed , th at th e bl eating g ods we re as
’ ‘

mu ch s u bj ect to th e action o f th e v erb as th e fi rst born of Eg ypt -

.

Bu t th is is of course unn ece ssary It is obvious th at equal ity .

req u ire s t wo th in s to be com pared , an d th at, if th e fi rst- bo rn o f

g
E t w ere redu ced to the same con dition as th e bl eatin g gods ,
th e l eatin g g ods mu st n ecessarily h av e been redu ced to th e
sam e con dit ion as th e fi rst-born o f Egypt If a dog is l ik e a .

wolf, a w olf must be l ik e a do g T h e reas o n w h y th e verb .

equ al is foll ow ed h ere by two o bj ects j o in ed by both an d

an d will be fo und in t h e en eral sen s e o f th e passag e .

E u al l d m eans equ all d in estruction , and so sugg ests th e

’ ’ ’

destro y ed T h e lin e is reall y e ll iptical for e q uall ed th e

’
ve r .

fi rst born o f Egy pt an d h er bl ea ting g o ds by destroying bo th th e

-

fi rst bo rn of Eg ypt an d h er bl e atin g g o ds

-
.
’
.

490 Be lial s l ate a rri val is consisten t w ith n 1 17, wh ere he is

’
. .

timo ro us an d sl oth ful A t th e sam e tim e th e descriptio n

’
ca ll e d .

of su ch an importan t ch a racte r a s Belial mak es an imp ressive

termin a tio n to th e l ong ca tal og u e .

th an wh om Th an is n eith er by deriva tion nor by ordin a ry

.

usa g e a preposition S ometimes h ow ever, as h ere an d in ii 299 ,

. .

it g o v e rn s an o bj ective ca se Th ese e xception al in sta n ces m ay

.

be , a ccordin g to th e re ad er s taste , reg a rde d eith er as g ram m ati cal

’

sl ips or as in stan ces of th an used as a pre position T h an i s .

by d erivatio n th e sa me word as th en T h u s h e is ol de r th an
’
.

I is e qu iva len t to h e is ol der, th en I, i e , h e i s ol de r, I com e

’
. .

after in p oin t of ag e
’
.

492 Vi ce for itself, v ice for its own sak e

. Th ose wh o l ove vice .

for it sel f do vicious acts, from wh ich n eith er pleasure nor profi t
is derived .

To hi m, in h is h on o ur .

493 .
y et wh o more
th an h e, y et oft no dev il is more often
presen t th an h e is present Here th an . is u sed reg ularl y as a
conj u n ctio n ( see 1 .

495 . Eli
’
s sons . S ee Ju dges , ch a p . u .

497 M ilton h ad a P u ritanical h atred o f courts an d palaces, as

.

being t h e h eadqu arte rs o f th e e nemies of h is political party Th e .

cou rt ie rs o f C h arl es I w ere h ateful to him as s u pporte rs of e pi s

.

d o
 PARA DIS E L OS T .

and absolute monarch

w hil e in h is old ag e h e was dis
with th e l icentio u s e ro n tery practised in th e court o f
II He alludes to th e lu xury an d vice of cou rts ag ain
.

in iv 76 7, v 35 4, vii 33
. In th e follo wing lin e h e g ives us fu r
. . .

th er in formation about h is perso n al l i ing s an d avers io ns , sh o w k

ing cl ea rly t hat, li e most poets, h e preferred th e country t o
k
g reat cities A n oth er p assag e in w hich h e in dicates this prefe r
.

ence more cl earl y wil l be fou n d in ix 445 45 1 .

-
.

5 01 th e sons of Belial , l icentious men wh o are followers of

Belial .

502 d own, fill ed to overflo win g

. Flow 18 sometime s u sed .

in th e sen se o f overflow , inun date

’ ’
tran s itivel For an
y
.

instan ce 0 one and th e sam e pre po sition g overning two n ou ns,

o n e m ean ing a feel in g o f th e m in d, a nd th e oth er a ma te ria l
su bs tance , cf Dryden s Ode on S t Cecil ia s Da y, in wh ich
’
.
’
.

Alexander is described as being

With love and wine at once Opprest .

S ee also ii . 6 1 and Virgil A eneid i 6 54 , . .

5 03 Wi tness th e streets, let th e streets of Sodom attest th e

.

fa ct See Genesis xix

. .

5 04 Gibeah S ee Ju dg es xix
. . .

h osp itabl e door, h osp itabl e h ouse , h ospitabl e inmates of th e

h ouse Door in th is con text can easily stan d for h ou se, a s a
.

h o u se is h ospitable wh en its do or is readily open ed to en tertain

st rang e rs .

5 07 Th e rest were l ong to tell , to tell th e rest woul d be long

.

i e , would ta e a long tim e

. . Th e redun dan t p ron ou n it,
k ‘
.

reg ul arly ins erted w h en an in fi n ite u sed as subj ect fo ll o ws a verb,

is ere omitted W e sh oul d expect, Th e rest it w ere l o ng to
h
.

tel
th oug h far renown d A l th oug h th ey are ren own ed, an d mig h t
’
.

th erefore be supposed to be w orth y of description , M il to n do e s

n ot th ink fi t to devote to th em th e lar e space in h is poe m th at
g
w oul d be required to de scribe th em ad e uately T h ey o we t h e ir .

ren o w n to th e g reatn ess of th e Gree poets wh o celebrated

th e m .

5 08 Javan, th e fou rth so n of

. oa h s oun g est son aph et, was N ’
J
su pposed to be th e an cestor o f th e Gree 5
‘
Ja an is robably . v p
a corru tion o f p
Ion ia , th e comm ercial Gree s of which reg io n
’
k
v k
m u s t h a e been n own to th e Jews th ro ugh th e Ph oen ician s .

T h e similar word Y av an as , wh ich in th e M a ha bha ra t seem s to

’

k p
mean Gree s, is robably th e corres onding In dian corru tion of p p
t he same word .

of
’
Javan s issue h el d God s , su osed to be g ods by pp Javan s
’

issue , th e Gree s ‘ ’ ‘
k
Fo r o f used in stead of by w ith
’
. pas sive
 PA RA DIS E L O ST .

cal l y connected
with which S ee Abbott s S ha kespea ria n Gra m .
’ ’

ma r, § 279 In mo dern En gl is h s uch is fol lo wed by as or

.
’

by th at , and a p erso nal pro n ou n

’
.

5 25 not l ost in l oss itself, an instan ce of o xy moron

. See .

p 6.3 .

5 27 Lik e d oubtful h ue, a similar expression of co un ten an ce,

.

den otin g th e co mbin ation o f mu ch depression w ith little j oy .

But h e T h e con trast ex ressed by th e wo rd bu t cons ists in

.

th e fact th at h e did n ot, ik e th em , allow h imself to be over

p p
o we red by de ression o f s irits , bu t immediately beg an to s ea p p k
words of en cou rage ment .

5 28 . recoll ecting , reg aining , l ite rally coll ecting ag ain .

5 29 g entl y , w ith o ut uttering h arsh reproach es

. Keig htl e y .

un derstan ds g en tl y h e re t o m ea n g all an tl y ,
’
a n d su ppo rts h is
in terpretatio n by reference to l 5 28 , wh ere S atan is said to h a v e .

em plo y ed h igh wo rds Bu t th e ordinary m eaning o f th e w o rd

’
.

suits th e conte xt an d th e ch ara cte r o f S atan , w h o is rep res en t ed

in ll 605 , 6 20 as bein n o t devoid of h um an or rath e r an g el ic
.

sy mp ath y See Intr notion , p x xix

. . .

532 Perh aps M ilton , w h e n h e wrote th is lin e, was th in k in g o f

.

th e raising o f th e k ing s stan dard a t N ottin h am in 16 42, w h ich

’

m ark e d th e com men ceme n t o f th e g rea t civi war in En gla n d .

533 . T h at proud h onour, th e h on our of raising th e stan dard.

5 34 Azazel mean s brave in

. retreat, an d is th erefore, as
Newton remarks, an appropriate n am e for a s tan dard bearer -
.

536 advanced , raised , not moved forward A dvan ce h as

m
. .

this m ean ing distin ctl y in S h ak es peare , w h o speaks o f p l e

th eir eyel ids A l so Rich ard III says,
’
adv ancin A . . n ce
th y h albe r h ig h er th an my breast (Richa rd III , i . .

5 37 Gray imitates th is l ine wh en h e describes h is bard s

’
.

beard, wh ich
S tream d l ike meteo r on th e troubl ed air
’ ’
a .

5 39 a
r .

m
s , a rmo rial bearin g s , n ot actu al weapon s A m on
m os t fam i l i ar instan ces o f arm orial bea rin gs are th e l eo par s of
th e .

En g l an d , th e h on of S cotl an d, a n d th e h a of Irel an d, w h ich are

a l l d epicted on th e escu t ch eon s o f th e ing s an d Queens o f
Eng l an d .

trophi es ymbol s of victory consisting of sp oil s tak en from

are s
con qu ered foes an d represe n ta tio n s of th o se sp oil s s u ch as th e
, ,

Pri nce of Wal e s feath ers a t roph y w on at C ress y

’
Th ese w ords
,
.

s e e m to i mpl y th at th ere w ere wars in h eav en before S a tan s

’

rebell i o n alth ou h neith er in M il to n n or in th e Bibl e is th ere an

g , y
mention of conflicts anteceden t to th at event .

540 metal metal trum pets

.
, .
 NOTES BOOK —
I
.

T h is is an instan ce o f wh at Ruskin in h is
‘
5 43 I rig h ted
.
-
.

M odern P a in ters cal ls th e path e tic fal la cy Hu man fe el ing s are .

a ttribu ted to th e re i n ( k in do m ) o f C h aos an d N i h t w h ich is

g g g ,
d es cribe d in ii 8 90 96 7 N ig h t is ca ll ed o ld , be ca u se dark n e ss
.
-
.

e xis ted from et e rn ity before th e crea tion o f th e w o rl d Fo r o th er .

in sta n ces o f th e pa th e tic fal lacy see ix 782, 1002 ii 78 8 . . .

Orien t ( L at orior, I rise ) orig in al l y

’
5 46 . ori ent col ours . .

m ea n t rising , th en , a s th e East is th e l and of th e rising su n , it

’

m ean t eastern fi n all y, as brig h t co lours , n atu ra l a nd artifi cia l ,

a re far m ore com m o n in th e Eas t th an in t h e W est , th e w o rd

cam e to m ean brig h t In th is passag e it probabl y h as th e

.

th ird m eanin g , al th ou h th e frequ en t com pariso ns between

’
S atan s g ran de ur an d t e state of a n o rien tal mon arch ( 11 348 , .

7 17 722 ; ii 2, 3 ; x 445 , 45 7) mak e th e se co n d m ean in n ot im

-
. .

p o ss ible Fo r a.passa e in wh ich

g orie nt un do ubte y means
brig h t see xi 205 . .

5 47 Cf l 5 63 an d
. . .

T h e stubborn spearmen still made g ood

T h eir dark impen etrabl e woo d .

S cott, M armion 6 , xxxi v . 13 .

5 48 serried sh iel d s, shiel ds cl ose pack ed Th e verb y ’

. . serr
is obso l e te, e xcept in th e pa ssive p articipl e .

5 49 . im mediately after
anon , A n on is by derivation an .

an be in g a form o f th e
’
re osition which ,
’
o ne on ,
a s S k e at rem ark s , wa s ofte n u sed in A ng o axon with th e sen se p
of in
’
.

5 50 . ph alan x is a body of h eavily armed spea rmen arran g ed

A
in on e com pa ct m a ss T h e M acedon ia n ph alan x w as th e most
.

cel ebrated t ype of th is arrang e me n t .

t o in accordan ce w ith m e asu ring th eir ste ps an d regul ating

, ,

t h eir m ov em en ts by This u se of to fo llow ed by a wo rd m ean

.
,

in g th e mu sic by w h ich mo vem en ts of soldiers o r dan cers or th e

,

v oices of sin g ers are tim e d is com mon T h u s we may say S h e , .

,

d an ced to th e h arp o r S h e san g to th e h a rp

’
, .

Th e Doria n m oo d w as th e se verest sty l e o f m u sic among th e

G re e k s M il ton in de scribing its e ffects probabl y h ad in his
.
, ,

m in d th e passag e in Pl ato s Republic w h ere S o crate s requ ires a ’

,

w a rl ik e h arm on y such a s wil l s oun d th e w ord o r n ote w h ich a

‘

brav e man u tters in th e h ou r o f dan g e r a n d s tern resolv e or ,

w h e n his cau se is faili ng , an d h e is g oin g to w ounds or de ath , or

is o vert ak en by so me evil , an d at ev ery su ch crisis meets fo rtun e
w ith ca lm n e ss an d enduran ce , and th e Dorian m o o d is fou n d to
’

a n sw er h is pu rpo s e T h u cy dides , v 70, de scribe s th e Do rian

. .

L ace daem on ian s advan cin g to battl e sl owly to t h e m u sic o f m an y

fl ute -p l ay ers, w h il e th e ir enemies cam e to meet th em viol en tl y
’

with rag e
’
.
 PA RA DIS E L OS T .

55 1 . recorders were kin d of win d instrumen t

a .

55 2 T o h ig h th , to
. th e high est pitch .

h eroes ol d , an cie nt h ero es . M ilto n , as Professo r M asso n re

mark s is ,
very
fon d of u sin t h is adj e ctiv e after th e n o un i t
ualifi es , g en e rall y at th e e n o f a l in e For oth er in s tan ce s see
.

1 5 19, 56 5 ; n 593 , 98 8 . .

5 54 unmoved ,
. e tc. wh ich coul d not be mov ed to fl ig h t by fear
of dea th .

5 56 . S ee n o te on n . 35 5 .

56 0 Breath ing united force

. This Ho meric ph ras e represents .

th e fal le n an els as m ife sting th eir val ou r by th eir mann er of

bre athing ee Il ia d n 5 36
. . .

56 1 . to . S ee 1 5 5 0
. .

ch armed Th eir painful steps, made th em l es s v

se n siti e to th e
pain cau se d by th e s o il bu rn ing th eir fe e t T h eir s ou l s w ere so .

e xal te d by th e m u sic th at t h ey al mo st fo rg ot t h eir p h y sica l pa in .

5 63 a h orrid front
. T h e fro nt of t h e ang el ic p h alan x w a s n o t
.

o n ly h orrid in th e o rdin a ry se n se of th e w o rd , bu t a l so in th e
l ite ra l se n se o f th e L a t h orr idus ( bristl ing ) . B es ide s be in g a .

d re adful s pecta cl e , it l iteral l y bristl ed w ith s pe ars proj e ctin

a bo ve th e a n g el s h e ads C f v i 8 2, w h ere th e re g io n o ccu pie
’
. . . g
by S atan s a rm y is de scribe d as bristl in g w ith u p rig h t bea m s
’

in n u me rabl e of ri g id sp ea rs , an d th e com parison to a fo res t in l

.
’
.

5 47 of th is boo k .

5 65 warriors ol d , an cien t as O ppo se d t o m od ern w arriors

. .

M ilto n fi n ds it m ore su itabl e for artistic p u rposes to arm h is

a n g els with spear a n d sh ield rat h e r th a n w ith m u sk et an d p ik e .

L ik e Virgil , h e im itates t h e arm s a n d m o de o f wa rfa re described

in th e Iliad a n d Od y ssey , al th ou g h h e som etim es a dds de tails
t ak e n from ch ival ry ( see 1 5 39 , ii an d in th e s ixth bo ok
. .

m ak es th e rebel ang e ls disco ver a n d u s e g un pow der .

with ordered spear Order a rm s is stil l a w ord o f com

.

m an d u s ed in d rill in g so ldiers M odern sol die rs orde r arm s by .

restin g t h e but t e n ds of th eir m u sk e ts on th e r o u n d W h e n t h is

g
-
.

w a s d o n e w ith l o ng spears th ey w ou l d rise abo ve th e h ea ds of

,

t h e so l diers a n d so pro du ce th e h orrid f ron t des cribe d by M il to n

‘ ’
.

T h e po e t, w h o n o do u bt be ca me to l erabl y fa mil a r w ith m il ita ry

m att e rs in th e l on g civil w ar, us e s a similar t e ch n ica l p h rase,
‘
p or t e d s p ea rs ,
’
in iv 980 Jo h n son is thin k ing o f s uch pas
. .

sa g e s a s t h es e w h en h e m en tio n s a m o n M l l h
’

g ’ i t o n s fa u ts t a t a re
e a sily re m a rk ed a n d e n ll y ce n u d h i y a n d
g era s re s u n n e c es s a r
u n g racefu l u s e o f te rm s of art S ee ii 1019
’
. . .

5 6 7 Files are ro w s of s ol die rs arran g e d o n e be hin d th e oth er,

.

as o pp osed to rank s o r ro w s o f so l die rs stan din g side b s i d e

y .
 PA RA DIS E LO S T .

ferio r to S atan s a rmy , n o t on e pa rticu l ar celebrated army , bu t

’

t h e w h ole collection of th e m ost cele bra ted arm ies th at th e po e t

ca n thin k of A t 1 5 75 w e mu st u n de rstan d a ne w prin cipal
. .

se n te n ce , n or wo uld su ch e mbo d ied force , as n am ed W i th th ese

co uld me rit m o re t h a n th at sma ll in fan try warre d on by cran e s ,
m ee t T h e co mbina tion of g re at arm ies in 11 5 75 5 8 7 is a pure l y
’
-
. .

im a g in ary co m binatio n of arm ie s th at be lon g e d to ve ry diffe ren t

perio ds of h istory or my th ology , and th erefore canno t be su pposed
to h a ve eve r actu al l as sembled togeth er For a similar in tensi
y .

fi catio n of a com parison see 1 294 . .

T h is w h ole passag e M ilton s skilfu l use of

is a fi n e in s ta nce of
’

proper names ‘
S ca rce ly any passag es in th e po em s o f M il to n ,
.

M a cau l ay j u s tly remark s , a re m o re gen e rally kn o wn o r m ore

frequ e ntly re p eat ed th an th o se w h ich a re l ittl e more than m ere
m uster rol l s o f n am es
-
T h ey a re n ot al way s more appropriate
.

or m o re m el o dio us th an o th er n a mes ; but th ey a re ch a rm e d

n am es E very o n e of t h e m is t h e fi rst lin k in a lo ng ch ain o f
.

associate d ide as L ike th e d we llin g p la ce o f our inf ancy revisite d

.
-

in ma nh o od , like th e son g of o u r co u ntry h e ard in a stran e l an d,

th e y p ro du ce u po n u s an e fl e ct w h o l ly in depe n de n t o f eir in
'

t rin aie valu e O n e transports us back to a rem ote period of h is

.

to ry , a n o th e r pla ces u s am on g th e n o vel sce nes an d m anne rs o f a

dista nt reg io n , a th ird e vok e s al l th e dea r cl ass ical re coll e ction s
o f ch il d h o o d, t h e sch o ol ro om , th e do g eare d Vir il , th e h o l ida y ,
g
-

a n d t h e p rize ; a fou rth brin s before u s t h e spl e n did ph a n to m s

g
o f ch ivalro us rom an ce , th e tro p h ied lists, t h e embroide re d h o u s

ing s , th e qu ain t devices , th e h au n te d fo rests , th e e n ch an ted

d n th a chiev eme n ts o f e nam ou re d k n i h ts , an d th e smil e s
g a r e s , e g
o f rescu ed T h e v a rie ty of allu sion s to l ite rat ure ,
’
rincesse s .

h is to an my th o l o g y in a pas sag e lik e th e pre sen t w el l bears

a cau lay s criticism For o t h er m u s ter ro ll s o f na m es see
’
o ut .
-

1 7 17 ; iii 35 36 ; iv 26 8 ; xi 3 88 411
. .
-
. .
-
.

5 75 . Coul d merit more , co u ld j u stly w in m o re adm iration .

th at smal l
in fantry W arred on by m uss , th e pyg mies wh o are
said by Hom er to h a v e been atta c ke d by cran es e very S prin g .

T h e y are referre d to ag ain in l 780 . .

5 76 th e gi a nt brood , th e g ian ts w h o w arred on Jo ve ( see 1

. .

