And when to all his Angels he propos'd To draw the proud king Ahab into fraud What I fee excellent in good, or fair, Latin. 372. To draw the proud king Ahab into fraud] That is, into mifchief, as fraus fometimes means in Fortin. The reader may fee an inftance of fraud and fraus ufed in this fenfe in the Paradife Loft, IX. 643, and the note there. And this ftory of Ahab is related 1 Kings XXII. 19 &c. I faw the Lord fitting on his throne, and all the hoft of Heaven ftanding by him, on his right hand and on his left. And the Lord faid, Who fhall perfuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one faid on this manner, and another on that manner. And there came forth a Spirit, and food before the Lord, and said, I will perfuade him. And 375 380 What the Lord faid unto him, Wherewith? And he faid, I will go forth, and I will be a lying Spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he faid, Thou fhalt perfuade him, and prevail alfo: go forth, and do fo. And this fymbolical vifion of Micaiah, in which heavenly things are spoken of after the manner of men in condefcenfion to the weakness of their capacities, our author was too good a critic to understand litterally, tho' as a poet he represents it fo. 385. To hear attent Thy wisdom,] Milton feems to have borrow'd this word and this emphatical manner of applying it from Spenfer, Faery Queen B. 6. Cant. 9. St. 26. What can be then lefs in me than defire To see thee and approach thee, whom I know Thy wisdom, and behold thy Godlike deeds? Men generally think me much a foe To all mankind: why fhould I? they to me I loft not what I loft, rather by them 385 390 I gain'd what I have gain'd, and with them dwell If not difpofer; lend them oft my aid, And duration of the war they, were going upon, is called by Homer μετ a onu a great fign Iliad. II. 308. What were the Lacedæmonians profited before, (faith Cicero De Div. II. 25.) or our own countrymen lately by the oftents and their interpreters? which, if we muft believe them to be figns fent by the Gods, why were they fo obfcure? Quid igitur aut oftenta, aut eorum interpretes, vel Lacedæmonios olim, vel nuper noftros adju verunt? quæ fi figna Deorum putanda funt, cur tam obfcura fuerunt? This paffage of Cicero will lead us to the fenfe of the next word, which very naturally follows prefages and figns, and is conD 3 nected And answers, oracles, portents and dreams, nected with them. In Cicero we have figns and their interpreters, and here figns and their interpretations; for this I take to be the meaning of anfwers. The barufpicum refponfa amongft the Romans are obvious authorities. 2. There are three fpecies of divination, diftinguifh'd from the former by figns, in Cicero's first book on that fubject, viz. dreams, vaticinations or prophecies, and oracles. Carent autem arte ii, qui non ratione, aut conjectura, obfervatis ac notatis fignis, fed concitatione quadam animi, aut foluto liberoque motu futura præfentiunt; quod & fomniantibus fæpe contingit, & nonnunquam vaticinantibus per furorem &c. Cujus generis oracula etiam habenda funt. De Div. I. 18. These three frequently occur together; as again in this firft book. 51. Item igitur fomniis, vaticinationibus, oraulis &c. And again in de Nat. II. 65. Multa cernunt hafufpices: multa augures provident: multa oraculis declarantur, multa vaticinationibus, multa fomniis, (and I will fairly add, tho' it may be thought to make againft me) multa portentis. Here portents are join'd with oracula, vaticinationes, and 395 Nearer fomnia; and why might not Milton join them with oracles and dreams? In anfwer to this I obferve, that the word portents in our poet is not only irregularly inferted, but excludes another fpecies of divination out of a place, where the authority of Cicero himself, and in this very paffage, too, would make one expect to find it; which cannot be faid of portentis. And now perhaps a conjecture may appear not void of probability, that the poet dictated, And anfwers, oracles, prophets, and dreams. Calton. I have given this learned note at length, though I can by no means agree to the propos'd alteration, My greateft objection to it is, that I conceive Milton would not have inferted prophets between oracles and dreams, any more than Cicero would have inferted vates between oracula and fomnia. Cicero has faid oracula, vaticinationes, fomnia; and Milton in like manner would have faid by prefages and figns, and anfevers, oracles, prophecies, not prophets, and dreams. But I fuppofe the poet was not willing to afcribe prophecy to the Devil; he might think, and very juftly Nearer acquainted, now I feel by proof, That fellowship in pain divides not smart, 400 Nor lightens ought each man's peculiar load. juftly think, that it lay not within his fphere and capacity: and by portents he plainly understands fomething more than prefages and figns, as portenta are rank'd with monftra and prodigia in the beft Latin authors. The gentleman feems apprehenfive that his laft quotation from Cicero may be turned against him and indeed that paffage and this reflect so much light on each other, as would incline one to believe that Milton had it in mind as he was compofing. Multa cernunt harufpices: multa augures provident: these are the prefages and figns and anfwers: multa oraculis declarantur, multa vaticinationibus, multa fomniis, multa portentis: here portents are annumerated with oracles and dreams: quibus cognitis, multæ fæpe res hominum fententia atque utilitate parte (or as Lambin reads, ex animi fententia atque tate parta) multa etiam pericula depulfa funt: the fenfe of which is very well expreffed by the following line in Milton, utili in Man That fellowship in pain divides not Smart,] Our author here had his eye this line of the poet, Solamen miferis focios habuiffe doloris. Thyer.. 402. Nor lightens ought each man's peculiar load.] I think it will not be caviling to say, that each man's peculiar load fhould not be put in the mouth of Satan, who was no man, who had confessed to Chrift that he was the unfortunate Arch-Fiend, and who fpeaks of himself. If Milton had been aware of it, he would have corrected it thus, Nor lightens ought each ones peculiar load, or in fome other manner. Befides, the word man is repeated here too often. Nor lightens ought each man's peculiar load. Small confolation then, were man This wounds me most (what can it 404. This awounds me moft &c] Very Man fall'n fhall be reftor'd, I never more. To whom our Saviour fternly thus reply'd. Deservedly thou griev'ft, compos'd of lies From the beginning, and in lies wilt end; 405 Who boast'st release from Hell, and leave to come Comes to the place where he before had fat To all the host of Heav'n: the happy place 415 |