NOTES. ON THE MORNING OF CHRIST'S NATIVITY. THE Ode or Hymn on the Morning of Christ's Nativity is said, in the edition of his Poems which Milton published in 1645, to have been composed in 1629, when the author was only twenty-one years of age, and still a student at Cambridge. Warton conjectures, without sufficient reason, that it was written as a college exercise." It is rather to be considered as one (and the greatest) of a group of voluntary compositions belonging to this period, all of which breathe the same spirit of exalted and devout imagination. These are the odes Upon the Circumcision, and The Passion, and the verses On Time, and At a Solemn Music. Milton distinctly alludes to the Hymn in the conclusion of his sixth Latin elegy, addressed to his friend Diodati : 'At tu siquid agam scitabere (si modo saltem Dona quidem dedimus Christi natalibus illa, Te quoque pressa manent patriis meditata cicutis; Tu mihi, cui recitem, judicis instar eris." Line 5. Holy sages....sing.-The Messianic prophets; e.g., Isa. vii. 14. In the earlier periods of a nation's history the highest wisdom naturally finds expression in verse rather than in prose. The thinker is preeminently a poet. Comp. Spenser, Faery Queene, B. I., c. i., st. 9: The laurell, meed of mightie conquerours Milton himself was a noble example of the wise poet. 6. Forfeit. The penalty of misdeeds; lit., the misdeed itself. [Fr. forfait, forfaire; Lat. foris, out of doors, beyond, and facio, to do; or, more probably, the for (Ger. ver; Lat. per) is the same prefix as in forgive, forget.] Its meaning varies in the older English writers, the word being used to denote harm and wrong as well as the penalty of wrong-doing. The Fall had caused the "deadly forfeit" of the souls of men. 10. Wont Was used. [O. Eng. wone; A.-S. gewunian, to be accustomed, from The wunian, to dwell. Comp. Ger. gewöhnen, adj. gewöhnlich, from wohnen, to dwell. substantive "wont" is the O. Eng. wone; A.-S. wune.]- -Heav'ns high council-table. -The notion of the persons composing the Trinal Unity sitting together at a counciltable is not happy, and shows how difficult it is to attempt an illustration of this theological mystery without lapsing into Tritheism. 14. Darksome house of mortal clay.-Comp. Marston's collection of satires entitled The Scourge of Villanie (1598), B. III., sat. 8: "Leaving his smoakie house of mortall clay." 15. Vein.—Metaphorically for genius. The "poetic vein" is a common expression. Comp. Horace, Ars Poet., l. 409: "Ego nec studium sine divite vena Nec rude, quid possit, video ingenium." Also, Odes, II., xviii., 10. 17. Strain. --A sound produced by the straining or stretching of the voice, hence a song or melody. [O. Fr. estraindre; M. Fr. etreindre; Lat. stringo, to press, or draw tight.] 19. Team. Here, and generally, used to denote two or more oxen or horses harnessed to the same vehicle, but etymologically signifying "offspring," or "family," and so used in A.-S. From the same root as teem; A.-S. tyman and teman, to produce or beget. 21. Squadron. --Originally a square of troops. The word is from the Italian [squadrone, squadra; Lat. quadrum, four-cornered], and reminds us that the Italians were the authors of the military strategy of the Middle Ages. Milton's line was perhaps suggested by the "Heaven's glorious host in nimble squadrons" of Du Bartas (Sylvester's translation, p. 13). 23. Wisards.-Lit., wise men, and so used here. The root of the word is English [A.-S. wisa, a sage], the suffix is French. Comp. sluggard, laggard, steward, &c. In modern parlance it denotes a cunning conjuror, and is employed as the masculine of witch [A.-S. wicce], though no etymological connection exists between the terms. 24. Prevent.-Forestall. [Lat. praevenio, as in the phrase "prevenient grace."] 28. Comp. Isa. vi. 6, 7. Milton devoutly believed that the "inspiration of the Almighty giveth understanding" (Job xxxii. 8), and has elsewhere spoken in the same lofty manner. 31. Manger.-[Fr. mangeoire, from manger; Lat. mando, to eat.] 33. Doff't. To doff is lit. to do-off; hence to take or put off. -Gaudy here signifies "bright," but in modern usage showy or ornamented [O. Fr. gaudir; Lat. gaudeo, to rejoice]. A gaudy day is a festival or show day. The O. Eng. gaud is a toy, an ornament; and the verb in Chaucer has the same meaning: with grene" (Prologue to Canterbury Tales, l. 159). 