T h ey a re ca l le d t he gian t bro o d o f Ph l eg ra , becau se th e ir ba ttl e

“ ith th e g ods was , accordin g to Pin dar, fo u h t on t h e Phl e raean
g g
plmm
'

th e h eroic race Th e Gre e h e roe s w e re th e w arrio rs o f th e

. k
p re h i st o rical ag e o f Gre ece , w hi ch is en e ral l ca ll ed th e h ero ic a e
g g y .

A m o ng th e m o st cel ebra te d w ars o f t h e h ero ic ag e w e re th o se

w ag ed ag ain s t T h ebe s a nd Iliu m T h e chie f h eroe s w h o fou g h t .

in th es e w ars were th e sons o r g ran dson s of th e g ods .

579 . auxiliar g od s . In th e T roj an w ar th e g ods th emselv es

 N OT ES —
BOOK I .

too k in th e ba ttl es, assistin g th eir favourites and sometimes

actu ly fi g h tin g .

5 80 T h e e xpl oits o f Kin g A rth u r, U th er s son , are rel ated in

’
.

Ge o ffre y o f M on mo uth s Histo ry of En lan d, else w h ere cal l ed by

’

M il to n a fabul ous boo k , an d in su c rom an ces as th e M orte

‘ ’

d A rth ur of S ir T h omas M alory , th e e pisodes in wh ich h a v e be en

’

re ro d u ced by T enn so n in his Idylls of the K ing M ilton h im

p
.

se f once th oug h t 0 makin g K ing A rth ur th e h ero of his epic

5 79 and wh at resoun d s, etc

. .
, an d th e reno wn ed am is s o f
British’ and A rmoric knigh ts comman ded by King A rth ur
( U th er s son ) .

5 8 1 Armoric, Breton , belong in g to th e Fren ch provin ce call ed

Brittan y T h e name of th e rovin ce w as su p sad to point to
b
.

th e fact th a t it was inh abited y B rito ns, and t erefo re some of

A rt h u r s nig h ts are re presen ted as be l ong in g to Brittany
k
’
.

582 baptized , C h ristian ,

. as bap tism is th e sym bol of admission
in to th e Ch ristian Ch urch .

5 84 Asp ramont , a city in th e Neth erl ands, is mention ed in

.

Orla nd o F urioso M ontal ban , a town in th e south o f Fran ce,

.

an d th e th ree orien tal cities m e n tio n e d in th e fo ll o win

g in e may
l
n a t urall y be rep resen te d as h av in be en th e s cen es o f su ch to urn a
g
m e n ts between C h ristian an d M ah ome tan w arriors as are al l uded
to in 11 76 3 76 6
. M il ton see m s to h ave selecte d th e name s me re ly
-
.

fo r th e sak e of th eir sou n d Any oth e r cities mention e d in th e

.

ol d roman ces th at d es cribe th e w ars betw een Ch ris tia ns an d

M a h om e tan s wou l d su it th e context equ all y w ell .

585 . Biserta, an A frican town n ea r T un is .

5 86 . S cott, wh o like M il to n delig h ted in so no rous lists of

pre pe r na mes, g ives an e ch o o f th is pas sag e in M a mnion

Oh for a bl ast of th at dread h orn ,

On Fo n tarabian e ch oes born e,
Which to King C h arl es did come,
Wh en Roland bra ve an d Oliv ier
An d ev ery pal a din a n d peer
On Ro n ces val l e s died
’
.

Accordin to th e ordinary tra dition , w hich S cott fol l o w s, th e rear

g u ar d o f h arl e m ag n e
’
s arm y w as de stroy ed in Ro n cesval l es be

cau se Ro lan d w ou l d n ot bl ow his h o rn an d call th e k ing to h is

assistan ce, bu t th e m ain body comm an de d by C h arl e m ag n e in
person e scaped M il to n fo ll ow s t h e S pa n ish a ccoun t , acco rdi n g
.

to vvh ich C h arl emag n e and al l h is arm y w ere destroyed at Fon ta

rabl’1a .

5 86 . all h i s peerag e, Ro lan d , Oli ver , an d th e rest of th e ten

peers or paladin s of C h arl emagne .
 PARA DIS E LOS T .

5 87 beyond Compare of mort al pro wess , too great to be co m

.

pare d with mo rt al pro wess C o mpa re is a v erb used as a no un

’
. .

5 88 .
y et, al th oug h th e y were so po werful .

Fo rm is tre ate d as a fe minine because th e

’
5 92 h er
. . n o un
L atin f o rma is fe m in in e S e e 11 176 and 723 . . .

5 93 th e exce s s orgl ory obscured

. His form loo ke d lik e so m e .

th ing wh ich h a d be e n e xces sive l y l o rious , bu t w as now so me wh at

diminis h e d in spl en do u r T h e a stract is h ere u se d fo r t h e con
. g
crete , as in l 406 C o mpare th e similar descrip tion of Satan in
. .

iv 8 70
. .

5 95 . h orizontal misty ai r, m isty a ir a t th e h orizon .

5 96 S h orn of h is beams
. S een th ro ug h a th ick m is t in th e
.

m o rn in g t h e s un s brig h tne ss is vis ible , but n o ra ys o f dazzlin g

’

l ig h t ra diate fro m th e disc as a t mid-da y .

5 97 .disa s trou s , becau se ecli se s o rte nded ca la mities T om p p .

p
k y n s th e ch a l ain , wh o rea d P a radis e L ost for th e A rch bish o o f p
y
C an te rbur , th e licen ser of rel ig iou s ublications , w as a t fi rst in p
clin e d t o o b e ct to t h e w ords j w ith fear o f ch an g e er l ex es p p
m on arch s
’ ’
S e e Pattiso n s M il ton ,
. 16 9 p .

601 s cars of th u n der, scars in flicte d b th e th un de r ( see 1

. .

A t th e e n d o f th e sixth bo o k it is rel ate h o w th e M es siah o ver

w h el m e d t h e rebe l a ng els w ith His Fath e r s th u n de r
’

T o in tren ch , which u suall y m ean s to defen d by cut ting tren ch es

( s e e 1. h er e mean s to m a rk w ith h oll ows .

6 03 considerate pride, n ot th e s illy va nity of a n empty h eade d

.
-

fool , but pride base d u pon th e so ber re flection o f a po we rfu l

in te lle ct .

604 Cruel .
( w a s ) his ey e .

605 . remors e and passion , passionate remorse .

606 . C o mpare 1 6 42 . .

f ol l owers rath er A s th e w o rd fell o w s im plies e u ality ‘

.
q
fo ll owe rs is a more suita bl e term to express th e rel ati on be
t w een th e rebel an g el s an d S atan
’
Th e w ord fo ll ow ers also .

be tte r eu g ests t h e t h ou g h ts th at ma de Sata n re mors efu l He .

h a d l ed t e ot h ers in to m is chie f an d so w as re sp on sibl e for th e ir

m is ery .

y et faith ful h ow th ey stood , h o w n e verth el e ss th ey stoo d

fai thful T h is n oun sen tence is o bj ect o f be h o ld ( l
. w h ich .

h as a l s o as obj ect th e n ou n fo llow ers (l

‘
S ee 1 376 ; ii 9 90 . . .

fo r o th e r instan ces of ve rbs g o vern in g fi rst a no un an d th en a no u n

se n te n ce .

6 14 W ith sing ed t op
. M ark Pa ttison me ntion s th is l ine a s o n e
.

o f M il to n s ina ccu racie s in t h e de scription of n a ture remar in k

’
, g
 PA RA DIS E LOST .

h is en e my
Th e mind, if un con vinced, still remains uncon
.

quered M uch th e same meaning is expresse d by Bacon in h is

.

A dva ncement of L ea rning ( I v ii i 3 ) w h ere h e re marks th at . .

power in fre e mon arch ies and common weal th s h ad a sweetness

‘

m ore th an in ty rannies, beca use th e co mmandme nt exten deth

more o ver th e w il ls of me n , an d n ot only o ver th eir de eds an d
’
serv wes .

6 50 wh ereof, etc
. co n cern ing wh ich matter, n amel y, th e
.

cre at io n of n e w w orl ds, th ere w as so comm on a re po rt in h eaven,

th at h e in te n ded to create a n e w world an d pl ace in it a n ew
race . In order to h ave a n o un for th erein to re fer to, w e mu st
n ew wo rl d as obj ect of
’
u n de rstan d a create It is n ot clear .

wh y S atan sp eaks o f new w o rl ds, as th ere is n o mention o f an y

worl d h a ving e xisted before th e creation of th is world .

6 60 Peace is despaired , th ere is n o h o pe of peace

. Despair .

is h ere used in th e passive, as if it w ere a tran sitive verb, al th o ug h

it is properl y follo wed by th e preposit ion of
’
.

6 6 1 th ink . sub mi ssion, think of submission , regard sub mission

as a po ss ibl e course .

66 2 un derst ood , n ot o enl y declared

but recogn ized th e ex
p
.
, as
isting sta te o f a fl airs wit ou t form al declara tion
'

66 8 T h e action of strik ing th e

. p
s ear with th e sh ield expres sed
th e ir ardo ur for ba ttl e .

6 72 scurf, w h ich g enerally me an s th e scal es on th e su rfa ce

. of
th e h ead, h ere mean s th e matter th a t appeare d o n th e ou tside of
th e h ill S ign is in appo sitio n to th e scu rf, or to th e idea of
’
.

t h e sent en ce, th e fa ct th at th e h ill sh one with a g l ossy scu rf .

6 73 . h is womb . S ee 1 723
. .

6 74 It was a po pul ar belief in M ilton s time th at th e h eat of

’
.

sul p h ur con vert ed ordin ary earth in to m etal s .

wi ng ed with speed. Cf Rich III , 4 iii 54

. . . . .

T h en fi ery exp edition be my wing .

’

6 76 pioneer is etymol og ical l y con necte d with wn in chess,

'

h:
.

an d peon , w h ich was introduced into In dia by t Po rtu g u ese

’

All th re e are deri ved fro m p eon or p lan ( from L at pee, a foo t) , .

a t erm m e an i n g foot sol dier, which w as co mmo n to th e Fren ch ,

S p an ish , a n d Po rtug uese langu ag es .

66 7
trench a fi el d , cut tren ch es in a fi el d for defen sive ur
p
poses y
It is th e dut o f ion eers to cl ear th e wa for an arm ,
.

y p y
and constru ct in tren ch m ents .

6 78 M ammon is a C h al daic w ord meaning w eal th , which is

’
.

person ifi e d u n der th is n a m e in M att vi 24 a n d in S en se r s

’
. . p
F a ir y Queen , ii 7 T h ere does n ot se em to h a e been any g o d
. . v
 NOT ES BOOK —
I .

call ed M amm on wo rsh ipped by th e nations bordering on th e

territory of th e Israe lites .

6 79 . l east erected , m ost g ro el lin g , bas est v An u righ t car . p

riag e is th e sign o f l oft y
th oug h ts , w hil e t h e downcas t l oo k s o f
on e wh o cann ot l o o y o u s trak
ig h t in t h e fa ce are su ose d to pp
basenes s Th u s th e ig uobl e M ammon is described as
.

ben din g down wards both h is l oo s an d his th oug h ts k For .

an oth e r in stan ce of a v e rb u sed w it h tw o n ouns , literall w ith y

p y
th e o n e , an d me ta h oricall w ith the oth er, see 1 502 . .

68 3 . aug h t divi ne or h ol y el se
, an y o th er div in e a
n d h ol y th ing ,
th at is , a ny divin e or h o l y t h in g
A s w e ca n h ardl y be in ten ded
.

to reg a rd th e rich e s of h eav en s paveme n t as div in e an d h oly ,

’

w e h a ve h ere an in stance o f co nfusio n be tw e en two const ru ctions,

n a m e l y, m ore t h an an yth in g e lse , an d more th an an y h oly
’

T his idiom is v ery frequ en t in th e u se of th e

’
o r div in e th ing .

Gree k an d L atin words for oth e r S e e ii 6 78 . . .

6 84 vi sion bsatine, sig h t th at m ak e s h a ppy

. T h is is a th eo .

log ical term for th e privil eg e o f seeing God, w hich fi l l s with j oy

th ose wh o are ad mitt ed into h eaven .

6 88 . T o dd qu otes fro m Be au mon t an d Fle tch er

W h ere ea rth h ides al l h er rich e s n ear h er centre,
’

wh ich lin e in dicates th at in th is passa g e cen tre m ean s th e cen

tre of th e earth , rath er th an , as in l 74, th e earth th e centre of .

th e u n iverse .

6 88 treasures better hid

. It w o ul d h a ve be e n bette r fo r
.

mank in d if g ol d h ad re ma ine d u n disco ve re d , as it h as be en th e

so u rce of so m u ch v ice an d bl oodsh ed .

6 90 L et none admire, th e re is
‘
to won der A dmire
’
. n o re aso n .

is use d in th e se n se o f th e L atin mirar

’
ad .

6 94 Babel , Babylon , w h ich con tained

. so me of th e g reatest
arch ite ctu ral work s of th e an cie n t worl d .

M emphi an . S ee 1 307 . . T h e py ramids were th e most cel e

brate d works of th e k in g s of Eg y p t .

6 97 an d in an h our, an d (h ow ) in an h our (is eas ily o utdon e )

. .

A s o ften h appe n s in M ilton , th e com pariso n gain s stren g th as it

procee ds ( see 1 . T h e p o et fi rst m erel y say s th at th e gre atest
wo rk s of h u man g ran de u r a re ea sil y su rpassed by th e w ork o f
devil s, an d th en g o es on to sa y th a t t h e fa r su pe rior w ork o f th e
de vils is compl e te d in on e h our, w h il e th e greate st h um a n w ork s
to ok an ag e to fi n ish .

6 99 .Th e m ig h ty w o rk s o f Eg yp tian an d A s sy rian k in g s w e re

erected b th e f orced l ab o f t m l tit d It is sa id th a t
y u r o g rea u u es .

m en w ere empl oy ed for n earl y tw enty y ears u p on t h e

con stru ctio n o f on e o f t h e Egy ptian pyramids .
 PARADIS E L OS T .

702 Sl uiced from th e lak e, made to fl ow from th e l ak e

.
A .

sl uice is a fl ood gate re ula tin g t h e fl ow of w ate r

- As th e grou nd .

was so l id fi re , th ey h to obta in liqu id fi re from th e lak e See .

703 foun ded ( L at f und o , melt ) , melte d th e ore , in order th at

. .

it mig h t fl ow in to th e m ou ld ot read y for its rece ption by th e

third mu ltitu de (l an d so e formed in to th e re uired s h a pe
. .

‘
Bentl ey restored founded, th e readin o f th e fi rst e itiou, wh ich
’

h ad been al te re d into foun d out in al th e intermediate editions

‘ ’
.

704 scummed th e bul l ion dross , took th e im pure su rfa ce o ff

.

th e m ol te n m etal Bullion is a term that ma be applied to

.

u n co in ed g ol d o r s ilv er in a n y fo rm When bul on is co in ed it ’

is th ereby con verted into specie .

707 . each h oll ow nook , al l th e h ollows in th e mould .

708 . As i n an org an T h e mol ten metal flow ed into th e

.

h ollows o f th e m ou ld j ust as in an org an th e win d driven by th e

bell o ws in to th e w in d ch est rush e s th e nce int o th e various pip es
-
.

T h e air th at co mes from th e w in d ch est is properl y re pre sen te d -

as com ing from th e soun d boa rd , w h ich form s t h e upper su rface

-

o f th e w in d ch e s t -
.

M ilto n w as t elf fon d o f pla ying on th e or an M y

g an .

passages in h is poetry sh ow his apprecia tion of music (See par .

t icu l arl y 11 5 5 0 5 5 9 ; xi 56 0 564 ; l l P enseroso

.
-
. Th is is
-

t h e m ore remark abl e as th e Pu ritans l ooke d u po n music w ith

u ) fa ou rabl e ey e , an d obj ected to th e org an being pla y e d in
h y
c urc l es .

710 Anon ,
. presen tl y . S ee 1 5 49 . .

7 1 1 lik e
. T h e co mparison is in ten ded to il lus
an exh al ati on .

trate th e ease an d ra pidity with w hich th e mig h ty p al ace w as

co n structed O wing to th e to tal absen ce of bu stl e, n ois e , a n d
.

o th e r s ig n s o f l a bo u r, th e bu il ding se em ed to rise n a tu ral l y o ut

of th e eart h l ike an u n substan tial m is t .

7 1 3 pil a sters
. pill ars proj ectin g as far as a h alf or a
are 8 u are
th ird o f th e ir n at ural re ad t h from th e w all a a in st wh ich th e y
g
a re bu il t . Ro u n d is a n adverb .

7 14 Doric pill ar s
. . Ju st w as
as th e Doric mo od (se e 1 55 0)
.

th e s eve re st o f th e Gre ek h arm o nies, s o Doric archite cture w as

th e s ev e rest sty l e of Gre ek a rch itecture Doric pil l ars are dis .

ti ng u ish ed fro m Ionian , C orin th ian , an d o th er pill ars by th e

fa ct th at th ey h ave n o bases an d by th e absen ce of ornament o n
th e capital .

7 15 , 7 16
Ar chi trave, corni ce, frieze
. T h e architra v e is im .

y v p
m ediatel abo e th e ca ital s of th e illars , an d is itself s ur p
m ou n te d by th e frieze A bo e the frieze ro ects th e corn ice
. v p j .
 PA R ADIS E L O ST .

728 . A cresset was an an cien t kind o f l amp , co nsisting of a n

ope n vesse l in w hich was burn t a rope stee p ed in so me co m
bu stibl e flu id .

730 Th e h ast y mul titu de , th e mul tit ude ad mirin en tered in

.

h aste T h e a dj e ctive h asty is use d inste ad o f a n a verb

. T h is .

u se of an a dj e ct ive for an a d verb is m ost co mm on in Eng lis h

poe try, w h en th e adj ective so u se d does not immediately precede
t h e n oun w ith w h ich it ag ree s S ee n ote o n n 302 Ho we ver, . . .

in stances of a dj ectives in distin ctl y adj ectival position s u sed as

adverbs are n o t u n co mmon in G re e k , a n d m ay be fo u n d in
En lis h poetry ; e g , Th e n igh tl y h u nte r liftin g u p h is ey es
‘
. .

ordsw orth s Excursion, m ean s h is

’
in th e h u n te r l ifting n
eye s at n ig h t Ev en in rose w e fi n d T h e p icture s w ere u ng
’
.

f rom has ty na ils u p on th e a re , g h astly w alls ( Wha t Will He Do

Wil k t, viii l ) , w h ich mean s t h at th e pictures w ere h as til y h ung
ils
.

on na

732 th e . archi tect , M a mm on .

73 9 . Ausonian l and , Ita l y .

740 M ul ciber, a surna me o f Vulcan, th e Roman god of fire,

.

wh o w as id en tifi ed w ith th e Gree k He h ae stu s A cco rdin g to .

Gree k leg e nd He h aes tus was th ro wn y Z eus ( Ju pite r, Jove )

from h e ave n M i ton , wh o rep rese nts th e Gree k a n d Roman
.

g o ds as b ei ng rea ll y de v il s ( se e 1 r e
g a rds t h is s to ry as an .

in accu ra te ve rsio n o f w h a t real l y h appe n e d, w h en M am mo n in

co mpan y with th e o th er rebel an g el s w as driven in to h ell .

75 6 Pand emoni um (pas , all, an d da imon, a de mon ) is a w ord

.

v
in en ted by M ilto n , a n d form ed on th e an al og o f Pan th eo n y .

Th e Pan th e o n a t Ro m e was a tem l e con tain in g statu es of a ll th e p

g o ds M
. il ton
’
s Pan de m o n iu m w as t h e c a it al o f h el l bu il t to p
v
re cei e al l th e de vils T h e w ord an de moniu m. h as g ain ed p
cu rren c y
in th e E ng lish l an g uag e , being u sed to e x ress a la ce p p
full of tum ul tu ous n oise , con fusion , an d discord .

75 9 By pl ace
. or ch oice th e worth i est , th ose w h o by th eir
ran k or t h e e l ectio n o f th e o th er ang els w ere decided to be th e
m o st e m inen t .

76 1 . Al l access . S ee 11
. 130 .

