Abdiel, Heb. i. e. A fervant of God; An holy Seraph who zealously oppofed Lucifer in his revolt.

Abide, P. L. 4. 87. To bear or fupport the confequenccs of a thing.

Abortive, That which brings forth nothing. J.

Abraham, Heb. Father of many nations; The son of Terah, the father of the faithful; the friend of God; with whom God entered into covenant to give him a numerous pofterity, and the poffeffion of the land of Canaan.

Abrupt, Divided, without any thing intervening. J.
Abfracted, Separated.

Abyss, A depth without bottom.

Academe, A gymnafium or place of exercise in the fuburbs of the city of Athens, befet with woods, taking its name from Academus.

Acanthus, the herb Bear's-foot.

Accaron, A city on the fouth of Gath, about 36 miles from Jerufalem to the weft. It was once a place of great wealth and power, fo that it held out a long time against the victorious Jews: but it is now a poor despicable village.

Acceffible, That which may be approached.

Acceffories, Men who are guilty of a felonious offence, not principally, but by participation. Acclame, A Shout of praife, acclamation.

fluo,

Acheron, has its name from ayos dolor, and ρεω flowing with grief; and is reprefented accordingly, the river of forrow, agreeable to Virgil's character of

it,

-tenebrofa palus Acheronte refufo.

Lib. 6 v. 107.

-where baleful Acheron fpreads far and wide

Pitt.

His livid, melancholy, murmuring tide. Achieve, 1. To perform, finish. 2. To gain or obtain. J. Achilles, The fon of Peleus King of Theffaly, and Thetis the Goddefs of the fea; a famous hero at the fiege of Troy.

-fad tafk, yet argument, &c. Par. Loft. B. 9. 1. 11.

i. e. The Paradife Loft, even in this latter part of it concerning God's anger, and Adam's diftrefs, is a more heroic fubject than the Wrath of Achilles on his foe Hector, whom he pursued three times round the walls of Troy, according to Homer. Acquift, Acquirement, attainment. Adam fecond, i. e. JESUS CHRIST. Adamant, A ftone of impenetrable hardness. -gates of burning adamant.

Milton here alludes to Virgil,

I Cor. xv. 45.

B. 2. v. 436.

B. 6. v. 552.

Dryden.

Wide is the fronting gate, and, rais'd on high, With adamantine columns threats the sky. Adonis, The God of the Syrians, who, according to tradition died every year, and revived again. He was flain by a wild boar in mount Lebanon, from whence the river Adonis defcends. When this river began to be of a reddish hue, as it did at a certain feason of the year (which Mr. Maundrel attributes to a fort of minium, or red earth, wafhed into the river by the violence of the rain) this was their fignal for cele. brating their Adonia, or feafts of Adonis; and the women made loud lamentations for him, fuppofing the river was difcoloured with his blood. Adramelech, Heb. mighty, magnificent King; One of the idols of Sepharvaim, worshipped by them in Samaria, when tranfplanted thither by Salmanezer. " And

"the Sepharvites burnt their children in the fire to "Adramelech." 2 Kings, xvi. 31.

Adria, The Adriatic Sea, now the Gulf of Venice, which feparates Greece and Illyricum from Italy. Aduft, Burnt up, fcorched.

Egean Ile, fo called from the Egean fea. It is a very tempeftuous fea between Afia and Greece, because of the contrary winds. It runneth from the White Sea into the Mediterranean Sea, and hath a vaft Multitude of Ifles, whereof Lemnos is one. Eolian charms, i. e. Verfes; fuch as thofe of Alcaus and Sappho, who were both of Mitylene in Lefbos,

an ifland belonging to the Eolians. Hor. Od. iii. 30.

v. 13.

Princeps Eolium carmen ad Italos
Deduxiffe modos.

It was happy Horace first

Who to Eolian founds attun'd th' Aufonian lyre.

Aerial, Inhabiting the air.

Francis

Aery, from air. It is ufed by Milton fometimes to fignify fpiritual, angelical, immaterial things.

Etna, The highest mountain in Sicily, called by the inhabitants Monte Gibello, i. e. the Mount of Mouuts. It vomits out dreadful ftreams of fire like those of Mount Vefuvius, which often caufe earthquakes, and great defolation in this ifland. Virgil gives a fine defcription of this volcano, En. Lib. ii. 571. Afer or Africus, The fouth-weft wind, from Africa. Afflicted, is here ufed in the Latin Senfe, Routed, ruined, utterly broken .B. 1. v. 186.

Affront, 1. Outrage, act of contempt. 2. Open oppofition, encounter.