66 A peire of bedes gaudid al 36. Lusty. Strong, or full of desire; the opposite of listless, without desire: the A.-S. lust, also lyst, signifying primarily, desire; and the verbs lustan and lystan, to wish. Comp. Lat. voluptas, from volo; and libido, from libet. 38. Woo's. Entreats or beseeches, as a lover would. Etymologically, the idea is that of bending, as in adoration [A.-S. woh, a bending or folding]. 44. So near.-Because Christ, the Maker of the world," had now chosen to live in it for a time. 45. Cease.-To cause to cease. Comp. Spenser, Shepheard's Calender (March), l. 102: "" Ne wot I how to cease it." Shakspeare (Timon of Athens, Act ii., sc. 1) has: "Be not ceast with slight deniall." 49. Harbinger.-Fore-runner, or herald; lit., one who goes before to provide a "harbour" or lodging for others. The term "harbour" is now chiefly used to denote a place of shelter for ships, but in O. Eng. meant any place where one might lodge, or rest. Thus Chaucer makes his host, in the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, say: "I ne saugh this yeer so mery a companye At oones in this herbergh as is now." So Barbour (Brus., st. 33): 66 And in ane toun tuk his herbry." While in its primary form hereberga [A.-S. here, army, and beorgan, to protect] it exclusively meant a station where an army rested on its march. 52. The exquisite beauty of this stanza is slightly marred by the poet representing "meek-eyed Peace," as "striking a universal peace through sea and land.” 66 53. Milton in this and the following stanza gives a finely poetical expression to the curious circumstance, so much dwelt upon by the older theologians, that the Roman world enjoyed profound repose at the time when the Prince of Peace" was born. The civil wars were over, and the victorious Octavian ruled with ease and dignity over a community whose passions were exhausted by long and sanguinary struggles. 55. Comp. Propertius, II. xix. 44: Et vetus in templo bellica parma vacat." 56. The "hooked chariot " is the falcatae quadrigae of the Romans. 59. Awful eye.-An eye full of the fear which they felt, not which they inspired; awestruck. Its opposite is awless, as in Shakspeare, King John, Act i., sc. 1: 60. Sovran.-[It. sovrano.] This spelling of the word we owe to the influence of the Italian poets on early English literature. The ordinary spelling, "sovereign," is from the Fr. souverain: both the Fr. and the It. are merely forms of the Lat. supremus. 64. Whist.-Hushed, or silenced. Comp. Marlow and Nash's Dido (1594), "The southerne windes are whist ;" and Ariel's song (Tempest, Act i. sc. 2), "The wild waves whist." The word is onomatopoeic, and is the same as the imperative hist; but the particular form is derived from the A.-S. hwaestrian, to make a whispering noise. Comp. the Sc. whisht, be silent; and whish, a rushing sound. The well-known game of whist, some think, is so called because of the silence and attention it requires. 68. Birds of calm. -The halcyons, or kingfishers. According to the belief of the ancients, during the fourteen winter days when these birds were building their nests and breeding, the sea was calm. Hence the expression 'Halcyon days;" i.e., days of undisturbed and happy tranquillity. 71. Pretious influence.-In Milton's youth, the belief in astrology as a real science was scarcely dead, and if its hold on the reason was only slight, its power over the imagination was still strong. Even yet we please our fancy with such phrases as Illstarred," ‚""Born under a lucky star," &c. That the planets exercised a precious or baneful influence over the fortunes of men might-in the absence of modern convictions-seem beyond doubt to those who had been taught that "the stars in their courses fought against Sisera" (Judges v. 20). The story of the star-led wisards" would also tend to perpetuate a certain vague and mystic belief in their connection with the destinies of the race. 74. Lucifer-i.e., the light-bringer, or morning star. 77. And though the shady gloom, &c.