When first on this delightful land he spreads

His orient beams, on herb, tree, fruit, and flower,
Glift'ring with dew; fragrant the fertil earth 645
After soft show'rs; and fweet the coming on
Of grateful evening mild; then filent night
With this her folemn bird, and this fair moon,
And these the gems of Heav'n, her starry train:
But neither breath of morn, when she ascends 650
With charm of earliest birds; nor rifing fun

On this delightful land; nor herb, fruit, flower,
Glift'ring with dew; nor fragrance after thowers;
Nor grateful evening mild; nor filent night
With this her folemn bird, nor walk by moon, 655.
Or glittering ftar-light without thee is sweet.
But wherefore all night long shine these? for whom
This

Juvenal has obferved upon our author, that he could not find any elegant turns in him either on the words or on the thoughts. But Mr. Addifon in one of the Tatlers (N° 114,) quotes this delightful paffage in vindication of Milton, and remarks that the variety of images in it is infinitely pleafing, and the recapitulation of each particular image, with a little varying of the expreffion, makes one of the finest turns of words he had ever feen. He farther obferves, that tho' the fweetnefs of thefe

verfes has fomething in it of a paftoral, yet it excels the ordinary kind, as much as the fcene of it is above an ordinary field or meadow.

648. With this her folemn bird,] The nightingale, most mufical moft melancholy, as he fays elsewhere. She is call'd the folemn nightingale, VII. 435.

660. Daughter of God and Man, accomplish'd Eve,] Mr. Pope in his excellent notes upon Homer, B. 1. ver. 97. obferves, that those appellations of praise and honor, with which the heroes in Homer

This glorious fight, when fleep hath shut all eyes? To whom our general ancestor reply'd.

665

Daughter of God and Man, accomplish'd Eve, 660
These have their course to finish round the earth,
By morrow evening, and from land to land
In order, though to nations yet unborn,
Miniftring light prepar'd, they fet and rife;
Left total darkness should by night regain
Her old poffeffion, and extinguish life
In nature and all things, which these soft fires
Not only' inlighten, but with kindly heat
Of various influence foment and warm,
Temper or nourish, or in part fhed down
Their ftellar virtue on all kinds that
On earth, made hereby apter to receive

fo frequently falute each other, were agreeable to the file of the ancient times, as appears from feveral of the like nature in Scripture. Milton has not been wanting to give his poem this caft of antiquity, throughout which our first parents almost always accoft each other with fome title, that expreffes 2 refpect to the dignity of human

nature.

661. Thefe have their courfe] I have prefum'd to make a fmall alteration here in the text, and read Thefe, though in most other edi

grow

670

Perfection

tions and even in Milton's own I find Thofe; because it is faid before, ver. 657.

But wherefore all night long fhine theje?

and afterwards, ver. 674.

Thefe then, though unbeheld in
deep of night,
Shine not in vain ;

both which paffages evince that
Thofe here is an error of the prefs.

671. Their ftellar virtue] As Milton was an univerfal fcholar, fo

Perfection from the fun's more potent ray.
These then, though unbeheld in deep of night, 674
Shine not in vain; nor think, though men were none,
That Heav'n would want fpectators, God want praise :
Millions of fpiritual creatures walk the earth
Unfeen, both when we wake, and when we fleep:
All these with ceaseless praise his works behold
Both day and night: how often from the steep 689
Of echoing hill or thicket have we heard

Celestial voices to the midnight air,

Sole, or refponfive each to others note,

Singing their great Creator? oft in bands

684

While they keep watch, or nightly rounding walk With heav'nly touch of inftrumental founds

In

he had not a little affectation of fhowing his learning of all kinds, and makes Adam difcourfe here fomewhat like an adept in aftrology, which was too much the philofophy of his own times. What he fays afterwards of numberless fpiritual creatures walking the earth unfeen, and joining in praifes to their great Creator, is of a nobler ftrain, more agreeable to reafon and revelation, as well as more pleafing to the imagination, and feems to be an imitation and improvement of old Hefiod's notion of good geniufes, the guardians

of mortal men, clothed with air, wand'ring every where through thẻ earth. See Hefiod, I. 120-125.

682. Celeftial voices to the mid

night air,] Singing to the midnight air. So in Virg. Ecl. I. 57.

-canet frondator ad auras.

For as Dr. Pearce obferves there fhould be a comma after note, that the conftruction may be Singing their great Creator to the midnight air. And this notion of their finging thus by night is agreeable to the account given by Lucretius, IV. 586.

Quorum

In full harmonic number join'd, their fongs

690

Divide the night, and lift our thoughts to Heaven.
Thus talking hand in hand alone they pass'd
On to their blissful bow'r; it was a place
Chos'n by the fovran Planter, when he fram'd
All things to Man's delightful use; the roof
Of thickest covert was inwoven shade
Laurel and myrtle, and what higher grew
Of firm and fragrant leaf; on either fide
Acanthus, and each odorous bushy shrub

695

Fenc'd up the verdant wall; each beauteous flower, Iris all hues, roses, and jeffamin

Rear'd high their florifh'd heads between, and wrought

Mofaic; underfoot the violet,

700

Crocus, and hyacinth with rich inlay

Broider'd the ground, more color'd than with stone
Of costlieft emblem: other creature here,

Beaft, bird, infect, or worm durft enter none,
Such was their awe of Man. In fhadier bower 705
More facred and fequefter'd, though but feign'd,
Pan or Sylvanus never flept, nor Nymph,

Glad earth perceives, and from
her bofom pours
Unbidden herbs, and voluntary
flow'rs;

Thick new-born violets a foft

carpet spread, And cluftring lotos fwell'd the And cluftring lotos fwell'd the rifing bed,

And fudden hyacinths the turf beftrow,

And flamy crocus made the mountain glow.

Nor

our author the very turn of Homer's verfes is obferved, and the cadence, and almost the words finely tranflated.

703. Of coflieft emblem:] Emblem is here in the Greek and Latin fenfe for inlaid floors of stone or wood, to make figures mathematical or pictural:

Arte pavimenti atque emblemate vermiculato. Bentley.

705 In fhadier bower] So it is in the first edition; in the fewith fuch a space as is not ufual cond we read In fhadie bower, but between two words, as if the letter

had occupy'd the room, and by fome accident had made no impreffion. In fhadier hover marks more ftrongly the fhadinefs as well as the retirednefs of the place, and itance of the defcription, and the the fhadinefs is a principal circum

bower is feldom mention'd but it is called fady bower, III. 734. V. 367, 375. Shady lodge. IV. 720. Where Mr. Pope remarks, that in fady arborous roof, V. 137. The

purport