Comus: A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634, Before the Earl of Bridgewater ...

Google

This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project

to make the world's books discoverable online.

It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject

to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books

are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover.

Marks, notations and other maiginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the

publisher to a library and finally to you.

Usage guidelines

Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the
public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing tliis resource, we liave taken steps to
prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying.
We also ask that you:

+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for
personal, non-commercial purposes.

+ Refrain fivm automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine
translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the
use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help.

+ Maintain attributionTht GoogXt "watermark" you see on each file is essential for in forming people about this project and helping them find
additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it.

+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just
because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other
countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of
any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner
anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liabili^ can be quite severe.

About Google Book Search

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers
discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web

at |http: //books .google .com/I

^?^ ^ 1

»:S.'Vr»^'''^^^-

hi

I

'*■'' C O M U S,

MASK
AT LUDLOW CASTLE 1634,

THE EARL OF BRIDGEWATER,
THEN rRESJDENT OF WALES,

JOHN MILTON.

WITH NOTES CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY
BT TA&IOUS COHUEHTATOKS,

WITH PRBLIMINARY ILLUSTRATIONS i

TO WBICH II ADDID

HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF BRIDGEWATER:
BY HENRY JOHN TODD, M. A.

liArLAIK TO lai SIOBT BOH> tSI lAKL OT Till

f

CAHTEaBUKT,

a for W. BriBow DD itic P>rvf« t ,^^M
. Piur> Church-yinT, u>d W. Cluk* S
; MeOfi. Flcietacf ind Co> 0:i(oid i >md
J. OcightM Cunbridge.

iTHt

PUBLIC- UBRAftt

1.67074

r^m;' Ah 3*>

■/■

• <

• <

• <

• • • • • •

• • • • •

•• • •• • •

• •• ••

• • • ••

• «• • •

• • ••

• ••• •

••••

• ••

• •••

•••!

•«• • •
• • • • •

• • • •

• •• • •

• :

- • • • •
•#• ••• •
• • • • •

• •

• ••••• • ••<

J"*^'

9

TO THE REVEREND

FRANCIS HENRY EGERTON, "M^A. F.R,S. & A.S.

SlE,

The diftinguilhed figure which your family
make in the hiftory of Milton's Mask, might
alone fu^il the propriety of infcribing a new
edition of it to one of their defcendants. In this
refped, however, I am influenced by a ilronger
motive : The prefent edition was undertaken by
your advice, has been encouraged by your kind-*
nefs, and derives advantage from your communi-
cations. To you, therefore, I infcribe it as 4
mark of that refpeft and gratitude, with which I
Audi ever be proud to acknowledge myfelf.

Sir,
your much obliged

and faithful humble fervant

Henrt John Todd.

• • •••
• • • •

• • • •

• • • •
• • • •

•"•

• ••
• • •

• • • • • ••

• • • • t •!

• •• • • ! 1 • *

•••

• »•• •

• • ••

w • ••• •

• • . • ••

•.• ; •••

•••:

• -••

-•• ••• •

• • • • •

• •••

PREFACE.

THIS edition originated in an humble opinion,
that feveral materials relating to the Mask^
with which I have been favoured, might render
it acceptable to the Public,

Without this previous declaration of my motive
to the undertaking, it might be deemed a high
prcfumption in me to publifli Com us with illu-
ftrations, after the edition {o well executed by the
late Dr. Newton, and after the minute attention
beftowed upon it by the late. Mr. Warton, in
his two admirable editions of Milton's Smaller
Poems.

Great attention has been avowedly paid by thofe
Jearned and judicious Critics to Milton's own edi-
tions; particularly by Mr.. Warton, whofe objeA
was ** * to render the text as uncorrupt and per-
" fpicuous as poffible, not only by examining and
** comparing the authentic copies publiflied under
** the author's immediate infpeftion, but by re-
*^ gulating the punduation, of which Milton ap-
" pears to have been habitually carelefs." It feems
to have been the opinion of the fame editor, tliat
*• Milton's antiquated words, which, in a fucceflion
of editions, had been gradually and filcntly refined,
might not always have been properly refined.

In CoMus there are words undoubtedly copied

* Preface to his editions. ^ See his fecond edition, p. 607.

\

\

\

V

hi<

X PREFACE.

may be often obferved in the doubled confonant«
or vowel ; as ^fellontous^ zvoom, carrol^ etc. In fome
inftances, the duplications of letters are ezadUy
conformable to Spenfer's manner of fpelling. But
perhaps the mode of fpelling the Seven with a
doubled e is peculiar to Milton : It might have
been fo written by him, to diftinguifh it from the
adverb, even. And it may be added, that he has
doubled the vowel in the name of his firiend. Sir
Henry " lVootton\* which is written ^ fVotton by Sir
Henry himfelf, and by the authors of that period.
In the next place, as this drama is of the paf-
toral kind, the poet chofe antiquated words and
fpellings, to give it a more ruftic air. Hence we
have fwinkUy purfledy pranckt^ lurkis, emprtfej etc ;
words , ufed by Chaucer, or by Spenfer : Prethee
inftead of prithee -^ ^furder^ inftead of further*^ the
Saxon word dgen^ inftead of again ; * anough^ in-
ftead of enough f which is literally an imitation
of the Doric dialed. But, among the obfolete
words, ' chere in v. 955, and " hew in v. 994,
demand particular notice, as they are fubfer-

' So, in Lycidas, v. 91. " The /ellon winds." And, in Par.
Lost, iv.. 179. ** The ^rch-fellon.** Perhaps fo fpelt from the

^ See Ifaac Walton's Life and Letters of Sir Henry Wotton.

' So, in his o^n edition of Par. Lost, x. 55 j. *' Furder woe
** or fhame."

^ Again, in Ltcidas, v. 114. " Anow of fuch as for their
*< bellies fake &c." He afterwards admitted this fpelling into his
profe.

' Chaucer, The Shipman*$ Talb, v. 283$. ** He xnakith
** feft and f^(frr."
Ovff Chaucer, Tr. and Cresbidb, lib.ii. v. zi.

^^ A blinde man cannot judgin wei in hcwis.**

PREFACE. xi

vient to another defign, namely, the ancient
mode of fpelling the like endings of ver(es clofelf
alike* The fame obfervation belot^ to woam in
V. 131^ and to clime in v. 1.020; in which in-*
fiances the poet follows Spenfer, omitting a letter
in the former, and altering one in the latter, to
obferve the. old praftice: Thus, in the Faery
QuEENE, B. i. C Xr ft. 57, the i is ejected from
lamby and the rhime to it is dam; and, in the
Shepherd's Calendar, July, the verb clime
dofes that Paftoral as the correfponding word
to time. In Milton's own editions of his earlier
\Poems, thefe niceties are frequent.

Another remarkable peculiarity, which applies
not only to words, but to phrafes in this Poem,
is the frequent obfervance of the Italian idiom^
Milton admired the Greek and Latin langu^gest
but he loved the Italian. In a letter dated in
1638 to " Benedetto Buommattei, a celebrated
Tufcan, he profefles this partiality. And he at-
tained to fo correft a knowledge of that language,
that his Italian Sonnets have received the
higheft: commendations from Italian Critics, both of
his own and of modern times. Hence he has giv^^n
to our language, in a variety of inftances, the
elegant rhythm and cadence of the Italian; while

" ** Ego certe iftis utrifque linguis [G/eek and Latin] non
** extremis tantumroodo labris madidus; fed, fiquis' alius, quan-
** turn per annos licuit, poculis ipajoriUiis prolutus, pofTum tamen
** nonnunquam ad ilium Dantsm, et Pbtrarcam, ALiosaus
M vfiSTROscoMPLVsfCULos, lib^/^ter et cupide comefTatum ire.*'
Milton. Epistoi.. Epi^. viii. 3. Boihmatha&o, Florentino,

nil PREFACE.

his own creative genius has^ if poffible, ^^ added
"more fweetncfs" to it, by inventing various
graces of elocution, often obvious in CoMus» and
more frequently in ?arapis£ Lost. Ferliaps,
in delicacy of ear, as w^l as in peculiarity of fetr-
timent, he refembled Plato ; whpfe compofitioni
are fo " eminently adorned'* with true poetic faar^
mony and fpirit, a flow of numbers,^ and an
adaptation of found to fenfe"*

The reader is thus apprized of particularities iq
the text, which have been retained by former
editors, and to which fome few additions are now
made : yet fuch and . fo few, as may not embarra&
the meaning, while they revive their old form.'

With refpedl to the Notes,, many have been
felefted from Dr. Newton's edition; and thefe are
marked with hh own name, or with the names of
his learned and libera} coadjutors, particularly
Dr, Warburtpn and Mr. Tbyer. T^tom Mr.
Warton*s two editions the greater ftock, however,
has been derived: And the reader will be guided
with pleafure, as I have been with reverence, by
his acute refearches and elegant deduAions, accom-
-panied with fimilar fupplies by two Critics of the

^ Sec ** An Eflay on the Compofition and Manner of Writing
** of the Ant^nts, particularly of Plato, by James Geddes Efq.'*
Glafgow, 1748, Se£t. X.

p On tljiis fubjed the reader may be abundantly gratified in
peruiing a Preface of great learning and ingenuity, intended as a
vindication of the mofi minute attention to Milton's fyflem of
orthography in a republication of Paradise Lost, from the
. firft and fecond editions cd(lated, by Capel Lofft Efq. Buiy St«
Edmund's. 3.i, 410, 1792* S4e alfo Richardfon's Life of MUtoPy
p. cxxx, et ieq*

PREFACE* * x8i

moft diftinguifticd talents, the pirefent bi(ho^ of
Worcefter and Dr. Jofeph Warton. From Mr.
Headley's Seleft Specimens of Ancient EngUfli
Poetry, finom Mr. Stei3vens*s laft edition of Shak*
fpeare, from Mr. Ouhft^rt* ledition of Paradife
Regained, and from lother modem works, notices
haTB been extraAed, but not wkhout references^
or names fufagoinedt And, under the hdpe of
^icperiencing candour,' I have offered fome neW
remarks.

' Of the Notes, which liave been felefted, fome
^ore (hortened: and, I hope, not injudiciouily'.
-For it has been my endeavour, by the variety of
illuftrations, to gratify tbbfe, who do hdt unrea-
sonably defpife verbal criticifm; who can read
Tvith .pleafure the forgotten arid unjullly negleded
pafiages of our elder poets; who tnay be pleafed
to compare feveral coincidencies of thought and
expreffion in *• Fancy's fweeteft children,'* Speri-
fer, Shakfpeam, and' Milton; and who may love
to fee Milton^s favourite words adduced both
firom his poetry and profe. J have alfo fubjoine<l
to the Poem the general opinions of various
Critics concerning its beauties and its faults.

By confulting the writers who preceded Miltoh,
or were his contemporaries, words have been found*
which were fuppofed to be of his coinage. Such is
the verb ^iwMr/^ in Comus; the VQvbs Umparadife

^ See Note on v, 468.

' 'B. iv. 506. Dr. Bentley firflt broueht an inftance of this
word from Sir P. Sidney's Arcadia. Mr. Warton adds, that it
occurs in Drayton, P. Fletcher, and Donne ; but that it is, how-

xW PREFACE.

is^d'tmpefi in Paradise Lost, and ^ilandi/b in
Samson AcaNiSTSs. Combinatitos and forms of
phrafes aUb» Which appeared of a peculiar caft^
have been difcoveted not. to be unprecedented.
But Millon*s contemporaries can derive . little
triumph from his' admittii^ their images or ex«>
preiSons: His imitations are fo. generally adorned
with new modes of ieritiment or phrafeolog7» that
they lofe the nature of borrowings, and difpiay the
Ikill and originality of a mafter.

From CoMVs fucceeding poets, at various pe^
riods, have " ftolen authentic fire/* The oblige
tions of Pope to Milton have been nicely exa-
mined by Mr. Warton, who calls him the'firft
writer of eminence that copied Com us, or II
Penseroso: To the refemblances which he has
produced I have made additions. I have alfo
noticed fome imitations of Milton by our emi-
nent poets, fince the time of Pope: And many
might have been fele£ted from compofitions of

tretj from the Italian imparadi/ato^ which, he, thinks is in Taflb.
It is not, I believe, in TaiTo, bat in Dante, Paradiso, C. 20.
The £nglifh word is alfo ufed by G. Fletcher, and by Cleveland,
OAce the j)uny rival of Milton.

■ B. vii. 41a. Milton is fuppofed by Mr. Thyer to have
adapted the Italian verb, tempefiare. He might: but it occurs in
Sandys's tranflation of Ovid. See his Travels, p. 207. edit.
1615. fol.

** Blind night in darknefle tempefis**'-^
* Verfe 403. Dr. Johnfon fays, he never met with this word
before. It occurs in Drayton, Polyolbioit, Song xiii. p. 220.
edit. 1 6^2. foL

^* ^nd then proceed to fhowe, how Avon ^om her fpring

^* By Newnham's fount is blefl ; and how file, ilanjl^ingy

« By Dunfmore drives along"'»—
» See Nbte on v. 429.

PRBFACfi. xr

Fecent date. ^But Milton has. been of late, fo af-
e&ionateljr ftudied, that it were unneceflary, to
accumulate paflages, of which the fpiriit has been
caught from bis: impreffive poetry.

CoMUs has hot yet appeared tranilated into a
foreign language. Other parts of. Milton's poetic^
works have exercifed the: ingenuity of various
learned men^ .in Greek, Latin» Italian, French,
Dutch^ and : Portuguefe ^ tranilations. . The; cele-
brated Mr. Berkeley, afterwards : bilhop of Cloync,
had been informed in <. 17 14, that* ^t Florence,
Milton was then tranilated into Italian verfe.
He ^ communicated this agreeable intelligence to
Pope. The younger .Richardfon bad alfo ^ feen
at Florence an Italian tranflation of Paradise
Lost in manufcript b^th^ Abbe Salvini, who, in
1725, publifhed in 4to an Italian verfion of Ad-
difon's Cato. Whether this might be the tranf-
lation of which information, had .beqn given to
Mr. Berkeley, or whether a tranflation of Milton's
other Poems alfo had been made, caiuiot now be.
known. However, Paradise Lost alone has been
publijhed in Italian, firft by RoUi in J735, and
lately by a far more maderly tranllator, Mariot-
tini. But with regard to CoMtrs ; I have found
in a colledion of ingenious Latin exercifes the
Song to Echo, and the Invocation of Sabrina^ tranf*

"^ In Latin, Italian, French, Dutch, and Portuguefe, Para-
dise Lost : In Latin and Portuguefe, Paradise Regained :
In Latin and Greek, SvAMson.Agonistes.

* Memoirs of Bi(hop Berkeley, 2d edit. p. 54.

' Dr. Newton's Life of Milton.

l&ted, or rather para{dirafed, with ib much neat*
nefs, that I gratefully prefimt them to the recol-
ledion of the learned reader/

It was not till late in the prefent century^ that
Com us emerged finm the obfcurity in which it
had long been buried. The praile beftowed bf
Toland on this Poem, in his Life of Milton pre<«
fixed to an edition of the Prose^Works in 16989
does not appear to have excited a minuter exa«
mination of its • beauties. But this will not be
thought furpriiing, when the pen even of Addifoa

' Carxnina Quadragefimalia, Oxon. 1748. vol.ii. pp. 15, 73.

Jn Aerjitfim Fehiculum f Aff'*
Blakda Echo, nemomin cuttrix, g;ratiifiiiia Nympha,

Nympha, latens refono non adeunda fpecu :
Qu^ violis pidas valies, et florea rura

M^pander tadds morikt idbenus aquis s
Qua tibi no^urnas iterans Philomela querelas^

Infelix mater, 'flebile, dulce canit :
Die, ubi Pyrrha latet, grefluique ^Eitigat amanday

Fallere iolicitos ingenioia procos ?
O ii qB^ geiido tecum ceflavit in antro,

A at temere in molli fefla reclinat humo ;
Sis praefens, Nympha, et durum miferata laborem

^ Safixnfos placidi dirige voce pedes.
Sic aicripta choris Super^m, et decus addita Divis,

Cxleftes referas gratius ore fonos*

An Simile agat in Simile f AfF'*
Hue, Dba, quse vitreo'fluvii fecreta receflii *

Inuedtis paflfae lilia torta corns.
Hue, Sabrina, veni ; per Nerei fceptra vetufia

Oro, per immen£l numina magna maris,
Hue, Sabrina, veni : faveat Neptunia conjux

Sic tibi, fie puro flumine rura feces.
Quin age, gemmanti rivos prselabere curru ;

Quin propter faliees hie, Dea, fifle rotas.
Si tibi Naiadum cailae placuere choreaci.

Si mentem tangit Virginitatis honos ;
Hue intada feras celerem per gramina plantam,

Hue, orante pisL virgine^ Virgo, veni.

Pft£FAC& ^

fisuled to fiudne JL'Ai.txoito * gpneraUy fcmwn. It
(houl4. b^;; uddod^ tfa^; the tribute paid to
L'Ai.i.BGio^ in the ^ SpefUtort ^ad been pre*
ceded by a > coaunGodatJoir t)f . Com^s, in the
^Tatfarf.'ia icommendfttioa obvioufly refvilbng from
thftt^ ffi^rtailt : truth) fo {)eculiacly ai^c^bl^ to
the IV>em> I'&JiT Virtue sinks dsepsst into

THS KBAET Ofer MAjr, WBBN \1T COMM fltCOM-
MENDED BY THE POWERFUL CHARMS OPPO'-

BTur; Tl4$ jkideed was the fublime fffcA in-
teiKJodl^' the author of Com us, aod. is a p^iJiar
lU^ration of his eulted refolutioa to «' ' teach
" ovier the whole book of Anftity and virtue,
^' ^ough fttt Jtfhe toftaoces of e^aoiple, with Ai(^
^ d^%ht to iAofe, «^ci»Uy of foft ami delicious
^< :te9^er» i?ho ivmU i)ot fe KHsch as look upoa
** Truth Jkifelf) ufileft i^^^ f^ her ti^g^ly jifiefti
" that whereas the patJb of honefty tied gwd lif?
.« appew aoiv ^ugjgpd aod difficult, .though they
,« he ifld60d ctfy Md pfeafiwt, they vvould then
** ^pojir to ^11 me© iboAeafy And pleaiant, though
•* they were rugged and difficult indeed. And
*' what a benefit this would be to our Youth
*• and iSentjy., nsay be> ioon gueffed by what we
" know of the xofruptton and bane wbidi they
'' fuck in daily ,fiiein the writings and interludes

■ Mr. Walton's Prefece.

* No, ^49. Dec. 15, J 71 u Addifon's opinion of Comus may
be feen in a fucceeding Nate, Pact J» p. $2^

*^ No. 98. Nov. 24, 1 709.

** Sec his Prose-Works, " Reafon of Church-Govemmcnt,"
B.ii. -

xviii PREFACE.

*^ of libidinous and ignorant poetafterS) who, hav-
•* ing fcarce ever heard c^ that which is thb

'^ MAIN CON&ISTBNCE OF A TRUE l^OEM, • tke

** choice of fuch ::perfons as they ought to in«
** troduce, and what is moral and decent to
** each one, do for the mod part lap up vicious
<*' principles in fweet pills to be fwallowed down,
^* and make the tafle of virtuous documents harflx
^^ and four.*" -. : .:

At length, in 1738, doftor Dalton adapted
CoMus to theatric exhibition, or, to ufe his own
words, " ' gave Milton*s beauties to the public
"^e." Nor did he call on a difcernihg audience
in vain ** « to vindicate negledcd worth." Comus
*" now grew popular as a poem : And; in propor-
tion to the progrefs oB tafte and knowledge, th6
admiration, which it- deferves and conunands, hals
fince undoubtedly increafed.

But I haften to fpeak of the Preliminary Illuf-^
traticHis. By the help of, fome valuable materials,
I have drawn up new accounts of Ludlow Cqftle^

* The paflage, quoted above, is not only a £ne example of
rhythmical con(lru6tion, but is alfo a beautinil parody of Taflb's
addrefs to the heavenly Mufe, Gibr. Lib* C. i. ft. ill.

Sfii, che 1^ corre il mondo, pve pii^ verfi ^
Di fue dolcezze il lufinghier Parnafo ;
S chc '1 vero cojidito in molli verii,
I piii fchivi allettando h^ perfuafo.
Cosi k 1' egro fanciul porgiamo afperii
Di foavi licor gli orli del vafo,
Succhi amari, mgannato intanto ei beve,
£ da I'inganno fuo vita riceve.

' Prologue.

« Ibid. .

^ Preface to Mr. Warton's edition.

PREFACE. xix

and cf the Earl of Bridgewater^ and his family ;
the place, and the perfons, more peculiarly con*
neded with the Maflc^ To Mr. Warton's memoic
of Henry Lawes^ who performed the part of the
Spirit, and who fet the fongs to mufic, I have
been enabled to add much information relating
both to the muiic, and to the compofer. And,
la(Uy> 'I have augmented Mr. Warton's account
of the Origin of Comus with notes, and with fup-
plementary conjectures.

