363

Satan's view at least, ginning of a previous yens. Now, though Treatise of Christian in that treatise, was would not have been of the Son as subseAccording to Bishop treatise referring to Son of God existed the whole creation," things were made in em to be an inconested in the present iel (lines 835-840), provided for by the een begotten on that et by Him originally emselves, been made. Milton drew a distinc

4 power of the Divine Son," dating the first from before all Creation last within the limits of story, and so denying what ship."

don, as distinct from an he end of a lance. ons, Princedoms, Virtues, is seems implied, as if the next those with "dominaration is common in poems ngels. coagulated are Psalm ii. 67,

xxii. 16; Isaiah xlv. 23;

notions harmony divine," etc. the music of the spheres," or or regulating, the motions of ourite one with Milton, and

osed... rejoicing in their joy."

comparing, distinguishing, etc.; Intuitive Reason is immediate insight, or perception of what must be true necessarily. 509. "the scale of Nature set," etc.: i.e. "planted that ladder (scala, a ladder), or fixed that gradation, of Nature, from its centre to its circumference, on which," etc.

546-548. "than when Cherubic songs," etc. IV. 680-688, with references there.

See note,

557. "Worthy of sacred silence to be heard." Literally, as Richardson noted, from Horace, Od. II. xiii. 29.

576. "more than on Earth is thought." In these words and in the passage in which they appear, "what if Earth," etc., one rather sees Milton himself speaking to his contem poraries than Raphael speaking at a time when there wer only two human beings on the Earth to have opinions.

577. "As yet this World was not," etc. At this point we have the true chronological beginning of the whole poem; and from this point to the end of Book VIII. is mainly a retrospective history, in colloquy between Raphael and Adam, of events prior to the action of the poem itself as related hitherto.

579–583. “on a day on such day as Heaven's great year brings forth." Here, at the outset, Milton's, or Raphael's, plan of narrating the events of the eternal or transcendental world so as to make them analogically conceivable by the human mind involves him in a daring image, with a perplexing theological consequence. Heaven has its "great year,”—perhaps that "great year of the Heavens,” imagined by Plato, which is measured by one complete revolution of all the spheres, so that all are brought back to the exact condition of mutual arrangement from which they set out, and are ready to begin a new repetition of their vast courses. Well, on a day such as this great year brings forth, -the first day of one such enormous Heavenly revolution,there was an assembling of the Heavenly hierarchies, by summons, to hear a grand new announcement of the will of the Infinite Father. It was that on that day had been begotten the only Son, and that he was constituted and anointed Head and Lord over all things. Now, as the Angelic hosts were assembled to hear this decree, they had indefinitely pre-existed the day so splendidly marked, and it came as a kind of interruption or new epoch in their existence. This seems farther hinted in a subsequent speech of Satan (lines

853-863), where it is implied that, in Satan's view at least, the Angels had come into being at the beginning of a previous great year or natural cycle of the Heavens. Now, though Milton was an Arian, as is proved by his Treatise of Christian Doctrine, yet his Arianism, as avowed in that treatise, was of the kind called High Arianism, which would not have been content with imagining the ascendancy of the Son as subsequent to the creation of the Angels. According to Bishop Sumner's summary of the portion of the treatise referring to this subject, Milton asserted that "the Son of God existed in the beginning and was the first of the whole creation," and that "by his delegated power all things were made in heaven and in earth." There might seem to be an inconsistency between this and what is suggested in the present passage. But see the speech of Abdiel (lines 835-840), where the seeming inconsistency is provided for by the assertion that, although the Son had been begotten on that day of the assembling of the Angels, yet by Him originally had all things, including the Angels themselves, been made. It seems unavoidable to suppose that Milton drew a distinction between the essential existence and power of the Divine Logos and "his being begotten as the Son," dating the first as from the beginning, or at least from before all Creation and all Angels, but placing the last within the limits of created time and of the angelic history, and so denying what theologians call "the Eternal Sonship."

589. "gonfalons." A gonfalon, as distinct from an ordinary standard, was a flag at the end of a lance.

601.1 "Thrones, Dominations, Princedoms, Virtues, Powers." A gradation of rank seems implied, as if the "throned Angels" were highest, next those with "dominations," and so on. The enumeration is common in poems and prose-writings about the Angels.

