380 With borders long the rivers: that earth now Again th' Almighty spake, Let there be lights 331.though God had yet not rain'd &c.] This is taken from the second chapter of Genesis; the poet was studious to weave in all that Moses had written of the creation. Gen. ii. 4, 5, 6. In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, and every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground: but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 338. So ev'n and morn recorded the third day.] Recorded, celebrated, caused to be remembered. This was done by the even and morning chorus, (ver. 335 340 275.) with evening harps and matin, (ver. 450.) What is done by the voices and instruments in which they were employed. is poetically ascribed to the time Richardson. 339. Again th' Almighty spake, Let there be lights &c.] Gen. i. 14, 15. And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon the earth: and it was so. We see, when he makes the divine Person speak, he still keeps close to Scripture; but afterwards he indulges a greater latitude of thought, and gives freer scope to his imagination. Their office in the firmament of heaven To give light on the earth; and it was so. And God made two great lights, great for their use The less by night altern; and made the stars, 346. And God made two great lights,] The several glories of the heavens make their appearance on the fourth day. Addison. The very words of Moses, And God made two great lights; not that they were greater than all other stars and planets, but are only greater lights with reference to man, and therefore Milton judiciously adds, -great for their use To man, the greater to have rule by day, The less by night altern; that is, alternate, a word added to Moses's account, as in their vicissitude is afterwards; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day, and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. Gen. i. 16, 17, 18. So far, we see, he keeps close to Scripture, but then he launches out, and says, 345 350 that of celestial bodies the sun was first framed, and then the moon and stars, observing this order of creation, we suppose, according to the degrees of usefulness to men. The sun, he says, was unlightsome first; and it is most probable, that the bodies of the sun and moon &c. were formed at the same time as the body of the earth on the first day, but they were not made those complete luminous bodies, they did not shine out in their lustre and glory till the fourth day, the air perhaps or atmosphere not being sufficiently cleared before to transmit their rays to the earth. Milton's hypothesis is different. He says that the light was transplanted from her cloudy shrine or tabernacle, wherein she had sojourned the three first days, and on the fourth day was placed in the sun's orb, which was become now the great palace of light. But let it be remembered that this is all hypothesis, and that the Scripture determines nothing one way or other. For of celestial bodies first the sun A mighty sphere he fram'd, unlightsome first, 355 And sow'd with stars the heav'n thick as a field: peated so often, and in two places substitutes some other expression in the room of it; but when Milton was describing the creation of light, it was better (as Dr. Pearce judiciously observes) to keep strictly to the word, though frequently repeated, than to vary it by phrases and circumlocutions. 364. Hither as to their fountain other stars] So the sun is called by Lucretius, v. 282. the fountain of light, of liquid light. Largus item liquidi fons luminis, æthereus sol Irrigat assidue cœlum candore re- and by other stars are meant the And hence the morning planet gilds her horns; In the first edition it was his horns, but the author in the second edition softened it into her horns, which is certainly properer for the planet Venus, Repairing, in their golden urns draw light, though Dr. Bentley and Mr. horns. 370. First in his east the glorious lamp was seen,] It is indeed a little inaccurate to make this as well as the former verse conclude with the word seen; but this is not so bad as when both verses rhyme together, as in ii. 220. This horror will grow mild, this darkness light; Besides what hope the never-ending flight; And in vi. 34. -far worse to bear Than violence; for this was all thy care: And 709. By sacred unction, thy deserved right. Go then thou mightiest in thy Father's might: And in xi. 230. One of the heav'nly host, and by his gait None of the meanest, some great potentate. And 597. The bent of nature; which he thus express'd. 365 370 There are perhaps two or three other instances in the poem: but the jingle of the rhyme is pretty well avoided by the pause in the verses, or by their running into one another. However it would have been more artificial, if the structure had been different. We know very well that there are parallel instances even in Homer and Vir gil; but though some may think them beauties in Greek and Latin, we think them none in an English poem professedly written in blank verse. In all such cases we must say with Horace, De Arte Poet. 351. Verum ubi plura nitent in carmine, non ego paucis Offendar maculis, quas aut incuria fudit, Aut humana parum cavit natura. 372. jocund to run His longitude through heav'n's high road;] Longitude signifies the sun's course from east to west in a straight and direct line: and we find Milton using the word after much the same manner in iii. 576. This passage alludes to Psalm xix. 5. where it is said of True opener of mine eyes, prime the sun, that he rejoiceth as a angel blest. VOL. II. giant to run his course. Pearce. D His longitude through heav'n's high road; the gray His mirror, with full face borrowing her light 373. Shedding sweet influence:] These are beautiful images, and very much resemble the famous picture of the morning by Guido, where the sun is represented in his chariot, with the Aurora flying before him, shedding flowers, and seven beautiful nymphlike figures dancing before and about his chariot, which are commonly taken for the Hours, but possibly may be the Pleiades, as they are seven in number, and it is not easy to assign a reason why the hours should be signified by that number particularly. The picture is on a ceiling at Rome; but there are copies of it in England, and an excellent print by Jac. Frey. The Pleiades are seven stars in the neck of the constellation Taurus, which rising about the time of the vernal equinox, are called by the Latins Vergilia. Our poet therefore in saying that the Pleiades danced before 375 380 |