To the Poem are fubjoined two Appendixes,
and an Account of Editions: the tiril; Appendix
contains Mr. Warton's collation of the manufcript
in Milton's own hand-writing, preferved in the
Library of Trinity College, Cambridge; the
fecond, a Copy of the Mafk belonging to his
Grace the Duke of Bridgewater's Library at
Afhridge, with the ufe of which, as well as of
feveral fcarce books from the fame fine * colleftion,
I have been favoured by the Reverend Francis
Henry Egerton; to whom indeed my obligations
are fo numerous, that it may be difficult for me
to acknowledge them with exadnefs. I have been
indebted to his continued attention in honouring
me with various obfervations, the value of which
is furpafled only by the liberality with which they
were offered. And further, through his intereft
^r fuggeftion, have been obtained the important
remarks of Lord Monboddo'^on the Poem, the

* See Part i. p. 31. Note r.

* See Part ii. p. 147, Note a.

%M FKEFACE.

curious comtiiuntcatiocis fcbtii^ to Ijodkm Ca^,
to the Earl of Bridgcwater, and to Henrj Lawcs;
oblig^i^jr tnmfinitted to me by Mr. Dovafton of
Ofweftry in Sbropfliire, and by the late Dr.
Philip Hayes of Oxford.

It remains, that I flioold requeft the caodid
reader to pardon inaccmacies, whether literary or
tjrpographical, from which the book may not be
exempt : an office of clemency which I hope he
may be difpofed to exercife, if the informntion^
which I have diligently and extenfively cdleded,
(hould afford to him additional pleadire or amnfe^
ment in the perufal of this encbantii^ Poem.

xxi

CONTENTS.

PART I.

Lawbs's dbdication op the Mask to Lord
Bracklht. Page i.

Sir Hen&t Wotton's Letter to Milton. 3.

Account of Ludlow Castle. 9,

Account of the Right Hon. John Eoerton
Earl of Bridgewater, and bis family. 19.

Account of Henry Lawes, who set the

Songs in Comus to music.
Origin of Comus.

35-

50,

PART II.

CoMUt.

Page I.

Appendix No. L containing original read-
ings of the Cambridge manuscript. 151.

Appendix No. II. containing a copy op the
Mask from the Asbridge manuscript. x63.

Editions. 193*

PART I.

eOlTTAIMIMtt

LAWES'S DEDICATION,

SIR HENRY WOTTON'S LETTER*

AVO

PRELIMINARY ILLUSTRATIONS^

LAWES'S DEDICATION.

^To the Right Honourable,

*joHN Lord Vicount Bracly, fon and heir appa^
rent to the Earl of BridgswateR) &c.

MT LORD,

This poem, which received its firft occafion of
birth from yourfelf and others of your noble family,
and much honour from your own perfon in the per-
formance, now returns again to make a finall dedica-
tion of itfelf to jrou. Although not openly acknow-
ledged by the author/ yet it is a legitimate off-fpring,
fo lovely, and fo much defired, that the often copy-
ing of it hath tired my pen to give my feverall friends
iatisfadtion, and brought me to a neceffity of pr6-
ducing it to the publike view ; arid now to ofter iit
Up in all rightfuU devotion to thofe fair hopes, abd
rare endowments of your much promifing youth,
ivhich give a full aflurance, to all that ktipv^ yt)u, of

^ This is the dedication to Lawes^s edition of the Ma(k, 1657,
to wluch the following motto was prefixed^ from Virgil's ikcond

Eheu ! quid niciui mtfer^ mOu ! fltrihus auftrum

Perditus-^
This motto Is omitted by Milioa himfelf in the editiout 164$,
khd 1673. Warton.

This motto is deiieately chofen, whether we confider it as beinj^
fpoken by the author himfelf, or by the editor. If by the former,
the, tneaning, I fuppofe, it this. I have^ iy giving wm^ tg thit pub^
Hcationy let in tke breath <f public cenfure on tnefe early bl^ftns rf rref
f^eiryy 'ojueh were brfwre fecure in the hands rf my friends^ as in «
frtvaie tncUfure, If we fuppofe it to come from the editor, the
application is not very different ^ only to floriius we muft then

tFC in.cncomiaftic fcnfe. /Die phoice of fuch a motto, fo
r firom vulgar in itfelf, and in its application, was worthy
Milton* HuRD.

Z' The Firft Brother in the Ma(k. Warton. ,
• * It tfcVef appc^ircd under MHton's name, tiU the year 1645,

Warton.

* LAWES»S DEDICATION.

a future excellence. Live, fweet Lord, to be the
honour of your name, and receive this as your own,
from the hands of him, who hath by many favours
beene long obliged to your mod honoured parents,
and as in this reprsefenration your attendant Thyrjis^
fo now in all reall expreffion

Your faithfuU and moft humble Servant,

H, Lawes/

^ This dedication does not appear in the edition of Milton's
Poems, printed under his own infpe^tion, 1673, when Lord
Brackley, under the title of Earl of Bridgewater, was ftill living,
Milton was perhaps unwilling to own his early connections with
a family, confpicuous for its unQiaken loyalty, and now highly
patronifed by King Charles the fecond. Warton.

Milton, in his edition of 1673, omitted alfo the letter written
by Sir Henry Wotton. Yet it has not been iuppofed tliat, by
withdrawing the letter, he intended any difrefpeiA to the memory
of his learned friend : nor might the dedication perhaps have been
withdrawn through any unwillingnefs to .own his early connec- ;
tions with the Egerton family. It might have been inexpedient
fbr him at that time openly to avow them ; but he would not, I
think, forget them.

. He had lived in the neighbourhood of Aihridge, the feat of the
Earl pf Bridgewater; for his father's boufe and lands at ^tlorton
Aear Colnbrook, in Buckinghamfhire, were held under the Earl,
before whom Com us was a<5ted. . He afterwards lived in Barbi-
can, where the Earl had great property, as well as his town-refi>
dence, Bridgewatef Houfe: and, though Dr. Johnfon obrerve3
that Milton " had taken a larger houfe in Barbican for the rccep-
" tion of fcholars," it is not improbable that he might have been
accommodated with it, rent-free, by that nobleman, who, it may
.be fuppofed, would gladly embrace an opportunity of having m
his neighbourhood the admirable author or Comus, and of pro-
moting his acquaintance with thait finifhed fcholar, who, being
** wilhng" fays his nephew Philips *' to impart his learning and
^' knowledge to his relations, and the fons of gentlemen who
** were his intimate friends,*' might afford to his hm\y at leaft
the'pleafure of his converfation, if not to fome of them the ad-
vantage of his inflru^tion.

This dedication does not appear in Tickell's and Fenton's
editions of Milton's poetical works. It was reflored by dodor
Newton. Editor.

* Se6 Mr. Warton's Milton's Poems*. Note, Epitaph. Dampn. v. 149*
and infiu la the jiccount of the Earl of Bridgewater and b'is/imiiy*

k

WOOTTON'S LETTER,

The Copy of a Letter written by Sir Henry
WooTTON, to the Author, upon the following
Poem,

From the Colledgey this 13. of Jpril, i638.'

SIR,

It was a fpecial favour, when you lately beftowed
upon me here, the fiVft tafte of your acquaintance,
though no longer then to make me know that I
wanted mpre time to value it, and to enjoy it rightly ;
and in truth, if I could then have imagined your
farther flay in thefe parts, which I underftood after-
wards by Mr. ^i/., 1 would have been bold, in our
vulgar phrafe, to mend my draught (for you left me
with an extreme thirft) and to have begged your
converfation again, joyntly with your faid learned
friend, at a poor meal or two, that we might have
banded together fom good authors of the ancient
time : among which, J obfcrved you to have been
familiar.

Since your going, you have charged me with new
obligations, both for a very kinde letter from you
dated the fixth of this month, and for a dainty peecc

* Milton had communicated to Sir Henry his defign of feeing
foreign countries, and had fent him his Mask. He fet out on
his Travels foon after the receipt of this letter. Editor.

' Mr. Warton in his firft edition of Comus fays, that Mr. H.
was ** perhaps Milton's friend, Samuel Hartlih^ whom I have feen
** mentioned in fome of the pamphlets of this period, as Well acr
•* quainted with Sir Henry Wootton :" but this is omitted in his
fecond edition. Mr. Warton perhaps doubted his conjefture of
the perfon. I venture to ftate from a copy of the Reliquije
WoTTONiAN/E in my poffeflBon, in which a few notes arc writ-
ten ^probably foon after the publication of the book, 3d edit.
in 1072) that the perfon intended was the " ever-memorable"
j€hn Hales. This mformation will be fupported by the reader^s
recoHeding Sir Henry's intimacy with Mr. Hales \ of whom Sir
Henry fays, in onp of hi§ letters, that he gave to Ms learned friend
the title of Bibllotheca ambulans, the walking Library, See
Reliq. WoTTON. 3d edit. p. 475. Mr. iffl/« is again mentioned
in Sir Henry's Letters. Editor.

a a

4. WOOTTON'S LETTER.

of entertainment which came therwith, Wherin I
fhpuld much commend the Tragical part,* if the
Lyrical did not ravifh me with a certain porique de-
licacy in your fongs and odes; wherunto 1 muft
plainly confefs to have feen yet nothing parallel 'in
our language : Ipfa moUities.^ But I muft not omit to
tell you, that I now onely owe you thanks for intimat-
ing unto me (how modeftly foever) the true artificer.
For the work itfelf, 1 had viewed fom good while
before, with Angular delight, having received it from
our common triend Mr. R} in the very clofe of

' Sir Henry, now provoft of Eton college, was himfelf a writer
of Englifh odes,, ait^ with iotiyt degree of elegance. He h^cl aliip
written a tragedXi^ while a youps ftudent at Queen's college, Ox-
ford, called Tancredo, a^d by his fellow-ftudents. See his
Life by Wakon, p. ii. He was certainly a polite fcholar, but
on the whole a mfxed and defnltory chara&r. He was now in-
dulging his iludious and philo(bpliic propeniities at leifure.
Mihon, when this letter was written, lived but a few miles from
Eton» Warton.

See alfo his Life in Mr. Zouch's moft valuable edition of
Walton's Lives, 4to. 1796 ; in which excellent work it is alia
obfervcd p. 17^ that an ingenious modern critic has juftLy re*
marked, that the poetical compoiitions of Sir Henry Wotton,
when coniidered in their proper light, namely as the effiifions of
one who merely kribbled for his amuiement, will be found de->
ferving of praife. Editor.

^ Thus Fletcher's Faithful Shepherdess is chara£^eri{ed
by Cartwright, ** where/^tn^j reigns." Poems, p, 269. ed. 165 1,
But Sir Henry's conceptions did not reach to the higher poetry
of CoMus. He was rather Qruck with the pailoral melliflUjence
of its lyric meaiures, which he flyles a certain Doric delicacy in th&
/ongs and cdesy than with its graver and more majeilic tones, with,
the folemnity and variety of its peculiar vein of original inven-
tion. This drama was not to be generally chara£terifed by its
Jvtgs and odes : nor do I know Xkanjoftnefs and fweetnefs, although
they want neither, are particularly chara^eriilical of thofe paf*
fages, which are mod commonly rough with (Irong and crowded
images, and rich in perfoui&cation. However, the Song to Echo,^
and the initial drains of Comus's invitation, are much in the dyle
which Wootton defcribes. Preface to Milton's Smaller Poems,
pp. iv, V. Warton.

^ I believe " Mr. i^." to be lohu Roufey Bodley's librarian,
<< The late i^." is unqjiedipnably Thomas Randolph^ the poet.
It appears from his mpnumeAt, which ( have feen, in th^^

Ik

WOOTTON'S LETTER. S

the late Ks. Paems, printed at Oxford, wherunto
ic is added (as I now fuppofe) that the acceflbry
might help out the principal^ according to the art g[
flationers, and to leave the reader Con la bocca dolce.

cburch of Blatberwyke in Northamptonlhirey that he died on the
feventeenth day of March, in 1634: in which year Comus was*
performed at Ludlow Caille on Michaelroas-night. In the year
\b^^ Randolph's Poems were printed at Oxford, viz. *^ Posms^
^ wkh the Mvsfis Looking-glass and Amyntas. Y^y
" Thomas Randolph, M. A. and late Fellow of Trinity college
** Cambridge. Oxford, Printed by L. Litchfield printer to the
" Vniverfitie for Fr. Bowman, 1638." In quarto. Containing
one hundred and fourteen pages. But who has ever feen a copy
of this edition of Randolph's Poems with Comus at the end ? Sir
Henry fuppofes, that Comus was added 21 the clofe of thefe poems,
** that the acceflbry might help out the principal, according to the
*' art of iiatioaers, and to leave the reader Con la bnca deke,**
Randolphs poems were publifhed by his brother, who would
nx>t think fuch a recommendation was wanted; and who furely did
not mean to include the works of others. It was foreign to hit
purpofe. It marred the integrity of his deiign. He was not pub-
Ixfliing a niifcellany. Such an extraneous addition would have
been mentioned in a preface. Nor were Randolph's Poems fo
few or fo finally as to require any fuch acceilion to make out the
volume. A fecond edition of Randolph's Poems, much enlarged,
appeared at Oxford in duodecimo, in 1640, and with recom-
mendatory verfes prefixed, by the fame printers and publifbera*
Here we are equally difappointed in feeking for Comus ; which|
one might exped, would have been continued from the former
edition. I think this perplexity may be thus adjuiled. Henry
Lawes the mufician, who compofed Comus, being wearied with:
giving written copies, printed and publiihed this drama, about
three years after the prelentation, omitting ^1 ikon's name, with
the following title. ** A Maike prefented at Ludlow caftle, 1634^
'* on MichaelmafTe night, before the right honorable the £arle of
^ Bridgewater, Vicount Brackly, Lord Pre£dent of Wales, an4
** one of his majeflies moft honorable privie counfelU

'^ Eken / quid voltti mi/era mihif Fkribm auftrum

« PerStus.
*^ London. Printed for Hvjmphrey Robinfon at the figne of the
'^ three Pidgeons in Pauls church-yard, 1637." In quarto. Now
it is very probable, that when Roufe tranfmitted from Oxford, in
.1638, the firft or quarto edition of Randolph's Poems to Sir
lieiiry Woottoq, he very officioufLy flitched up at the end Lawes's
edition of Comus, a flight quarto of thirty pages only, and rang^
ingy as he thought, not improperly with Randolph's two dramas^

6 WOOTTON^S LETTER.

Now Sir, concerning your travels wherin I may
chalcnge a little more priviledge of difcours with
ybu; I fuppofe you will not blanch Paris in your
way ; therfore I have been bold to trouble you with
a few lines to Mr.'^Af. B. whom you (hall eafily find
attending the young * Lord 5. as his governour, and
you may furely receive from him good directions for
tjie iliaping of your farther journey into Italy, where
he did refide by my choice fom time for the king,
after mine own recefs from Venice.

I (hould think that your bed line will be thorow
the whole length of France to Marfeilles, and thence
by fea to Genoa, whence the paffage into Tufcany is
as diurnal as a Gravefend barge : I haften, as you do, to
Florence, or Siena, the rather to tell you afhort (lory
from the intereft you have given me in your fafety.

At Siena I was tabled in the houfe of one Alberto
Scipioni, an old Roman courtier in dangerous times,
having bin fteward to the Duca di Pagliano, who with
all his family were ftrangled, fave this onely man that
efcaped by forefight of the tempeft : with him 1 had
often much chat of thofe affairs : into which he took
pleafure to look back from his native harbour ; and

the Muses Looking-glass and Amyntas, the two conduding
jMeces of the volume. Wootton did not know the name of the
author of Com us, the Ma(k which he had feen at the end of
Randolph, till Milton, as appears by the Letter before us, fent
hiiri a copy " intimating the name of the true artificer," on the
fixth day of April, 1638. I have before obferved, that Lawes's
edition had not the name of the author. This, we may prefume,
ti^as therefore the Com us, which Wootton had feen at the end
of Randolph. Warton.

^ Mr, Michael Branihwait, as I fuppofe; of whom Sir Henry
thus fpcaks in one of his Letters, Reliq. Wotton. 3d edit,
p. 546. " Mr. Michael Branthwait, heretofore his Majeftie's
** Agent in Venice, a gentleman of approved confidence and
** iincerity." Editor.

* The/tm of Lord Fif count Scudamore^ then the Englifh Ambaf*
fador at Paris, by whofe notice Milton was honoured, and intro-
duced to Grotius, then refiding at Paris alfo, as the tninifler of
Sweden. Editor. " i

WQOTTDN»S LETTER. 7

at my departure toward Rome (which had been the
center of his experience) I bad wonn confidence
enough to beg his advice, how I might carry my felf
fecurely there, without offence of others, or of mine
own confcicnCe. '^Signor Arrip mioy (layes he) I pfn-
fieri firettij ei il vlfo fciolto will go fafely over the
whole world ; Of which Delphian oracle (for fo I
have found it) your judgement doth need no com-
mentary ; and therforc (Sir) I will commit you with
it to the bed of all fccurities, Gods dear love, re-
maining

Your Friend as much at command

as any of longer date

Henry Wootton,*

■ Sir Henry feems to have been very fond of recommending
this advice to his friends, who werie about to travel. See Reliq.
WoTTON. gd edit. p. 356, where he relates to another corref-
poiident his intimacy with Scipioni, and his maxim, " Gii />en^
^"^ Jieri firetti^ et ilvifofciolto : That is, as I life to tranflate it, Your
** thoughts clofe^ andyaur countenance loofe. This was that moral an-
" tidote which I imparted to Mr. B. and his fellow travellers,
*' having a particular intereft in their well doings." Milton,
however, negle£ting to o^ferve the maxim, incurred great danger
by difputing againft the fuperftition of the Church of Rome,
within the verge of the Vatican. Editor.

** Milton mentions this Letter of Sir Henry Wootton for its
elegance, in his Defensio secunda populi Anglicani.
*' Abeuntem, virclariffimus Henricus Wooitonus: qui ad Venetos
*' orator Jacobi regis diu fuerat, et irotis et praeceptis eunti peregre
** fane utiiiffimis, eleganti epijlola perfcriptis, amiciffime profe-
" quutus efl." Prose Works, ii. 332. This letter appeared firft
in the edition of 1645, ^here it is prefixed to Comus, p. 71. I
know not why it was fuppreffed, and by Milton himfelf, in that
of 1673. It was reftored to its proper place by Tonfon, in iiis
edition of 1 705. It appears in the third edition of the Reli-
iVJix. WoTTONiANiE, p. 342. Lond. 1672. 8vo. But not in
edit. 1657. Wartow.

This letter appears in the firft edition of the RELiaui^E Wot-
TONiANiE, in duodecimo, 1651, without the addrefs " To Mr.
" Milton," which is prefixed, in the edition of 1672. It is re-
markable that Ifaac Walton, the editor of the RELiQ.uiy£ in
1651, ihould not have known to whom this letter had been writ-
ten, as it had been publilhed fix years before by Milton himfelf

9 WOOTTON'S LITTER/

h

POSTSCRIi»T.

I have exprefly fent this my foouboy to prevent yofar
departure without font acknowledgement from me of tbe
receipt of your obliging Letter ^ having my felf tbrtmgb
fom hufinesy I know not how^ negleSed the ordinary con^
veyance. In any part where Ifhall underftand you fixed^
Ijhall be glad^ and diligent to entertain you with home^
novelties ; even for fom fomentation of our friendfbip^ too
foon interrupted in the cradle.''

in the firfl edition of his Poems, and had been particularly noticed
in the Stationer's addrefs to the Reader. The letter is thus un«
appropriated in the edition of 165 1, " To Mafter ."p. 433.

I do not find this letter reftor^ in Tonfon's edition of 1705,
but it will be found in his edition of 1 7i3« £ditob..

"" He ibould have faid ^ in iu cradle." See the beginning (tf
the letter. Warton.

LUDLOW CASTLE.

