And life-blood streaming fresh; wide was the wound, The rib he form'd and fashon'd with his hands; Manlike, but different fex, fo lovely fair, 470 That what feem'd fair in all the world, feem'd now 66 "defcriptions and in the imaging "and picturefque parts, than it agrees with the lower fort of nar"rations, the character of which "is fimplicity and purity. Milton "has feveral of the latter, where "we find not an antiquated, af"fected, or uncouth word, for fome "hundred lines together; as in his "fifth book, the latter part of the "eighth, the former of the tenth "and eleventh books, and in the "narration of Michael in the twelfth. "I wonder indeed that he, who "ventur'd (contrary to the practice "of all other epic poets) to imitate "Homer's lowneffes in the narra"tive, fhould not alfo have copied "his plainnefs and perfpicuity in "the dramatic parts: fince in his "fpeeches (where clearnefs above "all is neceffary) there is frequently "fuch tranfpofition and forced con"ftruction, that the very fenfe is "not to be difcover'd without a "fecond or third reading: and in "this certainly he ought to be no "example." 471. fa lovely fair That what feem'd fair in all the world, feem'd now Mean,] The polition of the words, with the paufe in the firft fyllable of Mean, or in her fumm'd up, in her contain'd 475 Her lofs, and other pleasures all abjure: 480 When out of hope, behold her, not far off, 476. And into all things from her light.] Lucretius, IV. 1047. Seu mulier toto jactans e corpore amorem. Bentley. The very fame compliment Marino Led racter of the perfon Adam is talking to would have made an imitation in this refpect indecent and inconfiftent. Thyer. 478. She disappear'd, and left me dark;] She that was my light vanish'd, and left me dark and comfortless. For light is in almost all languages a metaphor for joy and comfort, and darknefs for the contrary. As Dr. Pearce obferves, it is fomething of the fame way of Sonnet on his deceas'd wife; after thinking that Milton ufes in his having defcribed her as appearing to him, he says, She fled, and day brought back my night. 485. Led by her beav'nly Maker, J author's poem, and the divine cha- For the Scripture fays, Gen. II. 22. that Led by her heav'nly Maker, though unseen, Grace was in all her fteps, Heav'n in her eye, loverjoy'd could not forbear aloud. 485 490 This turn hath made amends; thou haft fulfill'd Of all thy gifts, nor envieft. I now fee 3efore me; 495 Extracted; for this cause he shall forgo Father and mother, and to' his wife adhere; Her virtue and the confcience of her worth, 521 That would be woo'd, and not unfought be won, Not obvious, not obtrufive, but retir'd, The more defirable, or to fay all, that he was not only afleep, but intranc'd too, by which he faw all that was done to him, and underftood the mystery of it, God informing his understanding in his ecftasy. Hume. and to his wife adhere;] 498. Adhærebit uxori fuæ, as it is in the vulgar Latin; fhall cleave unto his wife, fays the English Bible. But we will fet down the whole paffage in Genefis at length, that the reader may compare it with our author. Gen. II. 23, 24. And Adam faid, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; he shall be called Woman, because he was taken out of Man. Therefore fhall a man leave his father and his mother, and hall cleave unto bis wife; and they shall be one flesh. How has Milton improv'd upon the laft words, and they shall be one flesh; and what an admirable climax has he form'd? -And they fhall be one flesh, one heart, one foul. 503 Nature And by the way we may obferv that there may be great force and beauty in a verfe, that confiits all of monofyllables. It is true indeed that ten low words oft creep in on dull line: but there are feveral monofyllable Rocks, caves, lakes, fens, bogs, dens, And abundance of other inftance 502. Her virtue and the confcience of her worth,] Dr. Bentley proposes to read, Her Nature herself, though pure of finful thought, 510 Joyous Her virtue and her consciousness of nature. We mention this because worth, The word confcience (fays he) is here taken in a fignification unwarranted by use. But the fact is quite otherwife; for in our English verfion of the Bible the word is often used in this sense: thus in Hebr. X. 2. fhould bave had no more confcience of fins. 1 Cor. VIII. 7. Some with confcience of the idol eat. And thus confcientia is ufed by the Latin authors, as in Cicero de Senect. Confcientia bene actæ vitæ jucundiffima eft. Pearce. 595: —or to fay all, &c.] The conftruction of the whole paffage is this, Though fhe was divinely brought, yet innocence and virgin modesty, her virtue and the conscience of her worth, or to fay all, nature herself wrought in her fo, that feeing me the turn'd. Wrought is the verb, and the nominative cafes are innocence and virgin modefty, virtue and confcience of worth, and the paffage hath been mifunderflood by Dr. Bentley, and may be fo again by others. 509. And with obfequious majesty approv'd] How exactly does our author preferve the fame character of Eve in all places where he fpeaks of her! This obfequious majefty is the very fame with the con Submission, modest pride in the fourth book, and both not unlike what Spenfer has in his Epithalamium. Behold how goodly my fair Love doth lie |