Happy for man, so coming; he her aid Behold me then, me for him, life for life, anger fall; £35 240 Account me man; I for his sake will leave Thy bosom, and this glory next to thee Freely put off, and for him lastly die Well pleas'd; on me let Death wreak all his rage; Under his gloomy power I shall not long Lie vanquish'd; thou hast giv'n me to possess Life in my self for ever, by thee I live, Though now to Death I yield, and am his due All that of me can die; yet that debt paid, 24 Thou wilt not leave me in the loathsome grave His prey, nor suffer my unspotted soul For ever with corruption there to dwell: But I shall rise victorious, and subdue My vanquisher, spoil'd of his vaunted spoil; Death his death's wound shall then receive, and Inglorious, of his mortal sting disarm'd. [stoop I through the ample air in triumph high Shall lead hell captive maugre hell, and show 255 250 216 me] The frequent repetition of 'me' is like Virgil, Æn. ix. 427. 255 maugre hell] Such Life that maugre Hell he lives.' Sir T. Hawkins' Horace, (1638) p. 72. Maugre thy fury,'t. 260 The His words here ended, but his meek aspect Glad to be offer'd, he attends the will 265 270 All heav'n, what this might mean and whither tend Wond'ring; but soon th' Almighty thus reply'd: O thou in heav'n and earth the only peace Found out for mankind under wrath, O thou 215 My sole complacence! well thou know'st how dear To me are all my works, nor man the least, Marino's Sl. of the Inn. p. 58. Maugre thine enemies' hate.' Gayton's Ch. Script. p. 3. 4to. 267 immortal love] See Lucret. v. 122. • Immortalia mortali sermone notantes.' Aristot. de Rhetor. ii. 17. 2. ἀθανάτον ὅργην μὴ φύλαττε, θνητὸς ὤν, least] Shakespeare's Lear, act i. scene 1. Although the last, not least.' and Jul. Cæs. act iii. scene 1. Though last, not least, in love.' Newton. 280 Though last created, that for him I spare 295 300 301 destroys] The fall is spoken of as a thing past, but as perhaps present to the divine mind, so ver. 151 and 181. Pearce. Equal to GoD, and equally enjoying A world from utter loss, and hast been found 310 With thee thy manhood also to this throne; I give thee, reign for ever, and assume Thrones, Princedoms, Powers, Dominions, I reduce: 325 306 Equal] Newton says, this is an instance of Milton's orthodoxy;' how could he have overlooked the lines that follow ? "By merit more than birthright Son of God.' 325 archangels] Archangel; v. Thessal. iv. 6. St. Matt. xxiv. 31. Bentl. MS. 'The Archangel Michael is the only Archangel of whom we know any thing from holy Writ.' Horsley's Sermons, p. 583, 8vo. 336 Shall hasten, such a peal shall rouse their sleep. Then, all thy saints assembled, thou shalt judge Bad men and angels; they arraign'd shall sink Beneath thy sentence; hell, her numbers full, Thenceforth shall be for ever shut. Mean while The world shall burn, and from her ashes spring New heav'n and earth, wherein the just shall dwell, And after all their tribulations long See golden days, fruitful of golden deeds, With joy and love triumphing, and fair truth: Then thou thy regal scepter shalt lay by, For regal scepter then no more shall need, GOD shall be all in all. But all Gods Adore him, who to compass all this dies, Adore the Son, and honour him as me. ye 340 345 No sooner had th' Almighty ceas'd, but all The multitude of angels with a shout, Loud as from numbers without number, sweet As from blest voices, uttering joy, heav'n rung With jubilee, and loud hosannas fill’d Th' eternal regions. Lowly reverent Towards either throne they bow, and to the ground With solemn adoration down they cast Their crowns inwove with amarant and gold, Immortal amarant, a flow'r which once In Paradise fast by the Tree of Life 337 golden Virg. Eclog. iv. 9. Toto surget gens aurea mundo.' Hume. 345 angels] On the construction of this sentence, see Pearce's and Monboddo's note. |