SQ3MS idti o( thb ^enoraUe aiul magnificeiit (liU, in wtnch
fC9VV« IW pbyM irit4 great fplendpur, at a period when
MffilHi^V^ro^e qm fiiUhicmable^Ciitertainniient pf oiur Nobftity,
IfiH INNfM^llfy gillify thofr, favs 'Mr. Warton, who rejM Mtltoa
YJdl Ifait ^orij^ter «rUi:h refolts fnua taAe and imagmadon. Th#
Ip^r^^i •lltibu^f pr duf degant remark declines entering into the
9«Re pbfeuot ajid ^rly annals of the CaAle ; to which therefore
I will^briefly '^refer, trufliAg that tl|e methodical account of an
<riite^ HlMtfe particttiarl^ ennobled by the reprefentation of
Cpmk> vitliin its f»Uf, mav not beimpDoperi nor4iniutere(ling»
tX 9f^l^ buiit by &9^r as Montgomery, who n^as related to
Wii}^9m 0B€ Cooqueior. The date of its eredion is fixed by Mr«
W^f^xHX in the year xii2« Ey others it is faid to have been
tnNftfid Wfiirft Ikr Conqueft, and its founder to have been Edrio
S/Iyjikilly £arl of Sbrswlbuiy, wiiom Roger de Montfi;omery
wm if 9t .by Ihe Ootu^tor intone Marches of Wales to nibdue^
Wi wkb )^9& tSaUd in Salop he \f9& afterwards rewarded. But
Ibf j(efi^(pMic8 /ot various Mmters aifign the fpundation .of thii
ftrJO^ilW |i9 iRAger de MooCgomevy, foon after the Conqueft«
. Th^ &JI 9i this Noblemaa did not long enjoy it, as be died id
Ibefyiioepf life. The grandfon, Robert de Beieime, £arl of
6birarA(Ury« forfidted it lo Henry 1. by hfiying joined the party
of U/tkMi JMif of Normandy againft that king. It became now

• pmocff ir^^ifioce^ and was guaixled by a numerous gariifon.
Sqpo am the acoefion of &epben, however, the governor be*
yayi^Jna truft, jn Jnoning the Emprefe Maud. Steplien befdged
jt j in /wikieh findeajro^ to r^ain pofleffion of his fortrefs fo'me
ttirritf cs ^ort that hp Succeeded, others xhfit he failed. The maSt
£eiiara% eocepvod opinion is, that the ^overjior, repenting of his
£ttt(js4tdbf fund .wiAiiAg to ohtitiathe king's forgtvenefs, propofed

# iCa]ri&uJflilaon adviaiitageous Jto the ^nrifon, to which Stephen^
Aeff^iiwg of afvinmag the ca&ie \m arms, readily acceded^ Henr^
jiip pfxifilmA kiobi^ fv^XMU-ite, Kulk Fitz- Warine> or de Dinah,
•^ tybam (uct^eded jfoccas Ac Dinan ; between whom and Hujg;h
^ >fiutiin^ iMiU Wwaxort (uch difTenlions arofe, as at length
iSK^^t&eM^ed itib^ fmu^ejo/Mjortin^er, a^ his con^nement in one
J9f (b( Towtts^ the Gaftle, wihioh to dus day is caUed ""Mvrtimer^s

Tower ; from which he was not liberated, till he had paid an im«

• ^-ly^r.^j^rton's Milton, %A td, p. t/y.

»y Mr. Thomts. And the LMdlow^utde^ by Mt^PrifiCf ia ca. 1^7.
c Now inhftbited^ and iifcd at a Fivics-court.

b

10 LUDLOW CASTLE.

It was again belongi n a to the C rown in the 8th year of Ki ng John,
who beftowed it on Philip -de Albani, ftoin whom it defcended
to the Lacies of Ireland, the laft of which family Walter de Lacy
dying without ifTue male, left the callle to his grand-daughter
Maud, the wife of Peter de Geneva or Jeneville a PoifteVin x>{
the Houfe of Lorrain, from whofe poflerity it paffed by a daugjh-
ter to the Mortimers, and ftt>m them hereditarily to the Crown.
In th^ reign of Henry ilL it was taken by Simon de Montfort
Earl of Leicefter, the ambitious leader of the confederate Barons,
who, about the year 1263 are faid to' have taken pofleffion of all
the royal caftles and fortreffes. Of Ludlow Caftle in almofl two
fucceeding centuries nothing is recorded.

In the thhteenth year of Henry VL it was in the poifeffion of
Richard Duke of York, who there drew up his declaration of
affected allegiance to the king, pretending that the army of ten
thoufand men, which he hadraifed in the. Marches of Wales, was
*' for the public weale of the realme.'* The event of this com-
motion between the Royalifls and Yorkifts, the defeat of Richard's
perfidious attempt, is well known. The Caflle of Ludlow, fays
Hall^ " was fpoyled." The king's troops feized on whatever was
valuable in it ; and, according to the fame chronicler, hither " the
** King ferit the Dutches of Yorke with her two yot^nger Sons
" to be kept in Ward, with the Dutchefs of Buckingham her
" iifter, where flie continued a certain fpace*" The Caftle was
foon afterwards put into the pofTeffion of Edward, Duke of
York, afterwards King Edward IV. who at that time refided iii
the neighbouring Caule of Wigmore, and who, in order td re^
yenge the death of his father, had colleded fome troops in the
Marches, and had attached the garrifon to his caufe. On his ac-*
ceffion to the throne, the Caflle was repaired by him, and a few
years after was made '^TAe Court of his Son, the Prince of Wales;
who was fent hither by him,, as Hall relates, ^^for Juftice to be
" doen in the Marches of Wales, to the end that by the authoritie
." of his prefence, the wild WeWhmcnne and cvill difpofed per-
^^ fpnnes fliould refraine from their accuftomed murthers and
♦* outrages." Sir Henry Sidney, fome years afterwards, obferved,
that, fince the eflablifliment of the Lord Prefident and Council,
the whole country of Wales had been brought from their dif-
obedient and barbarous incivility, to a civil and obedient con-
dition ; and the bordering Englifh counties had been freed from
thofe fpoils and felonies, with which the Welfh, before this in-

4 '' As touching the firft Councel eftablilhcd in the Marches of WaleSj it is
^ conceived by the beft and moft probable opinions among Antiquaries, that
'* the fame began in or about 17^. Edward IV. when as prince Edward .his Son
** was fent intgtthe Marches of Wales, under the tuition of the Lord Rivers
'' his Untkle bf^ihe mother^ fide, at what tinle alfo John [Alc^ck] Bilho^jof
<< Worj^fter was appointed Lord Prelident of Wales." Percy JSodeVWs
Cambria Triumphans* Fol. 1661. p. 343.

• See Sidney State Papers^ vol* i. p» i«

LUDLOW CASTLE. ii

ftitudon, had annoyed them.^ On the death of Edward, his eldefl
Son was here firft proclaimed king by the name of Edward V.
The young monarch and his brother were, however, foon* fcnt
for from the Caftle, by their diflembling Uncle, the tyrant
Richard ; who foon removed thefe innocent obflacles to his am*
bition by the moil foul and unnatural murder.

In the reign of Henry VII, his eldeft Son, Arthur Prince of
Wales, inhabited the Caftle, in which great fellivity was obferved
upon his marriage with Catherine of Arragon ; an event that was
loon followed, within the fame walls, by the untimely and
lamented death of that accomplifhed Prince.

The Caftle had now long been the palace of the Prince of
Wales annexed to the Principality, and was the habitation ap-
pointed for his Deputies the Lords Prefidents of Wales, who
held it in the Court of the Marches. It would therefore
hardly have been fuppofed, that its external fplendour fliould
have fufFered negle^, if Powell, the Welfli hiftorian, had not re-
lated that " Sir Henry Sidney, who was made Lord Prefidenf^
** in 1564, repaired the Caftle of Ludlowe which is the cheefell:
** houfe within the Marches, ieing in great dicaie^ as the Chapell,
" the Court-houfe, and a faire Fountaine." Sir Henry's** munifi-
cence to this ftately fabric is more particularly recorded by T.
Churchyard, in his poem called ** The Worthines of Wales,"
4to. Load. 1578. The chapter is intitled ** the Caftle cf Ludloe^^*
in which it is related, that ** Sir Harry built many tilings here
" worthie praife and memorie." From the fame information
we learn the following particulars. '' Over a chimney excellently
** wrought in the beft chamber, is St. Andrewes Crofle joyned
*' to Pnncc Arthurs Armes in the hall windowe.**

** Prince Arthurs Armes, is ther^ well wrought in ftonCi
. ** (A worthie worke, that fewe or none may mend)
This worke not fuch, that it may pafTe alone:
For as the tyme, did alwaies people fend
" To world, that might exgpede in wit and fpreete ;
" So fondrie forts or works are in that Seate,
**. That for fo hye a ftately place is meete :—
**'-In it beftdes, (the works are here unuam*d)
" A Chappcll is, mofttrim and coftly fure"-^

^ See Speed's Hil^.of Great Britaine, p. 884. Aod compare Shakfpeare^
Rich. III. A. ii. S«ii. where Buckingham lays,

Me ieemeth good, that, with.foinc little train,
Forthwith from Ludlcw the young prince be fetch'd
Hither to London, to be crown'd our king.

g See Mr., Warton's sd edit, pi 224. who quotes D. PowelPs ^ifl-. of Cam-
bria^ ed. 1580'.' 4.to. p. 401. Sir H. Sidney, however, was made lord prelideat
in the 2d year of Elizabeth^ which was in 1559'. See Sidney State Papers,
yol. i. Memoirs prefixed, p. 86.

Ik S^ealibSidAey State Papers, vol. i. p. 144. where Sir Henry fdate? the
f^taatioQ of Ludlow Caftle^ &c.

b %

J* JjUPLOW OASTliB,

About which ^are'Armes m ooloiirs of fondrie Kings^ bat
" chiefly Noblemen." He then fpecifie^ in profe, ** thfit Sif.
*^ Harry Sidney being lord Prefident^ ^uylt twelve reumes hi thd
^jjayd Cailie) which goodly buildipgjs doth fhewe a great
V oeautie jto the fame. . He made it\[o ^ ^K>diy Wardrobe Hndef^
^^ neath the new Parlor^ and repaytc^ an old Tower^ oaUed
*f ^ortymer's Toweri to ke^pe the auncient Records In (he
<| &me I and he rcpayml a £ayre .reume uxxlfr the beurt hooftfV
*| to th^ fajjne enten( and pyi|)of(p^ and made a great wall about
*< the woodyardf and built a moft brave CofiMiit within the inner
*^ Court: and all th^ new^ buildings over the gat^ 8fr Harry.
^ Sidney (in his daies and governement there) made and fet out
*f to th^ honour of the Qu^ne^ and elorie of the Caftle<. ThefV
*f ar^ in 9 goodly or ibt^ly place let out my Lord Earle of
<f Warwicks Armes^ the £afle of Parbk^ the Earle of Worceftfff
*f the £arl« of Pembroke, and Sir Harry Sidneys Armes in like
*f maner : al thefe fUnd on th^ left hand of the Chamber. On
^'^ tho other iide are the anns of Northw^les and Southwales, two
^^ red Lyons and two golden Lvons, Prince Arthurs. At the^
^* end of the dy ning Ckaotberf tMre is a pf eti^ device*' hOw the
** Hedgeh<^ brake the chayne^ and came f^om Ireland to Ludlbey>
^ There is in th^ Hall a gre^t grate of Iron of a hug^ heighl«"«-$ir

i Viz4 Of the foJIowiof; peifoofi '* |rtU«atly and canniogly fet 9m%**

^ Sir W«lter lacie Sir HIH7 SMhtfy L. ?.

feffrey Gen]rvile 3ir A. Corbet JftikU yibe-Picfianm

R<^er Moityaier $ir Tho. Dynham KAt» . .

Xeoneil pake of Clarence L Scory Bp. of HactlbrdTRerefordJ

Edmond Earle of Marchy N. BulHnghaiii 6p. of worc^fter*

Ritbard ^.airle of dmbndg^ |9. Rdbialbby Bp; df Bahgbr.

Richard Doke of Tor|e R» l)atie&> Bp. 5f St . I>kv1tl'8.

Edward IV« T« Pavies^, Bp^ of Si^ Afa)Mu

Henry VII* Sir J. Crofta Kiit. Connroller.

Henry VI||, j^ir 7. Throgmorton Ko't. Ice.

W. Sm'itii Bidiop of Lincolne Lor^ Sir Hugli Cl^olmley ICnt.

Prefident of Wales. Sir Mich* Arhold Knt.

Je0; Blythe BiOif of CoTentlric and Sir G. Bromley Kbt. Jlc.

Litcbaeld)..P, ^ Wima»Gerrard|J*OrdCli»uncellor
R. Lee Bp. qf iCoventrie and l^itci^ of Irdand l(c,

fielJ L, ^. Charles Foxe Efquier and Secretorie.

. VeiTie Bp. of Exeter L, P. Ellice Priice DoAor of the Lave.

r Slnipfon Bpi nf Cdventrie and Edward Leightois 'ESf^

LitchEeld L. P. , Richard Seborne £1^.

J. Dudley Earle of Wanlrtclt LrP, . Etchafd Pates Efii»

Sir Williafn Harbert L, P^ Rafe Baitoii Efqt

N. Heath Bp. of Worceftet L. pk (Beorge Pfae^place £(^

OilbertBrowner3oiiraelBp.of^ih Wiliiaip l^igJipMm £i<i« -

and Wells L.P, ' Mjrl^ Saada Ef^iiier."
JLord WiiUanjs of fani^j L. *• .

^ ** Pevice of th<: lDr4 fttB^iiaDfJ* Twt fomifkft utre i^ laipeai Cfc^
of the bidn^yi* ' a .v. .;^. .

ik

LUDLOW CASTLEi 13

Henry- Sidney eaufed alfo many falntary^ r^guUtidns to be madtf
in the Court.

In 16 16 the Creation of Prince Charles (afterwards Khig

Chariet I.) to the Principality ef Wales, and Karldom of Chefter^

was celebrated here with unoommon fbagnificenc^. It became

next ^liftiDgyiihed by ** one" of the moil memorable and honbura-'

*^ ble clrciimftances in the eoBrfe of Its hiftttry/' thb aEPltE-'

sBVTATioN OF GoMUs id 1^349 whet) the £arl of BridgeWater

ijras Lord Prefideatf and inhabited it. A icene" in the M^fk pre^

fitnted both the Caftk and the Town of Liidlowi Afterwards^

as I have been mformed, Chartes the firfty going to pay a viiit ii

Powii Cailiei was here fplendidly received and entertained, vtt

hifr journey* fiut ^' pomp^ and feaft^ and revelry^ with mq^i abd

*f antique psf eantry^" were foon I'tteeeeded in Ludlow Caiiie bf

iht din d arms. During the unliappy Civii War it was gar<j

riibned for Cha KijM;i In the fumttter of 164$^ a force df Mmt

aoQo Horfe arid Foot^ drawn together ou^ of the ||artifohS' ctf

ImAvwi Herrf^d^ VTmrt^it^ and Mmmm^\ Were by a kft number

itf the rebels'" defeated near Ludlow. The Caftle was at lengtll

dpiiyered up to the Parliament on thfc 9th of June 1646.

i: No e^ier remarkable circumftances^ diftinguiih the hiiloly of

t^frCaiUey tUI the Court of the Marches was aboliihed^ and the

Lords Prefitlents were difcontinaed, in i688i From that peribd

its decay commenced. It has (inee been gradually Aripp^ ^ its

curious and valuable ornamentsi No longer mhabited by its

lioble guardians) it has fallen into negle6k ; and negle^ has eil»>

couraged'' plunder. The appointment of a '^governorf or fteward

of the caftle, is alfo at ^ refent difcdntinued. Butler enjeyed the

ftewardihip) which was a lucrative^ as well ^s an honourable pofti

while the prin^ipatity-court. exifted. Audi in an apartment ^ver

1 Betf tidflejr State PafMrf-, Td.l. p. 14). **> %\\ Henry flytlnly ttv the LMk
** dl tli<; GftcHieclIf wi^lt-.hit f)|}im«A for Reformation of the PirordMra iiv.tH
" Mtrcbca af Wtles :" in irbich are flated the sreat foms of mooqr he had ezw
^n^edf and ttie indefatigable diligence he haa ckerted in the dilcnarge or His

Wt lill^, id eo9)<f^lMlM< of 6ib <ia^ " 6rBcb im<Elo#Hi^ By ^Afc ^^\f^ ftAfi
'< eiceUcnt Majefiie, with th* Adtict dJF her Previa iSokmrdl) im the OircAion
«* and RelbnnaeioD of her^lighftcs Coorte in the Marches of WaUk) An. i5tr6/'
$idney Slate Papers, vol. i. p. 1704 &c*

A Ste Mr. Wirtoh's.id <d. {>. 1x5.

* ilUt Coihbr. If; i jt-

• See Sir £. Walker's Hift. Bifcoarfes. Fol. p. 1 29.

f " It will bo no wonder that this noble Caftle is in the verjr perfe^on of
*' ^ccajt ^H^n ve acqpaint JDur readers, that the prefent Inhabitants live open
^ tlie iale oif the materials. Ail the £ne Courts^ the Royal Apartments^ llahs,
" and Rooms of ^Stalcj iie open and abandohed> ao<i fome of them Tailing down."
Your through Great Britain, qodt^d hy (^roft. Art. Lvoi.6w Castli*

See alfo two remarkable Inftanccs related by Mr* Mlodgas in his Atcmni
fftb* Caflii. p. 39.

- f Whea Mr, Grofe publi^ his AntiqaiUtf > ^J.a fort ot ffovemor" kt {i^i.
^ mu ^ ajpjpoiiitecl to the CaJUe,^ Sat 1^ Mr. Hodges s AecMmt, p. 44*

14 LUDLOW CASTLE.

the gateway of the Caftle, that inimitably facetious poet wrote
the 'firft part of Hudibras.

^ In the account of Ludlow Caftle, prefixed to Buck's Antiqui-
ties, publifhed in 17749 which muft have been written many
years before, it is faid •' Many of the Royal apartments are yet
•^ entire ; and the fword, with the velvet, hangings, and fome of
•* the furniture arc ftill prcferved." And Groie in his Antiquities,
publifhed about the fame time, extracting from the Tour through
Great Britain what hepronounces a very jufl and accurate account
of this Caflle, reprefents the Chapel having abundance of Coats
of Arms upon the pannels, and the Hall- decorated with the fame
ornaments, together with lances, fpears, firelocks, and old armour.
Of thefe curious appendages to ttie erandeur of both, little per-
haps is now known. Of the Chape^ a circular building within'
the inner court is liow all that remains. Over feveral of the
ftable doors, however, are flill the arms of Queen Elizabeth, and
the Earl of Pembroke. Over the inner gate of the caflle, are
alfo fome remains of the arms of the Sidney family, with an in-
fcription denoting the date of the Queen's reign, and of Sir
Henry Sidney's refidence, in 1581, together with the following
words,* Hominihus ingratis loquimim lafides. No reafon has been
affigned for this remarkable addrefs. Perhaps Sir Henry Sidney
iriight intend it as an allufion to his predecefTors, who had fuifered
the (lately iabric to decay; as a memorial alfo, which no fucceflbr
might behold without determining to avoid its application- :
'* *nonne ipsam domvm mituety ne quam vocem eliciat,
^ nonne-PARiETEs conscios?"

A ''gentleman, who vifited the Caflle in 1768, has acquainted
irie,.that the floors of the Great Council Chamber were then
pretty entire, .as was the flair-cafe. The covered fleps leading to
the Chapel were remaining, but the covering of the Chapel was
£dlen: yet the arras of fbme of the Lords Prefidents, painted on
the walls, were vifible. In the Great Council Chamber was in-
fcribed on the! \^all la fentence from i. iSam. xii. 3. All of which
are now wholly gone. The jperfon, who (hewed this gentleman
the Caflle, informed him that, by tradition, the Mask of Com us
was performed in the ^Council Chamber.

From the valuable coUeAions of the fame gentleman I have
been alfo favoured with feveral Curious extraSs, relating to the
earliefl hiftory of the Caflle, and to its connexion with the hiflory

t Buck*s Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 3. Mr. Hodges, in his Actomtt of Ludluw
Cfi/ile^ obferves more generally that ^* it was in orie of theonter towers of this
** caftle that Botler wrote his incomparable Hndiliras." p. 42.

• See Mr. Hodges's Account of tie Caftic^ p. 29. The Ludlov Guide, P* 32*
And Harl. MSS. 6121. foU 40.

t Cicero pro Caelio. feft. "25." '. ' '

« Mr, Dovafton pf the Nvirfcry,. near Qfweftry,
- w Mr. WartoB (ayii in the VbiW or in .oiic of the Great Chambers, id. e4»

4P.I24.

LUDLOW GA&TLE. t j

of the Marches. The Welfli,' or Ancient Britons, were never
wholly conquered, bat were by degrees at length driven into the
mountainous and inacceffible part of this liland, whence, under
their kings and princes, they made frequent incurfions on the
bordering iithabitants ; which was the occaiion of this and many
other caftles to be built, fbr the defence of the country a^ainft
the Wellh. Several towns and cafiies on the frontiers of Wales,
were built about the time of the Norman conqueft ; from which,
it has been alfo 'faid, that the pofleiTors frequently fallied into
the low or flat countries, and exceedingly molefted the Welfli.

'When the Title of Mercia was extinguifhed in the Monarchjr"
of the whole Ifle, the name from the nature of the thing was ftitt
retained in the counties bordering upon Wales and Scotland, from
the known Saxon word mearc^ fignifying a note^ or mark^ and by
way of common fpeaking at lail applied to boundaries of coun-
ties. Hence came the title of Lords Marchers^ who procured their
ieigniories by right of conqueft, having an authority from the
king' fbr that end. "For, the kings of England, perceiving the
difficulty of effefting the conqueft of Wales by any great army,
offered to feveral Ens;li(h nobility and gentry the grant of fuch'
countries, as they could win by their own force and expence, from
their enemies the Welfti. They alto pennitted them and their
heirs to hold the land conquered of the Crown, freely, per Bare
niamy with the exercife of royal jurl*di<ftion'' therein. They were
therefore IKled '^Lords^ or Barons Marchers. But the foundation of
their title was by afl'umption and permillion, and not by grant :
for ''no record of. any grant having been given to a Lord of
the Marches, to pofTefs the authority annexed to that dignity, is
to be found in the Tower, or in other parts of England. The
tenure of thele conquered lands, however, was precarious ; as
it frequently happened, that "thofe eftates of which they had taken
pofTemon, were recovered by the Welfh ; either by compofitioa
with the kings of England, or by the power of arms. In the
Marches bordering upon England, the frequent difputes between

x An Account of Ludlow Town and Caflle from the moft early times, tQ,
the firft ^ear of William and Maty, copied by Mr. Dova(lon from a MS. of
the Rev. Rich. Podinore, A. B. Rector of CoppenhtU in Co. Pal. of Cheftcr,
and Curate ot Cundovcri Salop, collected with great care from ancient and «■•
thentic books.

y Owen's Brltilh Remains J 8to. Lond, 1777. P* i^'

s Mr. Durallon's MS.