-This stanza bears a resemblance to one in Spenser's April. Milton, as usual, has improved what he has borrowed. 81. As, for "as if," is very common in our older writers, and not uncommon in modern poets. 85. On the lawn. --Milton uses this word in its etymological sense, of a wild plain surrounded by woods. Chaucer spells it "launde" (The Knightes Tale, l. 833): 66 And to the launde he rydeth him ful right, So does Shakspeare (Venus and Adonis, st. 136). It is the same word as land [comp. W. llan, an enclosed space], and its original meaning may still be traced in its modern application. 86. Or ere. Before. The expression is tautological. "Or" is not here used as a conjunction, but as a preposition. Comp. "Or ever the silver cord be loosed" (Eccles. xii. 6). It is the same word as ere [A.-S. aer]. 88. Than.-O. Eng. for then;" A.-S. is thanne, also thonne. Comp. Ger. dann. 89. Mighty Pan. This is a striking example of that curious mixture of Pagan and Christian ideas which marks the poetry of the Middle Ages. Dante calls Christ "Highest Jove" (Purgat., c. VI., l. 118): "O sommo Giove Che fosti'n terra per nos crucifisso." But there is a certain appropriateness in the phrase "Mighty Pan." Pan was the god of shepherds, though we suspect, from the use of the adjective, that the poet has blended in his conception the pastoral myth of the old Arcadian deity and the later fancy (founded on a false etymology) which represented him as the god of the universe. Comp. Par. Lost, B. IV., l. 266-268: The name is not derived the Lat. pasco, to feed. sons of Jacob: "While universal Pan, Knit with the Graces and the Hours in dance, from тò Tâν, the whole, but probably from the same root as The brethren twelve that kept yfere The flockes of mightie Pan." 92. Silly thoughts.—Innocent thoughts. [A.-S. saelig, happy. Comp. Ger. selig.] 103. Cynthia's seat.--Cynthia was a name of Artemis, who was sometimes identified with Selene, the moon-goddess. Her brother, Apollo, the sun-god, was called Cynthius, from Mount Cynthus, in the isle of Delos, where they were born. 105. To think her part was done.-Milton seems to express in this stanza the idea that, with the birth of Christ, the "law of nature," proved to be insufficient for the guidance of man, had been superseded by the dispensation of grace. 111. Shame-fac't.-Now spelled "shame-faced," but the second syllable has nothing to do with "face." The O. Eng. is shamefast, and fast [A.-S. faest] means strongly, thoroughly, or effectually, as in the phrases, "Fast asleep," "Stand fast in the liberty," &c. The correct spelling is still seen in steadfast." Comp. Ger. fest, as in hand-fest. 116. Unexpressive--i.e., inexpressible. So Lycidas, l. 176, And hears the unexpressive nuptial song;" and Shakspeare, As You Like It, Act iii., sc. 2, “The fair, the chaste, the unexpressive she." 119. The sons of morning.— Job xxxviii. 7, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." "When the morning stars sang together, 124. Weltring.-A.-S waeltan, to roll, or toss, or wallow. Comp. Ger. wälzen, with the same meaning; also walzen, to revolve, to waltz; and Lat. volutare (from volvo).. -Oozy.-A.-S. wase, mud, or mire. 125. Ring out, ye crystal spheres.-An allusion to the ancient doctrine of the music of the spheres." 128. And let your silver chime, &c.-Comp. Machin's Dumbe Knight (1608): "" It was as silver as the chime of spheres." The doctrine of the ancients regarding the music of the spheres has suggested some exquisite lines to Shakspeare. See Merchant of Venice, Act v., sc. 1. " 131. Ninefold harmony.-Milton's astronomy was probably derived from the De Sphaera of Sacro Bosco. The seven planets known to the ancients formed each a sphere, the starry heaven made the eighth, and the Primum Mobile, which moved the whole, the ninth. In addition to these, a tenth, called the watery or 'crystalline heaven, was sometimes reckoned. Milton applies the term crystal to the whole. 132. Consort.-Harmony, agreement; lit., "sharing the same lot " [Lat. con-sors]. It is not the same word as concert," though here, and often in our older writers, used in the same sense. Concert [It. concerto, Fr. concert] is from the Lat. conserere, to unite, or combine. 