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Peaceable nations, neighb'ring, or remote,
Made captive, yet deferving freedom more
Than those their conquerors, who leave behind
Nothing but ruin wherefoe'er they rove,

And all the florishing works of peace deftroy,
Then fwell with pride, and must be titled Gods,
Great Benefactors of mankind, Deliverers,

80

Worshipt

phants and flatterers to the worft of a word directly of the exploits of tyrants: and when it is faid

One is the fon of Jove, of Mars

the other, Alexander is particularly intended by the one, and Romulus by the other, who tho' better than Alexander, yet it must be faid founded his empire in the blood of his brother, and for his overgrown tyranny was at laft deftroy'd by his own fenate.

And certainly the method that Milton has here tàken, is the best method that can be taken of drawing general characters, by felecting the particulars here and there, and then adjusting and incorporating them together; as Apelles from the different beauties of feveral nymphs of Greece drew his portrait of Venus, the Goddess of beauty.

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thofe heroes, who in pursuit of did. He was unwilling perhaps to falfe glory had done what Cæfar give his readers occafion to reflect, that there was a Cæfar in his own time and country, whom he had prais'd, admir'd, and ferv'd.

Calton.

81. Then fwell with pride, and

must be titled Gods, &c] The fecond Antiochus king of Syria was called Antiochus or the God: and the learned author De Epoch. Syro-Macedonum p. 151. fpeaks of a coin of Epiphanes infcrib'd 8 FTIQaves. The Athenians gave Demetrius Poliorcetes, and his father Antigonus the titles of Evepystal Benefactors, and ZwTapes Deliverers. The laft was a divine title; [See Suidas in voce EwTnp] and they finish'd the compliment by calling their Head-magiftrate, instead of Archon, Iepds EwTnpwv, Prieft of the Deliverers. Plut. in vita Demetrii.

Calton.

96. Poor

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One is the fon of Jove, of Mars the other;
Till conqu❜ror Death discover them scarce men,
Rolling in brutifh vices, and deform'd,
Violent or fhameful death their due reward.
But if there be in glory ought of good,
It may by means far different be attain'd
Without ambition, war, or violence;
By deeds of peace, by wisdom eminent,
By patience, temperance: I mention still

Him whom thy wrongs with faintly patience borne
Made famous in a land and times obfcure;
Who names not now with honor patient Job?

96. Poor Socrates (who next more memorable?) &c.] Milton here does not fcruple with Erafmus to place Socrates in the foremost rank of Saints; an opinion more amiable at least, and agreeable to that fpirit of love which breathes in the Gospel, than the fevere orthodoxy of those rigid textuaries, who are unwilling to allow falvation to the moral virtues of the Heathen. Thyer.

98.

lives now Equal in fame to proudest conquerors.] And therefore the very ingenious author of the vifion of

85

90

95

Poor

a place there with Alexander, and Cæfar, and the most celebrated heroes of antiquity. See the Tatler N° 81 by Mr. Addison. And the no lefs ingenious author of the Temple of Fame has made him the principal figure among the better fort of heroes.

Much-fuff'ring heroes next their honors clame,

Those of less noify, and lefs guilty fame,

Fair Virtue's filent train: fupreme of these

Here ever shines the godlike So

crates.

the Table of Fame has given him And if. Mr. Addison had completed

his

Poor Socrates (who next more memorable?)

By what he taught and fuffer'd for fo doing,
For truth's fake fuffering death unjust, lives now
Equal in fame to proudest conquerors.

Yet if for fame and glory ought be done,
Ought fuffer'd; if young African for fame
His wafted country freed from Punic rage,
The deed becomes unprais'd, the man at least,
And loses, though but verbal, his reward.

Shall I feek glory then, as vain men feek,

100

105

Oft not deferv'd? I seek not mine, but his
Who fent me', and thereby witness whence I am.
To whom the Tempter murm'ring thus reply'd.
Think

his defign of writing a tragedy of Socrates, his fuccefs in all probability would have been greater, as the fubject would have been better than that of Cato.