76 3 . covered fi el d seem s to
be an in correct tran slation of th e
French cha mp clos, en clo sed fi el d T h e l is ts w e re en close d by .

bou ndaries, but no t cov ere d with a roof or a wn ing .

76 4 W ont , past ten se o f e ith er w on e or w on t, both o f ‘ ‘ ’

.

which are deriv ed from th e A S wuma n , to d w ell or be accu s

’

. .

to med M il ton u ses th e presen t w ons in th e sense of dwel ls

’
.

in vii 45 7 . He o n ly u ses won t as a present te nse twice in h is

.

poetry ( S A 1487 ; Camus . .

g en eral l y prefe rrin
g to e xp re ss
t h e pre se nt me an in g by th e combination o f th e participial adj ectiv e
 NO T ES —
B OO K I .

‘
wo n t ( accu sto me d ) w ith th e prese nt ten se of th e v
su bstanti e
v erb be ( I am w o nt, th ou art w o n t, etc .

766 . mortal ba t tl e to th e death w it h s h arp w ea po ns ,

combat ,
as O ppo se d to a f rien d ly til t w it h bl u n t s pea rs A m ortal co m ba t .

w as cal l ed in ch iva l rou s l ang u ag e a co m ba t ct o utra n ce, an d de

fi an ce t o m o rta l co m bat w as g ive n by st riking w ith th e po in t o f
t h e sp ear th e s h ie ld o f th e pe rso n ch all eng e d S e e Iva nhoe, .

ch a p v iii
. .

career wi th l ance, n ot n ecessarily a m o rtal combat, a s th e

k n ig h ts m ig h t e nco u n ter w ith bl un t s p ears .

76 7 Thi ck swarmed , w as de n sel y crow de d In 776 s warm

’
. .

is p red icate d n o t as h e re of th e place fi lled, but of th e ang el s

w h o fi ll e d th e place .

76 9 Taurus is
. on e of th e sign s of th e Zodia c . Th e su n en ters
T a uru s in A pril .

772 th e smooth ed pl ank

. T h ere is u sual ly in fro n t of a h ive .

a s m oo th l an k , form ing a kin d o f veran da h o n w h ich th e bees

ca n w a lk a o u t B eing o utside th e h ive , th is pl an k bears to th e
.

h ive th e sam e re lation as a su bu rb bears to a city .

774 . expatia te ( L at . T h e w ord is h ere

expa tio r ) w alk
, about .

u se d in th e l ite ra l sen se o f t h e L atin v erb fro m w h ich it is

d eriv e d In . m odern Eng l is h to e xpa tiate m ean s to ta l k at

con fer de l iberate u po n public m a tters

Th eir state affairs , -
.

M il to n fo l l ow s Virg il in spea kin g of bees as if th ey form ed a

w el l org an ize d po l i tical co mm u n ity
-
Co n fer in th is sen se is .

ro pe rl y intra n sitive , bu t M il to n u ses it tran s itiv el y as it s ug g ests

p
t h e tra nsitive v e rb discu s s S ee 1 5 21
’
. . .

777 bu t n ow wh o
. seemed, wh o se e me d on l y a sh ort time ag o .

7 80 S ee 1 5 75
. . .

78 5 arbitres s , spectato r
. A rbiter in En lish means an .

u m pire, bu t in L atin it al so m ea n t a s p ectato r M i to n co n tin uall y .

u se s En l ish w ords in th e sen se o f th e L a t in w ords from w h ich

g
t h e y are de riv ed For o th er in sta n ces o f th i s practice see 1 774
. .

( e x p atia te ), l 797 ( fre qu.en t ) .

nearer to th e Barth , beca u se a ttracted by th e en chan tm ents o f

t h e fairies .

78 6 . Th e ep ith et
pal e course ale is tran sferred from th e
.

m oon to h e r co u rse M il ton w on ( 1 m ore n atu ral ly h ave said

,

th e al e moon w h eel s h er cours e T his fi g u re o f s pee ch , ca ll ed .

Hy lag e or tran sferen ce of e pith ets , is v ery 0 9 111171911 am o ng

L atin and Gree k p oet ,
s an d n o t u nc o m m o n in E n g l i sh h te ra tu re .

790 were at l arg e h ad l p e n ty o f ro om , w ere n o t co n fi n ed f o r

.
,

w ant of s pace .
 PARADIS E LO S T .

79 1 Th oug h with out number still , th ough st ill numberl ess

.
,

th ough th eir n u mbe rs h ad not be e n dim inis h ed l ike th eir size .

793 in th eir own dimen si on s lik e th emsel ves, w ith out

. an y
dimin ution o f th e ir ordina ry size .

795 . M il to n is fon d of apply in g words w

concl ave . ith Ro m an
Ca th ol ic associa tions to t h e dev ils C o nclave and co n sis tory
.

( P.R i.42 )g en
. e rall y m ea n a n ass e mb l y o f cardin al s at R o m e .

797 Frequent
. ful l , nu merou s and occu pied by as m an y
and
a n g el s a s th e y co u l d h ol d W e must su ppo se th e s eats to be
.

l o n be n ch e s , l ik e th o se in th e Hou se of C om m o n s, capable o f
h o l in man y pe rson s Freq u ent in ord ina ry En gl ish is pre
’
.

dicate of e ven ts t h at occu r ofte n Th e L atin f requens a lso

.

meant n um e rous , an d th is is th e s ense in w h ich M ilto n u se s its

En gl ish de rivative h ere S e e 1 785
. . .

798 After
. summons road , aft e r th e readin g of th e su m mo n s
(see I
. M il t on is h e re im ita tin g , as cl o s el y as h e can , th e
cou rse of p roce du re fo l lo w e d in th e En g l ish Parlia m e n t
‘
A t th e .

com men ce men t o f e ach se s s io n th e sov ere i de l ivers a speech ,

e ith er in p e rso n o r by com m iss ion ers , dec aring th e ca u se s fo r
w hich t h ey are sum mon e d ; an d , u n til th is is don e , n e ith e r
h o use can pro cee d w ith any bu sin ess T his spee ch is ca ll e d
’
.

th e Kin g s o r Quee n s S pe ech It is represen te d in Pan demo n iu m

’ ’
.

p artly by th e rea din g of th e su m m on s m e ntion ed in th is lin e ,

a rtl y by S atan s o p en in
’
h i t h b i i f th con d
p g p s e e c n e e nn n
g o e s e
ook . M il ton cou ld n o t exactl y foll o w t h e n g l ish pa rl ia mentary
procedure , as h e h ad to m ake S ata n take a pro min en t part in
t h e deba te , wh il e in th e En g l is h Parliam e nt th e so vereig n ca n
o n ly de liver o n e sp ee ch de cl a rin g wh y Pa rl iam e n t h as be e n s u m
m on e d T h e sum m on s in l 75 7 corres po n ds t o th e w rit s o f s u m
. .

mons o rdering th e el e ctio n of M e m be rs of Parliam en t, wh ich

a re sen t to t h e various el e cto ral districts .
 PARA DIS E L OS T .

me h ad been put in its u su al place , it w ould ha ve h ad to be

re pea ted w ith t h e p rin cip al v e rb M il ton is h ere u tilizing a L atin .

pract ice with regard to th e arra ngement of words in a senten ce .

1 8 fi xed l aws of Heaven, th e laws th at a mo ng o th er thing s

.

reg ul a te d th e ra nk of th e v ario us ang e ls S atan w as t h e hig h es t .

in ran k O f th e fall en ang els He h ad been a n arch ang el ( i 243 ,

. .

5 93 , an d Ra ph ael even h in ts th a t h e w as th e fi rst of th e

arch a n g el s ( v al th o u g h th is is n o t dis tin ctl y ass e rt e d
. .

T h u s , a cco rdin to M il ton , S a ta n h ad h el d in Hea v en a position

equ al to th a t o th e fou r rea te s t an g els , M ich ael , U riel , Ra ph a el ,
g
a n d G a briel , if n o t su pe ri or to th e m A t fi rs t it sou n ds strang e .

to h ear th e rebe l S a ta n app ea lin g to th e fi x ed l aw s of Hea ve n .

B ut it m u st be re mem bere d th at t he p re te xt O f h is rebellion

th e de g ra da t io n O f th e a ng el s fro m th e ir a ncient ran k by th e
e xal tat i o n o f th e S o n O f God a t th e ir e xpe nse ( se e v 6 79 an d .

772 777 ) so th a t h e professed to be a con se rva tive re be l

-
.

21 . th is l oss . very or retrieval O f this l oss

. re covered , th e reco .

This is a g ood ins tan ce O f th e pa rticipial idio m Com p are 1 23 4 . . .

A l th o ug h l oss is th e g ra m ma tica l s ubj e ct o f establis h ed it

‘ ’
,

w as n ot th e l oss , bu t th e re trie val of th e l oss , th at h ad es tabl is h ed

S a ta n y
m o re fi rml o n h is th ron e .

26 . wh o h ere, e tc?
. T his is a rh etorica l qu es tion expecting a
v
n eg at i e an s w er, an d th e refore e quival ent to a n e a tive sen ten ce
g .

27 . W il l env y wh om , w ill en v y(h im ) wh o m Se e 1 249 . . .

28 . th e Th un derer, a co mmo n Ho meric titl e o f Z eus , t h e Gree k

kin g Of Hea ven is h ere ,
a pplied to Go d . S e e 1 86 8 . .

30 th en is n ot te mporal h ere , but

. a l ogical particle intro d ucing
th e n e xt point in th e a rg u men t .

33 . wh ose porti on i s so small , etc T his sen te nce may be

none .

tak en in v ariou s w ay s If w e ta k e th at as a co nsecutive pa r

.

ticl e , w e m u st s u ppose an el lipse of h e th e su bj ect o f co ve t

in th e co n se cu ti ve cl au se T h e sen ten ce w oul d th en be ex pressed
.

in fu l l as fo l lows , No n e , w h o se po rtio n is so sm al l O f pres en t

‘

pain th a t ( h e ) w il l w ith ambitiou s m ind covet m o re , ( will claim

in Hell w h ich is e qu ival e n t to say in g , T h ere is n o
o n e in He l l w h os e po rtio n is s o sm al l of p re se n t a i n th at h e w il l
p
co ve t m o re, a n d t h ere fore th ere is no on e h ere w h o will claim
in He ll pre cede n ce e xposing h im to m ore pain T h e ch ief obj e c
’
.

tion to t h is re n derin g of th e p assag e is th e h arsh e llips e O f t h e

su bj e ct o f t h e co n secutiv e se n te n ce , w hich it wo u ld be h ard to
parallel in M il ton s po etry , th ou g h an instan ce is foun d in S h ake
’

s pea re , M i tch A d o A bo ut N oth ing iv 1 156 . .

W h o lo ved h er so th at s peak ing of h er fouln ess

W ash e d it w ith te a rs .
’

S ee A bbo tt s S ha kesp ea ria n Gra mma r,

’
399 .
 NOTES —
BOO K II .

A n ot h er w ay O f tak ing t h e passag e is to t reat th at as a rel a

t ive , a n d un d ers tan d th e co nsecu tive cl au se T h en th e sen te n ce .

e x p ress ed in fu ll w o u l d be , T h ere is n on e in He l l w h ose po rt io n

o f p ain is so sm all ( th at h e wil l co ve t m ore ) , t ha t w il l co v e t m o re
ere is n o n e in He l l th a t o n a cco un t o f th e s ma l l
’ ‘
p a in, T h
n e s s o f h is presen t pai n will co vet more pa in , be ca u se t h e y a ll
’

a l re ady su ffe r m u ch a in .

It is n ot improbab e th a t M ilto n bl en de d th ese t wo con stru c

t ions eith e r in ten tiona lly o r u n con sciousl y S e e 1 413 . . .

37 .M ore th an can be in Heaven, w h e re e ach of u s would fac

t iou sly co n ten d fo r th e h a ppin ess co nferre d by hig h ran k .

40 by wha t best way is

. a co mbin ation o f by wh at w ay an d
w h a t is th e best way
’
.

47 . th an be l ess , e tc , did n ot care to e xist, i e , w as wi l

rath er . . .

l ing to be a nnih il ated , ra t h e r th an-e xi st in a o sition of in fe rio rit p y .

v
H a in g cea sed to care fo r, i a , to fea r a nn ih il atio n , h e h ad n o
. .

t h in g l e ft to fea r, an d so be ca me u tterl fea rl ess y .

48 Gat ed not to be at all

. T h e su b ect . j ‘
he is u n derstoo d ,
b ein g su gg e ste d by h is t rust was , w h ich is e q uival en t in m ea n
’

in g to h e trus ted
’
.

with th at care l ost , sim ul tan eou sl y w ith th e l oss of th at care .

51 . sentence, vote . T he com mo n est meanin g of th e L atin

s en tentia. is a vo te or opin ion .

5 2 th em l et th ose, e tc , l et th ose wh o n e ed wil es con trive

. .

t h em , or l et ( peopl e ) co n triv e th em w h e n th e y n ee d th em , n ot
n ow . M ol o ch bl u rts ou t in his veh em e nce a sen ten ce , th e syn ta x
o f w h ich is irreg ul ar It is e vide nt th at th e disj u n ctive O r is
.
‘

inten d ed t o ma ke a co n tras t betw een wh o n ee d an d wh en

t h e y n e ed, a n d so M ol o ch sa y s th at th e u se o f w il es must be
’

restricte d e ith er t o t h ose w h o can n ot do with ou t t h em , o r to

o ccas ion s w h en th ey are abso lu tel y n e ces sa ry T h is be ing th e .

cas e , t h e sen se h ardly all ow s u s t o u n derstan d th e w o rds

‘
l et
t h o se w h o n ee d w il e s as p art o f th e se con d al tern ative in th e
disj u n ctive se n te n ce , fo r, if w e did so , t h e t wo con traste d co n
th be j oin ed tog e th e r in th e seco nd m ember
”
ditio ns w ou l d .

W e m ust th erefo e un derstan d in stead, some wide r term ln ,

cl u din g rat ion al be in gs g en erall y , al th oug h t h e ordin ary rul es

‘

o f sy n tax w ou l d m ak e t h e se co n d membe r of th e disj u n ctive

s en ten ce be or ( l et th ose w h o n eed con trive th em ) w h en th e y
n eed
’
.

55 . wait is a transitive verb , as in i 6 04 ;

. n . 223 .

6 1 Armed with Hell -fl ames and fury

. Fo r o th er instan ces of .

abstract an d co n crete n oun s g o ve rn ed by th e sam e w o rd see 1 .

6 7, and x 345 . .
 PA RADIS E L O ST .

03 . our tortures , th e instrumen ts of ou r tortu re, n am el y, th e

flames and su l ph u r of Hell .

6 7 Bl ack fire
. T h e e pith et bl ack is
. probably ap lied to fi re
b h ypal la e on accou nt of the aecom a n y in g sm o e , m u ch as

il
F w ard II s son wa s cal led th e Black
’
rince o n a ccou n t of t h e
colou r of h is a rm our .

69 . Th e fi re o f Hell w as not like o rdin ary fi re

strang e fi re .
.

W e are tol d in i 63 th at it ga v e no l ig h t
. T h e col ou r of th e .

flames was, accordin to i 182 livid or bl ue black , w hich may

h
.
,

p erh aps sugg est an ot er explanation o f black in l 6 7 . .

M ixed with , env e lo ped in .

But perh ap s, o r but al one (e u ivalent to the L atin a t

’
70 .

enim o r at ) , i n trodu ces an an ticipate d 0 j ection which t h e speak ei

inten ds to ans we r .

73 . h old th is opinion
such , such as T his class of pe rsons is .

s ugg ested, th ou g h n ot a ctua ll y m en tion ed, in t h e pre vi ous sen

ten ce .

drench , draugh t In modern Eng l ish drench is a verb mean

.

ing to soa k .

74 forg etful ,
. causing forg etful ness . Cf . oblivious po ol , i 266
. .

75 proper motion
. Pro pe r h er e mea n s n atu ral , an d
. is
a ppose d to a dv erse t wo lin es bel ow M oloch means th at, as it .

is n atural for materia l bo dies to fall do wnw ards, so it is th e

n at ure of sp iritu al su bstan ce s to rise u p wa rd s In su pport o f .

wh at h e say s , M ol och a ppeal s in th e n e xt s enten ce to th e ex eri

en ce O f th e fal l en an g el s , w h o , h e say s , h ad h ad to strug g l e ard
in o rder to sin k so l o w , w h ereas a mate ria l body woul d h a ve sunk
with out e ffort by its m ere weig h t .

Here an oth er
‘

82 Sh oul d we ag ai n provok e, etc

. ble .

o bj ection is in trod u ce d for co n s ideration , al th o u h in t

°

s case
g
n o pa rt icl e is u sed , as in l 70, to sh o w th at it is an O bj ection
. .

T h is obj ection is pa rtia ll y ans we red by the co n dition al clau se ,

wh ich is cunn in ly in s e rted in th e sta te men t o f th e Op n en t s
’

a rg um ent in o r er to w eak en it s fo rce by su es tin a o u bt as

gg
to th e poss ibility o f th e re be ing an y w o rse w a y th e ne xt .

sent en ce M ol o ch foll o ws up this idea by g iving h is h ea re rs reaso n

to believe th a t th ere can be n othin g w orse th an what th ey are
actu ally suffering .

83 . Our h e wh o is stro ng er th an u s
strong er, Th e possessive .

is u se d as s trong er is equ ival en t to so me such n oun as mas ‘

con qu eror In ordinary En gl ish we can speak of ou r

’
ter, ’
.

sup eriors,
’
our batte rs

8 4 if th ere be in Hell , etc

. T h e Old edition s h av e a s emicol on
.

be fo re if, m ak ing th e condition al cl ause th at follows n ot p art of

‘ ’

M olo ch s sta tem ent of th e oppo n ent s arg umen t, but his own reply
’ ’
 PA RADIS E L OS T .

ne w state o f misery cou ld pos y be worse th an what th ey n o w

sibl
e n d u re . Belial
in h is s h re plies tha t e ve n mise ry is prefe r
a ble to ann ih ilation , an th at th eir prese nt misery is ca pable O f
ag gravation .

104 fatal ,
. u ph el d by fate . S ee i 133
. .

105 T h e s pe ech e nds fo rcibl y w ith th e strong an d ch aracter

.

istic w ord re veng e , p ron o un ce d, no doubt , in a lou d vo ice, and

’

e m ph asize d w ith a terribl e fro wn M il ton ma kes a fi n e cont ras t .

be tw ee n th e un disgu ise d fe rocity wi th w hich M oloch ends h is

spe ech , an d th e g race ful u p risin g O f the n ex t spea er k .

109 act , po sture , attitude, o r g esture, as in ix 668

. T h is . .

me aning is g e neral ly e xpress e d by th e rh eto rica l term action

S uit t h e actio n to th e w o rd, th e wo rd to th e actio n Ha mlet —

iii . but is stil l retaine d by th e wo rd act in s uch p h rases as

in a ct to stri e , w hich means , in th e pos tu re o r a t titu de o f a
k ‘
’
.

crao n abo u t to strik e C f al so th e fo l lo wing co up l et fro m

’
. .

o p e s T emple of Fa me, wh ich seems to be m odell ed on M il to n s

’ ’

descrip tion o f Be l ial

G ath erin g h is fl o wing robe , h e se em ed to stan d
In act to spe ak , an d g race fu l stret ch ed his h an d
’
.

h uman e, re fi n ed . Hu man e is still u sed in this

’
se n s e wh en
we s p ea k of th e st u d y of h u m an e l ite rat ure .

1 1 3 h i s t ong ue Dropt manna , v ery sw eet, pe rsu asive w o rds

.

fe ll fro m h is ton g u e Ho mer describes N es t or e v oice as flo win g

.
’

s we e ter th an h o n e y M ilton prefers to co m pare B el ial s wo rds

’ ’
.

to m an na , t h e h eav enl y foo d g ive n to th e w ande ring Israelites ,

wh ich ta sted l ike wafers m ade w ith h o n ey ( E x xv i
‘
. .

