At the firft op'ning of the Eye,

The various Clufters break, the antick Atoms fly.
The guilty Serpents, and obfcener Beafts,
Creep confcious to their fecret Refts:

Nature to Thee does Rev'rence pay,

Ell Omens and ill Sights remove out of thy Way.
At thy Appearance Grief itself is faid

To make his Wings, and rowze his Head;
And cloudy Care has often took

A gentle beamy Smile, reflected from thy Look.
At thy Appearance Fear itself grows bold;
Thy Sun-fhine melts away his Cold:
Ev'n Luft, the Master of a harden'd Face,
Blushes if thou be'ft in the Place;

To Darkness' Curtains he retires,

In fympathizing Night he rolls his fmoaky Fires.
When, Goddefs, thou lift'ft up thy waken'd Head
Out of the Morning's Purple Bed,

Thy Choir of Birds about Thee play,
And all the joyful World falutes the rifing Day.
All the World's Brav'ry, that delights our Eyes,
Is but thy feveral Liveries.

Thou the rich Dye on them bestow'ft;
Thy nimble Pencil paints this Landskip as thou go'ft.
A crimson Garment in the Rofe thou wear'ft,
A Crown of ftudded Gold thou bear'st.
The Virgin Lillies in their Wbite,

Are clad but with the Lawn of almost naked Light,
The Violet, Spring's little Infant, ftands

Girt in thy purple Swaddling-bands.

On the fair Tulip thou doft doat,

Thou cloath'ft it with a gay and party-colour'd Coat.
But the vaft Ocean of unbounded Day

In the Empyrean Heav'n does ftay;

Thy Rivers, Lakes, and Springs below,

From thence took firit their rife, thither at last must flow.

Hail holy Light! Off-fpring of Heav'n, Firft-born,

Or of the Eternal Co-eternal Beam:

Bright Efluence of bright Effence increate!

Or hear'ft thou rather pure etherial Stream,

Whole Fountain who fhall tell? Before the Sun,
Before the Heav'ns, thou wert; and at the Voice
Of God, as with a Mantle, didft inveft
The rifing World of Waters dark and deep.

Won

Won from the void and formless Infinite:
Thus I revifit now with bolder Wing,
Efcap'd the Stygian Pool, tho' long detain'd
In that obfcure Sojourn; while in my Flight
Thro' utter, and thro' middle Darkness borne,
With other Notes than to th' Orphean Lyre,
I fung of Chaos and eternal Night;
Taught by the heav'nly Muse to venture down
The dark Defcent, and up to re-afcend,
Tho' hard and rare: Thee I revisit safe,
And feel thy fov'reign vital Lamp; but thou
Revifit'ft not thefe Eyes, that roll in vain
To find thy piercing Ray, and find no Dawn:
So thick a Drop ferene has quench'd their Orbs,
Or dim Suffufion veil'd. Yet not the more
Cease I to wander where the Mufes haunt,
Clear Spring, or fhady Grove, or funny Hill,
Smit with the Love of facred Song: But chief
Thee, Sion, and the flowry Brooks beneath,
That wash thy hallow'd Feet, and warbling flow,
Nightly I vifit: Nor fometimes forget
Those other Two, equal'd with me in Fate,
So were I equal'd with them in Renown,
Blind Thamyris, and blind Maonides,
And Phineas and Tirefias, Prophets old:
Then feed on Thoughts that voluntary move
Harmonious Numbers, as the wakeful Bird
Sings darkling, and in fhadieft Covert hid,
Tunes her nocturnal Note. Thus with the Year
Seasons return, but not to me returns

Day, or the sweet Approach of Ev'n and Morn,
Or Sight of vernal Bloom, or Summer's Rofe,
Or Flocks, or Herds, or human Face divine:
But Cloud instead, and ever-during Dark
Surrounds me; from the chearful Ways of Man
Cut off, and for the Book of Knowledge fair
Prefented with a univerfal Blank

Of Nature's Works, to me expung'd and raz'd;
And Wisdom at one Entrance quite fhut out:
So much the rather, thou Celeftial Light,
Shine inward, and the Mind thro' all her Pow'rs
Irradiate; there plant Eyes, all Mift from thence
Purge and difperfe, that I may fee and tell

Of Things invifible to mortal Sight. Milt. Spaken of himself.

LIGHTNING: See Greatness. Necromancer. Sickness. Singing. Storm. Thunder.

Quick Lightning flies when heavy Clouds rufh on,
And ftrike like Steel and Flint, or Stone and Stone:
For then fmall Sparks appear, and fcatter'd Light
Breaks fwiftly forth, and wakes the fleepy Night.
The Night, amaz'd, begins to hafte away,

As if thofe Fires were Beams of coming Day. Cree, Luc.
As when fome dreadful Thunder-clap is nigh,.
The winged Fire shoots fwiftly thro' the Sky,..
Strikes and confumes ere fcarce it does appear,
And by the fudden Ill, prevents the Fear. Dryd. Ind. Emp.
As when tempeftuous Storms o'erfpread the Skies,
In whofe dark Bowels in-born Thunder lies;.
The wat'ry Vapours, numberlefs, confpire..
To fmother and opprefs th' imprifon'd Fire;
Which, thus collected, gathers greater Force,.
Breaks out in Flames, and with impetuous Course ·
From the Clouds gaping Womb in Lightning flies,
Flashing in ruddy Streaks along the Skies.

The difmal Lightnings all around.

Blac...

Some flying thro' the Air, fome running on the Ground,
Some fwimming o'er the Water's Face,
Fill'd with bright Horror ev'ry Place..