101.

if young African for

committed in Italy during the fe cond Punic war.

106.

I feek not mine, but

bis Who fent me', and thereby witness

whence I am.] I honor my Fafame ther, I feek not mine own glory, fays His wafted country freed from Pu- our Saviour in St. John's Gofpel nic rage,] This fhows plainly VIII. 49, 50: and this he urgeth that he had fpoken before of the as a proof of his divine miffion, elder Scipio Africanus; for he VII. 18. He that speaketh of himonly can be faid with propriety Self, feeketh his own glory: but he to have freed his wafted country that feeketh his glory that fent him, from Punic rage, by transferring the the fame is true, and no unrighteoufwar into Spain and Africa after nefs is in him.

the ravages which Hannibal had

VOL. I.

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Think not fo flight of glory; therein least
Resembling thy great Father: he seeks glory, 110
And for his glory all things made, all things
Orders and governs; nor content in Heaven
By all his Angels glorify'd, requires

Glory from men, from all men good or bad,

Wife or unwife, no difference, no exemption; 115

Above all facrifice, or hallow'd gift

Glory' he requires, and glory he receives

Promifcuous from all nations, Jew, or Greek,
Or barbarous, nor exception hath declar'd;

109. Think not fo flight of glory; &c] There is nothing throughout the whole poem more expreffive of the true character of the Tempter than this reply. There is in it all the real falfhood of the father of lies, and the glozing fubtlety of an infidious deceiver. The argument is falfe and unfound, and yet it is veil'd over with a certain plaufible air of truth. The poet has alfo by introducing this furnifh'd himfelf with an opportunity of explaining that great queftion in divinity, why God created the world, and what is meant by that glory which he expects from his creatures. This may be no improper place to obferve to the reader the author's great art in weaving into the body of fo fhort a work fo

From

many grand points of the Chriftian theology and morality. Thyer.

118. Promifcuous from all nations,] The poet puts here into the mouth of the Devil the abfurd notions of the apologifts for Paganism. See Themiftius Orat. XII. de Relig. Valent. Imp. Tauta voμIČE JEVED &c. p. 160: Warburton.

121. To whom our Saviour fer

vently reply'd.] As this poem confifts chiefly of a dialogue between the Tempter and our Saviour, the poet must have labor'd under fome difficulty in compofing a fufficient variety of introductory lines to the feveral fpeeches, and it required great art and judgment to vary and adapt them fo properly as he hath done to the subject in hand. We took notice of a beauty

of

From us his foes pronounc'd glory' he exacts.
To whom our Saviour fervently reply'd.
And reafon; fince his word all things produc'd,
Though chiefly not for glory as prime end,
But to show forth his goodness, and impart
His good communicable to every foul
Freely; of whom what could he less expect
Than glory' and benediction, that is thanks,
The flightest, easiest, readieft recompenfe
From them who could return him nothing else,
And not returning that would likeliest render

of this kind in a note upon II. 432 and here we have another instance not unworthy of our observation. When the Tempter had proposed to our Saviour the baits and allurements of glory, he was nothing mov'd, but reply'd with great calmness and compofure of mind, ver. 43.

To whom our Saviour calmly thus reply'd :

but now the Tempter reflects upon the glory of God, our Saviour is warm'd upon the occafion, and anfwers with fome eagerness and fervor.

To whom our Saviour fervently reply'd.

And this is perfectly just, and a

120

125

130 Contempt

greeable to the true character of our Saviour, who was all meeknefs and forbearance in every thing that related to himself, but where God's honor was concern'd, was warm and zealous; as when he drove the buyers and sellers out of the temple, infomuch that the difciples apply'd to him the faying of the Pfalmift, The zeal of thine boufe hath eaten me up. John II. 17.

128. The flighteft, eafieft, readieft

recompenfe] The fame fentiment in the Paradife Loft, IV.46.

What could be less than to afford

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