1 13 . mak e
th e worse appear Th e better reason , del u de h is
p
h earers in to acce ting u nsoun d arg uments T h e an cient so h is ts . p
in G re ece w ere ch arg e d by th eir en emies with te ach ing th e ir
p p
u ils h ow to do th is

1 15 . for, etc .
, supports th e assertion ma de in l “2 . .

h is th oug h ts were l ow l ike th o se of M a mmon

, .
( S ee i .

6 79
1 23 . success , res ult, as in l 9 . .
j .

124 Be lial, in accordance with h is ch aracte r, sh ow s a co n

.

ci li a to ry s i rit , a nd p ays a racefu l co mplimen t to t h e s ea er k

.

p g p
wh o m h e 18 con trove rting A t th e sa me time h e s il fully use s
. k
th e comph ment in su pport of his arg um ent
.

in fact of arms, in warlik e pro wess .

127 . scope, en d so u h t
g .

129 . First , wh at reveng e In th e fi rst place , we must ask ,

wh at rev eng e we are l ik el y to obtain .
 NOTES —
BOO K II .

1 30 all access, e er v y passa l ead ing to heav en A ccess h as ‘

g
. e .

’
the sa m e m ean in g in i 76 1, . ll acces s was th rong ed .

13 1 . th e bord ering Deep, C h aos .

1 32 obscure wing
. T h e epith et . Obscu re is tran sferred by
h ypal lag e fro m th e dar realm O f k nig h t to th e w ing s of th e
a n g el s w h o e xp l o re it .

134 S cornin g s urprise, ta in g su ch

. k precautions th at th ey are
j u st ifi e d in despising any attem pts at surp rise as fore doomed to -

1 34 142 It sh oul d be n oticed h o w cl osel y Bel ial s repl y foll o w s

’
-
.

t h e a rg uments of t h e precedin spe ech L in e s 1 34 142, 145 - 15 1 , .

-

1 5 9 185 res p ectiv el y answ er 1

-
60 70, 97 -98 , 85 -93
-
Th e o n l y .

im po rta n t p art of M o l och s sp ee ch w h ich remain s unansw ered

’

i s t h e argu m en t to sh ow th at th e fal l e n an g e ls cou l d easil y rise

u p w ards ( see 11 70 B ut Be lial is n ot bo u n d to an s w er th is,
.

a s h e s h o ws th at e ve n t h oug h th e y ro se to h ea v en th e y cou l d n o t
s urp rise its im preg n abl e to wers , an d w o uld be ine vita bl y defea ted .

‘
Hell sh oul d rise, ( if ) al l h el l sh ou l d rise If is
’
‘

1 35 . all .

co u l d w e brea k , eq uival ent to

‘
u n d erstoo d fro m
’
if we co ul d
b rea k , in th e previous lin e
’
.

1 39 . S ee 11 27 5 , 430 (n o tes )
eth ereal , o f a e th er M o uld h ere
. . .
‘ ’

m ea n s substan ce , in which se nse it must be dis ting uish ed fro m

m o ul d as used in i 706, a word with a differe nt meaning a nd
.

d eriva tion .

14 1 B ar mis chi ef , an y h arm it mig h t su ffe r

. .
‘
M o ul d is
t re a ted as feminin e , because its L atin e uival en t q substa ntia is
f e m in in e .

142 Th us
. repul sed , w e being th u s re pulsed , i . s .
, if w e are th u s
r e p u l sed .

our fi nal h ope Is fi at despair T h e same . ox y moron or con

t ra d iction in term s is foun d in S h a espeare , k Henry VI P a r t . 3 .

ii 3
. .

O ur h ap is loss, h ope but sad desp a ir

’
ou r .

ol och s o inion is p urposely put in th is form ,

’
M so as to sho w its
parad oxi ch ara cter.

147 th is intell ectual being

. M il to n h ere an d in 11 55 7-56 9 . .

a t tributes in tell ectu al taste s to th e fa ll en an g e ls From th e .

con sideration o f th e referen ces ma de by M il to n to h il osO ph y

a n d s cien ce in his w ritin s, it is e iden t th a t h e h a a stro n g v
n a tu ral l i in
g fo r th e st k
u O f abstru se u est io n s In y
hi s y o u th q .

h e seems to h a v e h ad n o misgi ing s as to th e ro riet of v p p y

indulging in such stu dies T h us in Comets, written wh en h e
.
 PARA DIS E LOST .

w as twenty fi ve years ol d, we h ave a fi ne Platonic pas sag e fol

-

lo wed by a bu rst of un q ual ifi ed enth usiasm fo r philoso p hy

Ho w ch armin g is divin e ph ilosoph y
N ot harsh , a nd cra bbe d , as dull foo ls su ppose ,
But musical as is A p ol l o s lu te ,
’

A n d a perpe tual feast of n ectared sweets ,

W h ere no cru de surfe it reig ns
’
.

B ut as th e poet advan ced to O l d age , h is bl in dness an d o th er

m is fort un es ma de h im m ore austere, a n d th e Pu ritanical aversion
t o all secu la r cul ture g a ined g rea ter in fl uen ce o ver h is m in d, so
th at h e reg arde d ph il oso ph y as a del usive guide , dis tracting th e
mind O f m a n fro m divin e t ruth In this spi rit , afte r mak in g t h e
.

fall en a ng el s dis cu ss t h e dee pest q u estio n s o f ph il osoph y in 11 .

5 5 7 5 64 o f th is bo ok , h e co nde m ns th e m etap h y sica l k n o w le dg e

-

th e y displ a y as v a in w isdo m al l a n d false p h il os o ph y ,

”
an d in
t h e e ig h th boo k R apha el warns A da m ag ainst tro u bl i ng h imse l f
abou t q u estio n s t h a t do n o t con cern h im T h e pa ssag e t h a t .

t h rows mo st l ig h t on M ilton s attit u de to wards p hil oso ph y in h is

’

la te r y ears is in th e th ird bo ok of P a ra d ise Reg a ined , w h e re

S a tan s el aborate pa n egy ric o f G re e k ph il o so ph y a nd l iterature is
’

a n s wered b Ch ris t T h e e xt rem e bea u ty an d po w e r o f th e

.

ric s o ws cl e arl y th at M il ton s na tu ral inclin atio n w a s to

’
a ne
e a gv oted s t uden t o f p hil o s o ph y w h ile f rom th e fact th at h e
co n de mn s ph il o so p h y o ut o f t h e m o u th o f C h rist , it is e vide n t
th at, in s p it e o f h is ke e n ap p re cia tio n O f th e fas cin ating nature
O f th e stu dy , h e th o ug h t it in imical to t h e h ig h er inte rests o f
rel ig io n S ee al so S a mson A g onistes , 302 305
.
-
.

148 . Cf . viii
188
. S A 302 T h ou g h ts a re sa id to wan de r
. . .

t h ro u h spa e a nd time , becau se it is possibl e to th in k of th e

c

mo st is tan t star o r e ven ts long past .

1 5 0 uncreat ed Nig h t , th e da rk n ess th at

. exis ted from e te rnit y ,

be fore t h e creat io n o f t h e world .

15 2 L et this be g ood , s upposing for th e

. sa ke of arg umen t
th at ann ihila tion wo ul d be a ble ss ing
'
.

15 5 . W ill B e, e tc .
, He w ill n ot . S e e 1 85
. .

156 Belik e ,
. robabl p y
T h e l ine is ironica l, an d sug gests t wo
.

su pp o sitio n s th at cann o t fo r a m omen t be a cce ted as ro bable p p .

impoten ce, w a nt of restrain t , ung o ern abl e v passion . T h is is

o n e o f th e mea n in s of th e L a t im otentia
g p . .

15 9 . endl ess , ete rn all y . Th e j

ad ecti e v is u s ed as an ad erb v .

16 4 . sitting , consul ting , (being ) in anu s, verbal n ou ns in

apposition to th is .

170 W h at if , w h at ( w ould be th e
. result ) if i , . s. , w o u ld n ot ou r
condi t ion be worse if ?
 PA RADIS E L O ST .

212 . not ofi ending , if we do n ot o ff en d.

21 3 W ith wh at is puni sh ed , with th at pu nis h men t w h ich is

.

a lread , inflicte d Th e passive verb h ere h as a cognate s ubj ect

d
.

ins tea o f a su bj ect de no tin g t h e person punis h e d A l th o ug h w e .

s e ak o f fi g hting a fi g h t , dy in g a dea th , etc , it is n o t ordin ary

p
.

L n l ish to spea k of pu nis h ing a pu n ish men t T herefo re M ilton

f
.

is ( ev ia ting from co mmon u sag e w h e n h e spea k s of u n is h men t

bein un is h ed in th e sen se o f pu n is h m ent bein g in icte d As .

e is imitat th e practice of classical w rite rs , w h o u se

'

u sua
mu ch m ore frequen t y than En g lish w riters th e accusativ e of a
n o tio n cog nate to th e v e rb T h e stu de n t wh o knows L at in may
.

co m pa re A ene id ii 6 90 . .

219 T h e p os ition O f th e adj ective familiar i ndica tes th at it

‘
.

is th e tru e p redicate O f th e sente nce T h e m ea n ing is th at in th e

.

course o f tim e th e fi erce h eat w ill be co m e fam il ia r, a nd th erefo re

pa in l ess , j ust as l o u d so u n ds O ften re p eate d at la st are s carce l y

h eard . M ilton is imitating t h e Gre e practice , accordin g to

k
wh ich , if an adj ective agree in g with a n oun preceded by a n a rticl e
is not placed between th e n oun a n d t h e article, it is th e re by
k n ow n to be n ot an ep ith et but a pre dica te .

220 this da rk ness (will grow ) l ig h t, th is darkn ess will appear

.

l e ss dark L ig h t is probabl y , lik e mild, an adj ective , n o t , a s

’ ’
.

Ke ig h tley th in k s, a no un N o tice th e oxy mo ron ( see 1

. .

Be lia l s h o a g rees w ith th e wel l kn o wn fact th at wh e n w e are

’
-

su dd enl y p u n g ed in to da rk n ess w e ca n see n oth ing , bu t n tl y

pre se
ou r e yes get u sed to it an d w e can discern Obj ects .

W orth wai ting , worth w aiting for, worth a waiting .

W ait is h ere used as a tran sitive verb

’
Worth a n d l ik e
‘
.

an d n ear ( l 609 ) are abou t t h e on l y adj ectiv es in En lish t ha t

.
g
g o v e rn t h e obj ective ca s e .

Though no t a g ood lo t if co n sidered as a h a l ot, y et if

con side red as a bad lo t n ot t h e wo rs t p ossibl e T1 1 88 of
‘
for . 32¥
to e xp ress th e stan dard o r po in t of view according to which an y
thing is e stimated is fo un d in such s entences as h e is w e ll
ed uca ted for a peasan t, ti e if j u dg e d by th e rath er low sta n dard
’
.

u su al l y app lied t o p easan ts , h e ma be co n id d learne d

y s ere .

232 wh en, e tc
. n ev e r C h aos, bein g th e perso n ifi ca tion o f
.

a n arch y an d irreg ul arity , mi h t be e xp ecte d if ch osen a s arbiter

g , ,
to deci de i n fav our o f ch an ce an d ag ain st fate , t hat is, th e e ve r
l asting l w by w h ich th e f uture is p redetermined but of course
a
Chaos W ill n ever be entrusted with so m uch au th ority .

23 4 Th e former, vai n to h ope , th e vanity of th e fo rmer h ope

: .

T h is is th e same con structio n as th a t al ready noticed in l 21, .

except th at h ere we h ave in stead of a participl e an adj ective .

prov es
'

arg ues, . If th e form er h ope ( th e h ope of disen thro n ing

 NOT ES BOO K — II .

Go d ) is va in , it n ecessaril y follows th a t th e l atter h ope ( th e h o pe

of reg ain in g th eir rig h ts ) is equ al l y va in .

239 with wh at eyes

. M a mm o n m eans th at th e th ough t o f th e
.

h u m ili ation th at w ou ld be ex pre ssed in th eir co un te nance if th e y

acce pt e d su ch a deg rading sition is al o n e en ou g h to p re ve n t
t h em from a ccepting it e l an g u ag e u sed is l ik e t hat O f t h e
.

co mm o n idiom , Ho w coul d I h av e th e face to mak e su ch an

a u da ciou s p ro po sal ? i e , sh ame w oul d p revent me from mak ing
’
. .

it ; but is m o re cl osely modell e d o n tw o or three passag e s in

G ree k trag edy , in w h ich S o p h o cl es spe ak s of th e ey es alon e ,
in ste ad of t h e wh ol e co un ten a n ce , as revea l ing sh a me an d oth er
f e e ling s Se e Aj ax 46 2 ; 0 T 1 37 1
. . . .

241 It is n ot eas y to det ermin e w h eth er cel ebrate h ere

.

m ean s g lorify , or cro wd rou n d, wh ich is th e original mean ing

’ ’

O f th e L atin celebro Eith e r mean in g su its t h e context

. .

242 warbl ed
. T h is v erb, g en eral l y applie d to th e sing in g o f
.

s m all bird s , is h ere u sed co n tem pt uo u s l of th e ang elic ch o irs

l
.

A good ang el or a pious man would h ard y h ave spo k en of warb

l in g h ym n s .

243 . Forced, n ot sung s o ntan eo usl p y .

B al l el uiah s ( Hebr . praise Jeh ovah ) , h y m ns of praise .

co min
‘
244 sovran a fter th e in transitive verb sits is in
.

g
p
a p osition to th e su bj ect he .
’

245 Bentl ey wish ed to mak e th is l in e easier by reading

.

A mbrosial odo u rs from am brosial flo wers

’
.

However we m ust make sense out o f th e line as it stan ds T odd .

remark s th a t by o do u rs h ere M il ton m ean s th e smell s of

a n d sw eet s icy sh rubs as distin ct from th e scen t o f flo we rs
’
.
,

T h u s God s a tar brea th es or em its two distin ct kin ds o f frag rance

’
.

Breath es flowers mea ns e mits th e frag rance o f flowers th e

’
,

fl o wer be in g iden tifi ed with its sce nt , th e ca use w ith th e effe ct,
as p robabl y is th e case in viii 5 1 7, wh ere th e same oppos ition is .

d ra wn between th e fragrance of fl o wers an d th e odours from th e

s picy sh rub
’
.

A n o th er w ay to interpret th e lin e is to take flowers in its

o rdin a ry sense an d u nderstan d from breath e s a n ew verb, e g , . .

displ ay s to g o vern fl ow ers

’
Fo r o th er in stances of zeu gm a .

s e e i 3 93 , 441
. ii 378 . .

249 T o wh om, to h im wh om
. T h e ante cedent is u n derstood . .

Im p ossible , obta in d tabl e

’
an d w ith
’
un acce ag ree
T h e st ate of v assal age ot poss i l y be o btain ed by
’
sta te .

force , a nd if obtain ed by permissio n woul d not be agreeabl e .

253 M m our own Live t o oursel ves ,

depen diri on o ur o w n
p
.

resources live th e life th at pl e ases u s, in st ead o f l ving a l ife of

d epen den ce spen t in pay ing tribu tes o f g l o ry to God .

 PA RA DIS E L OS T .

258 . of, from M il ton us es th is proposition

. ag ain to press
ex
ch an g e o f state in ix 7 12 .

I of brute h um an f h uman , g ods

’
y e , o .

264 He mad e dark ness his secret place , h is avilion ro un d

.

p
abo ut h im da rk wate rs an d th ick cl ou ds of t h e sk y ( Ps xv iii . .

S ee als o Ps xcvii 2, a nd 1 King s v iii 12

. . . .

265 His g l ory un obscured , with out His g lo ry being impaired

.

by th e surrounding darkn ess .

272 from wh ence

. From . is redu ndant , as wh ence by
its elf means fro m w h ere
‘ ’
.

275 T h e fi ve ele ments, according to G reek phy sics , are ea rth ,

.

wa te r, air, fi re , a nd ae th er L iv ing be ing s a re h appiest in th e ir

.

own el em ents (v ii 16 ; viii . fi sh in th e w ate r, birds in th e

.

air, beas ts on th e ea rth From t his fact, w h en a

. rso n su ffe rs
fro m bein g in inappm priate su rro un din gs h e is sai to be o u t o f
h is eleme n t, o r com are d to a fi sh o ut of wa te r A eth e r is t h e
p
-
.

el e me nt o f th e ange Fire is t h e e le men t o f no l ivin g be in g s ,

a lth ou h th e a ncien ts s upp ose d th at th e salama n de r co u ld liv e in
g
M ammon s idea is th a t th e fall en a ngel s wh o se el emen t u se d
’
it
.
,

t o be th e aether o f th e e mpy rea n , w ill u nder chang e d circu m

sta nces beco me so fa milar with fi re th at it will beco m e t h e ir
el e me nt a nd cau se th e m n o p a in Th e o nl y diffi cu lty rema in in g
.

is th at th e fi v e el e me nts are g en e rally trea te d as co l le ctive s , a n d ,

w h en on e onl y is spok e n Of, th e s ing ula r n u m ber is us ed On th is .

accou nt Kei h tl ey su g gests t h at M ilt on may h av e dictated n o t

e l ements ut
‘
e lement
’
Ho we ver, th e a l teratio n is n o t
.

n ecessar , as fi re is th e l east co n tin u ous o f t h e el eme nts , an d m ay

y
be loo k ed u pon distributivel y as being co mposed o f m an y fi res .

Als o in th is lin e th e pl ural e l ements is more na tu ral ly u s ed

’

th an th e sing ula r, sin ce it is in a pposition to th e plu ra l torm ents

‘ ’
.

M ammon is re peating in diffe ren t l anguag e th e th o u g h t al ready

expressed by Bel ial in 11 217 220 .
-
.

278 . Th e sensibl e of pain, sen sibil ity to pain . Th is is th e sa me

Gree k idiom as is used in l 9 7. .

280 T his noun cl ause mu st be taken with cou nsel s, ‘ ’

.

th e in termedia te w o rds bein g as compl etel y ig n ored as if th e y

w e re in a pa ren th esis T h e mean in is,. A ll th in gs in vite u s
quie tl y to consul t, h o’w , etc S imi arly, in l 9 17, th e words
’
. .

in to th is wild aby ss are n ot to be tak en w ith th e verb th at

immediat el follows , bu t w ith l ook ed in th e n ext l in e
‘
Com
y .

e al so m 7 1 1 , wh ere an obj ect is v n d n ot b th n earer

.
g o er e y e
ut b
y th e m ore rem o te v erb, an d i 6 29 . .

28 1 . Compose our present evil s, make th e best arrangem ents,

so as to reduce our presen t evils .
 PA RA DIS E L OST .

p hrase rod of iron su gests ste rn rul e, while

g a g ol d e n s ce ptre
i m pl ie s ben ig n ant exerc1se of pow e r .

329 . Wh at . S ee 1 94 . .

330 W ar h ath determi ned

. us, th e resul t of th e war h as settl ed
th e qu est ion for us .

336 to our power, to th e grea test

. exten t of our po wer , as mu ch
h os til ity as we can .

3 6 . preposition
wo u l d natu ral ly
The but
g o v ern in this con te xt a n o un m eanin some k in d of pe ace , a nd
n ot h ostil ity , which cann ot po ssibl y reg arded as a s e cies o f
’

p
p ea c e T
. his p a ssag e a n d t h e simil ar use of except
’
1 n 1 6 78 , .

may be st be e x l ained as a bl en ding of two possible con struction s .

Be e lzebub mig t h ave said W hat peace can w e retu rn ,

’
we
cann o t retu rn a ny k ind of peace , o r W h at can w e ret u rn bu t
h ostility , i s , we can retu rn n oth ing but h os tility ; but fro m a
’
. .

con fusion of th oug h t th e tw o co n struction s are bl en ded Th e re .

is roba bl y th e same con fu sion of cons truction s in 1 333 , al th o u h

p .

it 1 s possibl e to su p ose t h e re pos ition bu t to be u sed reg ul ar y

p
in th at assa e, sm ce custo y severe m ay be reg arded as a o n e
p
sided k m d o ace , su ch as w as th e pa w Roma na ( Ro man peace )
im pose d on eu j ect na tions by im pe rial Rom e .

337 . rel uctan ce, h ere an d in

1045 is used in its orig in al L atin
x
.

s en ce of resista nce , wh ereas in mo de rn En l ish it

’
strug glin
’

g g
,

mea n s th e m en tal ee lin g s o f a perso n wh o sh rin k s fro m doin

g

346 . fame, report, as in i 6 5 1

. .

