115 Who from the terror of this arm fo late Who now triumphs, and in th' excess of joy 120 So fpake th' apoftate Angel, though in pain, 125 Vaunting aloud, but rack'd with deep despair: this whole paffage, which has perplex'd and confounded fo many readers and writers, is render'd plain and easy to be understood. 116. fince by fate &c.] For Satan fuppofes the Angels to fubfift by fate and neceflity, and he reprefents them of an empyreal, that is a fiery fubftance, as the Scripture itself doth; He maketh his Angels fpirits, and his minifters a flame of fire. Pfal. CIV. 4. Heb. I. 7. Satan difdains to fubmit, fince the Angels (as he fays) are neceffarily immortal and cannot be deftroy'd, and fince too they are now improved in experience, and may hope to carry on the war more And fuccefsfully, notwithstanding the prefent triumph of their adversary in Heaven. 124. - the tyranny of Heaven.] The poet fpeaking in his own per fon at ver. 42. of the fupremacy of the Deity calls it the throne and monarchy of God; but here very artfully alters it to the tyranny of Hea ven. Thyer. 125. So pake th' apoflate Angel, deep defpair:] The fenfe of the last verfe rifes finely above that of the former: In the first verse it is only faid, that he spake though in pain: In the last the poet expreffes And him thus anfwer'd foon his bold compeer. And put to proof his high supremacy, 130 Whether upheld by ftrength, or chance, or fate; That with fad overthrow and foul defeat 135 Hath loft us Heav'n, and all this mighty host In horrible deftruction laid thus low, As far as Gods and heav'nly effences Can perish: for the mind and fpi'rit remains 140 Here Here swallow'd up in endless mifery. But what if he our conqu'ror (whom I now Of force believe almighty, fince no lefs Than fuch could have o'er-pow'r'd fuch force as ours) Have left us this our spirit and ftrength entire Strongly to fuffer and fupport our pains, That we may fo fuffice his vengeful ire, 146 By right of war, whate'er his business be 150 Here in the heart of Hell to work in fire, To undergo eternal punishment? 155 Whereto with speedy words th' Arch-Fiend reply'd. Fall'n Cherub, to be weak is miferable Doing or fuffering: but of this be fure, To do ought good never will be our task, But ever to do ill our fole delight, As being the contrary to his high will Whom we refift. If then his providence Out of our evil feek to bring forth good, 157.-to be weak is miferable Doing or fuffering:] Satan having in his fpeech boafted that the Arength of Gods could not fail, ver. 116. and Beelzebub having faid, ver. 146. if God has left us this our firength entire, to fuffer pain strongly, or to do him mightier fervice as his thralls, what then can our strength avail us? Satan here replies very properly, whether we are to fuffer or to work, yet ftill it is fome comfort to have our frength undiminifh'd; for it is a miferable thing, (fays he) to be weak and without ftrength, whether we are doing or fuffering. This is the fenfe of the place; and this is farther confirm'd by what Belial fays in II. 199. To fuffer as to do Our frength is equal- Pearce. 159. To do ought good never will be our task, Dr. Bentley would read it thus, To do ought good will never be our task, as of a smoother and ftronger accent: but I conceive that Milton 160 Our intended to vary the accent of never and ever in the next verse. 169. But fee the angry victor bath recalled &c.] Dr. Bentley hath really made a very material objection to this and fome other paffages of the poem, wherein the good Angels are reprefented, as pursuing the rebel hoft with fire and thunderbolts down through Chaos even to the gates of Hell; as being contrary to the account, which the Angel Raphael gives to Adam in the 6th book. is certain that there the good Angels are order'd to ftand fill only and behold, and the Meffiah alone expels them out of Heaven, and after he has expelled them, and Hell has clos'd upon them, VI. 880. Sole victor from th'expulfion of his foes And it Meffiah his triumphal chariot turn'd: To meet him all his Saints, who Thefe Our labor must be to pervert that end, And out of good still to find means of evil; Thefe accounts are plainly contrary the one to the other: but the author doth not therefore contradict himself, nor is one part of his scheme inconfiftent with another. For it fhould be confidered, who are the perfons that give thefe different accounts. In book the 6th the Angel Raphael is the speaker, and therefore his account may be depended upon as the genuin and exact truth of the matter. But in the other paffages Satan himself or fome of his Angels are the fpeakers; and they were too proud and obftinate ever to acknowledge the Meffiah for their conqueror; as their rebellion was rais'd on his account, they would never own his fuperiority; they would rather afcribe their defeat to the whole hoft of Heaven than to him alone; or if they did indeed imagin their purfuers to be fo many in number, their fears multiplied them, and it ferves admirably to exprefs how much they were terrified and confounded. In book the 6th, 830. the noife of his chariot is compard to the found of a numerous VOL. I. 165 170 Back But what a condition was Chaos in Nine days they fell; confounded And felt tenfold confufion in their Through his wild anarchy, fo huge a rout Incumber'd him with ruin. We muft fuppofe him therefore to Ruin upon ruin, rout on rout, |