A scriptural and allegorical glossary to Milton's Paradise lost

Garden of Eden; and the waste, and desolate, and ruined cities, are become fenced, and are inhabited. "What is requisite," exclaims that great and original genius, Dr. Young, "to make a man wise and happy, but reflection and peace;" "And both," continues the pious Horne," are the natural growth of a garden: a garden to the virtuous, is a paradise still extant—a paradise unlost."

'Till one greater Man.

That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign, through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom. v. 21. The character of Christ, is the only perfect standard of moral virtue; It has this advantage over every other example, however excellent, that it is excellence without the admixture of any contrary principle. In him there is the marvellous union of majesty and meekness, of greatness and condescension: his humility was always tempered by grandeur, and his grandeur was always softened by humility.

And regain the blissful seat.

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in paradise. Luke xxiii. 43. A voice from heaven hath said, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, from henceforth, yea saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow them.

Oreb and Sinai.

Mountains in Asia.

That shepherd.

Moses kept the flock of his father-in-law, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. Exod. iii. 1. Jehovah came down upon mount Sinia, and called Moses up to the top of the Exod. xvii. 20.

mount.

the chosen seed.

And the Lord said unto Abraham, in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

In the beginning.

When it pleased God to begin his work of creation, all things were made by him, even by his Almighty word, and without him was not any thing made, that was made. That fulness of power, wisdom, and benignity, which was in him, was the fountain of life to the whole creation.

10 Rose out of Chaos.

A rude and shapeless mass of matter, and confused assemblage of inactive elements.

or if Sion hill.

Sion was the city of God. In the temple which stood there, cherubim were the ornaments of the walls, both in the holy and most holy place, to signify the presence of angels; there was a general assembly and congregation of the priests, which were substituted instead of the first-born; there was God, as the supreme judge of controversies, giving forth his oracles.

and Siloa's brook that flow'd.

A spring of water sent from God, at the prayer of Isaiah, a little before his death, when the city was besieged; herein a blind man washed his eyes

at Christ's command, and received his sight. 15 Above th' Aonian mount.

The supposed abode of the muses. 16 And chiefly thou, O Spirit, that dost prefer, Before all temples th'upright heart and pure.

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. John iv.

24.

34 Th'infernal Serpent.

Satan, the adversary; the great and avowed enemy of God and man.

him the Almighty Power, Hurl'd headlong flaming from th’ethereal sky.

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. Rev. xii. 7, 9.

but rather darkness visible.

There arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. Rev. ix. 2.

81 Beelzebub.

Beelzebub, the prince of the Devils. Matt.

xii. 24.

129. Seraphim.

In scripture denotes an Angel of the first order. 157 Cherub.

An Angel of the second order.

197 As whom the fables name of monstrous size, Titanian, or Earth-born.

And it came to pass, when men began to mul

tiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them; that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were fair, and they took them wives of all which they chose; there were giants in the earth in those days, the same became mighty men, which were of old men of renown; and God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually; and the Lord said I will destroy man, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Gen. vi. 1.

Notwithstanding the awful warning of the destruction of the earth by the flood, we find the descendants of this just man guilty of idolatry, that Rachael, the wife of Jacob, stole the images that were her Fathers; the worship of idols of wood and stone spread over the earth; in after ages, at Athens, St. Paul's spirit was stirred up in him, when he saw the whole city giving up to idolatry.

199 Briareos.

A giant, who, according to the heathen mythology, warred against heaven, and had fifty heads, and a hundred hands.

199 Typhon.

A huge giant who also warred against heaven. 200 Tarsus.

Celebrated for the great men it produced, was a town of Cilicia, a country of Asia Minor, on the sea coast to the north of Cyprus, west of the Euphrates, and south of mount Taurus, the largest mountain of Asia.