35 3 Th is idea is imitated fro m Homer wh o represen ts Zeus

. as
sh a k ing Oly m pu s by th e e x pressio n o f h is w ill .

3 5 a v erb ordin aril y transitive is h ere us ed

5y
. inh abit, , intrans i
tive .

moul d being practicall y eq uival en t to substance ( see 1 39) th e

.

foll o w ing w ords o r su bstan ce a re redun dan t an d u nn ecessary

’
.

In i 5 5 6 th ere is a similar re du n dan cy as swag e h a s th e sam e

.

m ea n ing as m itigate .

36 7 .
puny possibl e th at th e author by pu n y might mean
. It is
n o m ore th an w eak an d l ittl e bu t y et if w e refle ct h o w f requ en tl y ,

h e u ses w ords in th e ir p ro pe r a nd p rim ar sign ifi ca tio n s it se ems ,

probabl e th at h e migh t in clu de like wise t e sense of th e French

( from w h en ce it is derived ) pm s né born sin ce created l ong after
'

, ,

us .
—
N ewton For in stan ce s O f th is practice attri bu te d to M ilton
.

by Newton see t h e A pp n dix at th e end of th e notes e .

369 As prove is h ere u sed in transitively

.
‘
foe is in apposi ,

tion to God .

3 75 . orig i nal , orig in .

 NOT ES BOOK II .

376 Advise, take coun sel , deliberate

. . In modern En g lish
ad v ise g en eral l y m ea n s iv ’

g e cou n se l .

worth Attempting ‘
A ttem ptin g is a v e rbe ver ned
(
. n o un g o
by worth S ee 1 223 . . .

3 78 B atch i ng
. S ee 1 3 15
v ain e W e h ave h ere an
mpires . . .

to sit, etc , is su bj ect of be better or

’
instan ce o f zen
’
a as .

s ome su ch w o r a s ug g ested by be wo rth attem pting

’
.

379 . fi rst d evised S ee 1 6 50 6 6

5
. .
-
.

3 83 in one root
. A s by th e destruction of th e root of a l ant
. p
t h e w h ol e p
l an t is u tte rl destro ed , so by ruinin g th e fi rst y
e n ts of m an in d S atan k
O e d to ruin th e w h ol e h u man ra ce yp .

3 87 States , equ ival en t to estates, th e com po n ent parts o f a

.

n ation al parl ia me n t In En g l an d th e Pa rliam ent is co m po sed of

.

t h ree estates , th e L ords S p iritu al, th e L o rds T em poral , an d th e

C omm on s .

38 9 h e th us renews
. Th e w ord ren e ws sh ows th at th e .

foll ow ing sp eech be l ong s to Be elze bu b, al th o u g h th e o pen in g

w ords expressin g a ppro val o f th e d ecisio n arriv e d at w oul d be
m ore n atural from th e m o uth o f S a ta n w h o convened t h e syn od .

39 1 T h e fall e n an g e ls are fon d of call ing th em se l ve s g ods (i

. .

1 1 6 , 138 11 1 1 ; v i 15 6 , 366 ) as an assertion of th eir re ten ded

d
. .

e qu ality w ith Jeh o vah ( s ee i T h e an g els are u n oubted ly .

represen ted by th e po e t h im sel f a s partakin g in th e divin e n atu re .

T h u s th e g ran d infe rn al peers are call ed demi g o ds in i 796 , and -

.

in iii 341 Jeh o vah addresses his fa ithfu l an g el s as g o ds

. .

395 wh ence , fro m wh ere

. Th e pla ce refe rred to can n ot be .

t h eir ancie nt seat, th e brig h t con fi n es o f h ea v en , for h ea ven

’

w as to be th e g oal , n ot th e sta rt ing po int of th e con templated ex -

cu rs ion s T h e pl ace whence th e e xcu rsion s w ere t o be m ad e m u st

.

be t h e reg ion n ear, perh aps in v ie w o f, th e confi n es of Heav e n , bu t

s til l ou tside it, w hich is cl earl y in dicate d, th ou g h n ot expressed
by any n ou n in th e prece ding cl au se .

‘
is an ad ve rb, is infi nitive
’
396 If ch an ce
. re e n ter -
after
m ay ; bu t perh aps ch an ce is h e re a ve rb
’
.

Cf an d A bbott s S ha kesp ea ria n

’ ’
3 98 . of , by . . i . 30, 508 ;
Gr a mma r, 1 70 .

399 . orient beam , th e

g ra y s of th e risin s un .

406 pal pabl e obscure, ch ao s w h ich is in vo l ved in darkne ss so

.

t h ick th a t it can be fel t by th e to uch S ee Exodus x 21 Here . . .

t h e a dj e ctive obs cu re a n d in 1 409 th e adj ective abru p t are

‘
.

u s ed as n ou ns S ee 1 438 . . .

407 . un couth . S ee 1 827 . .

a er y h ig h t No te th e distinctio n bet ween aery an d eth ereal

.
‘ ‘ ’

th e adj ectives res pectivel y o f air an d ae th er

’
( 1 3 9, .

410 . Th e h a ppy Isl e th e world su rroun de d by ch ao s an d em pty

,
 PARADIS E LOS T .

island is surroun ded by w ater

e , as an Arrive gov erns an .

o j e ct as if it w ere a trans itive v e rb, because it eas ily su es ts

gg
th e trans iti ve verb rea ch S ee 1 223
’
. . .

413 . Here h e h ad need All circumspecti on

T h is see ms to be a .

conf u sion o f tw o co nstructio ns ( 1 ) He h a d n eed be circums pe ct,

’

i e , wo uld h a ve n eed to be circums pect ( see vi

. . and (2) He .

w il l n eed circu mspectio n , in th e form e r of w hich need is a noun

’

wh il e in th e l a tte r it is a trans itiv e verb In th is lin e n eed , as

’
.

be ing g o verned by h a d ( w ou l d h a ve ) , is treated as a n o un , whil e

’

as g ov ern in g circum spe ction, a n o un in th e obj ectiv e case , it

’

seem s to be u sed as a v erb .

414 we now n o l ess Ch oice, w e n o w n o less ( h ad n eed ) ch o ice ,

.

th at is , it is e qu al l y n ecessa ry for u s to ma e careful se lectio n o f k

a fi t m essen g er .

418 expectation h el d His l ook suspense, th e sta te o f su s

. so
th at h e was in , w h il e w aitin g to se e h ow his prO po sal w ou d be
acce pte d, w as cl ea rl y expres s ed in h is co un te na n ce .

419 T o second , to s u ppo rt h is

. pro posal , tha t some on e sh o ul d

g o to e xpl o re th e n e w w orl d .

In oth er s countenance , e tc , each Of th em saw from

’
421 . ea ch .

h is n e ig h bou rs coun te n ance s th at t h e fel t th e sa me disma as

’
y y
h e fe lt .

429 unmoved , n ot a ffected by th e te rro r t h at affe cte d th e

.

oth e rs Profess or M asso n su ppos es th at un move d m eans n u

.

so l icite d, Of h is o wn accord
’
Dr Bradsh aw takes th e word . .

lite rall y as mea ning wit h ou t rising fro m his sea t, w hich h e su p
’

p o r ts b y p oin tin
g to th e fa ct th a t t h e o th e r s pea k ers stood u t o
s p ea , w h ile Satan ro se (1 466 ) at th e co n cl u sion o f h is spece
k .

430 Empyreal ( Gr p a r, fi re )
. . e th ereal , as aeth er w as s u pposed
to be a su btle fi re .

Th rones S ee 1 1 1 ( n ote ) M il to n of ten appl ies to a l arg e col le c

. . .

tion o f al l kin ds of ang els titl es properly be l o ng ing o nl y to a limited

n u mbe r of t h em In s o do in g h e fo llow s th e p ra ctice o f Ho m er,
.

w h o co mm on ly call s th e co l l e ctiv e Gree k arm y A rg ives, al th ou g h

it in cl u de d co n tin g e n ts fro m m an y o th er G ree k races .

436 Ninefol d T h e n u mber is ta en from Vir il , w h o mak es k

. .
g
t h e riv e r S tyx fl o w n in e tim es ro u n d Hell Be ca u se t he fi re .

mad e a n in e fo l d W 3 11, th e g ates o f h el l w ere al so n ine fo l d, as w e

l earn in l 6 45 , w h ere w e a l so fi n d th at o nl y t h ree o f th e nin e
.

tes were m ad e of ad a man t Fo r a damant se e 1 6 46

g a . . .

th e void It is n o t quite cl ear wh ich of th ese

profoun d .

adj ecti ves is u s e d as a n o u n M o re probabl y profo und is th e

.

no un , as it is certain l y u sed as a n o un in l 98 0 . .

439 . unessential , u n rea l , n o n -existen t . See P . R . iv . 400,

w h e re darkn ess an d n ig h t a re des cribed as being
 PA RA DIS E LOS T .

th at th e bad a ng el s h ave some virtu e , th an w h y God h as allow e d

th e m to re ta in some frag men ts o f virtue T h e po et m en tion s th e
.

fa ct in order t h at ba d men may be prev en ted from boasting by th e

k n o wl e dg e th at th ey a re n ot s uperl o r to t h devils in Hell Fo r .

a si m il ar el l ipse s e e 1 69 8 . .

490 . th e l ouring el e ment , th e air or sk y . S ee 1 275

. .

49 1 S cowl s
. If M il ton h ad w ritten scowl s a sco wl we sh o u l d
.

ha ve h ad as pla in an d sim pl e a n ins tan ce o f th e cog nate accu s ative

as g rin ne d a sm ile ( l I n t.h is pas sa g e th e sn o w a n d sh o wer
be in g reg arde d as th e e xpre ssion of th e sco wl o f h ea v en , j u s t as
th e g ums are reg a rde d as th e tears of th e tre es in iv 248 , th ese .

t wo n ou ns are g o verne d as cog nate accu sa tives by th e o rdin aril y

intransitive ve rb s co wl Co m pare th e co mmon ph ras e lo ok
.
‘

dag ge rs an d t h e cog n a te su bj ect of a pa s s ive verb in 1 21 3 . .

494 bl eating h erd s

. W e sh ou l d rath er e xp ect l owin g h erds
.

o r bl eat in g fl ock s, as bl e a tin g is t h e cry o f s h e e p an d g oats , th e

’

s mall er an im als , coll e ctions of wh ich are call ed fl ock s , w h il e h erds

are co mposed o f l arg e an ima l s l ik e cattl e w hich l o w Th e e x .

pl anation seems to be th at M il ton , al th ou gh h e u ses th e w o rd

h erds , h a s in his min d al l a nim al s l arg e a n d small , an d , bein g
’

u n abl e to enu m e rate all th e ir various cries , m en tio ns o n e of t h e

com mo n es t .T he sam e e xpl an atio n m ay perh aps a pply to t h e
u se o f bl ea tin g in i 489 . .

495 th at hill an d vall ey ring s , so that h ill an d vall ey are fi ll ed

.

with th e so u nd Here th e verb is sin g ula r, alth oug h th e subj e ct

.

con sist s o f two n ouns T h e j ustifi ca tion g iven for a simil ar ir

.

re ularit in i 13 9 i n o t ap pl ica bl e h e re H ill d al

g’ y s
. a n v .

ley being distin ct an d oppo sed to e ach o th er ca n h a rdl y be

reg arded as o ne id e a W e can on l y say th at th is irreg ularity is
.

very com mon in S h a es p eare (see A bbott s S ha kesp ea ria n Gra m

k ’

ma r, 335 , a n d is p artl y due to th e e xisten ce of an ol d th ird

p erson pl ural en ding in s ’
.

497. men onl y

di sag ree . p p
T h is ro o sition sou n ds strang e in a
po em d es cribin g th e wa r betw een t h e g oo d an d th e bad an g e l s .

k y y
S co tt in Ro eb simil a rl con tras ts th e h ostilit of man ag a ins t y
y
ma n w ith th e peace , th at, con trar to th e facts of n ature, h e su p
poses to p v
re ai l am on g an im al s O f th e sam e in d k .

Th e h untin g tribes of a ir an d earth

Resp ect th e breth ren of th eir birth

Even tiger fell , a nd su ll en bear,

T h eir l ik eness an d th eir l in eag e spare ;
M an , on l y , mars k ind n atu re s pl an ,
’

An d turns th e fi erce pu rsu it o n man

’
.

Rokeby iii 1 . .

499 . God procl aiming peace, th oug h God proclaims pea ce .

 NOT ES BOO K — II .

503 wh ich T h e a nteceden t o f w h ich i s t h e fact abou t to be

. .

men tion e d, v i z th e m u l titu de of m an s h ell ish foe s

’
.

5 06 . S e e 5 77
Styg ian . .

5 08 Param oun t
. Th is feu dal term mean s . a s p
u rem e l ord , wh o
is th e feu dal su p erior of oth e r f eu da l l ords .

509 . Al one th e antag oni st , abl e with ou t a ss ista nce to o ppos e

Go d .

5 12 A g l obe . It mu st be rem embered, th a t, as M asson re

.

m ark s , th e an g el s cou l d in th e a ir arrang e th e m selves in fi g u res

of t h ree dim en s io n s T h u s gl obe h ere an d in P R iv 5 8 1
. . . .

mea n s a sph e rical form ation .

fi ery S eraphim A s seraph is deriv ed from a Hebrew root

’
.

m e an ing burn , th e e pit h e t g iv es t h e me a n in g of t he n ou n

‘ ’
.

M il ton O ften e ith e r su g g e sts o r d istin ctl y sta te s th e E ng l is h

e q u iv al en ts o f th e Hebre w a n d G ree k w o rd s h e h as o ccas io n to

in tro du ce in to h is v e rse S ee i 3 9 2 ; ii 5 77 5 8 3 , 6 30 In so . . .
-
.

doin g , h e is proba bl y imitatin g Virgil S ee C on in gton s n o te o n

’
.

E ne id , i 298 . .

5 13 embl azonry , h eral dic de cora tio n o n sh iel ds

. an d sta n da rds ,
such a s th e s era p h ic arms m e n tion e d in i 5 3 9 . .

h orren t m ean s bo th bris tl in g an d dre adful , as h orrid does in

i 5 63
. .

5 14 procl aim al ou d
. my , .

5 17 a l ch ymy a com po site m e ta l l ik e brass su ppo sed to h ave

.
, ,

be en in ven te d by th e a l ch emists T h e w ord h ere m ean s trum .

pets made o f th is m etal C f th e u se of m etal in i 540 . .

’
. .

5 1 8 By h aral d s voice exp l ai n ed

. Expl ain e d a g ree s with
'
.

al ch y m T h e m e an in g o f th e trump et bl a st w as e xpl ain e d by

th e h e ra ( 1, wh o t ol d th e mu l titu d e w h at co n cl u s ion t h e co u n cil
h ad co m e to It w ill be rem embered th at th e co un cil w as se cret
. .

S e e i 795 . .

5 21 T h e ir m in ds be in g by t his intellig e nce

. cal m e d an d ln
sp ire d w ith a certa in a mou n t o f h o p e .

5 28 . subli me, h ig h up . T h is is th e literal m ean in g of th e

L atin su bl imis.
‘
5 29 U p on th e wing g oes w ith in th e air sublim e,
. in s wift
ra ce w ith o n th e l a in
’
S u ch a re ersal of th e o rder of p . v
p v
th o u g h ts re iou sl o bs er e d is ca ll e d ch iasm u s y
T h e dis u n e v . j
v
ti e articl e o r s h o w s th at race is h ere l im ite d to t h e m ean
ing o o t ra ce T h e w o rd ra ce in its widest sense w ou l d in
.

el u de a con test o f sw iftn es s u on th e win

g p .

5 30 th e Ol ympian g ames w e re cel ebrated a t O l ym pia in Elis

. .

T h e Pyt hi an g am e s, h eld n ea r Del ph i, w e re cal l ed Py th ian afte r

th e n am e o f t h e g reat s e rpe n t s l ain by A p o l l o .
 PA RADIS E L OS T .

531 . Part curb , e tc .

, som e ride o n h orseback .

v
“ a o id to uch in g th e g oa l w ith th e w h eel s of
'

sh un th e g oal ,
th e ir ch a riots G ree . Ill
a n d Roman ch a riot ra ces t h e k g o al s
p
w ere o sts, ro un d wh ich th e com e ting cha rio ts h a d to g o T he p .

k
ch a rio te e rs, in o rder to ta e th e s h o rt e st co u rse , sh ow e d th e ir
v
sk ill by dri in g as close to th e g o al s as th e o ss ibl cou ld yp y .

5 32 front ed bri g ad e, brig ades fo rmed with

. a fron t ( see i .

i s form e d in bat tl e array

. . .

5 33 t o warn prou d citie s

. Jose ph us rela tes th at , wh en Jeru
.

s a l e m w as a bo u t to be be sieg ed by T itu s , be fo re su ns e ttin g ,

ch ario ts a n d t ro ops o f s o ld ie rs w e re seen ru nn ing abou t a m o n g
’
th e clo u ds .

5 36 prick , pierce th e h orse s side with spu rs, ride

’
. Th e .

sh a do wy k n i h ts ride in advan ce o f th e m a in bo di es in o rde r t o

g a in re n o w n y e ng agin g in sing l e co m ba t T h e y a re ca lled ae ry .

becau se th ey app e are d in th e air an d seem e d to be mad e o f a ir .

cou ch th eir spears , place

th e ir l an ce s in rest Th e res t w as a .

pr o j e ctio n o n t h e brea s t a rm o u r by w h ich th e l an ce was parti

al l y s u ppo rte d w h e n a k n ig h t ch arg e d h is adve rsary .

5 39. Typh man, g ig an tic . Ty ph mus or Ty ph on (i 199 ) was . a

Gree k g ian t .

5 42 from ( Beh alia , co m in g crown ed w ith con quest fro m

.

( Ech al ia Hercu le s ( A l cide s ) w as k ill ed by th e po iso n ed robe

.

prese nted to h im by h is wife Deian ira W h il e m ad den ed by t h e .

p a in h e th re w in to th e s ea h is a tte n dan t L ich as w h o h a d brou g h t

h im t h e robe Newton obj ects to t h e s imile o n th e g rou n d
.

th at th e imag e o f Al cide s t earin g u p T h e ssa l ia n p in es sin k s be

lo w t h at o f th e an g el s ren ding up both rock s an d h il ls, an d ri d
ing t h e air in a w hirlwin d .

5 50 Wh e n Bru tus was abo ut to co m mit su icide, be quote d

.

tw o l in e s o f Eu ri ides , O u n h a ppy v irtu e , y o u w ere afte r a ll

m ere w o rds, an d p ractised th ee as a real ity : y o u it see ms w ere
‘
e n s l a ve d to force, o r, acco rdin to an o th e r read in
’
to ch an ce
’
.

M il to n is e v ide n tl y t h in k ing 0 th e se tw o l in es 0 h is fa vo u rite

G ree k d ra m a t ic cat, an d, as Be n tl e y rema rk s , comp re h en ds th e
tw o readin g s in is v erse .

5 52 Th eir song was partial , as for in stan ce w h en th ey as cribed

.

to th e mse l ve s V irtu e a n d attribu te d th eir fal l to Fate , Fo rce , an d

C h an ce , ins tea d of to th e ir own criminal a m bition .

5 54 S uspended Hell , k ept th e w h ol e of h el l in a state o f brea th

.

l e ss a tte n tio n M ilton pro babl y h a s in h is m in d t h e e ffe ct o f t h e

.

m u s ic o f O rph eu s, wh ich is re l a te d by V irg il to h ave in te rru p te d

for a tim e th e prog ress o f th e in fe rn al punish m e n ts .

5 55 . more sweet . M il to n th in k s e l o qu en ce s w e e te r th an m u s ic
for t h e re a so n g iven in t h e n e xt line , n a m e l y , be ca us e th e form e r
 PARA DIS E L OST .

meaning burning ( L at tom e , to burn) , wh ich is g enerall y

of . ex
pressed by torrid See i 297 ; ii 904
’
. . . .