Aflote, i. e. Floating, fwimming upon the furface of the

water.

Agape, (an adverb,) Staring with the Mouth. P. L. 5.357Aggregated, Collected together, many materials heaped into one mafs.

Aghaft, Struck with horror, as at the fight of a spectre. Agoniftes, An actor, a prize-fighter, Gr. Aywusns, ludio, hifirio, actor fcenicus.

Agra, The capital of the kingdom of the fame name, or Indoftan in Afia, is situated on the river Jemma, 300 miles N. E. of Surat. It is a large, beautiful, and populous city, 20 miles in circumference, where the Mogul frequently refides.

Abaz. An idolatrous King of Judah, father of Hezekiah, 2 Kings, 16.

Ajalon, Heb. An oak; The name of a strong city, belonging to the Philiftines, in the Tribe of Dan, four miles from Jerufalem to the south-eaft. See Jo. x. 12.

Alabafler,

Alabaster, A kind of foft marble, eafier to cut, and lefs durable than the other kinds. The white is the most

common. J. Aladule, The Greater Armenia, called by the Turks (under whom the greateft part of it is) Aladule, of its laft King Aladules, flain by Selymus the First in his retreat to Tauris, a great city in Perfia, now called Ecbatana.

Alcairo or Cairo (Grand) The capital of Egypt, fituated in a Plain at the foot of a mountain, 2 miles East of the banks of the Nile, and 100 South of the mouth of that river. It is ten miles in circuit, and is faid to contain near a million of fouls, 30 or 40 frequently dwelling in a houfe. It is the fame with ancient Memphis. Near this city stood the Ægyptian Babylon.

Alchemift, One who purfues, or profeffes the fcience of alchemy. J.

Alchemy, The more fublime chymistry, which propofes the tranfmutation of metals. J.

Alcides, Hercules, fo called from his grandfather Alcæus. See Par. Loft, B. 2. v. 542, &c. Milton here alludes to Hercules's return from the conqueft of chalia a city in Boeotia, from whence he had brought Iole the King's Daughter. Deinara his wife, in jealoufy of his new mistress, fent him an invenom'd robe, which ftuck so close to his skin, that he could not pull off the one without the other. The Pain was alfo fo exquifite that he tore up the Theffalian Pines; and Lichas, who had brought him the poifoned robe, he threw from the top of Eta, a mountain of Theffaly, into the Euboic fea, the fea near Euboea an island in the Archipelago. See Ovid, Met. ix. 136.

Alcinous, He reigned in a Grecian Ifland in the Ionian Sea (now the Gulf of Venice) anciently called Phaacia, then Corcyra, now Corfu under the dominion of the Venetians. The foil is fruitful in oil, wine, and most excellent fruits. This Alcinous is made fa

mous for his gardens, celebrated by Homer, as alfo for the entertainment he gave to Ulyffes.

Aleian, of aleia, Gr. wandering, A Field in Cilicia, where it is faid that Perfeus wandered after his fall from heaven, and died with hunger.

Algiers, The capital of the kingdom of the fame name, the largeft in Barbary, a good fea-port, lying near the mouth of the river Saffran in the Mediterranean, opposite to the island Majorca.

Alimental, That which nourishes. 7. Almanfor, Arab. The Victor, was King of Morocco, who invaded Spain with 60,000 horfe and 100,000 foot, A. D. 1158. He ufurped the territories of the Spanish Moors who invited him over, was beaten by the chriftians, and flain with an arrow at the fiege of Santarin in Portugal.

Alp, i. e. A mountain white with fnow, and so used by Milton for mountains in general, S. A. 620, and Par. Loft, ii. 620. The name is indeed appropriated to the mountains which feparate Italy from France and Germany: but any high mountain may be so called. Amalthea, Gr. i. e. very rich and multiplying; Daughter of Meliffus King of Crete, a miftrefs and nurfe of Jupiter which fed him with goats milk and honey; and likewife mother of Bacchus. Jupiter gave her a horn of plenty which fupplied her with every thing. Hence the copia-cornu. Amara, A high mountain in Abyffinia, about go miles in compafs, a day's journey high, and furrounded with rocks, with only one entrance into it. On the top are many beautiful palaces, where the King's children are educated, and the younger fons kept that they may not disturb the government.

Amarant, Gr. unfading. A Flower of a purple-velvet colour, which, tho' gathered, keeps its beauty, and when all other flowers fade, recovers its luftre by being fprinkled with a little water. It is used as an emblem of immortality..

Amazonian,