As when by Lightnings, Jove's etherial Pow'r
Foretels the rattling Hail, or weighty Show'r,
Or fends foft Snows to whiten all the Shore,
Or bids the brazen Throat of War to roar;
By Fits one Flash fucceeds as one expires,

And Heav'n flames thick with momentary Fires. Pope Hom.. The Clouds,

Justling or pufh'd by Winds, rude in their Shock,

Tine the flant Lightning, whofe thwart Flame, driv'n down,

Kindles the gummy Bark of Fir, or Pine.

As where the Lightning runs along the Ground,

No Husbandry can heal the blafting Wound;
Nor bladed Grass, nor bearded Corn fucceed,

Milt.

But Scales of Scurff and Putrefaction breed. Dryd, Hind. &; Like Lightning's fatal Flash,..

Which by deftructive Thunder is purfu'd,

(Panth.

Blafting thofe Fields on which it fhin'd before. Roch. Valent. As when a pointed Flame of Lightning flies,

With mighty Noife exploded from the Skies;

The

The ruddy Terror, with refiftless Strokes,
Invades the mountain Pines, and foreft Oaks;
Wide Lanes acrofs the Woods, and ghaftly Tracks,
Where-e'er it goes the swift Destruction makes.

Blac:

LION. See Creation. Enjoyment. Frown. Joy. Paradije. Retreat. Revenge. Twilight.

So fome fell Lion, whom the Woods obey, Roars thro' the Defart, and demands his Prey. Pope Hom. Thus as a hungry Lion, who beholds

Virg.

A gamefome Goat, that frifks about the Folds,
Or beamy Stag that grazes on the Plain,
He runs, he roars, he thakes his rifing Mane:
He grins, he opens wide his greedy Jaws;
The Prey lies panting underneath his Paws:
He fills his famish'd Maw, his Mouth runs der
With unchew'd Morfels, while he churns the Gore. Dryd.
As when fome Huntfman, with a flying Spear,
From the blind Thicket wounds a stately Deer,
Down his cleft Side, while fresh the Bloed diftils,
He bounds aloft, and feuds from Hills to Hills;
"Till Life's warm Vapour iffaing through the Wound,
Wild mountain Wolves the fainting Beaft furround :
Juft as their Jaws his proftrate Limbs invade,
The Lion rushes thro' the woodland Shade,
The Wolves, tho' hungry, fcour difpers'd away,
The lordly Savage vindicates his Prey.

Pope Hom

So, prefs'd with Hunger from the Mountain's Brow, Defcends a Lion on the Flocks below; So ftalks the lordly Savage o'er the Plain, In fullen Majefty and ftern Difdain : In vain loud Maftiffs bay him from afar, And Shepherds gaul him with an iron War; Regardless, furious, he purfues his Way;

He foams, he roars, he rends the panting Prey. Pope Hom The famifh'd Lion thus, with Hunger bold,

O'erleaps the Fences of the nightly Fold;

And tears the peaceful Flocks: With filent Awe
Trembling they lie, and pant beneath his Paw. Dryd. Virg.
So when the gen'rous Lion has in Sight

His equal Match he rowses for the Fight
But when his Foe lies proftrate on the Plain,
ke fheaths his Paws, uncurls his angry Mane;

And

And pleas'd with bloodlefs Honours of the Day, (Panth Walks over, and difdains th' inglorious Prey. Dryd.Hind. As on the fleecy Flocks when Hunger calls,

Amidst the Field a brindled Lion falls;

If Chance fome Shepherd with a distant Dart,
The favage Wound, he rowfes at the Smart,

He foams, he roars; the Shepherd dares not Stay,
But trembling leaves the fcatt'ring Flocks a Prey;
Heaps fall on Heaps, he bathes with Blood the Ground,
Then leaps victorious o'er the lofty Mound.

As when the lordly Lion feeks his Food,

Where grazing Heifers range the lonely Wood,
He leaps amidst them with a furious Bound,

Pope Hom.

(Hom.

Bends their strong Necks, and tears them to the Ground. Pope So two young mountain Lions, nurs'd with Blood,

In deep Receffes of the gloomy Wood,

Rufh fearless to the Plain, and uncontroul'd,
Depopulate the Stalls, and wafte the Fold;

'Till, pierc'd at Distance from their native Den,

O'erpower'd they fall beneath the Force of Men. Pope Hom.
As when the Swains the Lybian Lion chace,

He makes a four Retreat, nor mends his Pace;
But if the pointed Jav'lin pierce his Side,
The lordly Beaft returns with double Pride:
He wrenches out the Steel, he roars for Pain,
His Sides he lashes, and erects his Mane.

His Eye-balls flash with Fire,

Thro' his wide Noftrils Clouds of Smoke expire. Dryd.Virg.
Thus as a Lion, when he fpies from far

A Bull, that feems to meditate the War,
Bending his Neck, and fpurning back the Sand,
Runs roaring downward from his hilly Stand,
To rush from high on his unequal Foe,

Like a Lion,

Dryd. Virg

Who long has reign'd the Terror of the Woods,
And dar'd the boldeft Huntsmen to the Combat ;
'Till caught at length within fome hidden Snare,
With foaming Jaws he bites the Toils that hold him,
And roars, and rolls his fiery Eyes in vain : (Amb. Stepm.
While the furrounding Swains wound him at Pleasure. Rowe.
So joys a Lion, if the branching Deer,
Or mountain Goat, his bulky Prize appear:
In vain the Youths oppofe the Mastiffs bay;
The lordly Savage rends the panting Prey.

Pope Hom.. LOOKS.