Corn wine and oil; and from the herd or flock, 20 With large wine-offerings pour'd, and facred feast, his not doing it must be imputed to his mind's being fo unhappily imbitter'd, at the time of his writing, against our government both in church and ftate; fo that to the many other mischiefs flowing from the grand rebellion we may add this of its depriving Britain of the beft panegyric it is ever likely to have. Thyer. 16. With fome regard to what is juft and right] This anfwers to the filver age of the poets, the Paradifiacal ftate is the golden one. That of iron begins foon, ver. 24. Richardfon. 24. till one fall rife &c.] It is generally agreed that the firft governments in the world were patriarchal, by families and tribes, and that Nimrod was the first who laid the foundations of kingly government among mankind. Our author therefore (who was no friend to kingly government at the beft) reprefents him in a very bad light as a moft wicked and infolent tyrant, but he has great authorities, both Jewish and Chriftian, to justify him 25 With for fo doing. The Scripture fays of Nimrod, Gen. X. 9. that he was a mighty hunter before the Lord: And this our author understands in the worst sense, of hunting men and not beafts and men not beafts shall be his game. But feveral commentators understand it in the fame manner, and the Scripture applies the word to hunting of men by perfecution, oppreffion, and tyranny. Jer. XVI. 16. Lam. IV. 18. Ezek. XIII. 18, 20. And fo the Jerufalem Targum here expounds it of a finful hunting of the Jons of men. The phrafe before the Lord feems to be perfectly indifferent in itself, and made ufe of only by way of exaggeration: but in this place the greatest number of interpreters take it in a bad sense, in the fame manner as when it is faid of the men of Sodom that they were finners before the Lord, Gen. XIII. 13. as alfo of Er the eldest fon of Judah that he was wicked in the fight of the Lord, Gen. XXXVIII. 7. And St. Auftin in particular would have it tranflated not before the Lord but against the Lord. With fair equality, fraternal state, Will arrogate dominion undeferv'd Over his brethren, and quite difpoffefs Concord and law of nature from the earth, Hunting (and men not beasts shall be his game) 30 35 He Lord. Our author, in conformity clame, proclame, &c. being derived to this opinion, says Before the Lord, as in defpite of but then takes in the other inter- Or from Heav'n claming fecond elaming, fo Milton fpells the word from the Latin clamo and the French clamer. And from rebellion fhall derive bis He with a crew, whom like ambition joins Marching from Eden tow'ards the weft, fhall find 40 A city' and tow'r, whose top may reach to Heaven; In foreign lands their memory be lost, of his party were ftigmatiz'd as the worst of rebels. 40. Marching from Eden towards the weft, &c.] Gen. XI. 2 &c. And it came to pass as they journeyed from the caft, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar And they had brick for fione, and flime had they for morter. And they faid, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whofe top may reach unto Heaven, and let us make us a name, left we be feattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. The Hebrew chemar which we tranflate flime is what the Greeks call afphaltus and the Latins bitumen, a kind of pitch; and that it abounded very much in the plain 45 To near Babylon, that it fwam upon the waters, that there was a cave and fountain continually emitting it, and that this famous tower at this time, and the no lefs famous walls of Babylon afterwards were built with this kind of cement, is confirm'd by the teftimony of feveral profane authors. This black bituminous gurge, this pitchy pool the poet calls the mouth of Hell, not frialy fpeaking, but by the fame fort of figure by which the ancient poets call Tænarus or Avernus the jaws and gate of Hell, Tænarias etiam fauces, alta oftia Ditis. Virg. Georg. IV. 467. 51. Comes To mark their doings, them beholding foon, 50 55 Forthwith a hideous gabble rifes loud Among the builders; each to other calls Not understood, till hoarfe, and all in rage, As mock'd they ftorm; great laughter was in Heaven And looking down, to see the hubbub ftrange 51. Comes down to fee their city, &c.] Gen. XI. 5 &c. And the Lord came down to fee the city and the tower, which the children of men builded &c. The Scripture fpeaketh here after the manner of men: And thus the Heathen Gods are often re 60 And has made fome alterations here, and the context confider'd I know not whether they are not for the better; great laughter is in Heaven All looking down thus is the building left: prefented as coming down to obferve but afterwards I find the author the actions of men, as in the ftories varying the tenfe in feveral places, of Lycaon, Baucis and Philemon&c. and fpeaking of things future as 53. a various fpirit] 2 Chron. XVIII. 22. 'Tis faid the Lord had time when the Angel is fpeaking, paft, future with regard to the put a lying spirit in the mouth of but paft with regard to the time the prophets; here he puts a va- which he is fpeaking of. Great rious fpirit in the mouth of these builders, a spirit varying the founds laughter was in Heaven &c. And by which they would exprefs their laughing at the aukward limping thus Homer represents the Gods as thoughts one to another, and bring- carriage of Vulcan in waiting, Iliad. ing confequently confufion, whence the work is fo call'd. I. 599. Richardfon. 59. great laughter was in Heaven &c.] Dr. Bentley Ασβεστ@ δ' αρ' ενωρτο γελως μακαρέωι θεοισιν, Ως And hear the din; thus was the building left But as Mr. Thyer adds, it is rather too comic for the grave character of Milton's Gods to be reprefented peeping down and laughing like a parcel of mere mortals, to fee the workmen puzled and fquabbling about their work: tho' there are fuch expreffions even in Scripture, Pfal. II. 4. He that fitteth in the Heavens fall laugh; the Lord fhall have them in derifion. See too Pfal. XXXVII. 13. LIX. 8. Prov. I. 26. I alfo will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh, 62. 9. 65 70 But and the work Confufion nam'd.] For Babel in Hebrew fignifies Confufion. Therefore is the name of it called Babel, because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth. Gen. XI. q. As the poet represents this confufion among the builders as an object of ridicule, fo he makes ufe of fome ridiculous words, fuch as are not very ufual in poetry, to highten that ridicule, as jangling noife, hideous gabble, frange hubbub. 71. human left from human free.] Every reader must be pleafed with the fpirit of liberty, that breathes in this fpeech of our firft anceftor: And it is not improbable that the author had in mind a paffage of St. Austin, as I find it quoted by Mr. Hume. Rationalem factum ad imaginem fuam, noluit |