136. Speckl'd vanity.-Comp. Horace, Odes, B. IV., v. 23, “Maculosum nefas. 139,140. And Hell itself will pass away, &c.-Comp. Virgil, Aen., B. VIII. 245: 145. Sheen. "Non secus ac si qua penitus vi terra dehiscens Pallida diis invisa; superque immane barathrum Brightness; from the verb to shine." [A.-S. scine. The adj. is scóne. Comp. Ger. schön, beautiful.] The picture of Mercy here given may have been suggested to Milton by the frontispiece to Sylvester's translation of Du Bartas' Triumph of Faith, where Christ at the judgment-day is represented as sitting on a rainbow, with wreaths of clouds under his feet. 155. Ychain'd.--The y is a relic of the A.-S. past-participle ge, still preserved in the German; but the word itself is a hybrid formation. Chain" is not English; it is the Fr. chaine, Lat. catena. In his epitaph on Shakspeare, Milton prefixes the y to a present-participle, also from the Lat., which is doubly wrong: Under a star-ypointing pyramid." ་ 159. Smouldring clouds. Clouds in which the consuming fire is concealed under thick smoke. The root of the word smoulder" seems to be the Danish smul, dust. It is allied to smother, Sc. smoor, It was formerly used as a substantive (Gascoigne;: "The powder sendes his smoke into the cruddy skies, The smoulder stops our nose with stench, the fume offends our eyes." gast; Sc. ghaist; Ger. geist]. 160. Agast.-Horror-struck as at a ghost [A.-S. 163. Session.[Lat. sessio, from sedeo, to sit.] The sitting of any judicial court or assembly. Thus we have "petty sessions," and quarter sessions;" and, in Scotland, "kirk-sessions," " Court of Session," &c. Here it is applied to the court of final appeal in the destinies of the human race, "the world's last session." Comp. 2 Cor. v. 2–10: "For we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ," &c. 170. Not half so far casts his usurped sway. The pagan world was believed to worship (unwittingly) the devil and his angels, who, under the guise of gods, had beguiled men and "usurped sway" over their souls and consciences. See 1 Cor. x. 20. What inspired the first Christians with heroic faith, and courage, and perseverance, was the conviction that they were engaged literally in a "holy struggle" against the kingdom of Satan (not a mere inert kingdom of evil, but an aggressive power, furnished with all the sinews of war). Though their forces seemed to be small, in reality they were great; for the eternal power of God was put forth on their behalf. Hence the exulting argument, If God be for us, who can be against us?" &c. Modern Christendom can but faintly realize the spiritual enthusiasm of the early Church, and the rapidity of its religious propagandism. 172. Swindges.—To “swindge" is to beat or strike, to whirl, brandish, or toss about. Sylvester has it in his translation of Du Bartas: Then often swindging with his sinewie traine." It is the same word "as swing" [A.-S. swingan], and is still used in Sc.: as, waters gae'd a swinge,”—i.e., the waters rushed or whirled round. "The 173. The oracles are dumb, &c.—The nineteenth and twentieth stanzas are perhaps the finest in the Hymn. The language of the former is sonorous and majestic; the latter is a model of classic grace and beauty. The ecclesiastical belief that the oracles ceased at the birth of Christ was doubtless well known to Milton; but it is not improbable that the outline of these stanzas was suggested to him by a note of the old commentator on Spenser's Pastorals in May, who copied Lavaterus's treatise De Lemuribus, newly translated into English: "About the time that our Lord suffered his most bitter passion, certaine persons sayling from Italie to Cyprus, and passing by certaine iles called Paxa, heard a voyce calling aloud, 'Thamus! Thamus!' the pylot of the ship; who, giuing eare to the cry, was bidden, when he came to Palodas, to tell that the great god Pan was dead which he doubting to doe, yet for that when he came to Palodas, there was such a calme of wind that the ship stood still in the sea vnmoored, he was forced to cry aloud that Pan was dead: wherewithall there was heard such piteous outcries and dreadful shrieking as hath not been the like. By |