• Owen's Britifh Remains, p. 8.

b- The loids uf the marches held under the kin£^s of England, by the tenure
of felling tn wars with a certain number of their vaHais ; and of turnilhing their
caftles with ftrong garrifons, and with all military implements. — They pof-
fefled in all cafes, except the power of granting pardons for treafon, Jmra regalit.
See Warrington's Hi A. of Wales, 3d cd. rol. i. p. 570. 380.

c Owen's Brit. Rem. p. 8.

d Ibid. p. 9*

« Warrington's Hift. of Wales. 3d edit, vol i. p. 378.

1$ i.y&M)w QAsti-f ;

tl^ Wl^ ap4 HiH^ifhi ^f^fippe4 }gApia^l)ie boitUidlBS, anl

^i$^ II) tJjjB liWfe Aforfrlyrrai.^ Hpivy yij. vhQ Had beta
ppffiKftrly 8#ftchfti |» ifbe proA^ty pf W^Uj, as wpU oo nccownt
ojF JIms l^irth w4 ftdH€l«l<» 'ft the fiotfriiqr pf Pfiaibroif4> as of his .
nf^r dcfopfit jfro/n |fca£,f:Qa«ty, 9mUH himfrtf 1» «flfe^ what hff
4^1 ^A i^ Mft, aiwJ whiit hi9 frft H^nry VI JJ.. compl^Ad, the
jiffi^W of ^ivefr I^ftrilWp^ Wi* tjtf RTojifrty of lb? Crown, aad
tfcp b?ppy in^wjpp*fti*n of Wrfcs vitb Sogi^d.

Tl}iB pgiiit pi tba Pr^(i4efir au^d CpppcU of tb(e hh^^hm Mns
i^f^ .t>y ^9g EdwanLIVf ia honour of th^ E#ir|i9 pf March,
^offi wbom he ^ii^ 4^<;pn4ed, 99 Ih^ Q9^rt qi tti« Ihttchy of
L^aJ^ had )W» !*ffc« }>y Kiijg Heory J V. ii> honour of the
I^Mfe pf J[,^qiil9r,*

T^k? (^'puft ai^ed by Q^itimi^ODy and ^Ipifaru^ions from the
i(iog, ^omthetinor of itis igiPlit»}lion tUlthe making of tbe Statute
u^ thf t)¥^^j:y-(erfiQth ye^ of Henry VIIJ- by wSch *> the I?o-
*> Biy/)ipft, Couptr^yt s^d PrjrnjpipN?djtie of ^«^/, and diyera
** M?fcbf»» weff di^jde^A/itp 4i 5hires; wjiereof viii were aotient
^ ppi^itiesy and jiii o^w n^ade Counties. And tb^ $cat4itef, Jn.
*■ J'* Uf J4-; ^'^^J 3S ^* VJIJ, are RecitaUs, and QepJaration*
** iof thit Sft^vt^^ w>{. That there ftiaJbe,aod ren^yn a Lord Pre-
^* .^dif^nt and JQ^agj(a,iLl, ^6. with jdl Officers and Incidents, &c^
*Via planner, ap4 Foraie, as it had l^en befpre that Tyme ufisd
** ^pd app^flwid."* Th^e had bc«;p ^o th^ Seal of tJ»e Marches,
^int^ wias iaid ftfide i>y Stat, >^. He<j. VJll* wfeenpby it was jensAed^
tb^t iijyi grajat^ ai^d jvritiflg? pertaiflit^g |p the ^addpm of March

^ovid ^ u^r ^f ^pad S^al, a^ A«t ^i^^^fp^^i^i $«i; for

this had 1^1^ a priyiA&ge a9Ae^9d to t\^ ^jjate >^d podeffiooa oi
i)ifi Afprtiou;!^ fyf}s .of March, ffl9m ^k9m £idvard IV^wasde-
fceoded, aixd w^ihPn abc^g^.^'' BcfidP0^p(5cf|p5 of ithe J^^xHirt,
there j^ c*i^^ ii Uft ;pf thff Xnights aod Efqwices af)p9W«cd by
ijenry VII. in (tfee MarchjCf of Wal^j ** tp gyff ^u^daoce wkh
" f?Ae r\Qmi^ fif table perfo»p d^n^ly, as ttey may make
^' to affiil the King's Commiffioners at LoJekwy from tyme to
". t^^pap, ^d ^o jhavc fi«:h ftt& as hcr^fter epfj^ctli^" For the
i^W^y of ^^p Sxx Robert Pprb^ Sir JhOn L^ighton» jSir The^
pornwaU, Sir Tho. Blount : the fceiof eachof tiidTe was6» 13. 4^
Tho. €4M>even, Tho. Kynafton, Tho. Mykon, Wm. ^dghton,
Geo. Main waring : the fee of thefe wa^ ipp fliij|ii|)gsj

f Owen's Brit. Rem. p. 20*

C Mr. DoYftfton's MS.

I1 See Cambria Triumphi^n». Fol. 166,1,. ^. ^j^'j,

i $i4jpcjr State P|iperA,xpi.i,.p. i. ^^9nT^if/iisiM*^fli;;jik^^s4^^^4i^
** tht AnttquUie^ Jt^fltbor^^ ^n^ %triJjficcioti of iff lifr/l ^Frtjdtt^ ^ fifjtnf^f
« oftbt Marches 0/ Wales.**

k Mr. Doraftoo's MS.

1 Ibid.

UJNJCSW CASTLE. 17

- Amoneft otlier inftriidions in the 44th year of Queen Eliza*
beth to £dward Lord 2^uch, Lord Prefident^ is the following.
^^ And ftirther her Majefties pleafure is, that there fliall be one
^^ learned Minifter allowed, being a Graduate in Divinity, or a
•* Mafter of Arts, and not haveing any benefice with Cure of
*^ Souls, to preach and read the Common Prayer for the Lord
*^ Prefident ami the whole houfehould, and fhall be always refi*
^ 4ent with the fstid Council, and fhall have the yearly fee of
*' 5^. with diet for himfelf and one fervant, and not to be abfent
** to ferve any cure or funftion.'^

The Lord Prelident had an allowance to lire in great ftate and
grandeur, and had a numerous houihold to attend him. The
other officers of the Court had fees and falaries fuitable to their
fereral ranks."

This "Court was diflblved by A^ of Parliament in the firflyear
of William and Mary, at the humble fuit of all the gentlemen
and inhabitants of the Principality of Wales ; by whom it was
reprefented as an intolerable grievance. The firft Lord Prefi-
dent was the Lord Rivers*" 13. £d. IV. and the laft was the Earl
of Macclesfield.

M Mr. Dbvafbn*! MS. And! fee Sidney State Papers, toI. i. p. 5, 6. where
fke ^* Feei mnnuMlly alhwtd to the Cotcnfeil and Commiffioners, and the Officer t
^* fTdiga;* An. 3. Edw. VL are fet &rth.

n The Court copflfted of the Lord Fre6dent, Vice-Preiident, and Cooncil,
who were compofed of the Lord Chancellor, Lord Treafarer, Lord Keeper of
the PriTy Seali Lord Treafarer of the King's houlhold. Chancellor of the Ex-
cheqoer^ principal Secretary of State, the chief Jufticcs of England, and of the
Conunon Pleas, the chief Baron of the Exchequer, the Jaftices of Affizc for the;
coanttes of Salop, Gloucefier, Hereford, and Monmouth, the Juftices of the
grand SeffioA in Wales^ the chief JulUce of Chefter, Attorney and Solicitor
genera), with many of the neighbouring Nobility ; and with various fubordi*
Bate officen* See Mr. Hodges's if^. Jcc. •ftbt CaftU, p. 67, 68.

^ • Mr. DoTafton's MS. See alTo note d in p.io. in which the Bifliop of Worcefler
js called Lord Prefident : Lord Rivers perhaps might have vacated the Preiident-
Alp in the ryth year of Edward IV. The following Lift of Lords Prefidentf
contains all whom I have hitherto found appointed to that ofiice.

Attthdny Lord Rivers. 1 3. jin. £d. IV. John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, aftff-

from Mr. Dovafton's MS. wards Duke of Northumberland,

John Alcock, Bilhop oi Worcefter, who was beheaded in 1553.

about 1478, afterwards Bifhop of Sir Williani Herbert, afterwards Earl

Ely: he died in 1500. of Pembroke, in 1549.

William Smith, Biihop of Lincoln : Nicholas Heath, BIfhop of Worcefter,

he died in 1513. afterwards Abp. of York, was ap-

Geoffrey Blythe, Bifliop of Lichfield pointed in the fiifl year of Queen

and Coventry : he died in 1 533* Mary.

John Voyfcy or Veifey, BiOiop of Sir William Herbert was foon after-

Eneter. wards re-appointed, and continued

Rowland Lee, Biihop of Lichfield and Lord Prefident till the 6th of Queen

Coventry. Mary.

Richard Sampfon, Biihop of Chichefler, Gilbert Bourne, Biihop of Bath and

afterwards of Lichfield and Co* Wells, then held the office till

f entry. Mary'a death.

1 8 LUDLOW CASTLE.

. The fiti;ttion of the Caftle is ^delightful. It is built in\he*
north-weft angle of the town upon a rock, commanding an ex«
teufive and beautiful profpe^ Northward. On the Weft it if
iliaded by a lofty hill, and wa(hed by the river. It is ftrongly
environed by walls of imroenfe height and thicknefs, and fortified
with round and fauare towers at irregular diftances. Tlie walls
are "^faid to have formerly been a mile in compafs^ but Leland in
that meafure includes thofe of the town. The interior apartments
%yere defended on one fide by a deep ditch, cut out of the rock i
on the other, by an almofl inacceifible precipice overlooking the
vale of Corve. The Caftle was divided into two feparate parts :
the caflle, properly fpeaking, in which were the palace and lode-'
ings; and the green, or outwork, which Dr. Stukeley fuppoies
to liave been called the ^Barbican. The green takes in a large
.compais of ground) in which were the court of judicature and
records, the ftables, garden, bowling-green, and other offices* la
the front of the caftle, a fpacious plam or lawn formerly extended
two miles. In^ 177.2 a public walk round the caftle was planted
with trees, and laid out with much taile, by the munificence of
the Countefs of Powis.

The exterior appearance of this ancient edifice befpeaks, in
fome degree, what it once has been. Its mutilated towers and
walls ililT afford fome idea of the flrength and beauty, which fo
noble a fpecimen of Norman archite6ture formerly difplayed. In
contemplating its ruin, however, fenfations of regret and in-
dignation will arife. For the Caftle is now a melancholy monu-
ment, exhibiting the irreparable eiFefts of remorfelefs pillage and
unregarded dilapidation. Editor.

•

Sir John Williams, Lord WilHams 06 WiUiam Lord Compton, il^rwards
XhaiaCf CO. of Oion, oa the acceiHon Earl of Northampton, 1617.
of Q^Elizabeth t he died in the firft John Earl of Bridge water, 163 1| ffbm
year of her reign. Mr. Dovaftoo's MS.

Sir Henry Sidnry, in the id of £liz. Prince Rupert.

he died, in 1586, at Ludlow. Richard Lord Yaughjiii, Ead of Car*

' Henry Earl of Pembroke, fon.in-law bery.

to Sir Henry Sidney. Henry Marquit of Worcefter, after*

. Edwffd Lord Zouch, who appears from - wards Duke of Beaufovt.
Mr. I>oTafton's MS. tb to hare been Sir John Bridgeman.
Lord Prefident in z6«2. Charles Earl of Macclesiidd*

. Ralph Lord Eure, in 16 lo.

p So Churchyard defcribes it : '

<< It Hands right well, and pleafant tothe vewe,
" With fweete profped:, yea all the field about."—
, The lords of the marches, feleAing the m^ ttgrtiahh and ftrtUefartt of their
territories, ercAed caHles for their own refid<^cc, and towns w the accom*
modatioo of their foldiers. It was hi this manner ^ that moft of the prefent
towns and caftlcs on the frontier of Wales were built. Warrington^ Hift. of
Wales. 3d ed. Tolti. p. 379.
q Grofe's Antiquities.
' Irinerary. Jur, iv. p, 70.
s Hodges*s hiil. Acc« p. 54. '

&

JOHN EARL OF BRIDGEWATER

AND HIS FAMILY,

JOHN EGERTON, £ari of Bridgewatsr, before
whom CoMus was prefented, and whole foni and daughter.
Lord Vifcouiit Brackley, Mr. Thomas Egerton, and Lady AlicCi
performed the characters of the Brothers and the Lady in the
MASK, was the fecond Ton of that great lawyer and ilatelman, Sir
Thomas Egerton, Lord Keeper of the great feal to Queen ELiza--
beth, and Lord High Chancellor of England under King James I.
who created him Baron of EUefmere, and Vifcount Brackley/

Some of his earlier days were (pent, as were thole of his elder
l^rother Thomas, in the perils of a military life. In 1 590 he
ferved, with his brother, under the Earl of Eflex, againft the
sebeb in Ireland, when he was knighted, as his brother had been '
before, at the taking of Gales', under the fame commander. Sir
Thomas Egerton died*' at Dublin Caflle in September 1599,
Ifaviog three daughters by Elizabeth his wife, daughter of Thomas
Venables, of Kinderton, in the County of Chefter, Efquire.^

Sir John Egerton foon afterwards married Lady Frances
Stanley,'^ fecond daughter and coheir of the Earl of Derbv,
whofe widow the Lord Keeper Egerton, his father, married m
OAober 1600."

At the coronation of King James I. he was made one of the
Knights of the Bath/

After the death of his father in March 161 7, he was almofl
immediately advanced to the 'Earldom of Bridge water \ which
the King had intended to b^Aow upon the chancellor himfelf,
and which now, in reverence (o his memory, he b^ftowed upon
his fon. In the iany; y^r he was nominated one'' *^ of bis Ma-

" % See his Life, in the New Bioo. Brit. Fol. vol. t. written by his de*
icendant, the Rer. F. H> Eg^cton, Prebeud^ry of Durham ) one of che moft
accurate and valuable contributions to the wor)^» See Dr. Kippis's acl^now-
ledgeinent in the Pref. to the Vol.

^ His body was brought over to England. See King's Vale Royal,
p. £o8r where there is fome account of hisvfuneral: but there is a more minuto
and curious defcriprion of its fplendid folcmnization, taken from Harl. MSS«
ii^9, art, 48« fpL 44. in the Topograpl\er. v^. i. p. 126. i^nd* I/Sq*

f Cdlins's Peerage, vol, ii, p« 2^3. 5th ed^t,

d See note on Comus. ▼. ^40
- «. Sidney State Papers. voL ii. p. 9 19.

^ Collins ut fupr.

I On the 27th of May T617. See Dugda!e*8 Baronage, p. 415.

h Rymer's Foedera. vol. xvii. p. 29. — Th? Cwnxjl tQ the Lord Prefidcnt,
when tbey were fummoned and officiated, were allowed their diet for them-
felves and their men, and 6s. 8d. per diem, darmg their attendance. See Percy
EndtrbieS Cambria Triumphans. fol. i66i« p. 347. •

C %

20 JOHN EARL OF BRIDGEWATER

**jeftie*s Councellors'* to William, Lord Compton, who was then
promoted to the Prefideqtiliip of Wales and the Marches.

In' 1625 he was'appoinied one of the Coromiffion^rs to diredt
the management of the mines in Cardiganfliire, granted by the
Crown to Sir Hugh Middleton. CommiAons of the Peace
having been iffued to the feveral Counties in the fame year, ^ he
was nominated in thofe of Bedford, Bucks, Chefleri Herts, Mid-
dle&Xy Northampton, Sabp, Denbigh, and Flint. In 1626) 4^
'nms one of the Commiffioiiers appointed to enquire into tbe
State of the Navy, to take into confidecation its debts, and to
report fuch means as might remove its abufes, and augment its
credit. . In. the fame year, he was one of thofe, who were in-
trufied with the performance of his Majedy's refolution, in order
'^to "'ndfe a jM'eient Somme of Money towards the decaying of
*< his- great aindpublique £xpence8 ;" a reiblution, which direded
thcin " to graunt in Fee Farme, or for terme of Lives or Yeares
^^.iti Poflemon or Reyerfion, all^r anie of his Honors, Atfannon^*
*^ Quid Cailles, Forefh, Chaies, Parkes, Landes, Teneaients«
*' Woods and other Hereditaments, both in tbe Survey .of .hi»
'< Exchequer, and of his Dutchey of Lancaller." In this memo*'
rable year he was alio nominated in the "General Commiiiion for
the Loain-Money, as he was in the Particular Commi^ns for
the fame directed to the counties of Herts, Bucks, Cheiler, and
Salop ; ''and was likewife appointed with the Earl of Manchefter
and others,' to make full enquiry concerning exceffive fees and
payments, exacted by Officers in the Civil and Eccleiiafticai
Courts. '

IiiP 1637 he was in CommiilioQ to enquire into the abufes and
frauds pradifed upon his Majefty's Coins ; and was** alfo nomi-*
nated in the fame year one of the ConHniffioners to treat and
conclude with the Lord Arnold of Raodwicke, and $ir Adrian
Pawe, Knight, Lord of Hcmeflidd, Ambaflador Extraordinary
from the States General of the United Provinces, and Monfieur
Joachimi, Knight, their Ambaflador refident in England, upon
all Points that might be offered by either psurty for the public
good of.Clu-iftendom; for the particular defence pf the King's
-Dominions, and of thofe Provinces ; and for the increafe of the
long continued Amity between both.

fn^ 1628 he was authorized, v^^ith others, to commute the
punilhment of capital convids (provided they were not convict-
ed of Murder, Rape, Witchcraft, Highway -Robbery, Burning
of Houfcs, or Burglary), by fending thofe, who mi^ht poflels
flrength of body, or other ability, on foreign difcoveries. Or on
fervices beyond the feas ; from whole labours advantage might
be derived to that fociety, which they had injured*

r

i Rvmer's Feed, vol, x»Ui. p. 67.

k Ibid. p. e66. Ice. 1 Ibid. p. 758. « Ibid. p. 786. » Ibid, p. 835»

o Ibid. p. Cf 5* 9 Ibid. p. 970. ' Si Ibid. p. 975. r Ibid. p. iojo.

. AND HIS FAMILY. 91

The hwxuuuty and juftice of two other Commiflions, in which
h€ was foon -afterwards nominated, befpeak the exemplary vigi-
lance of ti^e govemfnent; in the one, dated in '1630, the com*
miffioQerB were dkred^d to relieve the poor and impotpnt; tacii<-
courage th&'iodu^ous, and to punifh the idle ; and to pcirfpfot
▼ariotis ^ other public Cervices for God, the King, and the Comi^
^^monW^br" in the other, dated '1631, to examine all Dif-
Irrenccs which ftouU) ^i£e between any of the Courts of Juftice,
or becwectft the. Officers and Judges of them, concerning Jurif.
^dioo-; by queftions on which fubjedt the diiiribution of juiUce
hul been impeded.

loL 163 1 he wias projected to the PreGdentlhip of Wales and
the MamhMi and became, in confequence, Lord Lieutenant of
the Qoonties of Salop, Hereford, "Glouceller, Monmouth, Gla^
moraan^ Caennarthen, Pembroke, Cardigan, Flint, Caeroarvon*
An^iofea, Merioneth, Radnor, Brecknock, Montgoipery, . and
Denb^; the four laft of which were the new made ihires^ men-
tioned by Sir Henry Sidney in the account of "" Ludlow CaiU^
zpA the eight preceding, the (hires of ancient date : all whichy
united to the tour '^ £ngli(h counties, conitituted, by the flajTute of
Henry VIIL theX.ond Prefident's exteniive domain. Mr. Collins
and Mtm Waiton have both dated the lath of May 1633, ^ the
day of.hi&apipointment.to this office, and have referred to Kymer'a
FGBDX|tA9Voi.3dx.p.449, where indeed his Infiru films appear to
have been then iifned* .Yet in a CommifQon dated the ^.%iA of Fe-
bruary 1632, fimilar to that in which he had been named in 1628,
he is defcribed '* Lord Preiident of our Council, eftablifhed
•* within the Principality and Marches of Wales." But the fol-
lowing 'original letter belt elucidates this part of his hiilory, and
fixes the date of his promotion in 1631. The King*s Majefifx
Letter f tke Rti Hw. John Earl of BrUgewater to affwU km Lerd
Prefideta. •

^ Charles Rex. Right trufty and right well beloved CouGn
and Counceilor, We greet you well. Whereas by certain In-
ihTi6tions given by us to our right trufty and right weil beloved
Coufin Wiuiam late Earle of Northampton, dated the 8th day of
April in the lil year of our reign, Wee did appoint the faid £arle
to be Lord Prefidenc of our Councel in the Dominion, and
Frindpalitie of Wales, and the Marches of the (ame, during our

• Ryflier^i Feed. Y^l. ziz. p. %xi, t Ibid. p. i'j%,

■ Collins faji Wwctfiet. The Aa 34. and 35. ifeo. VIII, e. 26. fiyi
Clmc9fkr»

w See p. i6.

