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High up in Heav'n, with fongs to hymn his throne,
And practic'd stances to cringe, not fight.

To whom the warrior Angel foon reply'd.
To say and ftrait unfay, pretending first
Wife to fly pain, profeffing next the spy,
Argues no leader but a liar trac'd,

945

Satan, and couldft thou faithful add? O name, 950
O facred name of faithfulness profan'd!

Faithful to whom? to thy rebellious crew?
Army of Fiends, fit body to fit head.

Was this your discipline and faith engag'd,
Your military obedience, to diffolve

Allegiance to th' acknowledg'd Pow'r fupreme?
And thou, fly hypocrite, who now wouldft feem
Patron of liberty, who more than thou
Once fawn'd, and cring'd, and fervily ador'd

945. And practic'd diftances to cringe, not fight.] With is understood. With fongs to hymn his throne, and with practic'd diftances to cringe, not fight. Dr. Bentley has ftrangely mistaken it. 962. award.

arreed] To decree, to

965.- I drag thee] The prefent tenfe ufed for the future, to fignify the immediate execution of the menace. Hume,

955

Heav'n's

A Latinism, and very emphatical.
Qua prima pericula vito. Virg. Æn.
III. 367. Cui famula trädor? Quem
dominum voco? Senec. Troad. 473-
Richardfon.

966. And feal thee fo,] This feems to allude to the chaining of the dragon, that old ferpent, which is the Devil and Satan, mention'd in the Revelation: And he caft him into the bottomless pit, and fhut him up, and fet a feal upon him. XX. 3. Hume. 971. Proud

Heav'n's awful monarch? wherefore but in hope 960

To difpoffefs him, and thyself to reign?

But mark what I arreed thee now, Avant;

Fly thither whence thou fledft: if from this hour.
Within these hallow'd limits thou appear,
Back to th' infernal pit I drag thee chain'd,

965

And feal thee fo, as henceforth not to scorn
The facil gates of Hell too flightly barr'd.

So threaten'd he; but Satan to no threats Gave heed, but waxing more in rage reply'd. Then when I am thy captive talk of chains, 970 Proud limitary Cherub, but ere then

Far heavier load thyfelf expect to feel

From my prevailing arm, though Heaven's king
Ride on thy wings, and thou with thy compeers,
Us'd to the yoke, draw'ft his triumphant wheels

975

In

if from this hour Within thefe hallow'd limits thou appear.

971. Proud limitary Cherub,] limitaneus. Digeft. And as Mr. Thou proud prefcribing Angel that Thyer farther obferves, the word profumeft to limit me, and appoint is intended as a fcornful fneer upon my prifon, according to Mr. Hume. what Gabriel had just faid, Or rather limitary, fet to guard the bounds; a taunt infulting the good Angel as one employ'd on a little mean office, according to Mr. Richardfon. For limitary (as Dr. Heyhin remarks) is from limitaneus. Milites limitanti are foldiers in garrifon upon the frontiers. So Dux

974. Ride on thy wings, &c.] This feems to allude to Ezekiel's vifion, where four Cherubims are appointed to the four wheels: And

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the

In progress through the road of Heav'n ftar-pav'd.
While thus he spake, th'angelic fquadron bright
Turn'd fiery red, sharp'ning in mooned horns
Their phalanx, and began to hem him round
With ported fpears, as thick as when a field
Of Ceres ripe for harvest waving bends

the Cherubims did lift up their wings, and the wheels befides them, and the glory of the God of Ifrael was over them above. See Chap. I. and X. and XI. 22.

980

Her

tions of the army after Agamemnon's speech to the waving of the ears of corn. Iliad. II. 147.

Ως δ' ότε κινησεις Ζεφυρα βαθύ ληϊον ελθών

977. While ibus he fpake, &c.] Λαβρα επαιγίζων, επι τ' εμυθ

The conference between Gabriel and Satan abounds with fentiments proper for the occafion, and fuitable to the perfons of the two fpeakers. Satan clothing himself with terror, when he prepares for the combat, is truly fublime, and at least equal to Homer's defcription of Difcord celebrated by Longinus, or to that of Fame in Virgil, who are both represented with their feet ftanding upon the earth, and their heads reaching above the clouds. Addifon.

980. With ported fpears,] With their fpears born pointed towards him. A military term. Hume.

αςαχνεσσιν Ως των πασ'

азори

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And as on corn when western gufts defcend,

Before the blast the lofty harvests bend:

Thus o'er the field the moving hoft

appears,

With nodding plumes and groves of waving spears. Pope.

986. dilated food, &c.] Our author is indebted, I fancy, for this nervous expreffion to the following defcription of Taffo's Argantes addreffing himself to fight with Tancred, Gier. Lib. Cant. ig. St. 12.

gante.

980-as thick as when a field &c.]. Ma diftefo e eretto il fero ArIt is familiar with the poets to compare an army with their fpears and fwords to a field of ftanding corn. Homer has a fimile much of the fame nature, comparing the mo

Diftefo in Italian is exactly the fame with dilated in English, and expreffes very ftrongly the attitude of

an

Her bearded

grove of ears, which way the wind

Sways them; the careful plowman doubting stands,
Left on the threshing floor his hopeful sheaves
Prove chaff. On th' other fide Satan alarm'd
Collecting all his might dilated stood,
Like Teneriff or Atlas unremov'd:

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985

His

Quantus Athos, aut quantus Eryx, aut ipfe corufcis

Cum fremit ilicibus quantus, gaudetque nivali

Vertice fe attollens pater Apenninus ad auras.

Like Eryx, or like Athos great he shows,

Or father Apennine, when white with fnows,

His head divine obfcure in clouds he hides,

And shakes the founding forest on his fides. Dryden.

Mr. Hume fays that the Peak of Teneriff is 15 miles high, and Mr. Richardson afferts that it is 45 miles perpendicular, if that be not moft that we can fuppofe is that it a falfe print 45 for 15: but the utis 15 miles from the very firft afcent of the hill till you come thro' the various turnings and windings to the top of all; for I have been affur'd from a gentleman who meafur'd it, that the perpendicular highth of it is no more than one mile and three quarters.

988. His

His ftature reach'd the sky, and on his creft

Sat horror plum'd; nor wanted in his grafp

What seem'd both spear and shield: now dreadful

deeds

Might have enfued, nor only Paradise
In this commotion, but the ftarry cope

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989. Sat horror plum'd;] Horror is perfonify'd, and is made the plume of his helmet; and how much nobler an idea is this than the horses tails and fphinxes and dragons and other terrible animals on the helmets of the ancient heroes, or even than the Chimera vomiting flames on the crest of Turnus, Æn. VII. 785

990

Of

Suftinet, Ætnæos eflantem fauci-
bus ignes.

A triple pile of plumes his creft
adorn'd,
On which with belching flames
Chimæra burn'd! Dryden.

989.-nor wanted in his grafp&c.] This is faid to fignify that he wanted not arms, tho he was but juft raised out of the form of a toad. He was reprefented as in arms, II. 812. when he was upon the point of engaging with Death; and we muft fuppofe that his power, as an Angel, was fuch, that he could affume them upon occafion whenever he pleased.

991. nor only Paradife &c.] This reprefentation of what mutt have happen'd, if Gabriel and Satan had encounter'd, is imaged in thefe few lines with a nobleness fuitable to the occafion, and is an improvement upon a thought in Homer, where he represents the terrors which must have attended the conflict of two fuch powers as

Cui triplici crinita juba galea alta Jupiter and Neptune, Iliad. XV.

Chimæram

224.

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