band; which reading does indeed make the last distich feem loose, unconnected, and abfcinded from the reft. But the author gave it Then band in hand: which continues the prior sentence, Eve profefs'd her readiness and th crity for the journey, ver. 614; but now lead on ; In me is no delay. And why their folitary way? Al words to represent a forrowful part Some natural tears they dropt, but ing? when even their former waln wip'd them foon; Then hand in hand. Nor can thefe two verfes poffibly be Apparent diræ facies, inimicaque Numina magna Deûm. They must therefore be difmifs'd out of Eden, to live thenceforward in fome other part of the world. And yet this diftich, as the gentleman well judges, falls very much below the foregoing paffage. It contradicts the poet's own scheme; nor is the diction unexceptionable. He tells us before, That Adam, upon hearing Michael's predictions, was even furcharg'd with joy, ver. 372; was replete with joy and wonder, ver. 468; was in doubt, whether he fhould repent of, or rejoice in his fall, ver. 475; was in great peace of thought, ver. 558; and Eve herfelf not fad, but full of confolation, ver. 620. Why then does this diftich difmifs our first parents in anguish, and the reader in melancholy? And how can the expreffion be juftified, with and'ring fteps and flow? Why vand'ring? Erratic fteps? Very improper: when in the line before, they were guided by Providence. And why flow? when even in Paradife were as folitary, as ther way now there being no body be fides them two both here and there Shall I therefore, after fo many prir prefumptions, prefume at last toafer a diftich, as clofe as may be to the author's words, and entirely agre able to his fcheme? Then hand in hand with files comfort chear'd. Bentley. Efay Tay on Pope's Odyffey, Part 2. ben hand in hand with focial fteps might be their guide, without pointing out to them which way they fhould take at every flep: The words Providence their guide fignify that now fince Michael, who had hitherto conducted them by the hand, was departed from them, they had no guide to their fteps, only the general guidance of Providence to keep them fafe and unhurt. Eve (it is plain) expected that her fteps would berwand'ring ones, when upon being told that the was to leave Paradife, he breaks out into these words, XI. 282. How fhall I part? and whither Again the Doctor asks, Why flow fteps; when Eve profefs'd her readinefs and alacrity for the journey, ver. 614? But that readiness was not an abfolute one, it was a choosing rather to go than to ftay behind this reading we may object, that there without Adam, ver. 615 &c. e verb wants the word they before In that view fhe was ready to go: for it is too far to fetch it from but in the view of leaving the der. 645, when two verfes, of a lights of Paradife, they were both ite different conftruction, are in- backward and even linger'd, ver.638. ted between. Again, chear'd with Their fteps therefore were flow. nfort feems tautologous, for com- And why (fays the Doctor) is their t is imply'd in chear'd, without way call'd folitary, when their walks being mention'd. Laftly, if they in Paradife were as folitary as their ent hand in hand, there is no need way now, there being no body betell us, that their fteps were focial; fides them two both here and there? ey could not be otherwife. So It may be anfwer'd, that their way uch for the Doctor's reading. We was folitary, not in regard to any e now to confider the objections companions whom they had met hich the Doctor makes to the with elfewhere; but because they efent reading. It contradicts (fays were here to meet with no objects of =) the poet's own scheme, and the any kind that they were acquainted ction is not unexceptionable. With with: Nothing here was familiar to gard to the diction, he asks, Why their eyes, and (as Adam, then in ere the steps wand'ring ones, when Paradife, well expreffes it in XI. rovidence was their guide? But it 305.) - all all places elfe Inhofpitable appear, and defolate, Nor knowing us, nor known. being for rejecting, others for alte [And may we not by folitary underitand farther their being now left by the Angel?] The laft, but the main, objection which the Doctor makes, is that this diftich contradicts the poet's own scheme. To fupport this charge, he has referr'd us to half a dozen places of this twelfth book, where Adam or Eve are spoken of, as having joy, peace, and confolation &c; and from thence he concludes that this distich ought not to dismiss our first parents in anguish, and the reader in melancholy. But the joy, peace, and confolation fpoken of in thofe paffages are reprefented always as arifing in our firft parents from a view of fome future good, chiefly of the Meffiah. The thought of leaving Paradife (notwithstanding any other comfort that they had) was all along a forrowful one to them. Upon this account Eve fell fleep wearied with forrow and diftress of heart, ver. 613. Both Adam and Eve linger'd at their quitting Paradife, ver. 638, and they dropt fome natural tears on that occafion, ver. 645. In this view the Arch-Angel, ver. 603, recommends to our first parents that they fhould live unanimous, tho' fad with caufe for evils past. And for a plainer proof that the fcheme of the poem was to