170

Women, when nothing else, beguil'd the heart
Of wifeft Solomon, and made him build,
And made him bow to the Gods of his wives.
To whom quick answer Satan thus return'd.
Belial, in much uneven scale thou weigh'st
All others by thyself; because of old

Thou thyself doat'dft on womankind, admiring 175
Their fhape, their color, and attractive grace,
None are, thou think'ft, but taken with fuch toys.
Before the flood thou with thy lufty crew,

very low and mean; and appears too the more fo, as it immediately follows fome of the finest and most masterly verses in the whole poem. The fimile is in itself trite and common, and the conceit implied in the word hardest boyish to the laft degree. This fhows that all Milton's learning and genius could not entirely preferve him from being infected with that fanciful fort of wit, which too much prevailed in the age, in which he first form'd his tafte.

177. None are, thou think' ft, but taken with fuch toys.] The Line would be clearer, if it run thus, None are, thou think'ft, taken but with fuch toys. Sympfon.

178. Before the food &c] It is to be lamented that our author has fo often adopted the vulgar notion of

Falfe

the Angels having commerce with women, founded upon that mistaken text of Scripture, Gen. VI. 2. The fons of God faw the daughters of men, that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chofe. See Paradife Loft III. 463. and V. 447. But tho' he seems to favour that opinion, as we may fuppofe, to embellish his poetry, yet he fhows elsewhere that he underftood the text rightly, of the fons of Seth, who were the worshippers of the true God, intermarrying with the daughters of wicked Cain. Paradife Loft XI. 621.

False titled fons of God, roaming the earth
Caft wanton eyes on the daughters of men,

180

And coupled with them, and begot a race.
Have we not feen, or by relation heard,

In courts and regal chambers how thou lurk'st,
In wood or grove by moffy fountain fide,
In valley or green meadow, to way-lay
Some beauty rare, Califto, Clymene,
Daphne, or Semele, Antiopa,

Or Amymone, Syrinx, many more

180. Caft wanton eyes on the daugh

ters of men,] In Pfellus's Dialogue De Oper. Dæm. these fenfualities feem to be confin'd to the three loweft orders of evil Demons: [p. 39. Ed. Gaulm. Lut. Par. 1615.] and Afmodai in the Greek of Tobit is called only a Demon or an evil Demon; tho' the Talmudifts, Grotius fays, [not. ad Tobiam] fet him at the head of all the Demons. In our poet's time it was seriously believed by very learned men of our own, addicted to the Platonic philofophy, that the Devil had carnal commerce with witches. See More's Antidote against atheism. B. 3. chap. 12. Calton.

182.

185

Του

or by relation beard,] Here Milton forgot himfelf. It is a Devil who speaks; yet the words can only fuit the poet. Warburton. 188. many more

Too long, ] A concife way of fpeaking for many more too long to mention. The author had used it before. Paradife Loft III. 473. And indeed more would have been too long, and it would have been better, if he had not enumerated so many of the loves of the Gods. Califto, Semele, Antiopa were miftreffes to Jupiter; Clymene, and Daphne to Apollo; Amymone to Neptune, and Syrinx to Pan. These things are known to every schoolboy, but add no dignity to a divine poem: and in my opinion are not the moft pleafing fubjects in painting any more than in poetry, tho' wrought by the hand of a TiF 2

tian

1

Too long, then lay'ft thy fcapes on names ador'd,
Apollo, Neptune, Jupiter, or Pan,

Satir, or Faun, or Sylvan? But these haunts
Delight not all; among the fons of men,

many

19

How
Of beauty and her lures, eafily fcorn'd

have with a smile made fmall account

tian or a Julio Romano. But our author makes ample amends in what follows.

190. Apollo, Neptune, &c] Both here and elfwhere Milton confiders the Gods of the Heathens as Demons, or Devils. Пales 'oi e Tov Svar Samovia. Pfal. XCV. 5. And the notion of the Demons having commerce with women in the fhape of the Heathen Gods is very ancient, and is exprefly afferted by Juftin Martyr, from whom probably our author borrow'd it. ειρήσεται γαρ τ' αληθές" επει το παλαιον δαίμονες φαυλοί επιφάνειας ποιησαμενοι, και γωαίκας εμοιχάσαν, κ. τ. λ. For verily I must tell you, that heretofore thefe impure Spirits under various apparitions went into the daughters of men, and defiled boys, and drefs'd up fuch scenes of horror, that fuch as enter'd not into the reafon of things, but judg'd by appearance only, ftood aghaft at the fpecters, and being fhrunk up with fear and amazement, and never imagining 'em to be Devils call'd 'em Gods, and invok'd 'em by fuch titles, as every Devil was

Al

pleas'd to nick-name himself by And again. But far be it from men of fenfe to harbour fuch opi nions of the Gods, namely that their Jove the fupreme, and Father of all the Gods, fhould be a parricide, and the fon of a parricide, and be captivated by the vileft lufts, and defcend upon Ganimede, and a crew of notorious adultereffes, and beget children after his own likeness. But as I have faid, these were the actions of wicked Spirits. ann', we werequi, ci δαιμονες ταυτα επραξαν. Apol. I. p. 1o & 33. Edit. Thirlbii.

196. Remember that Pellcan con

queror, &c] Alexander the great, who was born at Pella in Macedonia: and his continence and clemency to Darius's queen, and daughters, and the other Perfian ladies whom he took captive after the battle at Iffus, are commended by the hiftorians. Tum quidem ita fe geffit, ut omnes ante eum reges et continentia et clementia vincerentur. Virgines enim regias excellentis formæ tam fancte habuit, quam fi eodem quo ipfe parente genitæ forent: conjugem

ejufdem,

All her affaults, on worthier things intent ? Remember that Pellean conqueror,

A youth, how all the beauties of the east

He flightly view'd, and flightly overpass'd; How he firnam'd of Africa difmifs'd

In his prime youth the fair Iberian maid.

For Solomon, he liv'd at ease, and full

Of honor, wealth, high fare, aim'd not beyond
Higher defign than to enjoy his state;

Thence to the bait of women lay expos'd:

But he whom we attempt is wifer far
Than Solomon, of more exalted mind,
Made and set wholly on th' accomplishment
Of greatest things; what woman will

"of hiftorians. His ego verfibus "credo addu&tum Valerium An"tiatem adverfum cæteros omnes fcriptores de Scipionis moribus fenfiffe. Lib. 6. cap. 8. And "what he thought of this hiftorian's modefty and truth, we may collect from what he tells us of him in another place, "where having quoted two tribunicial decrees, which he fays he tranfcribed from records, (ex annalium monumentis) he adds, that Valerius Antias made no fcruple to give the lie to them "in public. Valerius autem An"tias, contra hanc decretorum

you find,

295

Πως τις παρελθων ομματ θελκτήριον

Τοξάμ' επεμψεν, ἱμερα νικωusio. Thyer.

214. - as the zone of Venus once Wrought that effect on Jove, fo

fables tell;] Alluding to the famous ftory in Homer, of Juno's borrowing the girdle of Venus, and thereby deceiving Jupiter. Iliad. XIV. 214.

H2