X Monmodtb had been diflerered from Wales; an. 170. Hieii* VIII. ,

7 Rjmcr's Fcsd. vol. six. p. 406.

s BxtraAed from a MS. folio book of Rules and Orders •£ the lords Prefix
^ents of Ludlow Caftle, and other State Papers belonging to the coveranMnt of
the Marches of Wales, beginning 15th September 1586, and ending 24th Jaly»
9U1 CaioL L ia the poflcflSa-af lidf v jDoTa%i of the Narfery near OfweAry.

%% JOHN EARL OF BRIDGE WATER

Will and Pleafure, and did by the fame Infhii6lions name and
ele£^ diverfe Lords, and others therein named, to be of our faid
Councel^ and did thereby give and mat, unto the faid late Lord
Prefidenti and the reft of our faid Councel, diverfe powers and
authorities, as in and by the Inftrudfrons appearetb, Wee defire*
oifB of (Continuance of quietnefs and good gprelmment of our
Subje^s within the faid Dominion, Principalkie, and Marches,
by ihe piaceing and continueing of a Prefident and Councell
there, as heretofore hath been uf^, for the good and IndiiFerenC
admiiiiftration of Juftice to our fubje^h of thofe Parts, and for
the good Opinion conceived by Us of you, and your wifdom,
difcretion, dexteritie, fidelitie, courage, and integritie in the Exe-
cution of Juftice without refpe^l otperfons, have ouide choice
of you, and hereby doe appomt you to bee Prefident of our laid
Councei, durine our Will and Pleafure, and doe give and grant
unto you all fuch the fame and the like powers, authorities,' allow*
ances, and preheminences, as in or by the (aid Inftrudions wens
given, or granted, or mentioned to be given or granted, unto the
uud late Earle. Given at our Court at Greenwich the a6th dajr
of June in the 7th year of our Reign 163 1."^

But he did not inunediateiy enternipon bit official refidence at
Ludlow Caftie* The following 'Letter was fent by him to the
Privy Council at Ludlow, for the regiftering and reading his In-*
Amnions for the government and order of the Houfehokl of the
Caftle, and Courts of Judicature of the Principality.

^ After mf hearty Commendations.

In reipe^ that fome Extraordinary Occafions preventing
my Comiog to Ludlowe (which I fully intended) the laft Somer
have caufed me to defer the £aime until! a fu-ther tyme, I have
nowe thought fitt (in refpeft pf the Succeeding Terms there) to
fend the Iuftru£tions figned by his Majefty unto you, that they
may be pubiickly read ^id regiftered in the Courts, as in the laft
article is appointed to be done, fo that the benefit and advantage
of the Alterations and Additions therein may be made known to
all the Members thereof, and the reft of his Majefties loveing
Sttbjed^s in thofe Parts, according to the directions in the In-
firudions geven, and foe wiihing the Welfare of yourfelves, and
rhat Councel in the Marches eftabliihed, I bid you fareweU,
and reft

28. 06tobris 1633. Your very loveing and well wiftiing friend
** To t he . R ight . Worlhipf ull my very .

loveing and well refpedled friendes Sir J6« Bridgewateh.*'
Jo. Brydgeman knt. Chief Juftice of
Chefter,* Sir Nich. Ovcrbury, and Sir
liiiarmacluke. Lloyd, knightS| and £d«
ward Watics £fq."

t From Mr. Bofaftoa's'MS*

k

AND^IS FAMILY. 25

. Then follows in the MS. the entry of his Infiruntons^ *»which

are clofely written on thirty-three fides of a large folio in a (inaH

law-haod, and contain fifty -five Rules and Orders ; to which are

affixed tlu: atteftation of their having been examined, by Noye,

the Attorney General, dated May 8. 1633, and the Lord Keeper

Coventry's order for their inrollmenty dated May 13. 1653.

. Of the attention which the Earl paid to the duties of his fia-

tion, althoii^ not refident at the Caftle, another original letter

prefenta a particular inilance. It is directed to the fame perfons,

as the preceding is.

** *After my very hearty Commendations.

I have received your letter concerning the Prohibitions granted
out of the King's Bench, upon the information exhibited by Mr.
Eure his Majwies Attorney General, by the relation of John
Turner of Coddington againft John Turner of Colwal, and with
It a copy of the prohibition, and a breviate of the information,
and the defendants anfwers. Though nothing can at this time
be done therein, in refpedt of the Judges abfence and the tyme
of the yeare, yet I iliall be willing when time fervcs to prevent,
as OHich as I may, the multitude of thofe prohibitions, which that
I may the better eifedt, I fhail entreat and advife you to be care-*
full in the Purfuance of the InftrufHons, which will in time of
itfelf be able to outwork the Surmifes and Suggeflions of fuch as
be over forward to fue out prohibitions, when they fhall fee that
all the Advantage they (hall get thereby is butt he delay of their
Adverfaries, and the expence of their own Moneys. And for
the effecting of what I defire herein, I would have you to obferve
what Councellors or Atturneys they be, that draw or prefer fuch
bills as may occafion this unbefitting Clafhing of his Majeflies
Courts one againil another ; that by admonition and reprehenfion
they may be kept within the limits and bounds of fuch pradice
as becometh them, not drawing on impertinent queftions between
■his Majeflies Courts, and vexatious proceedings on his Majeflies
Subje6ls« by fuch their faulty and unbefitting courfes and advice :
for unlefs fome order be taken to this purpofe, I doubt of the
Good Succefs which I wifh, and thus with my Good Wifhes
unto y6u all I refl Your very lovcing friend

Jo. Bridgewatbr."

To his acquifition of this honourable pofl the Mask oe
Com us owes its foundation. He had probably been long/ac-
quainted with Milton, who had before written Arcades for the

b From Mr. Dovafton's MS. See alfo Rymer's Foedera. voL xix. p. 44.9, Sec.
wbcre thefe ioftruAions fill niore than fifteen pages in folio,
c From Mr* Doyafion's MS.
A For Milton ** lived in the neighbourhood ; ^ndy ai in W(Uing,theiIV|afk

H JOHN EARL OF BRIDGEWATER

Counter^ of Derby, and who, it has been 'fnppofed, wrote alfo,
while a iludent at Cambridge, his Elegiac Ode on the Mar-
tiuonefs of Winchefler, in confequence of his acquaintance witk
the Egerton family. '^ I have been informed from a manufcript
** of Oldys,'' fays Mr. Warton, *^ 'that Lord firidgewater bein^
**' appointed Lord Preiident of Wales, entered upon his officiu
^ reudence at Ludlow CafUe with great folemnity. On this oc-
** caiion he was attended by a large concourfe of the neighbour^*
*^ ing nobility and gentry. Among the reft came bis children^
^in particular, Lord Brackley, Mr. Thomas Egerton, and
•* Lady Alice,

" to attend their father's ftate,
. •* And new-intrufied /cepter.—
*< They had been on a vidt at a houfe of their relations, the
*< Egerton family in Hereford (hire | and in paffing through Hay-
<< wood foreft were benighted, and the Lady Alice was even loft
^* for a iliort time. This accident, which in the end was attended
<* with no bad confequences, furnifhed the fubjed of a Masic ,
**for a Michaelmas i'eflivity, and produced Com us. Lord
^* BHdgewa(er was appointed Lord Preiident, May i2f 1633.
" When the perilous adventure in Haywood foreft happened, if
*^ true, cannot now be told. It muft have been foon after. The
*^ Mafk was a^d at Michaelmas 1634." ^^^ John Hawkins has
alfo <^obferved, that this elegant poem is founded on a real ftory ;
his account of which, though lefs particular, agrees with that of
Oldys. Lawes, in his Dedication to Lord Bradley, perhaps al-
ludes to the accident, in ftating that the "poem received its firfi
** occafiott rf birth ffom himfdf^ and others of his noble family ,** The
adventure, however, could not have happened foon after the Earl
of firidgewater's appointment to the Prefidentft)ip; for, it appears
by the King's letter, that he was appointed Lord Preiident June ^6.
1631, and by bis own letter to the Privy Council, dated 06t. 28.
1633, that he had not been at Ludlow iii]u:e his appointment.
Probably the Earl and his family came to Ludlow in the fummer
of 1634, and the accident might have happened not long after
their arrival. The expreflion, " his new-intrufied fcepter»" might
otherwife feem to imply, that their arrival had immediately toi^-
lowed his appointment.

While the King was in Scotland ia 1633, he had been em-
powered, with others,** to iflue commiffions under the great feal,
lor the tVanfa£lion of affairs in Ireland ; and, in cafe of infe£Uous
ficknd*s, tumtilt, or accident, which might not conveniently wait
for the royal refblution, to a6t as he ^(i4 hi» coUeagues might
tlunk beft. In' the iame year he had been named in the re^

•' See Mr. Wirton's li. ed. of Milton's Poems, p. 303.

f Mt, WiurloD's note oh Comas, ver. 34*

ff Rift, of Mu^ Vol i¥. p. 5a.

^'Rymer's Feed'. toLziz. p. 468. ^ Ibij.p. 4S7.

ANDDIS FAMILY.. i;

mrkable Cominiffioii for Caufes Eccleiiafticai^ and hikd aUb been
^appointed to examine into the new offices and fees both of the
Citil and EcdefiaiHcal Courts.

In 1635 he loft his Countefs, who died on thci 1 ith of March,
and fifty-two : flie is defcribed on the * monument to the memory
of the Barl, as *^ a wife worthy fuch a hufband, by whom he was
^ bleft with a numerous and virtuous offspring, four fons and >
^ eleven daughters; and on the "monument to her own memory,
as ^ unpaialleled in the gifts of Nature and Grace, beine flrong
^^ of conftitution, admirable for beauty, generous in carnage, of
** a iWeet and noble difpofition, wife in her affairs, cheerful in
** her difcoiiife, Uberal to the poor, pious tovi^rds Qod, and good
"toaU.*'

Amid the tumults whieh foon afterwards commenced in Eng-
land, he was ftill employed in performing the commands of his
royal mafter, to whom he ^as a faithful and an active fervent*
in S^tember 1640, the King being in the North with his army^
he was in "Commiffion to ifTue dire£tionsto the Earl of Arundel,
his Majefty's Captain-^General on this fide Trent ) to fupprefs ^11
riotous attempts ; and to provide for the peace and fafety of the
kingdom t and in Auguft 1641, oh the king's going into Scot*,
land, he was again ^commiffioned for fimilar purpoies. When
the Civil War had unhappily begun, the ^ fortrefs, which he go-
verned, as Lord Prefident of Wales, was garrifohed ibr his Ma-
jefty ; but he lived to lament the furrender of it to hfs enemies,
and to fee foon afterwards thofe dreadfiil evidences of a kingdom
divided againft itfelfj the murder of its king, and the overthrow of
its conftitution.

He died on the fmirth of December 1649* Three 6f his fons,
and alfo three of his daughters, died before him. Hi^ character
affords a moil exemplary objed of imitation to men of rank,
weahh^ and talents. ^* He *> was endowed with incomparable parts,
*^ both natural and acquired, fo that both Art and Nature did
*^ feem to flrive which ffaould contribute mofl towards the making
** him a moft accompliflied Gentleman ; he had an adtive body,
^* and a vigorous foul; his deportment was graceful, his difcouife
** excellent, whether extemporary or premeditated, ferious or jo-
** cular, fo that he feldom fpake, but he did either infti*u6t or de-
**' light thofe that heard him $ he was a profound Scholar, an able
^* Statefman, and a good Chriftian; he was a dutiful Son to his

k Rymer's Foed. Vol. xiz. p* 5^4^

1 In the church of Littlc-Gaddefdcn in Hl^rtfofdldiire n«Sr Afhridge.

A In the fame cbtircb. A Rymef Feed. vol. xx. p. 439. • Ibid. p. 4^1.

P See Ludlow Cuftle fopn p. I3« Doring the Rebellion, the King, in his
flight from Wal^, fta^ed a night in thi& garriftm. See Iter Carblinum in Mr.
Gutch's CoUCur.voLii. 443. '* Wedtiefday Abg. 6th 1641;, at Old Radnor,
Supper, a Yeoman^ houfe, tbt Court difperfed^ Thurfday the ^th to Ludlow
Castlk, no Dinner^ Col. Wodehoufe. Friday the 8thtoBaxooNoaTU» &<;»''

^ From the ioicription on his ffloQumenu

d

a6 JOHN EAUL OP BRIDGEWATER

^* Molhftr th4 Church of England In her peri«cntion, ts wdl tf
** in her great fplendour \ a loyal Sitbjed to his Sorcraign in thofe
*^ word of times, when it was accounted treafon not to be a
** traitor. As he lived y6 years a pattern of virtue^ fo he died ttk
** example of patience and piety." His ieaming has been con*
fidered by "Mr. Warton as a fortunate circumftance, beCaufe it
ehabled at leafi one perfon of the audience^ and him the diief, to
underftand the many learned allufions in Coi«u».

John, Lord Viscount Brackley, his third,. bi]t eldeft
furviving Son, who performed the part of the £Uer Srotiir la
CoMus, fucceeded to the Earldom of Bridge water. He had beeii.
appointed Cuflos Rotnlorum of the County of Salop, from whici>
office he was difplaced by Oliver .Cromwell, and to which he was
"reflored in May i66o.

In 1642 he 'married Elizabeth daughter of WilUam th^ri.
Earl, afterwards Marquis and Duke of NewcafUe.' In'tht^*

r Sfce his td edit, of Milton^i Po«int» p. 128

• Kenoet'< Reglfiery p. 657.

t In Lilwes's Firft Book ot Ayres is the Ibltowirig iurhus £pUbMfa»^iim mt
ibe Aiinfwttfary of thiir Murrmgiy dated July t«, 1^52. tfcc wotdi by Mr.
(Afterwards Sir John) ^ir/^ffj^i^ I the tnufic by If* LtftcfK

The l>ay'k returo'd, and {o are we, tdpay
Oor bffertAg on this great 'Tbankfj^'wtiig'Jay,

'Tis His, 'tis Jf cr*i, ^i4 Both, 'lis All 5

Though it now fife, it ntr'ier did fall:

Whofit HbDoar (hall aa laftiag prore.

As our D votion or their Love :
Then let's r^oyce, and by oar Joy appear^
la this one Day we offer all the Tear.

2.
Set the bright Parr, bow atniabty kind»
Am if thi:ir Sotils were bot this Morniag joya'dfr

As the fame Heart in Palfes cleft,

This for the Right Aime, that the Leftf

So His and Her's in fever'd parts

Are but two PulfeSy not two Hearts r
Thea kt'a rejoyce, &c*

5.
Let no bold Forraign noife their Peace remorv
Since nothing's ftrong enough to (hake their Love^

Bleffe Him in Her's, Her in His Aims,

From fuddain (true or falfe) Alarms >
\ Let ev'ry Year fill up a fcore,

Born to be One, but to Make more i
Thtn let's rcjoyccy &g*

This Day Tevytars to Hxm and Her did granl .
What Angels joy,, and Joys which Aiig^s vantr

Our Lad^'Day, and our Lord's too,

'Twcre fin to rob it of Its due,

Tis of both Genders> Her's and His,

We ftay'd twelve Months to weluHnc this*
Then let** rejoyce, &c.

AND HJS FAMfLY, 87

fnHibfef<Me 1mfB wtMi fbtlawfd, kt appears to have hetn in
«bi\6cr <>f impnioom^BX. for, m ^^ Cwatefe's Book of Mer
dit«CKMN$ p- »I9/ j^ ^*# fr^yer for hsr HnkmU^'^ writtcii uader
ft^cb 9a appn^b^Q^ T^i^ ipforip9^ion is disrired froqi U»f
Gpvdfimi)*^ Mag99Jfie, vol. ^2, p. A f 65. wliere a C^rrefpoodeat^
6gfli»gto»jr«:tf A i*OY^^ ^f 3fo<;iRAPj«y («ad who, if I miftak#
fiot, 16 aa Aljeg^Q^ p^oet and proix^^iW ^itfiquary,) infoft^s ithf
world, Xja^ '* he is ja po^ejSioo of a MS. 8vo, yoiume, iiuiculei
True Coppifis ^ pu'$^n(t k^t P^ers left by tke Rig^ Hon. EUp^etk
Cnmttjfe ^ BridgHmt^^f^lU^ed ^lid tr^njfmM toffstkn- iere Jtfcp
ier 4e^ 49m Pmi 1^3. All ^\(\^h if cyideiujiy <he imt ^^4
lof IMB A«ia^u$n68^ and under it is {^ Earl's atte^latjon a^d fMi>r
^;ription-^£nimrW ^ /. ErUgewater.. TWs MS. w^Mcb baa
Aever i»«e» omc pf c^ ^.fl4« of ^ Countefs and ddbe^i^aix^s, ia
C^rtaiitly apri9of(9f ^f^^}^ M#).QOi»Haofl piety at le^ift, wbid) ia
Xk^ acGOMDl^ «kf hqr hsis AQt 43tee^ fit all ^^ragger^aitod^ a^d whicfo,
(Combiji^d wiX\ b^f bc^j^ty^ b^r acCiOmpliihi^eQC^, ber youth, ber
^jcqnt, :«|id th^ pa^het^: ^piu^b ^Q ^^^ df^^th, oi /thai buAand
wbo w;^ Jm99^ d.i^inguifhed for all learned and amiabie qgiaii*
ties, a^ipcstrf 4;pj[9e, who, however, coafefe jnyftif a partiai jg^dge,
^xuoeQlJo^ MrilP^Si9^ interefting. Yet I.^m aware tjbat the un-
ufual drain of religion, which breaks forth on every occaHon, is
open to the jefts and (seers of light-hearted and unfeeling people;
for which reafon k isa-treafore <jhat ftiall never, with njy consent,
i)e unlocked to the profane eye of tlie jjuWic at large. Jt con.fifts
of Prayers, Confeffion*, and Meditations, upon various occafions.*'

Aftei'the Reftonition of K;ing Charles 11. the abilities of tbSs
Noblenumwerp particularly notfced. In ^ 1662 he was appointed
M^h tti^ Lord 'Otiancettpci and ^t. Bifliop of London to manage
cfce Conference of the Two Hi^fes of Parliament upon the Bill
for Unifonjiity,

*On the 14th of May 1^3 "he was chofen High -Steward of
the Univerfity ojf <^jrf«i^., having ow t-he fame day been previoufly
'created M« A. Aad fhe-^twigraftulatiqns of -that vencraible and
jk^r^d Body Were |)a»d^ him in the foMowing Epiiiie.

** ^To the ^igbt ttonoiirable John Earle of firid^ewater.
i^norati^ft^iie lXoiii[i«e

Quanta fit quam etffufa ^x^dlkx^ Uetida eft, enarrare vix
IKyflBsius, 'qi^d ad^e^m Judicem de Caufis noftris'referre liceat,
<)i)em >R^ra Hon minus quium Tfribunal oftenduot; cui multis
jdo|>bu6 omato ipfi I -tuli v:ix quicquam Uimlnis afierre videntur,
«&4bi(l authorkaitis ; lis .6»im ablatis m<^gnus tamen ab omnibus ju-
^icabere, cujus in aiumo Muiae, et ifura ample habkant, qua?
^oilris folent premi an^uiliis; eaque inveiiiunt fpatia, inquibus
vim fuam ojpnem et Ars et Virtus po:ppt explicarc. In te l^ti

w Kennet*s Regiftcr. p. 657,

V Rfg. Conroc. (JniY. Oxon. *- lbtd«

tf JOHN £ARL OF BRn>GEWAT£R

cemimus ^icquid in Majoribos Teftris otim efflonnt» fit hoc iDit
infoper budi, quod tibi Mores cmn Tinilis fois tradideiiiit, cc,
temino licet r\t9 dato, nullum cameo Gloris pofueriat, fiqoidem
cam reliouere, qui prionim operum famam amplioribut propa<>
paret. Ita tibi in Patrimonium cedunt benetad^ndi date:
quotqite ad(bnt Clientet, tot antiquar EKhdw exhibentar ima*
ginet i nee enim gratut unquam fiiit generis fplendor, nifi eodem
tempore pulchra hiceres, quo magna potuifles, et avitas curaa
cum avitis opibus conjungeres. Quin fciat tandem togata Gens
(quod olim fenfit Refpublica) quantum a veftro nomine Jura
pendeant ; fentiant Artes ct Literal (quae folae Te Civem nobis
iledere) quantum tibi debeant, turn quod Libera^ fint> turn qu64
coli mereantur. Sed fufcepto lic^ Senefchalii Munere, nondum
tamen plenns beneficio locus eft, nifi te propiori nexu addi^tun^
fit Academia. Curls nempe veftris non tantum, fed palmi^, fed
Trophatis opus eft. Itaque ilUi leves fuos Titulos tibi apponiti^
vt veftra inde Decora fibi vendicet, et Diplomat^ donando hoc
petit, ut non tlkm Jura patrocinio, qu^m bonores no(lri Titulis
▼eftris muniantur. Amplitudini veftra^

£ Domo Convocationis Devotiffima

Mali 149 1663. Academia Oxonienfis.**

As a mark of his grateful and pious reiped, he afterwards pre-
fented to them the ' picture oif his grandt^ther, Lor4 EUtwar^
who had been their Chancellor.