difmifs them not without forrow, the poet in XI. 117. puts thefe words into God's mouth, as his inftruction to Michael, So fend them forth, though forrow ing, yet in peace. Pearce. These two last verses have occafion'd much trouble to the critics, fome d'ring fteps and flow,Į and then the quicker flow of the l verfe with only the ufual pante in the middle, Through Eden took their foly way; as if our parents had moved herniy at firft, being loath to leave the delightful Paradife, and afterward mended their pace, when they wer at a little diftance. At least th the idea that the numbers conver and as many volumes might be ca pos'd upon the structure of Milton verses, and the collocation of words, as Erythræus and other tics have written upon Virgil. We ve taken notice of feveral beauties The number of books in Paradife Loft is equal to thofe of the Eneid. Our author in his first edition had ivided his poem into ten books, out afterwards broke the seventh and he tenth each of them into two different books, by the help of fome mall additions. This fecond divion was made with great judgment, as any one may fee, who will be at he pains of examining it. It was not done for the fake of fuch a -himerical beauty as that of refemoling Virgil in this particular, but For the more juft and regular difpoition of this great work. Thofe who have read Boffu, and many of the critics who have written fince his time, will not pardon me if I do not find out the particular moral which is inculcated in Paradise Loft. Though I can by no means think, with the laft mention'd French author, that an epic writer firft of all pitches upon a certain moral, as the ground-work and foundation of his poem, and afterwards finds out a ftory to it: I am however of opinion, that no juft heroic poem ever was or can be made, from whence one great moral may not be deduced. That which reigns in Milton, is the most univerfal and most useful that can be imagin'd; it is in fhort this, That obedience to the will of God makes men happy, and that disobedience makes them miferable. This is vifibly the moral of the principal fable, which turns upon Adam and Eve, who continued in Paradise, while they kept the command that was given them, and were driven out of it as foon as they had tranfgreffed. This is likewife the moral of the principal episode, which shows us how an innumerable multitude of Angels fell from their flate of blifs, and were caft into Hell upon their difobedience. Befides this great moral, which may be looked upon as the foul of the fable, there are an infinity of under morals, which are to be drawn from the feveral parts of the poem, and which make this work more useful and inftructive than any other poem in any language. Those who have criticized on the Odyffey, the Iliad, and Æneid, have taken a great deal of pains to fix the number of months and days contained in the action of each of those poems. If any one thinks it worth his while to examin this particular in Milton, he will find that from Adam's first appearance in the fourth book, to his expulfion from Paradife in the twelfth, the author reckons by a happy invention, a difiant i ten days. As for that part of the action which is described in the three first books, as it does not pass within the regions of nature, I have before obferved that it is not fubject to any calculations of time. I have now finished my observations on a work, which does an honor to the English nation. I have taken a general view of it under thefe four heads, the fable, the characters, the fentiments, and the language, and made each of them the fubject of a particular paper. I have in the next place ipoken of the cenfures which our author may incur under each of these heads, which I have confined to two papers, though I might have inlarged the number, if I had been difpofed to dwell on fo ungrateful a fubject. I believe however that the feverest reader will not find any little fault in heroic poetry, which this author has fallen into, that does not come under one of thofe heads, among which I have diftributed his feveral blemishes. After having thus treated at large of Paradife Loft, I could not think it fufficient to have celebrated this poem in the whole, without defcending to particulars. I have therefore beflowed a paper upon each book, and endevored not only to prove that the poem is beautiful in general, but to point out its particular beauties, and to determin wherein they confift. I have endevored to fhow how fome paffages are beautiful by being fublime, others by being foft, others by being natural; which of them are recommended by the paffion, which by the moral, which by the fentiment, and which by the expreffion. I have likewife endevored to show how the genius of the poet fhines lufion, or a judicious imitation; how Alem And thus have we finifh'd our co lections and remarks on this div poem. The reader probably have obferved that thefe two books fall fliort of the fublimity and majefty of the reft: and fo likewi do the two laft books of the Ex and for the fame reason, because t fubject is of a different kind fre that of the foregoing ones. Th fubject of thefe two last books of the Paradife Loft is history rather the poetry. However we may fill d cover the fame great genius, and the |