583 L eth e is a Greek wo rd mea ning O bl ivio n or forg etfuln ess ,

.

an d is th e n ame g iv en in Gree k my tho lo to a rive r in h e l l , t h e

w a te rs of wh ich made th e dea d fo rg e t tha t h ad ha pe n ed in
th eir lives M il ton seem s a t fi rs t to h ave inte nded t e l a k e of
.

fi re to corres po nd to th e G re e k L eth e ( see i 26 6 ii 74) bu t be . . .

h ere in troduces th e G re ek riv er by na m e , an d de scribe s it a s

flow ing a t a distance fro m th e l ak e Th us, in t he h ell o f P a rad ise .

L ost, w e h av e bo th a la ke of forg etful n ess and a river of forg et

fuln ess .

between M ou n t Casius

Dio doru s S iculus , many th ose w h o

of
pecu liarity of th e pl ace lo st t h eir w ay an d

mies
’
w h ol e ar .

5 95 frore,
. fo rm o f th e participle frozen
an old V irg il s pea k s ‘
.

o f e xtreme co l d bu rn in g lik e fi re , a nd Newt on q u ote s fro m

E cclus xlii , wh en th e cold n o rth win d bl o weth , it devo u re th
.
‘
.

th e m oun tains , an d bu rn eth th e w ilde rn ess , and cons um e t h th e

It is al so a Hin du sta ni idio m to speak o f fro s t
’
rass as fi re .

u rnin g Th e resembl an ce be tw een th e effects o f g reat co ld an d

.

rea t h eat is a g ood exam pl e of th e p roverb th at extremes meet

g .

596 h arpy -footed , with crook ed ta l ons such as w e re attribu te d

.

in G reek myt h ol ogy to th e raven ous wing ed mo nste rs call ed

h arpies .

5 97 At certain revol utions, a t reg ula rl y recurring times ; see

.

603 . After e n du ring fo r a fi xed pe rio d t h e pun ish m en t o f fi re,

t h e y w oul d be ta k e n to bea r th e e xtre mes of col d , a n d aga in ,
afte r a n oth er fi xed period , woul d be ta k en back to t h e fi re , and
so o n for ev er .

600 st arve expres ses th e p ainfu l e ffects eith er o f e xtreme col d

.

or o f extrem e h un g er Here it is used in th e form er s en se , as

.

a l so in iv 76 9 Da nte a n d o th e r w rite rs o f th e m iddl e ag es h ad

. .

a l rea d re presen te d th e d a mn e d a s p un ish e d by e xtre me s o f co l d ,

a s w el as e xtre mes o f h e at M il to n n o doubt h as in h is m ind
.

th e w ell kn ow n l in e s of S h ak espe are in M easur e f or M easure,

wh ere Cl au dio co n template s th e po ssibility of th e spirit a fter
death bein g con demn ed
T o bath e in fi ery floo ds, or to reside
In th rill in g regio ns o f thick ribbe d ice ’
.

601 eth ereal warmth

. . A cco rdin g to A ris totle , an im a ls are
com po se d o f t h e f n a ry el emen ts ( ea rt h
, a ir, fi re , a n d
wa te r), an d o f th e hig h est e lem ent, th e aeth er w h ich,
 NOTES BOOK —
II .

h e says, besides bein g th e su bstan ce o f minds an d of th e stars, is

th e ca u se of an i mal h e at .

604 . soun d, a n arrow piece of w ater, pe rh aps con n ecte d w ith

th e v erb so un d , m e an in g meas ure th e d epth of w ate r w ith a
’

’
l e ad an d lin e .

605 th eir sorrow t o aug ment

. In iii 5 25 al so w e h av e a n
. .

instan ce o f th e ing e n io u s ag gra vatio n o f pa in by t h e cl o se pro

spect o f bliss fu l es ca p e , w h ich s ee ms a l m o st w ith in rea ch S u ch .

refi n em ent o f to rtu re is m o re in a ccordan ce w ith t h e stern n ess

of t h e m iddl e ag e s th an w ith t h e se n tim e n t s o f ou r tim e .

6 06 . as th ey pas s, wh il e cro ssin g th e v

ri e r in th e ferry bo at .

609 and so near th e brin k

. B rin k is h e re u s ed in a ra th er
.

pecu liar sen se , n o t o f th e edg e of th e w ater wh ere it touch e s th e

lan d , but o f th e o u te rmos t p a rt o f t h e w a ter n ea rest to on e in a
boa t l oo king do w n from abo v e, th at is , t h e su rface of th e w ate r .

T h e elli pt ical sen te n ce an d so n ea r th e brin k p la ce s before

our i mag in a tio n th e cl o se pro x im ity o f th e d a mn e d t o t h e w a te r
of fo rg e tfu l n e ss in o rd e r to e m h as ize t h e bit te rn ess of th eir dis
p
a ppo in tm e n t a n d e x cite ou r pi ty S im ilarl y w h e n the de a th o f
.

an y p ro m ising y ou n g pe rso n is dis cu ss e d , s om e on e is n o u n l ik el y

t
to rem a rk A n d s o young too , th e m ea nin g of w h ich rem ark , i f
‘ ’

e res eed a t fu l l , w o u l d be , A n d h e w a s so yo un g t h at o ur p ity

an as ton is h m en t ca n n o t bu t be in crease d by th e th o u h t o f h is
g
youth C om pare al so Le ar s sa d reflection on th e supposed un
’
.
’

dutifuln ess o f h is d aug h te r

So yo un g an d so u nte n der,
’

which admits of th e sam e in terp re ta tio n , th o u g h it is u su a ll y

trea ted as a u e stio n addre sse d to Co rde l ia .

Dr Brad s aw su pposes brin k to be n om inative absol u te ,

.

but it seems sim pl er to m a k e it an o bj ective case g ov ern ed by

n ear .

6 1 1 T h e Go rg on M edusa, according to Greek m yth o l og y , w as

.

a w om an w h o h ad serp en ts cl uste re d rou n d h e r h e ad in s tea d o f

h a ir, an d wh o se face w as so terribl e th at ev ery o ne w h o loo k ed
u po n it was tu rn e d in t o s to n e .

It is stran g e to fi n d th at h el l an d ch aos are con ce ive d by a

Ch ris tia n poe t as fu ll o f th e m on s te rs o f Gree k m y th ol ogy ( l .

th at th e so u l s in a ccordan ce w ith G reek ideas h a v e t o be ferried

over th e riv er of L e th e ( l . a l t h ou h t h e n am e o f th e g rim
ferrym an ( Ch a ro n ) is n ot m e n tion e d , an t h a t th e G ree k my th o
log ical rive rs S ty x , A ch eron , Co cy t us , an d Ph l eg e th o n are f ou n d
flow ing th rou g h th e h ell of P a rad ise L ost M il to n fou n d it co n
.

v e nien t t o in tro du ce in to h is de scrip tio n o f h e l l s o m e de ta i ls

derive d fro m Ho m er an d V irg il h is g reat e p ic p re dece sso rs, an d
would n o do ubt h ave j u stifi ed h is practice by t h e con venient
 PA RA DIS E L OS T .

th eo r y
t h at Gre e k y
m th ol og w as a distortion of th e truth re y
v B p ‘

eal e d by th e ible , w ith th is im o rtan t difl eren ce , tha t th o s e

y v
w h o w ere reall de il s w ere h on ou red as g ods by th e Gree s k .

See i 5084 21
. .

6 14 Tantal us , according to Gree k myth o l og y , w as un ish ed in

.

h el l by cont in u al h u n ge r an d th irs t, aggra va ted by t e con stan t

s ig h t o f a rich ban qu e t an d pu re w a ter, w h ich sl i pe d aw ay fro m
h im w h e n eve r h e t ried to reach th em From is d e
’
a n talu s .

rived t h e verb tan ta lize

’
.

By h ypall ag e th e e p ith et is tran s

fe rre d fro m t h e h o rro r strick en an g e ls to t h e h o rro r t h e y fee l
-
.

T his tra n s fere n ce is co mm on est in cases o f pe rso n ifi ca tio n , as

L a u h te r h o lding bo th h is s ides ,
’ ‘
y ou th ful Jo ll ity , an d
’

w ri le d Ca re in L A llegro
’
.

6 17 Viewed fi rst , su rvey ed for th e fi rst time th e melanch oly

.

region al l otted t o t h em .

6 20 Al p , a g rea t m ou nta in
. . T h e A l ps in S witze rlan d are th e
h ig h es t moun tains in Eu rope . S e e 1 93 9. .

6 21 . Dr Green woo d
. th a t th is roug h verse , wh ich
remar ks
ta k es u p so mu ch tim e a n d l abo u r in p ro n ou n cing ,
’
n e ce ssa ril
y
h e l ps to i m pre ss u po n u s t h e diffi cu l ty an d te dio u sn ess o f th e
j ourn ey It is n a tu ral to re ad th e l in e slow ly , be ca use a pau se
.

h as t o be ma de a fte r e a ch it em in t h e l o n g e nu m e rat ion , an d a

h eavy a ccen t fa ll s on ea ch o f th e mo n o sy ll abic n o u n s, th ough
rock s , l a k es , an d bog s , o ccu py p lace s in th e v erse u su a l l y
‘ ’ ‘ ’ ’

u naccen ted For a sim il ar in sta n ce o f on om ato po eia, th at is of

.

wh at Po pe call s th e so un d being ech o to th e se nse , see 1 948 . .

6 23 for evil onl y g ood, o n l y fertil e for th e produ ction of

. ev il
obj e cts M ilton h e re e m ploys t h e fi g u re of o xym oro n ( see 1
. .

o f w h ich w e h a ve t w o m o re ins tan ces in th e fo ll o wing l in e .

6 24 life dies,
. d eath li ves . He re M ilton
to be bo rrow ing se e m s
fro m Fl etch e r s L o cus tae ( se e In tro du ction , p
’
in w h ich w e .

fi n d M ore vivit, moriturq ue in ter ma la m il ls sup erstes vita , i e . .

dea th l iv es , an d l ife, su rvivin g am idst a th o u san d evils, die s .

6 28 It is do u btf ul w h e th er th e n o uns in th is l ine are obj ects

.

o v e rn e d by bree ds in l 6 24, o r by feig n ed an d co n ceived

‘ ‘ ’

g .

m l 6 27
. T h e C h imaera w as a fi re bre ath in g an im al , part l ion ,
.
-

art g oat, a n d p art dr on T h e Hy dra w as a w ater se rpen t

.

estroy ed by Hercu l es or Go rgo n s see 1 6 1 1

. . .

630 Satan is
. Hebrew word m eaning a dversary
a .

63 1 In th e Ilia d Herm es is re presen te d a s actu al ly bin ding on

.

h is fee t wing ed san dal s ( l l x xiv Here w e mu st imag in e

. .

S a tan as providin g h ims elf w ith w ing s fo r h is j o u rn e y in a ccord

an ce with t h e p o w ers o f tra n s form a tio n as cribed t o th e an g el s
th roug h out th e poe m S ee i 78 9, 423 430
. .
-
.
 PA RADISE LOS T .

spoken of by th e po ets , an d es peciall y by M il ton , as a ty pe of

im pe n e trabl e h a rdne ss .

6 47impal ed , s u rro unde d as w ith a a lin g o r fe nce

. T h e word p .

pp p
is a ro riate in th e co nte xt , as t h e g ates o f cas tles u se d to be
k
defe n de d by ou two r s cons is ting o f pal is a des ( S ee Ira nhoe, cha p .

x xix ) T h e g ate o f He ll , instead o f a w ooden alisade , h ad a

. p
barrier of flames .

6 5 4 A cry , a pack o f dogs

. In h u n tin g p h raseo l o g y , w h e n
.

h ou n ds sh o w by t h e ir ba rking th at th e y a re foll ow in g t h e scen t,

t h e y are sa id to be in full cry .

6 55 . Gerberean mouth s mou th s l ike th ose

, of Cerberus , th e
t h ree -h eaded dog of P luto .

660 S cyll a, acco rdin g to Greek my th ol og y, w as a mo nster

.

l ivin g on a rock o n th e Italian side o f th e S traits o f M essin a .

On th e Sicilian side wa s C h ary bdi s A s it w as ve ry diffi cu l t for .

a sh i to steer safe l y throu g h th e S tra its w ith ou t fa l lin g in to t h e

cl u tc es o f on e of t h es e m on ste rs, t h e e xpression to ste er bet we en
S cyl la a nd C h a rybdis m ean s to esca e d an g e rs , w h ich th rea ten from
o ppo site q u a rte rs in su ch a w ay , t a t if y o u esca pe th e o ne, yo u
a re in dan er of e n cou n te rin g t h e o th er S e e I 1 0 19
g . . .

6 6 1 T h e h a rs h so u n d o f th e w ord T rin acria n is probably

‘
.

in te nde d to im itate t h e h o ars e roa rin g of th e w aves o n t h e coast

o f S icil y ( T rin a cria ) .

6 6 2 th e nig h t h ag , th e w itch flying by n ig h t

.
-
W itch e s w ere .

s uppo se d to ride t h rou g h t h e a ir on broo m sticks , an d t o a ffect

t h e m oon by t h eir ch arm s , i s in can ta tio n s, w hich w e re bel ie v e d
. .

t o be p o werful e n oug h ev en to ca u se e cl ips e s For a p as sag e .

re ferrin t o t h e infl uen ce , n o t of w itch es bu t o f fa iries , ov e r th e

g
m oo n s ee 1 784 . .

6 66 Th e oth er S h ape
. N 0 be tter in stan ce co ul d be gi en to
. v
an p ort t h e co n tra st m a d e by M a cau l a betw een t h e exact de ta ils y
of an te an d t h e dim in tim a tio ns o f M il to n , th an t h is descrip
’

t ion of Dea t h M il to n fi rst ca l l s Death a s h a e p

”

. B u t in ca se .

v
e en th is v
a g u e w ord s h o u l d su g g e st too de fi n it e a icture , h e p
des troy s its e ffe ct by u s in g t h e fi g ure o f o x m o ro n , a n d t ell in g y
u s t h a t t h e s h a pe w as s h a e l e ss p
Fart h e r o n , in stea d o f sim l
. py
s a y ing t h a t t h e m o n ste r h a d a cro wn o n its h e a d , h e re fe rs to p
k
s ay t h a t it h a d so m e th in g l i e a cro w n o n so m et hin
g l i e a h e ad k .

v p
T h e a g ue n es s o f t h e d e scr i tio n o f Dea th is e t u p in x 279 , k p .

wh ere it is ca l l ed a g rim feat u re

’
.

6 70 . ea ch seemed eith er,

w h en reg arded a s a sh a do w it l oo ked
l ik e a su bstan ce , an d w h en reg a rd e d as a su bstan ce it l o o k ed l ik e
a s h ado w , t h at is to s ay , it was difli cu l t t o de term in e w h eth e r it

w as a sh a dow o r a su bstan ce .

6 72 hi s,
. p robably th e neu ter possessive , as th e n e u ter p ron oun
 NOT ES BOOK —
II .

it h as twice been u sed of Death in th e immediatel y precedin g

I ine s
.

6 78 T his is an in stan ce of a co m m o n M il to n ic co n fu s ion

. As .

God an d His S on w e re n o t crea ted th ing s , th e y can n o t be reg a rde d

as e x ce ptio n s to th e s tate m e n t in th e fo ll o w in g l in e W h a t is .

reall y m ean t is th a t h e fea re d n o creat ed th in g , a n d n o th in g a t

al l e x ce pt G od an d His S on A sim il ar ex ce ption , no t to wh at is
-
.

sta ted , bu t to w h at is in th e w riter s m in d , w il l be fo u n d in l 336

’
. .

683 miscreated, deforme d , hi deo u s M iscrea ted from miss ‘ ‘

’ ’
. .

a nd mu st n o t be con fus ed w ith m iscrea nt , a q uite

’ ’
create ,
d ifferent w ord, deriv ed fro m Fren ch mes crea nt ( dis bel ie vi ng ) ,
a l th ou h , as th e y are both t e rm s o f abu se , t h ere is so m e s im i
g
l a rity m th eir m ean in g .

6 85 Th at be assured , be assu red o f th at

. Here th e preposition .

is l eft ou t after a p ass ive verb, j u st as it is l e ft ou t in 1 41 0 a fter .

a n in tran sitive v erb, be cau se th e s en s e e as il y s u g g es ts a tran s it iv e

v erb in th e active v oice Be a ss ure d su gge sts kn o w for a
.

ce rta in ty
’
.

6 86 th y foll y , th e resu l ts o f th y fol l y

. Here th e cau se is pu t .

f or th e effe ct, as fl ow ers p erh aps mean s p e rfu m es in l 245 . .

69 3 j
Conj ur ed , oin e d by oath in a con s irac
. p y . Conj u re 18

h ere u s e d in th e o rdin ar y
sen se o f th e L at in co nj ure, con spire .

697 Hell doomed ,

.
-
to impriso n m en t i n h ell
con dem n e d This .

is Dea th s ret ort to H ‘

e ll - bo rn
S ata n h ad said th a t
’
in l 6 8 7
’
. .

Death w as Hel l bo rn , an d th e refore u nfi t to co n ten d w ith spirits

-

o f Heave n Dea th repl ies th at th e a rg u m en t do es n ot a ppl y t o

.

the p rese n t cas e , as S a ta n is He l l -

doo me d, a n d can t h e refo re n o
l ong e r be re garded as a spirit of Heaven .

6 98 . to enrag e th ee more , I say th is in

to en rag e th e e o rder

m o re . Death , in o rder to g al l S atan m o re , n o t on l y cal ls h imself

a k in g , bu t al so cl aims S at an as o n e o f h is s u bj e cts In th e n ext .

l in e a stro n g e m ph asis m u st be l a id o n th e w o rd th y
’
.

700 t o th y sp eed
. a dd th y fl ig h t
wing s , in cre ase th e s peed of

by u sin n ot o n l y th y l e g s bu t al so th y w in g s C om pa re 1 6 3 1 ,
S
. .

atan co mm en cin g h is j ou rn ey is said to

‘
w h ere p u t o n s w i f t
It is h o weve r p oss ibl e, t h a t in both passag es th e
’
w in g s .

w o rds, th ou h a pp lie d to a w ing e d an g el , m ay be n o t l iteral , bu t

‘
i
m e ta ph o rica as Virg il sp e ak in g o f C a cu s, w h o w a s n o t a w in g e d
creatu re , says t h at fea r a dde d w in g s to h is fee t ( A eneid , v iii .

m erel y m ean ing th a t h e w e n t v ery fas t u n de r t h e infl u en ce

0 fear .

701 . is th e n am e g iven in t h e Bibl e to a se v ere k ind

s corpion
W h en S o l o m on s son cam e t o th e t hron e, h e o ffen de d
’
o f scou rg e .

h is subj e cts by de cl arin g th at , w h ere as h is fat h e r h a d ch as tise d

th em w ith wh ips , h e w ou ld ch astise t he m w ith scorpion s, fro m
 PA RA DIS E LOS T .

which it is evident th at scor pions were much cru ell er th an ord i

na ry wh ips .

705 tenfol d M ilton v g

in i n 11 6 6 6 76 u sed th e mo st
6 -
ha

m
. . .

w e rful l angu ag e to describe the h orror o f th e appa rition o f

at h , n o w mak es a fu rth er ca l l o n o u r imag ina tion by tell in g u s
°

t hat, wh en h e th rea ten ed S atan , h e be ca me te n times as h orribl e

Fo r th is ch aracteristic of M il to n s description s
’
as h e was before .

co mpare th e efl ect of in loo se a rra y

‘ ’
an d but a wan d , l 294
‘ '

. .

707 Incensed (L at incendo , to burn ) e resses both h is stat e

. .

o f m ind an d al so h is a ppearan ce w h e n h e r ued l ik e a com e t, L

708 , so that th e wo rd co mbin es its literal and metaph orica l

709 Ophiuch us is a constell ation in th e n orth ern h emis ph ere

. .

7 1 1 A s comets were supposed to fore tel l war and pestilen ce ,

.

th e simile rep resen ts n ot onl y Sa tan s splendo ur, but al so h is

’

ban e ful power .

7 12 th eir mtal h ands, etc , each of th em exp ects th at h is fi rst

. .

bl ow wil l u tte rl y de stroy h is en emy , an d th at a se con d bl o w w ill

n o t be req u ired .

