Hath vex'd the Red-Sea coaft, whose waves o'erthrew Bufiris and his Memphian chivalry, While with perfidious hatred they pursued The fojourners of Goshen, who beheld From the safe shore their floting carcafes 310 And broken chariot wheels: fo thick beftrown Virgil (and therefore may be allow'd to Milton) in a comparifon, after they have shown the refemblance, to go off from the main purpose and finish with fome other image, which was occafion'd by the comparison, but is itself very different from its Milton has done thus in almost all his fimilitudes; and therefore what he does for frequently, cannot be allow'd to be an objection to the genuinnefs of this paffage before us. As to Milton's making Pharaoh to be Bufiris (which is another of the Doctor's objections to the paffage) there is authority enough for to juftify a poet in doing fo, tho' not an hiftorian: It has been fuppos'd by fome, and therefore Milton might fellow that opinion. Chivalry for cavalry, and cavalry (fays Dr. Bentley) for chariotry, is twice wrong. But it is rather twice right: for-chivalry (from the French chevalerie) fignifies not only knighthood, but thofe who use horfes in fight, both fuch as ride on horfes and fuch as ride in chariots drawn by them : Under In the fenfe of riding and fighting on horfeback this word chivalry is ufed in ver. 765. and in many places of Fairfax's Taffo, as in Cant. 5. St. 9. Cant 8. St. 67. Cant. 20. St. 61. In the fenfe of riding and fighting in chariots drawn by horfes, Milton ufes the word chi valry in Parad. Reg. III. ver. 343. compar'd with ver. 328. Pearce. 308.-perfidious hatred] Because Pharaoh, after leave given to the Ifraelites to depart, follow'd after them like fugitives. Hume. T 310. From the Safe Shore their. floting carcafes &c.] Much has been faid of the long fimilitudos of Homer, Virgil, and our author, wherein they fetch a compafs as it were to draw in new images, befides thofe in which the direct point of likenefs confifts. I think they have been fufficiently juftify'd in the general: but in this before us, while the poet is digref fing, he raifes a new fimilitude from the floting carcafes of the Egyptians. Heyline ཟླ་ 328.- with Under amazement of their hideous change." He call'd fo loud, that all the hollow deep Of Hell refounded. Princes,' Potentates, 315 Warriors, the flow'r of Heav'n, once yours, now loft, If fuch aftonishment as this can feife" Eternal Spi'rits; or have ye chos'n this place After the toil of battel to repofe Your wearied virtue, for the ease you find 320 To flumber here, as in the vales of Heaven? Or in this abject posture have ye fworn Th' advantage, and defcending tread us down J Thus drooping, or with linked thunderbolts Transfix us to the bottom of this gulf. Awake, arise, or be for ever fall'n. 325 330 They heard, and were abafh'd, and up they fprung Upon Who pleaseth to read the Devil's Taffo, Cant. 4. from Stanza 9 to: Stanza Illum expirantem transfixo pectore fpeech to his damned affembly in Lammas Upon the wing, as when Men wont to watch-- Nor did they not perceive the evil plight In which they were, or the fierce pains not feel; Of Amram's fon, in Egypt's evil day, 335 Wav'd round the coaft, up call'd a pitchy cloud 340 him. Hume. 345 350 A Stanza 18, will find our author has upon the land, and the eaft-wind feen him, tho' borrow'd little of brought the locufis: and the locufis went up over all the land of Egypt338. As when the potent rod &c.] fo that the land was darken'd. See Exod. X. 13. Mofes fretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, felves forward, a fea term. and the Lord brought an eaft-wind VOL. I. 341-warping] Working them M Hume and Richardfon. 351 A A multitude, like which the populous north And Pow'rs that erft in Heaven fat on thrones; 351. A multitude, like which &c.] This comparison doth not fall below the reft, as fome have imagin'd. They were thick as the leaves, and numberless as the locufts, but fuch a multitude the north never pour'd forth; and we may obferve that the fubject of this comparison rifes very much above the others, leaves and locufts. The populous north, as the northern parts of the world are obferved to be more fruitful of people, than the hotter countries: Sir William Temple calls it the northern hive. Pour'd never, a very proper word to exprefs the inundations of these northern nations. From her frozen loins, it is the Scripture expreffion of children and defcendents coming out of the loins, as Gen. XXXV. 11. Kings fall come out of thy loins; and these are call'd frozen loins only on ac 355 360 Be count of the coldness of the climate. To pafs Rhene or the Danaw, He might have faid confiftently with his verfe The Rhine or Danube, but he chofe the more uncommon names Rhene of the Latin, and Danaw of the German, both which words are ufed too in Spenfer. When her barbarous fons &c. They were truly barbarous; for befides exercifing feveral cruelties, they deftroy'd all the monuments of learning and politenefs wherever they came. Came like a deluge. Spenfer defcribing the fame people has the fame fimile. Fairy Queen. B. 2. Cant. 10. St. 15. And overflow'd all countries far Be no memorial, blotted out and ras'd 364 Got them new names, till wand'ring o'er the earth, Of mankind they corrupted to forfake Glory of him that made them to transform and Vandals, who overrun all the fouthern provinces of Europe, and croffing the Mediterranean beneath Gibraltar landed in Africa, and fpread themselves as far as the fandy country of Libya. Beneath Gibraltar that is more fouthward, the north being uppermoft in the globe. 363-the books of life.] Dr. Bentley reads the book of life, that being the Scripture expreffion. And Shakefpear fays likewife blotted from the book of life, Richard II. A&I. My name be blotted from the book of life. But the author might write books in the plural as well as records juft before; and the plural agrees better with the idea that he would give of the great number of Angels. 357. By falfities and lies] That 379 And is, as Mr. Upton obferves, by false idols, under a corporeal reprefentation, belying the true God. The poet plainly alludes to Rom. I. 22, &c. When they knew God, they glorified him not as God and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image who changed the truth of God into a lie. So Amos H. 4. Their lies caufed them to crr. Jerem. XVI. 19. Surely our fathers have inherited lies &c. 369. and th' invifible Glory of him that made them to transform Oft to the image of a brute,] Alluding to Rom. I. 23. And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God, into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beafts, and creeping things. 372. With gay religions full of tomp and gold,] By religions Milton M 2 |