171 Flames in the forehead of the morning sky: waves, Where other groves and other streams along, With nectar pure his oozy locks he laves, In the bleft kingdoms meek of joy and love. 175 There There entertain him all the Saints above, That fing, and finging in their glory move, And wipe the tears for ever from his eyes. Nor th' infuppreffive mettle of our fpirits. I have feveral times had the pleafure of making the fame remarks and obfervations as Mr. Thyer, and here we had both mark'd thefe inftances from Shakespear. 177. In the bleft kingdoms meek of joy and love.] That is in the bleft kingdoms of meek joy and love; a tranfpofition of the adjective, which we meet with alfo in the Paradife Loft, IX. 318. 180 185 Thus 183. Henceforth thou art the ge nius of the fore,] This is faid in allufion to the ftory of Melicerta or Palæmon, who with his mother Ino was drown'd, and became a fea-deity propitious to mariners. Ovid, Met. IV. Faft. VI. Virgil Georg. I. 436. Votaque fervati folvent in littore nautæ Glauco, et Panopeæ, & Inoo Melicertæ. And as Mr. Jortin obferves, it is pleasant to fee how the most antipapistical poets are inclined to ca So fpake domeftic Adam in his nonize and then to invoke their care, in which verfe domeftic is without doubt to be join'd to care, and not to Adam as the common opinion is. So also in the fame book, ver. 225.1 and th' hour of supper comes anearn'd. Thyer. friends as faints. See the poem on the fair Infant. St. 10. Thus fang the uncouth swain to th' oaks and rills, At last he rose, and twitch'd his mantle blue: Majorefque cadunt altis de montibus umbra. 189. With eager thought warbling his Doric lay:] He calls it Doric lay, because it imitates Theocritus and other paftoral poets, tion of a rural evening, but I Virgil's is an admirable defcripwho wrote in the Deric dialect. know not whether Milton's is not Tho' Milton calls himself as yet better, as it represents the fun fetuncouth, he warbles with eager thought his Doric lay; earneft of ting fo by degrees, And now the fun had ftretch'd baccare frontem out all the hills, And now was dropt into the western bay: Cingite, ne vati noceat mala lin- though it must be faid that the gua futuro. This looks very modeft, but fee what he infinuates. The firft part of Virgil's verfe is, Aut fi ultra placitum laudarit, baccare frontem &c. Richardfon. 190. And now the fun had ftretch'd out all the hills,] He had no doubt Virgil in his eye. Ecl. I. 83. Et jam fumma procul villarum culmina fumant, image of the fmoke afcending from the village-chimnies, which Milton has omitted, is very natural and beautiful. and eager on new works: but I rather believe that it was faid in allufion to his travels into Italy, which he was now meditating, and on which he fet out the fpring following. I will conclude my remarks upon this poem with the juft obfervation of Mr. Thyer. The particular beauties of this charming paftoral are too ftriking to need much defcanting upon; but what gives the greatest grace to the whole is that natural and agreeable wildnefs and irregularity which runs quite through it, than which nothing could be better fuited to exprefs the warm affection which Milton had for his friend, and the extreme grief he was in for the lofs of him. Grief is eloquent, but not formal. VOL. II. P The XVIII, The Fifth ODE of Horace, Lib. I. Quis multa gracilis te puer in rofa, rendred almoft word for word without rime, according to the Latin measure, as near as the language will permit. WHE HAT flender youth bedew'd with liquid odors Courts thee on rofes in fome pleafant cave, Pyrrha? for whom bind'st thou In wreaths thy golden hair, Plain in thy neatnefs? O how oft fhall he On faith and changed Gods complain, and feas Unwonted fhall admire! Who now enjoys thee credulous, all gold, Who always vacant always amiable Hopes thee, of flattering gales Unmindful. Hapless they 5 10 To whom thou untry'd feem'ft fair. Me in my vow'd Picture the facred wall declares t' have hung My dank and dropping weeds To the ftern God of fea. 15 Ad This Ode was firft added in the second edition of the author's poems in 1673. |