7 15 rattl ing expresses th e so u nd of th un der which accompanies

.

th e a dvance o f th e tw o cl ou ds .

722 . so g reat a T h e g reat fo e th e

foe . w ere doomed ev en
tu al ly to m ee t an d be vanqu ish ed by was C rist .

723 wh ereof all Hell h ad

. th e fa me rung , of w hich w ou ld h a ve
bee n l o udl y celebra te d th ro ug h the l e ng th an d breadth o f h e ll .

Co mp are S onn et, xxii 12 . .

725 Fast by, close to, as in i 12

. . .

729 bend , aim

. Bend co mes to h ave th is mean ing eith er
.

be ca use a bow is ben t w h en aimed, o r beca use a miss ile aim ed at

a n y obj e ct h as g en erally to be turne d o r defl e cted fro m its p
vicu s dire ction Be n d is u sed sim ilarl y in su ch ph rases
. as
ben d one s wa y , be nd on e s step s tow ards a point specifi e d
’ ’
.

mortal , ca u sing dea th , dea dl y . C f l 74

. . .

7 30 An d k now st ,
. know e st for wh om al e al th ough
’
an d (th o u ) , .

th ou k n o w est wh o m th ou w il t serve th ereby M il ton s frequ en t

’
.

o m iss io n o f p ron omin al su bj e cts is an in stance o f h is im ita tion o f

th e u sa e s o f th e L atin l ang u a e in w hich th e p erso n o f a verb
g ,

is su fli ci en tl ex ressed by t h e i n flection an d pron o un s n eed no t

T is ep
,

be used . l ipse o ccu rs most o fte n w h en in En g l ish th ere ,

is an in flection l e ft as a rel ic o f th e p ro n omin a l su flix T h us h ere .

t h e su ffi x st is th e represe n ta tive o f t h e o rig in a l In do G erman ic -

prono minal el emen t t a w h ich a ppears in more o r le ss cor

v ,
’

ru pte d fo rms as t h e su ffi x o f t h e s e co n d p erson sin ular in t h e

g
L atin ded ie ti Gree k aid 0 a nd Sans k rit d ad i tha
-
,
es - c, -
.
 PARA DIS E L OST .

monsters th e men tal torments th at a re th e con s equ ences

are of
sin , an d th e y are said to be set on by Deat h becau se th e idea of
death intens ifi es th e s in n er s men tal to rm ents
’
.

8 14 Save 8 0 , etc , save that h e w h o reig ns abo ve ca n res is t

. .

it. T h is is th e con verse o f th e irreg ularity n oticed in i 490 . .

Th ere than , pro rl y a conj u nction , was u sed as a p repositio n

’

h ere sa ve , w h ic is ordinaril y e mpl o ed as a re po sition,

’
is
u se d as a conj un ction , an d th ere fo re e is in t e n o min ativ e g
cas e as sub ect of a v erb to be un derstood S ometimes this u sa g e
'

f
.

of save ol lo wed by a n om ina tive is e xpl ain ed by reg a rdi n g

sav e as a passive pa rticipl e formin g a n omin ativ e abso l ute w it h
th e n ou ns or p rono un s follo wing S ee Abbott s S ha kespea ria n
’
.

Gra mmar, g 1 1 8 , w h ere se v eral in sta nces of this co ns tructio n

are q u o ted from S hak es peare Th e pre position or conj un ctio n
.

sa ve is h o wever more common l y su pposed to h av e orig in al l y

o f an a ctive verb

8 15 his l ore Boon l earned, soon l earn ed h is l esson , n am el y ,

.

th at it w as advis abl e to a ddress S in cou rteousl y an d ackn o w le dg e

h er as his daug h te r .

S mooth , smooth ly , m il dl S ee 11 302, 5 58 y

T h e use
. . . th e s e
of
j v v
a d e cti al form s as ad erbs is du e to th e existe n ce o f an Ol d
En g lish ad verb endin g in a suffi x e,
’
wh ich was dro pt in th e
co u rse o f tim e .

8 25 pretences o rig i nal l y m ean t tru e or false claims

. . In m odern
Eng l ish th e w ord sugg ests falsen es s .

827 . errand is cog nate accu sativ e afte r g o.

uncou th is derived fro m th e p ast p articipl e

an ( n ot ) a n d cuth,
of th e A S cunna n , t o k n ow
. . Th us th e orig inal mean ing o f th e
.

w o rd is un kn own , from w hich n atural ly com e th e l ate r mean

’

u g l y , an d cl ums y
‘
’
In this line un co u th seem s
’
ings h o rribl e,
’ ’
.

to m ean bo th un kn o wn an d h orribl e W e h a ve seen befo re

’
.

( I 707 ) th at th e poet is fo n d of tak in g advantag e o f t h e doubl e

.

m ea ing s of ambl g uo u s w ords , so as to express m u ch in few

wo r s g .

8 29 unf ound ed , bo ttoml ess

. . T h e wo rd is n ow u sed me ta
ph o ricall y , as wh en w e s pea k o f u n fou n ded h o p es .

8 30.
pl ace f oretol d S h oul d be
a T h is mus t be expl ain e d .

l ik e u nd ete rmin ed squ are o r rou nd in l 1 048 , as t h e pass ive .

form o f th e co n st ru ction used in l 990 an d in i 3 76 , 6 1 1 . . .

In a ccordan ce with th e cons truction u sed in th ese passag es

t h e verb if active g overns t wo obj ects , a n oun an d a n o u n claus e .

In th e pass ive form o f th e same construction th e ve rb w ill h a v e

t h e n oun as sub ect an d th e n o u n cl au se will be a p en ded loose l y
’

p
as a furt h er exp an atio n o f t h e m ea n in g Sa tan m1 h t h ave sa id .

So me one foretol d th e p lace th e e xis ten ce of t e pla ce) th at

 NO S
T E —
BOO K II .

be, or (T h e e xiste n ce o f ) t he place was fore told, that

‘
’
it s h ou l d
it sh o uld be A ccordin g to th e l atte r form h e can
.

n e w world as a pl ace foretold ( th a t it ) sh o u l d be

’
Th e tran s .

f o rma tio n is j u st th e same as tha t by w h ich I teach h im his

l essons becom es in th e passiv e He is taug h t h is l essons by me ’
.

sm ch , l oo k for .

83 1 . by , as is ev iden t from .

833 . U nderstan d and ( to search ) a race placed th erein .

more removed, l aced Removed

’
8 35 . at a g rea te r distan ce .

a g re es w ith race in t e preceding lin e .

842 W ing
.
, tra v erse with wing s .

buxom , d eri ved

from th e A S beg a n , t o bo w, is h ere u sed in . .

it s origi na l sen se and m ea ns y ie l din g , o ffering sligh t resis tan ce .

In m ode rn Eng l ish bu xom is a n e pith et a p lied g en e rall y to

p
w om en w h ose g ood loo ks in dicate th e pos sess i on o f h eal th an d
l i velin ess .

846 . smil e is v
a co g n ate accu sa t i e a fte r g rin n ed.
’

847 . bl essed h is maw, looked u pon h is bell y as fortunate .

85 0 by due, by rig h t
. .

85 3 a damantine
. S ee 1 6 46 . . .

85 5 In th is l ine th e fi rst an d secon d e ditions read migh t, th e ‘ ’

.

t h ird wig h t
’
Bentl ey obj ected t o migh t on th e g roun d th at
.

i t w o uld ma k e Death n ot e ve n f ea r G o d, an d p referre d W ig h t

w hich m ea n s creature an d w o ul d n o t in cl ud e Go d .

86 8 Th e g od s wh o live at case
. A s R ich a rdson remar s , S in . k
n ot unn a tu ral l y p
acce ts th e E icu re an idea, th at t h e g ods l i e a p v
p pp
l ife of erfect h a in ess u n troubl ed by th e an rintenden ce o f
t h e u n ive rse o r any o th er l abo u r Th e u se o f t e l ural g ods . p
p p y
m a y be ex la in ed artl o n th e g rou n d tha t sh e ascribes di in it v y
t o th e an g e ls, wh o , as w e h a e s e en ( 1 v
art a e o f t h e div in e . p k
y
n atu re, an d ma y be artl d ue to M il ton s te n den cy to s ea
’
in th e p k
l ang u ag e o f th e po yth eist ic e ic oem s o f Greece an d Rom e, p p
w h ich h e a do pts a s h is mo dels S ee 1 28 . . .

8 73 h er bestial train
. T h e w ord tra in , w hich ma mean th e
.

t ail o f a bird , th e h inder p art o f a l ad y s d ress trai i on th e

’

ro u n d, o r an y thin el se drag g e d be hi n d , is h ere u se f t h e

g
g o
l o we r snaky part of in s body ( se e 1 6 5 1 ) w h ich would tra il al ong
’
.

t h e g rou n d behin d h er as sh e m o ved .

8 74 A port cnl l i s is a stro ng g ratin g o f iron or w ood to p ro te ct

.

a g a te in fron t It is k ept su spen ded w h en th e g at e is O pe n , an d

.

ca n be l e t down at an y mom en t if da n g e r

8 75 T h is lin e is an all eg orical sta te m en t of th e fact th a t, if a

.

m an a bstain s from sin , th e pow er o f S atan an d al l his ang el s is

u n a bl e to tak e h im to He ll .
 PA RADIS E L O ST .

8 77 Th e trisyl l abic fi rst foot with its accen t on th e midd l e

.

s ll able is in te n ded by its sou n d t o e xp ress th e sl o w m ot ion o f

t 0 ea t k ey th ro u g h th e com licated maze o f t h e l ock The
p .

we are eith er th e obstacl es i n a l o ck w hich are in te nded t o

o bstru ct th e mo tion of th e k e y o f an y oth er l ook , or th e no tch e s
in th e k ey co rrespon ding to th ose obsta cl es T h e l atte r se n s e
.

su its th e res en t passag e , as th e w ards are h ere said t o be tu rn e d

th ro u g h t e l ock Th e w ards in th e form er se nse of th e wo rd
.

rem a in station a ry w h en th e k ey is tu rn ed .

8 79 A l l th rou g h th is pa ssag e th e sou n d is inten ded to be t h e

.

ech o o f th e se n s e Th e f ull stop n ear t h e beg inn in g o f t h is l in e

.

raise s in th e rea d er s m in d a f ee l ing of s u s pe n se , w h il e th e ra pi d

’

movem e n t o f th e e nd o f th e l in e rep re sen ts th e s u dde n and start

ling e fi ect o f th e tu rnin g of t h e k ey
'

882 th un der is
. j
a co nate ob ect
g by g rate
g o vern e d .

885 No tice h o w th e im m e nse w idth o f th e g ates is sh o wn

. .

A n army cou l d pas s th roug h w ith o u t draw ing in its win gs t o

th e m ain body , an d in l o ose array , th at is, with ou t arra y
’

words u n der s pread en sig n s marchm

m
ing th e so l die rs o f th e va riou s reg i ents in cl ose o rd er Th e
ma y be reg arded a s
.

m e rel a ictu re s u e e m be l lish ment o th e illustration Th e .

fa ct t at t e army ad n ot to l o w er th e ir flag s g ives n o adequ a t e

im pre ssion o f th e h e ig h t o f th e g ates, wh en co mpared with t h e ir
imm ens e width .

88 9 redoun ding is h ere u se d in th e l iteral

. s en se o fth e L at .

red un do , t o o verfl ow In m od ern En g lis h t h e

. co mmon e st u se o f
t h e v erb is m etaph orica l in th e ph rase ‘
it re dou n ds to h is
cre dit .

8 9 1 h oary seems to sug g es t th e imme ns e

. q
an ti u ity of chao s ,

wh ich existed be fo re Hea ve n an d Ea rth we re crea ted . S ee i 1 0 . .

892 with out boun d is o n l y th e S axon e qu ivalen t of inimitabl e ,

.

an d s o a dds n oth in g t o th e m ean in g For similar tautologie s see

.

i 5 5 6 , u 35 5
. . .

8 93 W ith out dimension, with o ut le ngth , breadth ,

. and h eig h t,
th e th re e dim en sions of s ol id bo dies .

8 98 Hot , Col d , M oist , and Dry are th e four el em en tary qual ities
.

supp os e d to be co m bin e d in pa irs in th e fou r e l emen t s Th u s .

fi re is h o t an d dry , air h ot an d moist, w ater co ld an d moist , eart h

col d a n d dry .

900 Here M ilton is foll owi n th e ato mic th eo ry, accordin g to

d
.

wh ich th e u n ive rs e is com pose o f an in fi n ite n u mbe r o f atoms

vary in in h p an d w i h t Th t o m ic p hil o so ph e rs th o u h t
g s a e e g e a
.
g
th at th e fo rtu itou s co ncourse o f t h ese atom s su fi cien tly explaine d
th e o rig in o f th e un ive rse , w h il e M il ton o f cou rse re presen ts t h em
as arrang ed by t h e wis dom an d pow er o f th e C reato r .
 PA RADISE L OS T .

in fl a med ; opposite of extin ct

’
93 7 . Instinct , i . e. th e .

Keig h tley .

9 38 Th at f ury stay d , t h e fu rious l y ra pid motion of th is risin g

’
.

cl ou d h a vin g abated Hu me e poses th at quen ch ed as w el l

x
.

sta y ed ury, at t h e fury of th e cl o ud w as

’
as g oes w i t h f
‘
quen ch ed an d a t out by a so ft uick sand Bu t it is m ore’
.

n a tu ral to reg ar Sa tan , t h an th e c oud th at bore him u p, as

reta rded by th e q u ick sa n d T h e v erb quen ch is com m o nl y
.

u sed o f th e extin is hin g of fi re an d th e re fo re S a tan , w h o is

com pare d in l 101 to a yramid o f fi re , may not u nn atu ral l y be
p
.

d es cribe d h e re as quen c ed in th e qu icksand, in wh ich h e w as

w e ll nig h eng ulfed .

S yrti s , t h e n a me o f an A frican qui cksand cel ebrawd in

l itera t ure , is h ere use d as a class n am e for quick san d, j us t as
’

A lp i n l 6 20 means m ountain
‘ ’
. .

940 nig h foundered,

. n earl y en g ul fed , like a shi
p in dis tre ss .

Fo u n der is use d in a so m ew h at diffe ren t sen se in 1 204

. .

942 beh oves him now , etc , it is in cumbent on him both t o

. .

u se ca rs an d sa ils , th a t is , accordin g to a L atin idi om , to ro cee d

w ith m ig h t an d ma in Oar an d s ail are probabl y
. n itiv e s
of intran s itive verbs, an d n ot n ouns .

943 A ccordin g to a s to ry in Herodotus, ol d w as obtaine d in

fi
.

th e n orth o f Eu rope by a o n e ey e d peopl e c led th e A rima spian s ,

-

w h o sto le it from t h e g rifii n s Plin y repea ts th e story , an d m en

.

tion s th e diffi cul ty th e A rim aspian s h ad in stealing th e g old from

th e fi erce birds .

948 950 Here , as in l 6 21 , th e natu ral

-
. . uses a fte r
in t h e e nu merations h el p to express th e ow l aborio u s progress
of t h e Fien d .

95 1 . h ubbub is poetic word for a confused noise

an on oma to .

964 Orcus an d Ad es ( u s uall y an d more correctl y spel t Hades )

.

are res pectiv el y th e L atin a n d Gree k n am es of th e rul e r o f Hell in

cl ass ica l m y th ol ogy w h o is u su a ll y call ed Plu to
, M il ton h e re .

spea k s o f t h e m as t wo distin ct p erson s .

th e d readed nam e orDem og org on, Demo org on , wh o se name is

drea dfu l S imil arl y in v i 35 , th e mi t of Gabrie l m eans
.
5
.
’

th e m ig h ty G abriel In a passa ge from is p rose w o rk s no te d

.

by Ne wton , M il to n say s th at Demog o rg on was described y t h e

m ost an cien t m yth ol og ical write rs as th e an cestor of all th e gods,
an d th e fath er of earth T h e n am e o f th is mysteriou s dem on o r
.

divinity w as dreade d, be cau se it was su pposed to ha ve tromen

’

dou s po we r in incan tation s .

973 W andering th i s de s ert, wan dering th rou h th is dese rt

.

g .

Wan der is treate d as a ’ trans itive verb because i t sugg ests th e

t ran s itive verb traverse S ee 1 410 . . .
 NO T ES BOOK — II .

977 . Confl ne wi th , border on .

980 profoun d
.
( ab yss ) . Here profound
‘
is u s ed a s a n ou n .

O f 1 43 8
. . .

98 1 Direct ed , etc , m y course dire cte d, i e th e dire ctio n o f

. . . .

m y cou rse bring s n o m ean recom pen se, y ou w il l be we l l rew a rde d

fo r dire ctin g my cou rse by th e advantag es y o u w il l g a in t h rou g h
t h e com pl et ion o f m y j o u rn e y .

Region is g iven th e g en derof its L atin form Cf i 5 92

‘ ’
984 h er . . . . . .

985 W h i ch is my presen t j ourney , wh ich , n am e l y th e re du e

.

t io n o f th e l o st reg io n t o yo u r swa y, is t h e e ffe ct th at w il l resu l t

fro m o r th e o bj e ct o f my j o u rn e y T h is is a n in stan ce of th e .

ide ntifi ca tio n o f ca u se a n d e ffe ct W e h a ve al re ady seen th is .

co mmo n ide n tifi ca tio n ex em pl ifi e d in th e u se o f abstract for con

cre te in i 406 .Ow in g to t h e sam e n at u ral co n fusion Dryde n
.

ca ll s a de adl y arrow a feath ere d dea th , an d W o rdsw o rth , a d

’

d ress in g Du ty , say s , T h ou t h at a rt v icto ry , ’ m ean in g th at Du ty

is th e cau se o f victo ry in m o ral str ugg l e s .

On th e a n al og y of m on arch a n d m o na rch y ,
’
988 Anarch . .

M ilto n fo rm s f rom an a rch y th e w o rd a narch , to ex pre ss a

’

ru ler in a s tate o f u tter con fu sion an d l aw l e ss n e ss .

990 . Here th e verb kn o w h as tw o o bj ects, th e pron o un

w h o t ho u art S e e i 376 , n 5 72
’
t h ee an d th e n ou n se n ten ce . . . .

992 M a d e h ea d
. ag ai n st , o ffered re sista n ce to .

th oug h v O verth ro w n
o erth rown ag rees w ith. w h o , an d
’

t h ere fo re strictl y spe ak in g th e sen te n ce o u g h t t o m ea n th a t S atan

w as al ready ove rt h ro w n at th e time w h e n h e ro se in rebell io n .

O f co u rse th e m ean in g real ly in ten de d is t h a t S atan o ffered re sis t

a n ce to Go d fo r s om e tim e , t h oug h h e w as u ltima te ly o ve rth ro wn .

994 frig h te d Deep

. . For o th er instances of th e path etic fallacy
se e i 543 ; ii 788
. . .

996 Conf usion worse conf ounded , t erribl e confusion

. T h is is .

a pl eo n astic e xpression l ike S ha kespeare s make assuran ce

’

doubl y su re
’
.

1000 so to defend is a fi nal clau se , sh o w ing th e u rpose w ith

.

w hich th e A n arch t h en resided on h is fro n tiers e too h is . k

po st th ere, in order th at so (by so doing , ti e by ta in g h is post . k
th e re ) h e mig h t de fen d th e re m a ins of h is d o m in ions T h e con .

ditio n a l cl au se if all I can w ill serve e xp resses paren th e tica ll y

a do u bt as to w h e th e r a l l h e ca n do w il l be o f an y u s e fo r th e
defen ce of h is realm s If th is ren de rin g is accepte d, th e sem i
.

colon a fte r re side n ce in l 999 sh ould be ch an g e d in to a co mm a,.

and a co mm a s ho uld be in serte d aft er serv e a t th e en d o f th e sa m e

’

line If th e ordin ary pu n ctu ation is retain ed, th en to defen d g o es

’ '

s e rve , and so mu st still be in t erprete d as abo ve , t h o u g h

’
w ith
it is in t h is case redu n dan t an d clum sil y am bigu ous owing to th e
 PA RA DISE L OS T .

co n ditio n al clause in wh ich it is pla ced having as subj ect n o t I ’

bu t a ll Furth er, as th e pos ition of Ch aos is a fact an d does

.

n ot de pe nd u n th e con dition m en tion ed, w e m ust su ppos e a n

e llipse o f a c au s e men tio n in g th e pu rpos e aim e d at, t h e fulfi l
men t o f w hich does rea ll y depen d o n th e con dition T hu s t h e .

w h ol e mean in wo ul d be , I k e e p res idence h ere ( in o rder t o

d efen d m y rea if all m y e ffo rts w il l serve to defen d th e litt l e
Al l th ese co mplications are avoided by mak in g so t o
’
s til l l e ft .

defen d depend direct ly u pon th e p rin cipal se nte nce .