602-609. The texts here coagulated are Psalm ii. 67, cx. 1; Eph. iv. 15; Genesis xxii. 16; Isaiah xlv. 23; Philipp. ii. 10, 11; Heb. i. 5.

625-627. "And in their motions harmony divine," etc. The Pythagorean notion of "the music of the spheres," or an actual music produced by, or regulating, the motions of the heavenly orbs, was a favourite one with Milton, and often recurs in his writings.

636–641. "On flowers reposed... rejoicing in their joy."

Instead of these six lines, which appear thus in the Second Edition, the First Edition has only these three :

"They eat, they drink, and with refection sweet

Are fill'd, before th' all bounteous King, who showrd
With copious hand, rejoycing in their joy."

658-661. "Satan- -so call him now," etc. See Book 1. 361-375.

671. "his next subordinate," i.e. Beelzebub.

689. "the quarters of the North." The poetico-theological tradition that the north parts of Heaven were the seat of the Angelic rebellion seems to have been founded on Isaiah xiv. 12, 13.

710. "the third part of Heaven's host." Rev. xii. 3, 4.

753, 754. "from one entire globose stretched into longitude," i.e. conceived as extended or rolled out from its globose form into a plane continuous in one direction, like that of longitude in the maps.

766. "the Mountain of the Congregation called." Isaiah xiv. 13.

805. "Abdiel." The name means "Servant of God." 809. "blasphemous": to be pronounced "blasphemous.”

66

BOOK VI.

19. war in procinct," i.e. in readiness.

A Roman army, ready for battle, was said stare in procinctu (from procingere, "to gird tight in front"), the soldiers having then their garments girt tight round them.

29-43. "Servant of God," etc. This is the meaning of the name Abdiel. lection of Matt. 2 Tim. ii. 15.

44, 45.

In the speech to Abdiel there is a recolxxv. 21, 1 Tim. vi. 12, Ps. lxii. 7,

"Go, Michael," etc. 49. Equal in number," etc.

66

Rev. xii. 7, 8.

As the rebel Angels were

one-third of the Heavenly Host, this implies that half of the remainder only were detached to meet them.

62. "in mighty quadrate": in cubic mass.

II. 512.

See note,

84. "argument," i.e. "carved or painted design "; in which sense Milton uses the Latin word "argumentum" in his Epitaphium Damonis, 185.

66

147. my Sect." In this phrase, and throughout the passage, Milton has a secondary reference to his own position in England at the time when the poem was written.

170. "both their deeds": an unusual construction, for the deeds of both of them (i.e. of "servility" or the loyal angels, and "freedom" or the rebel Angels).

222. "These elements," i.e. the elements of the terrestrial world amid which Raphael was speaking to Adam.

239. 'moment," i.e. impelling force, momentum.

332. "nectarous humour," i.e. the ichor of the Gods, as in Homer, Iliad, v. 340, which Milton must have had in mind. 365-372. "Adramelech ("Splendid King") is from 2 Kings xvii. 31. "Asmadai" is the evil spirit Asmodeus : see note, Iv. 168-171. "Ariel" ("Lion of God") is suggested by Ezra viii. 16, and Isaiah xxix. 1; "Arioch" ("Lion-like") by Dan. ii. 14, where it is the name of a man. "Ramiel" does not occur in Scripture.

399. "in cubic phalanx": see above, line 62.

441, 442. "Or equal... in nature none." The meaning is "Or equal that, whatever it was, which made the odds between us, an odds not existing so far as our constitution is concerned."

447. "Nisroch" (perhaps "Great Eagle") is from 2 Kings xix. 37.

470-491. "Not uninvented," etc. In this passage,

ascribing the invention of gunpowder and artillery to Satan, Milton but follows Ariosto, Spenser, and preceding poets.

496. "cheer": aspect, countenance: from old Fr. chière, Ital. cera, face or countenance.

520. "pernicious," i.e. destructively sensitive.

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532. In motion or in halt." I have not seen it noticed that in the original text the word is not "halt" but "alt," and that this spelling "alt" remains in the Second and Third Editions.

535. "Zophiel" ("Spy of God") is perhaps a name of Milton's invention.

552. "in hollow cube." See above, lines 62 and 399. 558-567. "Vanguard," etc. Observe the irony of the

speech and the string of puns in it.

572-578. "A triple-mounted row," etc. It has been suggested that this must mean that there were three rows of cannon, one behind the other. But the poet seems clearly