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that he looked upon the book of Job, as a brief model of an epic poem and the subject of Paradise Regain'd is much the fame as that of the book of Job, a good man triumphing over temptation: and the greatest part of it is in dialogue as well as the book of Job,

abounds with moral arguments and reflections, which were more natural to that season of life, and better fuited Milton's age and infirmities than gay florid defcriptions. For by Mr. Elwood's account, he had not thought of the Paradife Regain'd, till after he had finish'd the Paradife Loft: (See the Life of Milton) the first hint of it was fuggefted by Elwood, while Milton refided at St. Giles Chalfont in Buckinghamshire during the plague in London; and afterwards when Elwood vifited him in London, he fhow'd him the poem finish'd, fo that he was not long in conceiving, or long in writing it:

To

and this is the reason, why in the Paradife Regain'd there are much fewer imitations of, and allufions to other authors, than in the Paradife Loft. The Paradife Loft he was long in meditating, and had laid in a large ftock of materials, which he had collected from all authors ancient and modern: but in the Paradise Regain'd he compofed more from memory, and with no other help from books, than fuch as naturally occurr❜d to a mind fo thoroughly tinctur'd and feafon'd, as his was, with all kinds of learning. Mr. Thyer makes the fame obfervation particularly with regard to the Italian poets. From the very few allufions, fays he, to the Italian poets in this poem one may draw, I think, a pretty conclufive argument for the reality of those pointed out in the notes upon Paradise Loft, and show that they are not, as fome may imagin, mere accidental coinci

dences

dences of great geniufes writing upon fimilar fubjects. Admitting them to be fuch only, no tolerable reafon can be affign'd why the fame fhould not occur in the fame manner in the Paradise regain'd: whereas upon the other fuppofition of their being real, the difference of the two poems in this refpect is easily accounted for. It is very certain, that Milton formed his firft defign of writing an epic poem very foon after his return from Italy, if not before, and highly probable that he then intended it after the Italian model, as he fays, fpeaking of this defign in his Reafon of Church-Government, that "he

apply'd himself to that refolu"tion which Ariofto follow'd against the perfuafions of Bembo, "to fix all the art and industry he "could unite to the adorning of "his native tongue" and again that he was then meditating "what "king or knight before the Con

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"Goths, or Charlemain against

the Lombards." This would naturally lead him to a frequent perufal of the choiceft wits of that! country; and altho' he dropt his firft fcheme, and was fome confiderable time before he executed the prefent work, yet ftill the impreffions he had first receiv'd would be fresh in his imagination, and he would of course be drawn to imitate their particular beauties, tho' he avoided following them in his general plan. The cafe was far otherways when the Paradife Regain'd was compos'd. As Mr. Elwood informs us, Milton did not fo much as think of it, till he was advanced in years, and it is not very likely, confidering the troubles and infirmities he had long labor'd under, that his ftudies had been much employ'd about that time among the sprightly Italians, or indeed any writers of that turn. Confiftent with this fuppofition we find it of a quite different ftamp, and instead of allufions to poets either ancient or modern, it is full of moral and philofophical reasonings, to which fort of thoughts an afflicted old age muft have turned our author's mind.