The gratification, which this honourable appointment muft
liave afforded him, was, however, fuddenly interrupted* In the
fucceeding month his beloved and accomplished Cou^tefs died ;
a Lady, whom (as ' Granger elegantly obferves) the virtues and
the graces confpired \o render one pf the beft and moft amiable
of women. She had enriched his family with fix fbns, and three
daughters, of all which children (hree died in their iniancy ; the
reft were defcribed with exquifite tend^rnefs on the * monument
erected to her mempry, as '< ftjU the living pi^res pf their de%
^*' ceafed Mother, apd the only remaining comforts of their dif-
♦* confolate Father." " She was a Lady** as the elegant infcription
relates ** in whom all the acco^npli(hments both of body and
<* mind did concur to make her the glory of th^ prefent, and ex-,
*' ampl^ of future ages ; her beauty was fo unparalleled, that it is
. ** as much beyond the art of the moft elegant pen, as it furpafi[ed
. <* the (kill qf feveral the ^loft exquifite pencils thatxattepipted it.

7 Gutch's Wood's AdmIs. Vnir. Qx. vol. ii. p. 957. It is placed in thf
Piaure Gallery. But the beft piAure of Lord Chancellor EUeimere is jo tb^
Puke of Bridgcwater's colledion.

• Biog, Hift. yol. iii. 8to. ed. note P« sx.

a In Littlc-Gaddefden Chaidu

k

AND HIS FAMDLT. ft9

¥ that flie guaM their lore, yet not fe familiar as to ezpore her*
** (elf to contempt : She was of a noble and generous foul, jret of
^ io meek and /humble a difpofition, that, never any woman of
** her Quality was greater in the world's opinion, and leis in her
^* own : The rich at her tabl^ daily tailed her hofpitality, the poor
f* at her gate her charity $ her derotion 'moft exemplary, if not
*^ inimitable; witnefs^befides federal other occafional Medita-
*^ tions and Prayers, full of the holy tranfports and raptures of a
^* fandified foqi) her divine Meditations upon every particular
*^ Chapter in the Bible, written with her own hand, and never
** (till fince her death) (een by any eye but her own, and her
** then dear, but now forrowful huiband, to the admiration both
^' of her eminent piety in compofing, and of hermodefty in con-
*< cealing. Then (he was a moft a^^onate and obferviug wife
.** to her bufl>and, a moft tender and indulgent mother to her
^ children, a moft kind and bountiful mifhtSs to her family, la
^ a word, fhe'was fo fuperlatively goodf that language is toonar-
^ row to exprefs her deferved charader; her death was as- re-
** ligious, as her life was virtuous. On the 14th day of June in
^ the year of our Lord 1663, of her own age thirty feven, ihe
, ^* exchangfd her earthly coronet for an heavenly crown. Prov.
«^ xxxi.*af,a9. HerCkildren rifiupamd caUher bUffedvhtr Hufiaad
^ alfi^ €md kg frmi/etk hr. Mmy daugjkurs lunt Jmc vhrtuoitflj^
** but thou exttlUfi them all.*'

His grief appears to have been indelible, however it might

. have admitted temporary confolation; and he defired it to be re-

• corded in thofe fimple "terms which, while they (hew that ^^^ike

.^^ Irfsff ktr €wU ntver frvn hU-heart^** prove alfo the impreflive

(eloquence of unaSeded (brrow. The fine ''lines of Pope oa.

another Counte(8 pf Bridgewater, difiinguiihed likewife by her

beauty and accompli(hments, may awaken our admiration more

|>owerfull)', but not our fenfibility.

On*" the i3thof February .1666, he was fworn of the Privy

Council: and though he did not comply with all the meafures oif

thofe times, vet he continued a Privy Counfellor during the re-

. paxa'mder oi Kin^ pl^rles the fecond's reign^ as appeal s by his

^ See tbe infcripclon on liis mrawnent, p. 31.

< Ptr. Loft. B. tx. 912.

^ Bpiftteto Mr; J^n, V.454

-r^-Bctutyi waking nU her forms, fuppliet
- Ask Angel's fwtetncis, or Bridgev^sttr** eyes.

Mufe ! at that Nam thy facrcd forrows toed,

Thoie tears eternal, that embalm the dead t

Call round her Tomb each obje& of defire,

£ach purer frame inform'd with purer fire :

Bid her be all that cbears or foftens life,

The tender fifter, daughter, friend, and wife :

.Bid her be all that makes mankind adore )

Then view this Marblci »n4 be viun no fpore 1

§ CoUiai at fopr.

k

90 JOHN EAll. or BMDGEWATER

being'^agam fivorm in 1679^ wbtn the old Couacil vas diflblred^
and a new one oonfiitiHied. Hts maiiv * diflents laay be feen in
a Ctlie^ikti ^f Prtu^ (priattxi in an odairo vokiaK) from 1641
to 1737.

In this, as well as in the fucceediag fifkffi^ he iras alfo ^LoM
Lieutenant and Cufios RctuloruiB of the Counties of Buckt^
Uuicafhire, NorthanipitDnibire, and Herts.

In ' 1667, he was appoiidted to ejutmiae into the ap|dicatioo of
^he feveral Sums of Moaey graated to his Majeft/, for maiAtasn*
hig the War againft the Dutch.

In ^ 1668 he was appoint^ one of tke Comniiifioners of Tf>i^
and Plantations.

In ^1672 he was doAed Hi|jh Steward of Wycombe, in die
County of Bucks.

In '"167$ hetookjan adiwe p«rt agaiail ji RiU, entitled ^ Aa
^* A6t to'f revent the daongers wluoh may adfe from ^erfims dif-
^ a£^ed to Govemaoiieot;" fin A<^« wlMch occaikmed ia mucb
•oppoiition, that it was canned only \yj a Mstgoiity of two voices
in the Houfe of i^rs. The " Proteiting XiOrds wene iookied upon
AS c^ the Country party. In the °fame year, on the rejed^ion of
a <motiojii -matk in the Houfe of Peers, for an Addreis to diie King
ilo diiToire the P^liamefit, Jde, with twenty -one other liODds, who
^vore ^U that jweve in the Jttouffe £arly enough to proteft, Wore
the Parliament was prorogued, entered hi$ diifitnlt io the viale
that paffed.

Sir Henry Chauncy, who wtas v^U aoquainted me^ it^tus Eiifl^
relates the fallowing pairticulars of him in his ^iAiftory of HertioEisl*
Aiire: ^^ Be was a perfop of wddtiiig^.^tui!e, fbmewhatxorptdent,
^ witht)lackdiaic, a vound vifage, ajnodefi aadgza^ a^)o6c, a *^iiiwet
** and plediutt oountQnance, jusd » «icuneiy p jvfenoe* Jbk mi^as a

I '

f Collins ut fupr. ...... 1 ■

t Jo pag«s i^ i^ 2>u i^Si £H! -^ (3^<3(S*9^> 4o*'4<*48*4^* 4^'' ^f tlt«
CoHeaion. , . . , ; * . .. .^

h CoUins nt fupr*

1 Ibid, and Kcnncf s Hiff: qf -png.' Fol; yol. 111. p. .i^6.

1^ King'Cbarlefs IS.dni his R'eftortftion, eftcUi&cd alOoancil^f TrtfityCor
keeping a contioul and luperinfpeAion upon the whole Coonmerpe of the
Nation, and appointed Con>ixiiihouer;& .ti4i46^»,j|^h.e)V9 3<3»rd sf Xcad^ and
Plantations was cftablilhed by Ajfk otParliamtnt.. ^ peyr Comniii&op WM
iflfued in 1669, in which alfo the Earl of Ji^d^twi^^r if nopunAttid. See
Bcatfon's Regifter. Patf.iii.,p.5^.'c4. J7S(^.

1 Langley's Hift.'aad Aot^.-of.»hc.Hun(ifi«fi'Of)Dc|(Ma¥ish|Co. of Bnckit
4to. 1797. p. 77-

ra Parliament. Debates, ¥DLs.ip.%.^-<Sec^ibJiuini:]Hift,f>fCng. 8vo.e4it.
▼ol. riii. p. 14.

a Rapin HiA. £ng. Fol.'vdt ii. p. 677.>nofe.

o Part Debaiesi vol.ci. p.*i^8.

p Collins's Peerage, 3d edit.p. 816.

q Mr. Warton has'oblcnred, tbit f his 't««oimt dfhis pw^ron-perfciBly corrtf*
ponds with Milton's 'defcription of'his-bsauty •nddeportment^ile a boy : and
the panegyric, it may be fuppofed, was asjuftly due to bit Broihef ^hoin»f»

. '•-' ^

AND His FAMILY. 31

^ learned mail) delighted mu^ ^in his Library, and allowed free
*^ accefs to all, who bad any concerns w^tb him. His piety, de-
** votion in all a^s of reli^n, and finanefs to the e£i:abU(hed
** Chorch of England, were very exemplary s and he had all other
^< accompiiOimenCs of , virtue and goodnefs* He was very tern-*
^ perate in eating and drinkine s but remarkable for hofpitality
*^ to his neighbours, charity to the poor, and liberality to flrang^rs*
*' He was complaifant in company, fpoke fparingly, but alwaya
*^ very pertinently ; was true to his word,, i«ithful to his friendt
*' loyal to his Prince, wary in Council, Arid; in his jufiice, and
<< punctual in all his anions/'

He died in t686, and was buried at Little*Gaddefde% where
there is a Mtmumeat to his Memory with an infcription, record"
ing that he *' d^fired no other memorial of him, but <mly this.

" That having (in the 19th year of his age) married the Lady
^ Elizabeth Cavendllh, daughter to the then Earl, fince Marquis,
<^ and after that Duke of Newcaille, he did enjoy (almoft 22 years)
'* all the happinefs thafa Man could receive in the fweet iociety
*' of the befl of wives, till it pleafed God in the 41 ft year of his
•* age, to change his great felicky • «ri*6 as great mifery, by de-
* priving him of his truly loving and mtirely beloved wife, who
^ wsis ail his worldly blifs : After which time humbly fubmitting
. ^ to, and waiting on the will and pleafure of the Almighty, he
'* did forrowfuUy wear out 23 Years 4 Months and 1*2 Days, and
♦* then on tht 26th day of Odober^ in the year of ovr Lord 1686^
^ and in the 64th year of his own age, yielded up his Soul inta
^ the ttierdful hand of God who gave it. Joa/xiiir 15. Tk»ugk
^ hejlay me^yU will I trufi in iim^"

Ttit Hotr^*^ Thomas Eoerton, who performed die part of
thtf Srca^ BfHker in Comvs, was the fourth Son, and 'died an-«
married at the age of twehty^three. Young as he was. when ht
played in Comus, his elder brother, Lord Brackley being then
only twelve years old, he had, with him alfo,^ before appeared
upon another flage. They had performed in a Maik caUed

»

See CoMVi, v« z^Z, 3cc. And tKe Lady reouefts Bcho, v. 1 J6. ^

Cann thoa not tcU me of a geQCle pair.
That likcft thy Narcifius are >
JSee t!fo the Account cf PortraHt at the cbnclufioh of tliel^ MeiiioiR 6f Lor^
Bridgewater and hb Family.

f A great number of Remarks, atid Obiervationty Sttmmsries to ColleAiont
of various Pkmphtets, ExtraAa from Books, and References to fu^h ab ke h|i^
read, are written with his own hand io mauy of the books in Afliridge Library ;
of which Library he ordered Cattlogvies tob« made» coofifting of 14, Folio Vo-
lumes, each letter of thfi Alphabet occapying a Volume. In tki^ Aibridge
MS. of Comus, in his hand-writing at the bottom of the title-page ia aoted^—
** Author Io, MUton»** See the Introduitioo to Appendix Nd« 12^ p. 165.

a He wai interred in the Church of Little«GaddcfdeA«

t Wanoo's ad edit. p. 127*

i% JOHN EARL Ot BRIDGEWATER

CcELuM Britannicum, Written by that elegant poet, whom
Mr. Warton calls the "rival of Waller, Thomas Carew: which'
was prefented on Shrove-tuefday Night 1633, in the Banquetting* '
Houfe at ""Whitehall, and in which the King alfo, the Duke of
Lenox, the Earls of Devonfliire, Holland, and Newport, with'
feveral other Lords, and Noblemens' fons, were the adors. '

Mr. WartoD is. of 'opinion, that they alfo played among the'
yxning Nobility, together with their Sifter Lady Alice, in An-'
CADES. "''It was adted" he obferves ** by perfons of Lady
•• Derby's own family. The Genius lays, v. 26.

" Stay, gentle fwains, for though in this difguife^ *

** I fee bright honour fparkle in your eyes.
*• TTiat is, 4^thoiigH yt are dtfguifed like rufiics^ amd wear the JMif
** ^fjhepherds^ I perceive that ye are rfhimarable hirth^ywr tMUiy
** cannot be concealed.***

The Lady Penelope Egerton, an elder fifter, a6ted * at Court
With the Queen and other Ladies, in Jonfon*s Masque of'
Cbloridia, at Shrove- tide 1630.

Thc La dy Alice Eqk&ton, who a&ed the Lady in Couus^
was the eleventh daughter, and could not at that time have beea
^more than thirteen years old.

About ^ 1653 (be became third Conntefs of Richard, Earl of
Carberv in Ireland, and Baron Vaughan in England, who lived
at Golaen Grove In Caermarthenlhure ; by whom (he had no
ifliie. The celebrated Mrs. Philips (or, as (he was called, tha
match^fs Ori^da) '^addrefled a Poem to her, on her coming into
Wales.

J In H. Lawes's ** Sele6b Ayres and Dialogues for thc Theorbo"
&c. publiibed 1669, there is a Son^ addrefled to her from her
hufl>and, the two *la(l fianzas of which Mr. Warton cites as ex-
cellent in the affe^ed and witty ftile of the times.

11 Warton*s zd edit. p. 127.

V Lan^ine'ft Dram. PoQts. p. 44*

X Warton's id edit. p. 128.

7 Ibid. p. 99.. note on Arcades*

s To Mr. Warton's paraphrafe m^ be added two fimilaf ptfltget from pre*
ceding poets. See " the Hiftorie of King Lrir and his three .daughters." Lond.
160c, where Cordelia iaya to the Freock King, Who is difguiud io palmer's

Wcedsa

Yet well I know, you come of royal #ace^

I fee fuch fparks of honour in your face.
And Sylvefter's Pu Bast. ed. fol. 1621. p. 459. of King Soldmotti *<ar4^V«?
fiut yet whatc'er be do, or can devifcy
Difguifcd Glory ihineth in his eies.
/' Wilton's ad. ed. p. ill. h Ibid* 126* c Ibid*
^ Set her Poems. Fol. 1678. p. 19.

t . When firft I Tiew^d tbee» I did fpy
Thy foul ftand beckoning in thine eye |
My heart knew what it meant>
And at iu firft kiis went i

k

AND HIS FAMILY. 5J

This NoblemaDy on the lofs of bis ^ fecond Cou&tefs, who
died 061. 9. 1650, had caufed to be exprefled with great tender-
nefsy in her epitaph * written by Dr. Jeremy Taylor, his iuten*-
tion of reding in the fame grave with that accomplifhed lady;
yet married afterwards the Lady Alice Egerton. The funeral
^fermon of the fecond Coimtefs was alfo written by the fame
celebrated Divine, moll of whofe works are dedicated to the £arl,
in gratitude for the afylum which he found, during the Rebel-
lion, at Goiden Grwi\ * where he kept a fchool, and where he
wrote and preached many of his moft valuable Difcourfes. His
pious work) ''• The GcUen Grwe^ or, a Manual of daily Prayers,
*' &c." is a particular, as well as a lading memorial of that pro*
tedtion, under which he fo powerfully employed the (lores of
learning, the charms and energy of language, foundnefs of judge-*
ment, and brilliancy of imagination, in the facred caufe of
Religion.

It is recorded alfo to the honour of^ Lord Carbery, that^ being
appointed foon after the Reftoration Lord Preddent of Wales,
he ^ made Butler, *' ' who/e name can only peri/h with his language^**
Steward of Ludlow '° Caille. The poet was his Secretary*

Mr. Wartoii fays, that the Earl ° fucceeded his father-in-law,
Lord Bridgewater, in the Preiidentfliip. But the copy of his
appointment, in Mr. Hodges's "* hiflory of Ludlow Caille, ex*
mbits Prince Rupert between them ; for the King therein affigns
to Lord Carbery the fame rights and privileges, ** as William
*^ £arl of Northampton, John £arl of Bridgewater, or our deare

Two balls of wax fo run,

When melted into one :
Mix'd DOW with thine my heart now lies,
Ai much loTe*s riddle as thy prize.

For iiuce I can'f pretend to hare
That heart which I fo freely gave,

Yet now 'tis mine the more,

fiecaofe 'tis thine, than 'twas before,

DaATH will unriddle this (

For when thoa'rt call'd to blifs,
He needs not throw at me his dart,
'Caufe piercing Thine he kills My heart.

f Frances, one of the daughters and coheirs of Sir John Althattt, of Ozhey
in the Co. of Hereford, knt. by whom he had three Ions, and fix daughters.

His firft Coanteis was Bridf^, daughter of Thomas Lloyd of Llanyller io
the Co. of Cardigan, £fq. b^ whom he had four foos, i^bodied in their infancy*
feermge tfKnglaMl, Svo. Load. 1710. ad ed.

f Mr* Warton's ad edit. p. 127.

k Ibid.

i Wood's Ath. Ox. vol.ii. col. 400. and Lloyd^s Memoirs, p. 703*

k Grey's Life of Butler* prefixed to his edition of Hudibras.

I Johnfon's Life of Butler.

n See the preceeding Accmtni nf LitdUno Cafi^t* p. 1 J.

> His id edit. p. 127.

• See his Afftndix, p. yj.

34 JOHN EAKL OF BKIDGEWATER

•* coufin Prince Rupert, or either of them, or «ny othefperTon
^^/trmirfy eD)oyed and exercifed." Thii Nobleman bed betti
'made one of the Knights of the Bath, at the coronation df
Charles I. On the breaking out of the Civil War, he vigoroufly
exerted his intereft and abilities in the caufe of bts Sovereign, by
whom be was appointed Lieutenant -General for the Couitties of
Pembroke, Caermarthen, and Cardigan, and in t6^ created a
Baron of this realm, by the title of Lord Vau^han or Emlyn, ia
Caermarthenfliire. He was a Privy Counfellor to Charlei II.
His titles became extin6t in 1713-

To this Account of the Eakl op Bftroo^wATCK and vi#
Family, whofe hiftory is conneded with that of MiLTMr*8
Mask, muft be added, that they lived at ^Afhridge, in the coun-
ties of Bucks and Hertfordfliire ; which was originally a ^ Colkfie
-of Bonhorames, and, -after the Diflblution of Monafteries, fer«
time a Royal Palace, till in the 1 7th year of Elizabeth it was ex«
changed by the Crown for another eihite, and, paSng* through
feveral hands, was at length foldto Thomas Lord Ellesmvrb,
in the 2d year of James I. Since that time it has continued in
this noble Family, and is now a refidence of the great and
patriotic DvKB or BaiDCEWATER, the" Father or Inland
** Navigation :" who has raifed tobinrfelf a monument in the
iiearts of' his countrymen, that will laft as long as praife is pud
to public fpirit, and to modeft worth ; and whofe name will de«
fcend to the lateft pollerity, high in the illullrious roll of thofe
benefadors to mankind,

" Inventas — qui vitam excoluere per artes,
*^ Quique fui memores alios fecere merendo.*'

In his Grace's fine Colledion of .Pi6lures, the following Por-
traits of the Earl of Bbidobwaxer and his Family are
preferved at Afliridge, or at Bridge water- Houfe, Cleveland
Court, London.

'* Sir John Egertm^firft Earl of BrUgewater :'' at Aihridge.

" Frances [fift^ Cmmtefs of BrUgezvattr :*' at^Afhridge.

" John Egerton^ the id Earl if Bridz^wateTj of the name rf Eger^
** ton ;" in the Library at Cleveland Court.

" The Lady Elizabeth Cavendyfski^ Countefs of Bridgewafefy Wife
** to John Egerton, Earl of Bridgewater^ the 2d Earl of the name if
^' BgerJon:** the co(9panion to the preceding.

There are al(b 'whole length .Fidures of the fecond Earl and
Countefsj at Clevelaud Court.

P Peerage of England, td. 1 7 10.

<1 Milton had lived at Hotton near Colnebrook in this county, no great
dillance from Aihridge. See aboTe,'Notc ^ in p. 1. and Note Jin p. 23.

f Tanner's- Not.' Montftic. p: 32. See' alfo an extenfive and cuiioos Account
of jybridge Abhty in the Topogxaphcr» vol. ii. p. 131. ct fcq. 8to. Lond. 179O.

