Within unfeen. Far lefs abhorr'd than thefe have the fame way of fpeaking in VI. 212. VII. 66. and elsewhere. Pearce. 660. Vex'd Scylla bathing in the fea] For Circe having poifon'd that part of the fea where Scylla used to bathe, the next time Scylla bath'd, her lower parts were changed into dogs, in the fea that parts Calabria, the fartheft part of Italy towards the Mediterranean, from the hoarfe Trinacrian Shore, that is from Sicily, which was formerly call'd Trinacria from its three promontories lying in the form of a triangle: and this fhore may well be called boarse not only by reafon of a tempeftuous fea breaking upon it, but likewife on account of the noises occasion'd by the eruptions of mount Ena; and the number of r's in this verfe very well express the hoarfenefs of it. You have the ftory of Scylla in the beginning of the 14thbook of Ovid's Metamorphofis, ver. 59. &c. 660 664 Or fubftance might be call'd that shadow feem'd, And shook a dreadful dart; what feem'd his head 671 675 Satan was now at hand, and from his feat Created thing nought valu'd he nor shunn'd; 680 685 Whence and what art thou, execrable shape, That dar'ft, though grim and terrible, advance Thy mifcreated front athwart my way To yonder gates? through them I mean to pass, That be affur'd, without leave afk'd of thee: Retire, or taste thy folly', and learn by proof, Hell-born, not to contend with Spi'rits of Heaven. To whom the goblin full of wrath reply'd. Art thou that traitor Angel, art thou He, Who first broke peace in Heav'n and faith, till then Unbroken, and in proud rebellious arms 691 Drew after him the third part of Heav'n's fons Conjúr'd against the Hig'heft, for which both thou and B. 2. Cant. 7. St. 42. And I mean not thee intreat pass or die. Jortin. 692. Drew after him the third part of Heav'n's fons] An opinion, as we noted before, grounded on Rev. XII. 3, 4. Behold a great red dragon-and his tail drew Nor mortal feel empierce his mif- the third part of the fears of Heaven created mold. Bentley. and did caft them to the earth. 684.through them I mean to pas, &c.] Spenfer, Faery Queen, B. 3. Cant. 4. St. 15. 693. Conjur'd against the Hig'heft,] Banded and leagued together a gainst the most High. Of the Latin con 695 And they, outcaft from God, are here condemn'd 700 So fpeaking and fo threatning, grew ten-fold 705 That fires the length of Ophiuchus huge 710 716 Grew rius as it is commonly call'd, a length of about 40 degrees, in the averic fy, or the northern hemifphere, and from his horrid hair hakes peftilence and war. Poetry delights in cmens, prodigies, and fuch wonderful events as were fuppoled to follow upon the appearance of comets, ecliples, and the like. We have another inftance of this nature in 1. 598. and Taflo in the fame manner compares Argantes to a comet, and mentions the like fatal effects, Cant. 7. St. 52. Qual con le chiome fanguinofe horrende Splender cometa fuol per l'aria adufta, Che i regni muta, ei feri morbi adduce, A i purpurei tiranni infaufta luce. As when a comet far and wide defcried, In fcorn of Phoebus midft bright Heav'n doth shine, And tidings fad of death and mifchief brings To mighty lords, to monarchs, and to kings. Fairfax. 714.—as when two black clouds, that Milton took the hint of this &c.] It is highly probable, noble fimile from one of the fame fort in Boiardo's Orlando Inamo rato, tho' it must be own'd that he has excell'd the Italian much, both in the variety of its circumstances, and the propriety of its application Beiardo is defcribing an encounter betwixt Orlando his hero, and the Tartar king Agricane, and b.gins it thus, B. . C. 16. Se |