1001 T h e editions pu blis h ed in t h e oet s l ifetim e and a l l

’
.

s ubse qu en t ed ition s re ad
’
ou r, u n til earce alte re d it in to
C ertainl y th e n e w read in g , w hich is g en eral l y a ccep te d ,
’
o ur
y .

g i v es b e tte r se n se If t h e t ru e re a din g is n e v erth e less

. o
’
u r, w e
m us t e ith er reg ard C h ao s as co un t in g h imse lf amo ng t h e h eavenl y
bein gs w h ose disse ns io ns l ed to th e crea tion of h ell a n d e arth , o r
suppose th a t C h aos w as so co nfu sed in h is ideas, t h at h e th ou g h t
that th e disorder to w h ich h e o we d h is so v e reig nty ( l 909 ) .

reall y w ea k en ed h is po we r, an d t h a t M il ton in ten ds u s to

h im as o n t his accou nt try ing in so l e m n e arn e st in l 908 by his
-

d ecisions to u t an e n d to it T h e l ast in te rpre ta tion is n o t

.

u tt e rly o ut o th e qu estion T h e w h o le s peech s ee m s in ten d ed

.

to e x emplify by th e co nf usio n o f its la n a e an d idea s th e d is

com pos ure ( l 989 ) o f th e o l d A n a rch

‘
1 re M asson rea ds o u r
’
. . .

1 002 Hell is a subj e ct w ith ou t a verb

. W e m ust u n dersta n d .

ca m e into e xis te n ce , o r s o m e s uch w ords w ith He l l h ere, a n d

’
‘

al so w ith Hea ven a n d Earth in l 1004, un les s h u ng in th a t l in e

.

t tense , in which case w e m u st un derstan d f rom h u ng

’
is a
an o t e r v erb to g o with He ll according to th e fi g ure o f spee ch
call e d zeu g ma See i 393 . . .

1004 M il ton enerall y dis ting u ish es betw e en Heave n th e abode

.

o f G o d an d t h e orl d o r Un iv ers e w ith Earth in its centre , a

l ate r crea tion made for m an In t h is l ine h owev e r Hea ve n an d

.

Ea rt h toge th er mak e u p th e n e w ly crea te d U n iverse as 0 p sed to

Heaven in l 1006 , t h e empyre a l Heaven ( l 1047 ) o f
. an d .

His an g el s T h e u se of Hea ven in opp osite se nses in o n e

.

se nte n ce is n ot con du cive to cl ea rn e ss .

1 005 . p robabl y a passive pa rticiple

Hung is , an d n o t th e past
ten se of th e intran sitive verb h an g .

1008 S o mu ch th e nearer da ng er,

. on h av e a ll t h e sh ort er
distan ce to g o to rea ch you r dang e ro u s estin ation .

T his is a wish for S a tan s s uccess Compare th e ex

’
speed . .

o w ish on e g od s peed o r g o od speed

’
ress ion t -
p
-
.

1 01 1 h is sea sh oul d find a sh ore, his j ourney sh ou l d bring

.

to his de stination li e a ship t h a t af te r a l on g voya ge at last

k
mak e s l an d His sea w as C h aos , wh ich was to him as a sea is
.

t o th e ship th a t sail s th rou g h it .

 PARADIS E L OS T .

1043 h ol ds th e port, rem a in s safe in h arbo u r

. .

1046 W eig h s hi s sp rea d wi ng s , s rea ds o ut h is wing s e en l y

. p v
as a bird does w h e n it is s us en de d a pa ren tl p
motion l es s in t h ep y
1048 . u nd etermi ned square and round, abo u t w h ich w e ha v e
n o m ean s of de t e rminin w h et h er it w as squ are or roun d In .

Revela tion x xi 1 6 it is istinctly sa id th a t t h e N e w Je rusal e m

.
.

w as fo u r squ a re, a n d in x 38 1 it is ass u med th at th e o rig in a l

-
.

h eave n h ad th e sam e sh a pe B ut in th is passa g e M il to n does n o t

.

ven tu re to ta ke it fo r an ted th at t h e o rig in al h e av en was of th e

sa m e s h a pe a s t h e e w Je ru sa l em o f t h e A po ca l ypse In a .

sim ilar s pirit h e l ea ve s o pe n t h e u es tio n o f t h e motion of t h e

ea rth in iv 5 92 . K eigh t le y th in s t h at S a tan , o w in to th e
.

immen se e xte n t o f h ea v e n , could n o t disce rn t h e sha pe 0 h ea ve n

from t h e po rtio n prese n ted to h is ey e .

In th is l in e th e participl e u ndeterm in ed, w h ich wo ul d more ’

n a tu ra ll y be mad e to ag ree w ith t h e n o un se n ten ce e xpress ing

th e do ubt fu l u es tion , ag re es in stea d w ith h eaven , th e o bj e ct
’

abo u t w hich t ere w as d o u bt T h is is t h e p assive form of th e

.

co n struction e xem pl ifi ed in l 990, w h ere th e po e t, if h e h ad

.

wish ed to u se th e pas s ive vo ice , mig h t h av e w ritten T h o u art

k n own w h o th ou art By adoptin th is con struction h ere M il ton
.

av o ids t h e n e ce s s ity of brea k in g is sen ten ce by su ch a aren

t h e sis as W h e th e r it w as ro u nd o r squ a re is u n de term in e ? A d
simil ar co n st ru ction w it h a n ad j ect ive in st ea d of a as sive
p
participl e w ill be fou nd in iii 76 Both passag es are evi den tly
. .

mo del led on th e u se o f a mbig uus an d incertas in L atin , e g . .

Italicos in certo s so cu a n h ost es cas en t ( th e Italian s abo ut w h o m

it co u l d n ot be d ete rmin ed w h eth er t h ey we re frien ds o r en emies ) .

L ivy , 30, 35 C o mp a re a ls o 1 8 30, an d S co tt s M a n s ion , 3 n

’
. . . .

5 , 6 , w h ere we read o f a ca u tio us l ady w h o

Dreaded h er cas tl e to u n cl o se
8 0 late to u nkn o wn f riend s o r f oes
’
.

105 0 living , liv el y ( xi

. vivid, in ten se , brig ht In iv 605 , if
. . .

th e o rig in a l rea din g is corre ct , t h e sta rs are call ed l ivin g sa pph ires .

T e nn yson ve ry o fte n e xpre sses brill ian t co l o u r by t h e w ords

livin g an d l ivel y , as
‘ ’

T ill l ost in y o n de r livin g blu e

T h e l ark be co m e s a sig h tl ess soun d .
’

1 05 2 W orl d , u n iverse, n o t th e ea rth o nl y but th e wh ol e un iverse ,

.

t he He a v en an d Ea rt h o f l 1 004 T h e im m en s e size of th e em
. .

py r e a l He a ven is ill u s tra te d b

y t h e f a ct t h a t in co m ris o n w it h
it t h e w h ol e worl d l o o ed n o bigg er th an a v ery sma 1 star l oo k s
k
bes ide th e moo n .
 A PPEN DI" .

Ixs rxncs s
'
or q s s s or S PEE C H , ET C m PARADIS E L os r '
,

Boo xs I . AND II .

"
T he f lists o f in stances do n o t pro fess to be exh a ust ive
oll ow in g .

S tu de n ts sh o u ld a dd -s u ch o th e r e x ampl es as t h ey m ay disco ver

f o r t h em se l ves in th e co u rse o f th eir rea ding "
A bstract used as concrete n oun s, i 285 , 406 , 433 , 5 93 ;
. n . 45 7 .

\ A dj ectives , a plica bl e in th eir usual se nse to th e o bj ect affected ,

ag re e ing w it h t e a ffe ctin g ca u se , i 2, 183, 26 6

. n . 74, 729 .

A dj e ctive s v
u sed as a d erbs , n . 15 9, 302, 5 58 , 8 16 , 846 .

A dj ectiv es u se d as n o un s
(a ) A g ree in g w ith co n cre te n oun s un derstood , i 7 1, .

5 21 ii 83 , 406 , 409 , 438 , 948 , 9 80

. .

( b) Use d , l ik e Gree k an d L atin n e u ter a dj ect ives , in stead

of abstract n o un s, i 247 ii 8 , 97 , 278
. . .

Ch ias mus, reversing th e arrang em en t of w ords pre viously

observe d, ii 529 . .

Cogn a te o bj e cts , obj ects e xpress ing a m eanin g conn ected with
t h at o f t h e v e rb by w hich th e y a re g o vern ed , ii 49 1 , 827 , 846 . .

Cogn ate j
su b ect of a passive v erb , n . 213 .

Co n fu sio n o f t w o co ns tru ctions , i 6 29 , 683 ;

. n. 40, 33 3, 336 ,
41 3 , 6 7 8 .

Of dnte ceden t, i 197, 333 ;

. u. 27 , 249 .

( b) O f pro no min al subj ect , 11 . 48 , 730 .

( c) O f su bsta n tive verb i , . 141, 395 , 604 ; u . 1044.

Fin al cl a u se e x pressin g pu rpo se d e pe n din g on a principal

teu ce u n de rs t oo d , u . 48 3, 6 98 .

Grammatical irreg ularity , i 139, 490 . n . 299 , 495 , 8 14 .

 PA RADISE LO ST .

Hy pal la transfe ren ce of an epith et from a no un expres sed o r

e,
un de rsto o to an oth er n oun w ith w h ich th at n o un is cl osel y co n
nected , i 2, 1 83 , 26 6 , 310, 786 ; n 74, 132, 1 86 , 5 6 1, 6 16 , 8 01
. . .

Hyperbato n , invers ion o f th e n atu ra l o rder of wo rds o r se n

ten oes , ii 27 9, 28 0 9 17, 9 18

.
, .

Ide ntifi catio n of ca u se an d e ff ect , i 406 , 433

. n . 45 7, 985 .

In tra n sitive v erbs u se d transitivel y

( )
a In a ca u sa t iv e se n s e i 1 78 486 ; 1 1 7,89 9 2
. 0 , .
, .

b
( ) F ol l o w ed b y a n o b j e ct in s tea d o f a p re
pos it ion beca u s e ,

th ey su g g es t a tran sitiv e v erb i 5 21 774 ; i i 223 410 443 , .

, .
, , ,

9 73 Pas sive ins tan ces i 6 60

.
,
. .

Nomin ative abso l ute , n. 1023 .

On o ma topoeia , imita tion of th e sen se by th e so u n d, i 202 ; ii

. .

6 21, 6 6 1, 8 77, 933, 948 95 0 -

.

O xy m o ro n , verbal co n tradiction , i . 6 3 , 5 25 ; ii 143 , 220, 6 23 ,

.

6 24 , 6 6 7 .

Paro n o mas ia , j uxta position of w ords of sim ilar so u n d , i 606 ,

.

6 42 .

Pa rticipial idiom , in which a n ou n an d a p artici l s are equiv a

l en t to a n ou n e xp ress in an a ct o r e ven t sug g e ste by th e parti
g
cipl e , i 5 73 , 6 36 , 798 ; ii 22
. C om pa re ii 234. . . .

Path e tic fal l acy , attribu tin g to inan im ate obj ects t h e fe elin g s
o f co n scio us bein s, i 5 43 ii 55 4, 78 8 , 994, 1028
g . . .

Preposition s o mitted afte r in tran sitive verbs . See Intran sitiv e

verbs u se d tran sitive ly ( b) .

Re pe titio n o f a w o rd or w ords fo r th e sa ke o f em ph as is , i 509 ;

.

ii 5 60, 6 78 , 1 022
. .

S y l l epsis , a w o rd v a ry ing its meaning a ccording to th e n o un

w ith w h ich it g oes, i 5 02, 6 8 1 . .

T echn ical terms, i 207 , 5 65 , 5 6 7 , 5 74 ;

. n . 1019 .

T ran s itive verbs u se d in tran sitivel y , n. 35 5 , 1042 .

 M A CM IL L A N S
’

EN GL IS H CL A S S IC S
A S ERIES OF S E L E C TION S F ROM T HE W OR KS O F
THE GREA T E N GL IS H CL A SS ICS ,

W IT H I NT ROD UCTI O N S AN D NOT ES .

The following volu mes Globe 8vc are ready or in preparation

, ,

Annl ol DEIG HTO N

sg
—
S ELEUIION S '
rs on T HE S PEOTATO R . By K . .

zs e
BACON ESSAY S —
B y F G S ELB , M A , Professor of L og ic a nd
. . . Y . .

M oral Phil osoph y , Decca n C oll eg e , P oo n a 3s se w ed , 2s 6 d . . . .

— T HE A DVA N OEM EN T O F L EA RN IN B ook I G

B y F G S E L B Y, . . . .

M A 28 . B ook . se 6 d . . .

BU RKE— R EFLEC TIO N S CH REVO LUTION B y th m 5 O N T HE FREN . e sa e. 8 .

GOL DS M IT H T HE T RAVE L LER AN D T HE DES ERTED V IL LAG E

—
By .

A RTH U R B A RRET T B A Profe or of En g l ish Lite rature Elph in , . .

, ss ,

st n e C oll eg e B o mbay
o l s 9d T HE T RA V ELLER an d T HE
, . . .

DESERTED V IL LAGE separately l s each sewed , , .

, .

GRAY PO EMS —
B y JO HN B RA D S H AW LL D Inspector o f S ch oo l
.
,
.
, s,
M a dras . l s 9d . .

HELPS E —
SSAYS
W RIT TEN IN T HE IN TERV L A S or B USIN ESS . By
F J R O W E, M A , an d W T W EB B , M A
. . . . . . . . ls . 9d .

JOHN S ON — L i ra OE M L
I TO N . By K DEI . G HTO N . l s 9d . .

M ACAU L AY E SSAY O N L O R C LIVE B y K DEIG TO N

—
23 D . . H . .

ESSAY O N W A RREN HASTIN S

—
B y K B RI T ON 2s 6d G . . GH . . .

M IL T ON P R A AD S
I E—
L O T, B OO K I an d II By M I E S S . . CHA L
M I A CM LLA
N, B A Prof ess or o f L o g ic an d M oral P h il o so ph y ,
.

El phinst o n e C oll eg e, B ombay l s 9d B oo ks I an d Is . . . . .

each , se wed .

—
’
LL G S
L A E RO, IL PEN EROS O, L I , AR E , S ON N ET S , & c YC DAS C AD .

By W I I LL AM LL
BE , M A Professor of Phil oso ph y an d L og ic, . .

v
Go ernmen t Coll eg e , L ah o re l s 9d . . .

—
C O MU S B y th e sa me
. . 1s 3 d ; . . sewed, ls .

-
S AMSO N A GO NISTES . By H M PEROIVAL , M A P ro fesso r
. . .

of En g lish Literature, Presidency C olleg e, C al cutta 2s . .

S COTT T HE L —
o r T HE L A KE By G A DY
H S T RT , M A , . . . UA . .

Principa l an d Professor O f Eng lish Literatu re, Ku mbak on am

Colleg e 28 6 d se wed , 2s . . . .

T HE L AY on T HE L T M IN TREL By G H S T RT , M A , AS S . . . UA . .

an d E H . . L
EL IO T , B A , A ss istan t Profess or of Eng lish , Presi . .

deney C olleg e , M adras 2s C anto I , se wed, 9d C an to s I -III . . . . . .

an d IV -V I , separate l y l s 3d e ach ; se wed, l s ea ch

. . . . . .

M AR M IO N . By M IOHA EL M AC MIL L AN ,
B A . . 3s . se wed, 2s 6 d . .

ROKEB Y . By th e same . 3s ; . se w ed, 28 6d. .

 M A C M ILL AN S EN GL IS H C LA S S ICS S ERIES
’
Con tin u ed .

S HAKES PEARE T HE T EM rEs r — '

. B y K DEIG . HTON ,
la te P rincipa l
o f A g ra C oll ege 1s 9d . . .

M UCH A DO A BO UT N OT H IN G By th same 2s . e . .

A M ID S UMM ER N IGHT s DREAM By th e same

’
l . . s. 9d .

T HE M ERCH A NT or V EN IC E B y th e sa m l s 9d . e. . .

A S Y OU L IKE IT . B y th e sa me. l s 9d . .

GHT B y th e same l
T W EL ET K N I . . s. 9d .

T HE W IN TER S T A L E B y th e sa me
’
. . 23 .

KIN G JO HN B y th e same l s 9d
. . . .

R ICH ARD II B y th e same l 9d

. . s. .

HEN RY IV Part I B y th e sam e

. . .

HEN RY IV Part II B y th e same. . .

—
HEN B Y V B y th e same .l s 9d . . .

—
RICH ARD III E C H T A W N EY, M A Principal and Pro
h L it
. . . .

fessor of Eng lis e rature, P reside ncy C o ll eg e, C al cu t ta .

2s 6d. . sewe d, 2s .

—
C O RIOL AN US . B y K B RI . GH TON . 2s 6d . . se w ed, 2s .

-
RO MEO AN D J U LIET . B y th e sa me. "
I n the P u ss.
—
JULIU s CE SA R . B y th e sa me . l s 9d . .

AC BET H By th e same l s 9d
—
M . . . .

HA MLET B y th e same 2s 6d se wed 2s

—
. . . .
, .

K IN G L EAR
— B y th e same l s 9d . . . .

OT H EL LO
-
B y th e same 2s . . .

—
ANT O N Y AN D C LEO PATRA B y th e same 23 6 d se wed 2s . . . .
, .

C YM B EL IN E
—
B y th e sa me 2 6d ; se wed 2s
. . s. .
, .

S OU T HEY L IEE O E N EL S ON —
By M ICHA EL M ACM ILL A N B A 3s .
, . .

se wed, 2s 6d. .

S PEN S ER —
T HE FAERIE QUEEN E . B oo kI . By H M . . PER CIVAL , M A . .

3s sewed, 2s 6 d. . .

T EN NYS ON S EL ECT IO N —
B y F J RO W E, M A , a nd W T S . . . . . . .

W EBB, M A 3s 6d Al s o in tw o parts , 2s 6 d each

. . Part I
. . . . . .

Recoll ectio ns o f th e Arabian N i h ts, T h e L ady of S h a l ott , T he

L o to s Eate rs, Do ra, U l y sses, Tith onu s, T h e Lo rd of B url eig h , Th e
B rook , Ode on th e Death o f the Duk e o f W ellingto n, T h e B e
v en g e Part II ( Enone, T h e Pala ce of Art, A Dream o f Fair
.
—
.

W o men , M orte d Arth ur, S ir Galaha d, T h e V oy age, De meter a nd

’

Perseph o n e .

—
EN O CH
A RD EN B y W T W EB B M A 2s 6d . . . . . . . .

A YLME R S FIE LD By W T W
’
—
. . . EBB , M A . . 2s 6d . .

—
T HE PRIN CESS . B y P ER CY M . W ALL ACE, M A . . 3s 6 d . .

—
T HE C O M IN G O E A RT HUR : T HE P AS SIN G or A RT HU R . By F .

J ROW E, M A
. . . 2s 6 d
. .

—
G ARET H A ND L YNET TE . By G C M A . . CA UL AY , M A . . 2s 6d . .

—
ARRIAGE O E GERAINT : GERAINT AND EN ID
T HE M . By same. 28 6d
. .

T HE HO L Y G RA IL
—
B y G C M A CAU LAY M A . . .
, . . 23 6d . .

W ORDS W ORT H S EL ECT IO N S B y F J RO W E M —

. . .
, . A , an d W T
. . .

W EB B , M A . .
" In p rep a ration .

M A C M IL L AN AN D 00 L O N DON .