• In the Marquis of Newc«(ire'i fine book of horfenianfhip'is a print of
Charies Vifcount Man&field bis eldeft fon, and Mr. Henry CaTendiib, on
horfeback: the nurqois and roarchioocfsi their three daoghters, and their

I

AND ttiS tAMiLt. is

. ' Atid (hcVe is another Portrait of the fecimJ Eari^ in a brown
£lk Gown, with a bee Band, in the Tapeftry Room at Cleve-
land Court, which perfectly * cotrcfpohds with Chauncy's dc-
icription of his pferfon.

There is another Portrait of the fecomi Comntefs, at Afhridge.

" Thomms Egeriw Bfq. [when a child] 2J S»nne h John Earl rf
** Bridgevjdter^ ift Earl ff the name ^f Egertm :** in the Anti-Room
at Cleveland. Court. His countenance is beautiful and exprelfiv^.

There is another Portrait of him in thfe Billiard Gallery, at
Aihridge. And in the fame room, Portraits of " LaJy Alice
<« Ejgertw;' and of the ** Earl 9f Carbery."^ Eoitok.

liilfbtnds; namelfy the Earl cf Britlgewaiet, tli«£ar! of BolIiDgbrodke," an^
Mr. Cheyne, who are under >colooadey as fpc&ators. Granger. Biog. Htft.
3d ei, vol. Hi. p. £0. •

t Mr. Wartoa has obferved that there is a large mezzotlnto print of this
Rari, done in t68o, from a portrait by William dlarer, an imitator of Leiy«
which he heUivtdto be at AJhridge. Theingenioos writer in the Topographeft
voLii. p. 141, remarks l\i9i** nu piRure h Mot now at Mridg4f*' Mxtd ** fufpeSii
'* tbst it is the tfery cm ^bicb is st Stm jiihan*s, in Kent, tbi/edt if. IV, Hammond^
** Efq, (a defcendant of the Earl.) l^bat piSure exafffy anfioers tbedefctiption of
*' tbe EarVs pitrfon By Cbauiuy,'** I have fcen the pidlure at the Grey-Friars,
Canlerburyy another refideoce of this friendly and hofpitable gentleman, and
have noticed the fame agreement of the painter and hifforiah, as I hat^obferved
above; However, Ht, Warton bad perhaps been informed that the priAt was
copied from the portrait ia the Duke of Bridge^ater's cotleAion, and has prp-
bably made no (Hhtf miftake, thao that of naming Aihrid|;e inftead of Cicvew
land Court.

^U^m^titmm^mml^mM^i^imaMamMiammmmammimtdmlm

HENRY LAWES.

HENRY LAWES^ who compofed the mufic for Com us,
and performed the combined ' characters of the 6^/77/ and
the (hepherd Tfyrfis in thi6 drama, was the fon of Thomas Lawes
ji vicar-choral of SaliAniry cathedral. He was perhaps at firfl 2i
choir-boy of that church. With his brother William, he was
educated in mufic under Giovanni Coperario, (fuppofed by Fen-
ton in his Notes on Waller to be an Italian,*' but reafiy an Englifh-
man under the plain name 6f John CoO|)er) at the expence of
Edward e"^l of Hertford. In January, 1625, he was appointed
Piftolcr, or Epiftoler,* of the royal chapel ; in November follow -

a See his Dioication to Lord Bracltley, p. 2. and CoMts, v. 85. Hd.

V Dr. Boyce, in his account of Lawes and his brother, Cath. Music.
<rok Yu 90x6 Mr. Granger in his Bioc. Hist. vol. li. call Coperario an Italian.
Cooper^ having^ travelled into Italy, Italianized his liame. Editor.

c This Officer, before the Reformation, was a Deacon ; and it was his bufi-
fkc& C6 feihl (he Epiftte at the iltat. WAttoiir.

e 2.

36 HENRY LA WES.

ijig he became one of the Gentkmen of the choir of that chapel;
and fooD afterwards, clerk of the cheque, and one of the courts
moficians to king Charles the Mi.*

lo 1633, in conjundion with Simon Ives, he ' compoied the.
muiic to a Maik prelented at Whitehall on Candlemafs-nighc by
the gentlemen of the four Inns of court, under the diredion of
fuch grave charaders as Noy the attorney -general, Edward Hyde
afterwards earl of Clarendon, Selden, and Buiftrode Whitlock.
Lawes and Ives received each one hundred pounds as compofers ;
and the tn^hole cofl, to the great offence of the puritanical party,
amounted to more than one thoufand pounds. In Robert Her-
rick's H£spERtDEs, or Poems, are three or four Chriflmas Odes,
fung before the king at Wliitehall, compofed by Lawes, edit«
Load. 1648. 4to. p. [ad. calc] 31. feq, And in the fame col-
lection, there is an Epigram To Mr. Henry Lawes,/^^ cxcelleK^
Omtofcr of his Lyrich^ by which it appears that he was celebrated
no ieis as a vocal than an inftrumental performer, ibid. p. 326,

Touch but the lire, my Harrie^ and I heare

From thee fome raptures of the rare Qotiere ;

There, if thy voice commingle with the ilring,

I heare in thee the rare Lanier e to iing,

Or curious ffll/m^ C^c- ■ ■
I^wes, in the Attendant Spirit, fung the laft Air in Comus, or
ail 'the Ivrical part to the end, from v. 958. He appears to have
been well acquainted with the beft poets, and the moft refpe^-«.
ble and popular of the nobility, of his times. To fay nothing
here of Milton, he fet to mufic all the Lyrics in Waller's Po£ms,|
£rfl pubiiihed in 1645, ^xnong which, is an Odb addreffed to
Lawes, by Waller, full of high compliments. One of the pieces
of Waller was fet by Lawes in 1635. ^^ compofed the Soilcs;
and a Mafque, in the Poems of Thomas Carew. See third edit^
1651, p. ult. The Mafque was exhibited in 1633. In the title
page to Comedies, T&agi-comedies, and other Poems, h^
William Cartwright, pubiiihed in 1651, but written much earlier,
it is faid, that the ♦* Ayres and fongs were fet by Mr, ** Henry
♦* Lawes," and Lawes himfelf has a commendatory «poem pre- ,
fixed, infcribed, ** To the memory of my moft deferving and

' The Kin|; the tventy-^rft day of Aogtaft 1^329 grants to ^epry Lavef
to be one of his Majeflie's Muiicians for the Lutes and Voices, during pleafurc.
Ilymer F(sd. vol. xix,p.43i. £01 to a. *

• So Sir Jo^o Hawkins fays in his Hift. of Muiic. vol. iv. p. 50. But JH/-
Mam Lawes is faid to have bern the joint-co^pofei viib Ives, by Langbaine 1
and by Mr. Warton himfelf in bis Hif\. of £ng. Poetry, 2d. ed. vol. ii. p. 399*
The Maik wasentitled the Triumph qf PiACiy and the authorvasthe ctie<«
br?itcd fames $hirley. It appears in the Wofds of |he Milk, publi(hed bj
the autnort that Wiiliavt Lawes ^nd Ives cotnpofed the muiic. See Dr. Bur^
ney's Hift. of Muiic. vol. iii. p. 371. note. It was performed on the 3d of
February. The expence amounted to two thoafaod pounds. Eoitoh.

f However^ fep the A(hridge MS. Appendix No. II. Editor.

ff H. Lawc» himfcU wis no UA poet, m Mr* Wtrtoo iiiy& in bi» note«i

k

HENRY LAWES. 57

^ peculiar friend, Mr. William Cartwright." See Note on Com.
T. 86t The mufic to Lovelace's Amaranth a, a Pafioral, is
by Lawes. Wood, Ath. Oxon. IL 229. He publiihed ** Ayr as .
^ and Dialogues for one, two, and three voyces, &c. Lond.
<< 1653." fol. They are dedicated to Lady Vaughan and Carbery,
who had a^ed the luufy in Com us, and to her filler Mary, Lady
Herbert of Cherbury. Both had been his fcholars in mufic«
** To the Right Honorable the two mod excellent Sisters,
^ Alice, CountelTe of Carbery, and Mary, Lady Herbert of
^^ Cherbury and Caftle-ifland, daughters to the Right Honorable
** John, Earle of firidgewater, Lord Prefident of Wales, &c.—
^ No iooner I thought of making thefe publick, than of infcrib-
^ ing them to your Ladiihips, moft or them being compofed,
^ when I was employed by your ever honoured parents to attend
** your Ladiihipps' education in mufick : who (as in other accom-
^ pli(hroent6fit tor perfons of your Quality) excelled mod ladies,
^ efpecially in Vocall Mufick, wherin you were fo abfolute, that.
^ you gave life and honour to all I fet and taught you ; and that with
^ more Vnderfianding, than a new Generation^ [of compofers]

CoouT. 86. I will »dld a little poem by Lawet, tiken from his Tu& Book of
ilyzes. with yhich the reader may not be difpleafed.

*' N0 CMjlMcy in JIUm.*'
** Be gone, be gone tlu>a perjar'd Man,

And never more return,
' For kmm that thy Inconftancy
Hath chang'd my Love to Scorn :
Thou bait aw«k*d me» and I can
See cleerly ther's no Troth in Man.

My Love to thee wai chaft and pure.

As ii the Morning dewy
And 'twas alone like to endure^

Hadfl thou not prov'd untrue ;
But I'm awaiL*d» and now I can
See cleerly ther's no Truth in Mao.

Thou mayft perhaps prcvaile upon

Some other to beieive thee.
And fince thou canft love more than one^

Ne'er think that it iball gneve mei
For th' baft awak'd me, and I can
See clecrlj: ther's no Truth in Man.

4*
By thy Apoftafie I find

Thu Love it plac'd amifi,

And can't continne in the mind

Where Vcitoe warning is : •

. I'm now refolv'd, and know there can

Ko conftant Thought renuin in Mao." Editok.

fc perhaps alluding not to the ttmpojtrs^ but (as is noticed in the Topogra*

pher vol. ii. p« I5l«) to tht/siuuits of cbofe timesy who confidered Muiic as an

tinchriilisn recreation. See alfo the Dedication of his Third Book of Ayres

fidfS to Lord Colrane, in which be ffys — ^ I wilh thofe who to warmly fre-

9* (tud tk$ Cmmm Stw^f wovld aot take upon them to mend the world, till

^

BENKY LAWES.

^ pretending to Skil, (I dare iky) are capable of.'* [SeeCon.T.Sc.
And th^ Note.] The words of the numerous (bngs in this worky
are by fome of the mofi eminent poets of the time. A few yowig
noblemen are alio contributors. The compofers are not ' only
Henry and Wiiliam Lawes^ but Wilfon, Colman, Webb, Lanier,
&c. One of ttie pieces by H. Lawes, is a poem by John fiiir^
fcenbead, called an ** Anniveriary on the ^ Nuptials of John, E»A
^ of Bridgewater,Jul.329i642." See Wood,ATH.OxoN«ii.64o»
This was the young Lord Brackley, who pkiyed the Fir/i Brnier
in Com us, and who married Elizabeth, daughter of Wiliiaaiy
Duke of NewcaiUe. Another is the Complaint of Aeiaovb^
written bv Cartw right, and printed in his Pobms, p. a 38. [8ee
Milton's ^ONM.xiii. 11.] Foracompofitiontooneof the airs ol this
piece, which gained exccffive and unufual appiaufe, Lawes is faid
to be the firil who introduced the Italian llyle of mufic into England*
In the Preface he fays, he had formerly compofed airs to Italian
and Spanifh words: and^ allowing the Italians to be, the chief
mailers of the mufical art, concludi^ that England has produced
as abipl' muficians as any country of Europe, and cenfures the
preyiiliiig fondnefs for Italian words. ^ To this Preface, among
others, are prefixed Waller's verfes abovementioned ; and two
copies by Edward and John Philips, Milton's nephews. There
are alfo ** Selc^ Ay res and Dialogues to iing to the.Theorbo*
" lute, or Bafs-viol, compofed by Mr. Henry Lawes, late fervant
** to his Majefty in his publick and private Muficke, and other
•• excellent mafters. The fecond Book« Lend. Printed by W.
** Good bid for John Playford, and to be fold,at his fhop in the

" chey hive fome ctll to it. Thii mf Proftgion (^s weU m others) may fairly
** compUin of } for none judge Jo Jowerly on ai and our labours, as they who
'* were never born to be Muncians." EoiToa*

i 1 prcfume Mr. Warton means '< Sdett Ayre^ and Dialogues by Dr«
If0//oir, Dr. Coiman, Mr. Henry Latvis, and others t Printed 1652 :** a year be-
fore Lawes's frft Bt^ok of jiyret (which neither in the title, nor in the preface
mentions thele co-adjutors) was publiib^d. Ihih frft book was printed in 1653,
t{\t Jtcond in 165c, the third in 1658. To the fico^J are prefixed two Copies of
Vrrfcs by ** John WUJon DoBor m Mufek,** and ** Charles Colwan Lcaor in
«' Muicky* addreflcd to Lawes an bit jlyret, Evtrda.

k See the preceding Aicount of Lord Srielgettfater, Scc« p. t6.

1 ** To make thtm fenfihle of this ridieuloxia hvmour, 1 took a Tahie or
'< Index of old JtdJian Songs, and this Jndete ( wbiah read together made a tiraage
'* medley of Nonl'cnce) I fet to a varyed A} re, and gave opt that it came from
*• //*/y, whereby it huh paflcd for a xtrt Italian S6tig, This very Song 1 have
•• now here printed." Preface to hit Fi^f Book of jtyr^ Again, <♦ But (ip
" meet with this humour of iiffiitg nfter J^cvtitiet) a friend of mine told fome
'' of that company** [who had concluded, that the fongs t# which Lawes had
fct JtaHan words, v.cre of Itaiian tirtJb'J, ** That d rare nrto Book tvas ccmefrom
** ItalVt ^ibitt taught the renfin %iiby an Eighth fiw» thefweettf of all Chonlt f«
** Btujlek I hetetufe^ (faid he) Jubal tobo tfos tht Founder oj Mufiek teas tke
** Bighth man from Adam j and this went down as currant as my Songs cane
** from //tf/f.** Pref. to his SetondBtok ofAyrtt, JHe has alfo fei to Advfic tbt
fivl} Ode of AnKreon, both in Greek and Roman charaActs, and another Ode
in Rom<n chttafttn oaly, by way of Mf )a{( «ip 'A< kmrnrf^it mmtkks^ £9,

HENRY LAWE9.^ ff

•^Temple qegrthe Church-dorc, 1669." Here is the SoiCGvCalleck

"7X^ Earl to the Countefs if Carbery, Compare Wood, Ath.Oxq w,.

ii. F. p. 59. Befides his Pfalms, printed for Mofeley, 1648, in

conjun£):ion with his brother William, and to which Milton's

thirteenth Sonnet is prefixed, To Mr, H. Lawes on the puhli/k»

ing his Airsy dated in the Trinity manufcript, Febr. 9, 1645,

Lawes compofed tunes to Sandy s's admirable Faraphrasb of

the Pfalms, firft publiflied in 1638. I know not, if any of thefe

Pfalm-tunes were ever "popular: but Lawes's feventy-fecond

Pfalm was once the tune of the chimes of St. Lawrence Jewry.

Wood fays, that he had feen a poem written by Sir Walter

Raleigh, " which had a mufical compofition of two parts fet tot

•' it by the Incomparable artift Henry Lawes." At hen. Oxon,

ii. p. 441. num. 510. See alfo vol. i. F. p. 194. More of Lawes't

works, are in the Treafury of Mufick, 1669. ^" ^^^ Mufical

Companion, 1662. In Tudway's Colle6tion of Britifh Mufic.

And in other old and obfolete mufical mifcellanies."

Cromwell's ufurpation put an end to Mafks and Mufic : and
Lawes being difbofTeiTed or all his appointments, by men wha
defpifed and diicouraged the elegancies and ornaments of life,
chiefly employed that gloomy period in teaching a few young
ladifs to fing and play on the lute. Yet he was (till greatly re*
fpe6ted;'fdr before the troubles began, his irreproachable life, in-
genuous deportment, engaging manners, and liberal conne<5tion$,
had no( only eUahlidied his chara^er, but raifed even the credit
of his profeflion. Wood fays, that his moil beneficent friends
duripg his fuffenngs for the royal caufe, in the rebellion and af-
terwards, were the ladies Alice and Mary, the Earl of Bridge-
wafer's daughters, before mentioned. MSS. Muf. Ashmol. D,
17. p. 115. 4to. But in the year 1660, he was reflored to his
places and pra£tic? ; and had the happinefs to compofe the coro-
nation anthem for the exiled monarch. He died in 1662, and was
buried in Weftminfler abbey. Of all the tedimonies paid to hi»
merit by his contemporaries, Milton's commendation, in the thir-
teenth Sonnet and in fome of the fpeeches in Comus, miifl be
efleemed the moft honourable. And Milton's praife is likely to-
be founded on truth. Milton was no fpecious or occafiqnal flatj-
terer ; and, at the fame time, was a Ckilful performer on the organ^
aad a judge of mufic. And it appears probable, that evep through-
out the rebellion, he had continued his friendihip for Lawes ; for
long after t^ie King was reftored, he added the Sonnet to La wes
in the new edition of his Poems, printed under his own eye, ii>
'1673. Nor his our author only complimented Lau'es's dxceU
knci^ in qiufic. For in Comus, having faid that Thyrfis with

• P%.S«rbffewMVi|»i note?*- .. ..K . .

• They were** Kl for ^Mvtfr« Devotion.*'' ED^iTaa,

• See orhcr tefiimonies in Langbainys'f . PrfifO^^ic ^octSi ed. .1691. p. io3>.
1 1 1, Md 494. and K. P^lift'l fotm^ iklSk'.^-^ Sir9^S• ^i ^TPf •

40 HENRY LAWES.

Kvif/tpipt^ and fmftoth-dittiedfmr^ could ftiU 'the rmru^ wimb^
and hu(h the waving woodi^ he aiuls, v. 88.

——Nor of leh/Mtk,
And h^ joins his worth with his>((/i!l^ Son v. xiii. r. 5«

In 1 784, in the houfe of Mr. Eiderton, an attorney at Salis-
bury, I faw an original portrait of Henry Lawes on boards marked
with his name, and, ^^ aetat. fuae 06, 1626." This is novr ia the
bifhop's palace at Sali(bury. It is not ill painted ; the hat and
ruff in tolerable prefervatio'n ; the draper}', a cloak, much injured.
** Another in the Mufic-School at Oxford ; undoubtedly placed
there before the rebellion, and not long after the inftitution of
that fchool, in 1626, by his friend Dr. William Heather, a gea«
tleman of the royal chapel. And among the mutilated records
of the fame School, is the folloviring entry ; ** Mr. Henry Lawei
** gentleman of his Majeily's Chapell royall, and of his private
*' mufick, gave to this School a rare Theorbo for iin^g to,

*' valued at with the Earl of Bridgewater's creft in brafle

*' juft under the finger-board, with its cafe : as alfb a fett of *'

The Earl of Bridgewater is the fecond Earl John, who aded the
part of the Firfi Brother in Comu s, being then Lord Brackley. ■

Henry's brother William, a compofer of confiderable enu-
nence was killed in 164c, at the fiege of Chefler: and, it is iaidp
that the King wore a private mourning for his death. Herrick
has commemorated ^ his untimely fate, which fuddenly filenced
tvery vioUy iute^ and voyce^ in a little poem Ufrni Mr, WVUam
Lawes the rare Mufician, Hesperid. ut fupr. p. 341. Of WiU
liam's feparate works, there are two bulky manufcript volumes iik
fcore, for various inflruments, in the Mufic School at Oxford*
In one of them, I know not if with any of Henry's intermixed,
are his original compofitions for Mafks exhibited before the king
at Whitehall, and at the Inns of court. Mofl of the early mufi-
cat treafures pf that School, were deilroyed or difperfed in the
reign of fanaticifm ; nor was the eflablifhrnent, which flourifhek

f The fame .compliment ii paid to him by- J. Hariogton, whofe Verfet ire
prefixed, among others, to the ** Choice Pfalmi** 1648, and immediately pie*
cede the celebrated Sonnet of Milton :

'* T« c^«j«r wUde Wtnd*^ calme raging Seas, Sec."

And by J. PhiUipt, in his Verfes, prefixed to Lawes's Firft Book <»f Ayres t .
** To caline (he rugged Ocean, and aflnage
** The horrid tempefts in their higheft r«ge,
<< To tame the wildeft Beafts, toJPill the w'mdSf lee." Ed i r o & •

4 The piAnrc in the Mafic School was given by him(clf« See Gtttch|t
Wood's Annals, Univ. Os. vol. ii. p, 891. Eoiroa*

r At the end of the *• Choice Pjkimi** 1648, are feveral Elegies to the Me-
mory of William Lawes s vis. by H. Lawes, Dr. Wilfon, John Taylor, John
Cob, Captain FoHer, John Jenkins, Joha Hilton, and Simon Ires | tke laft o^
whom ^oaintly calls him

Genviall of the Porots alt
• la fiuroptthtt Wtfft B M i f a U * Editob*

k

HENRY LAWESv 4t

*

with great imprDTemetits under the care and abilities of the'pre«
lent worthy Profeflbr, effednaliy reitored till the year 1665/

• THis WIS Dr. Philip Hares, who died foddenly in 1797. The ttfte aod
dMlities of the worthy Profemir will be remembered^ as Inn^ as fenflbility (hall'
he'affe6bd hj ftraias of teoderae6 and fweetnefs* Of his generods temper, av
well as ^ ha attention to hit office, the following memorial is an emineoc
ttftimonyyand not foreign to the text.

