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Might fuddenly inflict; that paft, return'd

345

By night, and lift'ning where the hapless pair
Sat in their fad discourse, and various plaint,
"Thence gather'd his own doom, which underflood
Not inftant, but of future time, with joy
And tidings fraught, to Hell he now return'd,
And at the brink of Chaos, near the foot
Of this new wondrous pontifice, unhop'd
Met who to meet him came, his ofspring dear.
Great joy was at their meeting, and at fight
Of that stupendous bridge his joy increas'd.
Long he admiring ftood, till Sin, his fair
Inchanting daughter, thus the filence broke.
O Parent, these are thy magnific deeds,

fun rofe in Aries, he fteers his courfe
directly upwards betwixt the Cen-
taur and the Scorpion, two conftel-
lations which lay in a quite different
part of the Heavens from Aries.
344-
which underflood
Not inftant, but of future time,
with joy &c.] In Milton's
own editions, and in all the reft
which I have seen till Mr. Fenton's
and Dr. Bentley's it was falfely
printed thus,

which underflood
Not inflant, but of future time.
With joy &'c.

-350

354 Thy

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But the fenfe evidently fhows that ver. 312.

Thy trophies, which thou view'ft as not thine own;
Thou art their author and prime architect:
For I no fooner in my heart divin'd,

My heart, which by a fecret harmony

Still moves with thine, join'd in connexion sweet, That thou on earth hadft profper'd, which thy looks Now alfo evidence, but ftrait I felt

361

Though distant from thee worlds between, yet felt That I must after thee with this thy son,

Such fatal consequence unites us three:

Hell could no longer hold us in her bounds,

363

Nor this unvoyageable gulf obfcure

Detain from following thy illustrious track.
Thou hast achiev'd our liberty, confin'd

Within Hell gates till now, thou us impower'd

372

To fortify thus far, and overlay

With this portentous bridge the dark abyss. Thine now is all this world; thy virtue' hath won

368. Thou hast achiev'd our liberty, confin'd

Within Hell gates till now, -] What liberty confin'd in Hell? a mere contradiction, fays Dr. Bentley. He therefore reads Us, us confin'd till now in Hell. But our is the fame as of us and Milton means, the liberty of us confin'd till now in Hell.

What

See more inftances of this IV. 129.
VIII. 423. and IX. 908. Peart.

381. His quadrature, from thy t

bicular world] This wer is orbicular or round; the empyreal Heaven is a quadrature or fquare. Our author had faid before, Book II. 1048. that it was undetermin's fquare or round, and fo it might be

What thy hands builded not, thy wisdom gain'd
With odds what war hath loft, and fully' aveng'd
Our foil in Heav'n; here thou shalt monarch reign,
There didst not; there let him still victor sway, 376
As battel hath adjudg'd, from this new world
Retiring, by his own doom alienated,
And henceforth monarchy with thee divide
Of all things parted by th' empyreal bounds,
His quadrature, from thy orbicular world,
Or try thee now more dangerous to his throne.
Whom thus the Prince of darkness answer'd glad,
Fair Daughter, and thou Son and Grandchild both,
High proof ye now have giv'n to be the race
385
Of Satan, (for I glory in the name,

Antagonist of Heav'n's almighty king)
Amply have merited of me, of all

Th' infernal empire, that fo near Heav'n's door
Triumphal with triumphal act have met,

to Satan viewing it at that diftance: But here he follows the opinion of Gaffendus and others, who say that the Empyréum or Heaven of Heavens is of a fquare figure becaufe the holy city in the Revelation is fo defcrib'd, Rev. XXI. 16. And the city lieth four-fquare, and the length is as large as the breadth.

380

390 Mine

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395

Mine with this glorious work, and made one realm
Hell and this world, one realm, one continent
Of eafy thorough-fare. Therefore while I
Defcend through darkness, on your road with ease,
To my affociate Pow'rs, them to acquaint
With thefe fucceffes, and with them rejoice,
You two this way, among these numerous orbs
All yours, right down to Paradise descend;
There dwell and reign in blifs, thence on the earth
Dominion exercise and in the air,

Chiefly on Man, fole lord of all declar'd,

Him firft make fure your thrall, and lastly kill.

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400

My

the fame words as Mofes does Jo fhua. Deut. XXXI. 7, 8.

412. Spreading their bane ;] Ovid's defcription of the journey of Envy to Athens, and Milton's of Sin and Death's to Paradife, have a great imitates, he adds a greatnefs to it; resemblance. But whatever Milton as, in this place, he alters Ovid's flowers, herbs, people and cities to ftars, planets and worlds. Ovid. Met. II. 791.

Quacunque ingreditur,florentia pro-
terit arva,
Exuritque herbas, et fumma caca-
mina carpit;
Afflatuque fuo populos, urbefqu
domofque
Polluit.

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My fubftitutes I fend ye, and create
Plenipotent on earth, of matchlefs might
[ffuing from me: on your joint vigor now
My hold of this new kingdom all depends,
Through Sin to Death expos'd by my exploit.

If

your joint pow'r prevail, th' affairs of Hell

No detriment need fear; go and be ftrong.

405

So faying he difmifs'd them; they with speed 410 Their course through thickest constellations held, Spreading their bane; the blafted stars look'd wan, And planets, planet-ftruck, real eclipse

Then fuffer'd. Th' other way Satan went down

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The

Ufci quel fozzo vomito d' inferno,
Sentiro i fiori intorno, e la verdura
Fiati di pefte, et aliti d' Auerno...
Poria col ciglio influpidir natura,
Inborridire il bel pianeta eterno,
Intorbidar le ftelle, e gli elementi.

So Taffo fpeaking of Alecto. Gier.
Lib. Cant. 9. St. 1.

Si parte, e doue paffa i campi lieti
Secca, e pallido il fol fi fà repente.
Thyer.

413. And planets, planet-ftruck,] We fay of a thing when it is blafted and wither'd, that it is planet-ftruck; and this is now applied to the planets themfelves. And what a fublime idea doth it give us of the devaftations of Sin and Death!

417. And

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