** In 1780, Dr. Philip Hay as, Profeflor of Mufic, anxiouily wi(hing to
^ have tbe Mufo Sebotl made more comniodioai, confuited Mr* Wyatt about
*' a plan for that purpofe* The defign furnilhed by this ingenious archited
** (in whieh the Orcheftra was arianged according to the direftions ot the
*' Profeflbr) he re^uefted his friend Dr. George Home (Prefident of 9C. Marjfl
^ Magdalen College^ and then Vicechancellor) to lay before a meeting of the
^ Head* of Houfes and ProAors $ who approved it altogether, and promifed
** fifty pounds- towards the execution of it. In confequence of fo great eor
** couragfement, the propofed alterations were begun and completed during the
*f long Vacation of thef fame year, and the School was opened in December
*f with a Lefture for Michaelmas Term,

** To defray the expence of thefe improvements (excluli ve of the fifty pounds
** above mentioned) Dr. Hayes foon afterwards obtained leave from the new
¥ Vic^chaneellpr, Dr. Samuel Dennis (Prefident of St. John Baptift*s College)
f* for three Choral •Concerts in the Theatre at the next Commemoration. One
^ of them (the (acred Oratorio of Prophecy) was compofed by the ProfefToT
'* himielf : and as they were all attended by a numerous company, and as fom^
*' of the Performers, in compliment to the occafion, aflifted either gratis or On
** moderate terms, he was not only enabled out of the clear profits to pay the
i* whole debt, to the amonnt ol two hundred and fifty three pounds, eighteen
f* ihilliogs s but had alfo a fmall balance remaining in his favour* He at his
V own cofl fumifhed tbe Orcheftra with liuff feats and ftools, and the Orcheftrm
^'window with a large Venetian blind. Drs. Burney and Dopuis alfo very
^ Kbcrally gave each five guineas ; which putchafed an entire fet of forms for
•• the area*

^ The Bookcafes are fio left ufeful than ornamental I they contain the
'^ FouNoaa's coUe&ion, and fubfequent donations ; as well as the £xercifes
** of ProGceders to Mufical Degrees. lndeed,/i^Wi^<Sr^Mi/,j[N its' ? as-
*' SENT STATE, 18 at once elegant and convenient. The ni(he on the left of
** the door is appropriated to the three Magif^ratesof the TTniverfity j the gallery
^ to ladies, fhrangers, and the higher order of Academics } and the area to
*^ Mafters and Students.

** When their MajeHies vifited Oxford in X785, the Profefior had the honour
** of kiffing hands in the very room thus modernized by his means.

** He gave alfo to the School^ in which they are now placed, many pidures of
^ eminent Mufictans, and Tome liufis." Gutch's V^^'ood's Annals of Univ. Ox.
Tok 11* p* 888. 892. 4to. X796. Editor.

t I find the following injnnAion from Cmmwell's Vicechancellor and
dklegates, dated April 3, 1656, *^ Whereas tbe Mufick L.&ure ofually read
** in the Vejptriis Ccmtivrum^ [in this School] is found by e;cpericnce tn be
** xXxogtxhn ufetejiy noe way tending to the honour of the univerfity, or theyi/r-
** tberanci of any lUeraturty but hath been an occafion of great dijb nour to Godp
** fcanJan to the place, and of many eviils s It is ordered by the delegates that it
^* be utterly taken away." MS. Acta Delegator. tJniv. Oxon. ab ann. 1655.
iiib. auDk 1656. Yet ibon afterwards the following order -occurs under the fame
3Fear. *' Concerning the Mufick Ledure, it was approved by the Delegates, that
** Iqflnmients bee provided according to the will of the founder 1 and Mr.Pitx)*
** tQr bee defired to gpe to the Prefident and Fellows of 9. Johns for the gift or
** hyin of their Cbaire-orgao." And afterwards it is ordered under 1657, that
the mufick books of the Scho«If which had been removed by one Jackfon, a

f

4A HENRY LA WES.

I have purpofely refervcd what I had to fay particularly about
Lawes's Comus, with a few remarks on the charafteriffic ftyle
of his mufic, to the end of this ^yote• Peck aflerts, that Milton
Vrote Com us at the requeft of Lawes, who promifed to fiet it to
mufic. Mod probably, this Ma(k, while in projedion, was the
occaOon of their acquaintance, and firfl brought them tc^ber*
Lawes was now a domeftic, for a time at leaft, in Lord Sridgp-
water's family, for it is faid of Tk^rjis in Comus^ v. 85.
That to \S\tfcrvice of this houfe belongs.
Who with his foft pipe, &c.
And, as we have feen, he taught the Earl's daughters to fing, to
one of whom, the Lady Alice, the Song to Ecbo was allotted*
And Milton was a neighbour of the family. It is well known,.
that Lawes's Mufic to Comus was never printed. But by »
manufcript in his own hand-writing it appears, that the three
Songs, Sweet Echo, Sabrina Fair, and Back Shepherds
Back, with the lyrical Epilogue, " To the Ocean now I fly,"
were the whole of the original muiical compofitions for this
drama. I am obliged to my very ingenious friend, the late Doctor
William Hayes, ProfeiTor of Muuc at Oxford, for fome of thii
intelligence. Sir John Hawkins has printed Lawes's fong of
Sweet Echo with the words, Hist. Mus. vol.iv. p. $3. So has
Dr. Burney. One is furprifed that more mufic was not introduced
in this performance, efpecially as Lawes mieht have given further
proofs of the vocal fkill and proficiency of his fair ichoUr. As
there is lefs mufic, fo there is lefs machinery, in Comus, than in
any other mafk. The iutrinfic graces of its exquifite poetry di(»
dained aififlance.

For acompofition to one of the airs of Cartwright's Ari adne,

mentioned above, Lawes, as 1 have before incidentally remarked^

is faid to have introduced the Italian flyle of mufic into England;:

and Fenton, in his ^Jotes on Waller, siifiirms, that he imparted a*

fofter mixture of Italian airs than was yet known. This perhaps

is not flridly or technically true. Without a rigorous adherencb

to counterpoint, but with more tafle and feeling than the pedantry

of theoretic harmony could confer, he communicated to verfe. an

original and exprelEve melody. He exceeded his predeceflbis

and contemporaries, in a pathos and fentiment, a fimplicity and

propriety, an articulation and intelligibility, which fo naturally

adapt themfelves to the words of the poet. Hence, fays our wl*

thor, SoNN. xiii. 7.

To after age thou fhall be writ the man

That with^ooM air could humour beft our tongue.

mufician and! roytlifl*, fhould be reflored, and the ftipend duly paid to the pio*
feflbr Dr. Wilfon. This inftitutioa, however, langvifhed in negleA and con*
tempt till the Reftoraiion ; and for this flight fupport, I fufpcd, was folely in-
debted to the iaterpofition of Dr. Wilkins, one of the Delegates, Cromwcll'i
Warden of Wadham Collcj^e, a (irofound adept in the occolt fciencesi and a
loTcr of mufic oa philofophicai pciaciples. Waitom*

HENRY LA WES; 43

Which lines (bmd thus in the manufcripty

To after age thou (halt be writ the man

That didft rrform thf art.
And in Comus, Milton jpraifes his ^^fift pipe, and /nrnth-dittted
** fong," V. 86. One or his excellencies was an exad accom--
modation fd the accents of the muiic to the quantities of the verfe.
As in the Sonnet juft quoted, v. i. feq.

Harry whofe tuneful and 'voell meafnr' dionv
Firft taught our Englifh muiic how tojfan
Words with jufl note and accent^ not to lean

With Midas ears, committing fhort and long.
Waller joins with Milton in faying, that other compofefs admit
the poet's fenfe but faintly and dimlyy like the rays through a
church window of painted glafs : while his favourite Lawes

——Could truly boaft,

That not zjyllahle is Uft.

And this is what Milton means, where he fays in the soknbt (o
often cited, " Thou honour'ft verfeJ* v. 9. In vocal execution,
he made his own fubfervicnt to the poet*s art. In his tunes to
Sandys's Pfalms, his obfervance of the rythmus and fyllabic ac*
^nt, an eflential requiiite of vocal compo/ition, is very ftriking
and perceptible ; and his flrains are joyous, plaintive, or fupplica-
fory, according to the fentiment of the ftainza. Thefe Pfalms are
for one finger. The folo was now coming i nto vogue : and La wes's
talent principally coniifted in fongs for a fingle voice ; and here
his excellencies which I have mentioned might be applied with
the beft effect. The Song to Echo in Comus was for afingle
yoice, where the compofer was not only interefted in exerting alt
bb ikiU, but had at the fame time the means of fliewing it to advan*
tage ; for he was the preceptor of the lady who fung it, and confe-*
quently muft be well acquainted with her peculiar powers and
charaderiftical genius. The poet fays, that this fong, *^ rofe like'
^ a fteam of rich-diftilled perfumes, and ftole upon the air, &c«'*
V. 55 $• Here feems to be an allufion to Lawes's new manner ;
although the lady's voice is perhaps the more immediate obje6^
of the compliment. Perhaps this fong wants embellifhmencs, and
^M too much iimplicity, for modern critics, and a modern au-
dience, But it is the opinion of one whom I fliould be proud
to name, and to which I agree, that were Mrs. Siddons to a6): the
Lady in Comus, and fing this very fimple air, when every word
would be heard with a proper accent and pathetic intonation, the
effed would be truly theatrical. Another excellent judge, ofcon-
fummate tafte and knowledge in his fcience, is unwiihng to allow
that Lawes had much addrefs in adapting the accents of the muiic
and the quantities of the verfe« He obferves, that in this Song
jto f CHO a f;^vburable opportunity was fuggeiled to the muHcian
-for.iaftrumental iterations, of which he made no ufe : and that,
-8S the words have no accompaniment but a dry bafS| the notei

f*

44 HENRY LA WES.

were but ill calculated to awaken Echo however cwmfemu^ tnd to'
invite her to give an anfvoer, Bumey*s Hist. Mus. vol iii. ch.
vii. pp. 382. 383. 384. 303. It is certain, that the words and
fubjea of this exquiiite long, afford manj tempting capabilities
for the tricks of a modern compofer.

Mr. Mafon has paid no inconfiderable teftimony to Lawes'c
muiic, in encouraging and patronifing a republication of fass-
Pfalm-tunes to Sandys's Paraphrase, with Vanatkuis,. b y the
ingenious Mr. Matthew Camidge of York cathedral. From the
judicious Preface to that work written by Mr. Malbn, I have
adopted, and added to what I had hazarded on the fubjeft in my
laft edition, many of thefe criticiims on Lawes's mufical ftyle.*
Lawei has alfo received another tribute of regard from Mr.
Mafon : in Lawes's Song to Echo, he has very IkilfiiUy alti^ed
or improved the bafs, and modernifed the dxdody. Warton.

Of the Mvsic for Comus, the Song, Swsst Echo, b

the only part with which the Public have been prcfented. T

have been informed, that this Song was taken from Henry Lawc^s

manufcript book of Songs, which was one of the OBufieal raritie»

belonging to the late Reverend and learned William GoiUiiigt'

Minor Canon of Canterbury;- in the Catalogue of whofe ''Coi^

le£iion, which (after the death of its worthy pofleflbr) wasiipAd

by Au^ion in London on the 9t6th and 27^1 of May i777f N^«

59, of the Firfl; Day's Sale, exhibits the following informatioii i

'^ Lawes's Henry, Ayres and Dialogues, wf«l his Hea4% i653«-»

** Lawes's Henry, 974 Songs, MS. and William Lawes's Cdl^

«< leaion of Songs, MS. N. B. Thefe Smgf rf Henry ami

^< William Lawes are feveraUy in their ouw h4Pui'wriiimg* Im

•* the former are the Songs in the M^tjqne ff Comus, as fethy^

^ JuthoTy at the requefi ^Milton, for the originai Performance tiere^

to whom I have yet to learn.

From this manuicript Mr. Warton*s account (rf the mufic for
Comus mav probably have been derived. See before, p< 43. Set
alfo Sir John Hawkms's Hist, of Music, vol, iv. p. 52, where
it is faid, that the two Songs, •• Sioeet Echo^** and ** Sa$rin0f0ir/^
iwith three other paffages leleded for the purpofe, *^ Bach Sh^
«* hertij hack,'' " To the Ocean now I fly,'' and *♦ Vm m^ t^ 4s
^^fmoothly done,'* were the whole of the original mufic for Comus %
to wlacii account Dr, Burney adds, that beiides the mufig fQrtfa%

a The vnpRrallelH colleAion r>f icttct and yalunble Mufic* Mvdl jnamTf
Icript IS ()rinti c*, which wak ihos offend to the public, had bccB thejoiot a^
cimviatiur ol' Mr. Gotlluigy and hh jcmiocr.i father the RefcrtnA JxAn -Odk

jiQ£» Miooi C«i>o.a,o| ViJAtieibvuryj .3ub-X)cfu» f>i jS^. i'aia'st ao^ ?nbei^liqr «f
I4QC0I1U

k

HENRY LAWES- 45

MbasukA, between verfes 144 and 14$, and tlie*SorT Mvtic
prefcribed- before veKe 659, we are toid after verfe 889, that-
^^ Sabrina fifes, attended by Water-Nymphs, and sings Bjjie.
«« m/k^JriHged hakk, &c.'' And before verfe 966 it is laid '' this
« 8£coNO Song prefents them to their father and mother." So
tiiat though no more of the Original Mufic is to be found, thaa
that /aid to fubtift in the cxxnpofer's own hand-writing, yet more
feemstohave been produced, even by Milton's own diredioo.
His'T. OF> Music, vol. iii. p. 382.

Mr. Warton has not noticed tjiat divifion of the lyrical £pi-
logtie into two compofitions, which both the hiftorians of Mufic
have reprefented. Thefe compofitions were originally uncoa*
nested ; for the drama appears to have opened with the former,
beginning ^^ From the Heavens^* inftead of *^ To the Ocean^** as it
clofied with the latter, << Nwo mytajk is fmothly dome,** Having
been informed by the Reverend Francis Henry Egerton, that
Dr. Philip Hayes was in pofleffion of the MuGc of Comus in
Lawes's own hand-writing, 1 wrote to the Dodor, and was £1*
vowed with an anfwer, dated Feb. 8. 1797* from which I ex*
tni^ the blowing account, relating to this original manufcript :
V *' Henry Lawes has written before the Songs in Comus, The |
<< ^mgesfolhwinge were Jttt for a Majke prefented at Ludio Cafile,
^ before the Earie d firidgewater. Lord Prefidentof the Marches.
<« Odbber 1634.

^ ifi Songe. From the Heavens now I fly [which ^nds]

*^* Where many a: Cheruh fyte repofes.

•* id. Sweet Eccho,

•* 3^. Sahrina fe^re. '

^ 4M. \ Back Slifperds Back.

^* idfarti J Nohle Lord and Lady hrigkt.

** Jm. N^w my ts^/ke is/moofhly done^

I can fly e^ or I can run*

•* No fuch Song appears, as To the Ocean now I fly, I fear none
** of the intermedkte iKstri7M£ntajl st&ains are recoverable.
^ I have none of them in the manufcript before me.'' This is a
remarkable difference from the preceding accounts of the Mufic;
but, remarkable as it is, it perfedly agrees with the Afbridgc
snamifcript of the Maik. See Apfevpix No. 11^

The Songs for Comus might not have been copied into Lawes's
inifcellanebus colledion, till they had been adapted to the akera-
':donf made by the poet. The firii Song, ♦* From the Heavens^**
was then transferred tp the Epilo^e ; but the laft, '* Vvtv my
** tejk^ Sec.*' appears to have remained unaltered, althougli the
ipoctfB emendation is, ** But now my taflc is fmoothly done.^'

To Dr. Philip Hayes's curious intelligence his obfervations
as well on th m^flf/or Comjts^ as on thi gmctal merit ff Lfl^wes,

V ft it tennrkafale, tlitt S»fi M»Jk t« o^l^er ffefcribe^ la tM Afiuidge nx
in Uic Csmbridg^ MS.

i|6 HENRY LAWES.

would haTC been added, if his dearth had not prereoced the^
fnlfiimtnt of the prooiife, which he had made id the editor.*—
Hts obfcnratioiit might probabiy have difcuded the conuadidorf
aflertiont of Mr. Warton aod Dr. Burney. For the auainmeois
which are fo elegantly afcribed to Lawes by the former, are
ilrongiy denied by the latter. ^ Moft of the prodihfkions of thit
*' celetnrared muficiao are languid and infipid, and equally devoid
** of learning and genius.*' Hist, of Music, vol. iii. p. 379.
Yet, in a preceding page, the learned hiftorian acknowledges, tW
^ ^aJ as the Muiic of Lawet appears to us, it (Seems to have been
^J&tc€refy admired by his contemporaries in general." Lawes waf
commended, indeed, both by poets and muiicians. Granger
fignificantly 'calls him the Pirrr^ of his time.

To thoie eminent poets, fome of whofe prododions, it has
been mentioned, he let to muiic, may be added ^fien Jonfon,
Randolph, and Sir William Davenant. Amoug the noblemen
and gentlemen, whofe poetical talents bad been exerted for his
life, were the Earl of Winchelfea, the Earl of ' Pembroke, the
Earl of -Briflol, Lord firogbill. Sir Edw. "Dering, Sir Chris.
Nevill, Sir John ^ Mennes, Sir Patrick Abercromby, Sir Charles
Lucas, Francis ** Finch, Efq. Mr. H. Noel fon of Lord Vifc
Cambden, Mr. T* Cary fon of the Earl of Monmouth, Mr. C.
Raleieh fon of Sir Walter Raleigh, Mr. H. Harrington fon of
Sir Henry Harrington, Mr. Hen. Bathurll, Mn Tbo. Stanley,
Mr. Aurellan ""Townihend, Mr. M. Clifford, and Mr. H. Rey*
nolds. Many of the Songs written for Lawes, never appeared
but with the Mufic ; yet they deferve to be better known.

Sir John Hawkins has obferved, that the ufe of bars in
Mufic ** is not to be traced higher than 1574, and it was not till
** fome time after, that the ufe of them became general. Barnard's
'* Cathedral Mufic, printed in 16419 is without Bars, but they are
'' found throughout in the Ayresand Dialogues of Henry Lawes,

s Biog. Hift« )d ed. vol. iii. 365. T See his ^ Beoh •/ Ayrn/*

■ Wood fiysi th^t chii Nobleman ** wis endowed with i poetical geny, as
'* by thofe amorous and not inelegant Airts aod Poems of hiscoropolition doth
" evidently aniiear; fome of which had muiical notes fet to them by HtHm
'* Lswts and rtich, Latieare,** Ath. Ox. ^d ed. vol. i. 546.

a He was author of feveral poems. See 'Walpole's Catalogue of Noble
Authors, •• JpIhi Dighy, Earl of Briftoir

b His Sntrnd B»ok •/ jiyru is dedicated to Lady Dering. ** The Songs which
•* fill this Book," he fays, " have recerv'd much juttre by your excellent per*
** formance of thvm; and (which IconfefTe I rejoice to fpeak of} fome which
•• 1 cfteem the bell of ihcfc Aym^ wereof jrowr cmn Ctmf^Jitkn^tSttTyur IJokh
« Hn/Jhrnl w«i f/MtV /» give the Wi rit^

c Sir John " was always poetically given." Set more of him a«d hispoctiy
in Wowl'^s Aih. Oxon. vol. ii. 48s.

d Finch, fays Wood, left <' feveral pieces behind him, wherein be falls not
** (hort of the beft of Poets*'* Fafti. vol. i. 59.

• He wrote the woids in timft Befiortd, a Maik« prefented before Charles I4
by th« Qiuccn and fburtcoi of her Udics on Shrovc-uefdsy i6}i» $cf Muev't
Biog. Dram. ed. lySi^p* 366t

^

HENRY LAWES. 47

** piibliflied la 1653. From whence it may be conjectured, that
¥ Vie tmt to Linoes this imprwement.*' Hist, of Music, vol. ill.*
p» $18. Mr. Mafon, in his admirable Essay on Cathedrai.-
Music, firftprefixed to a *^ Collection of the Words of Anthems'*'
piibliQied in 1782, and reprinted with fome additions in hi»
^ Eiiays hiitorical aad critical on Engliih Church Muiic" pub-
lifhed in 1 79$, gives this valuable comment on the preceedin^
paiiage : *^ This Henry Lawes was the friend of Milton, and fet
*^ the fongs in his Comus. He found, I imagine, the ufe of bars
f^ more necefTary to mark the time of his ^ Ay res, than to fpan
** the juft accent and quandty of his words. By the well- known
*^ Sonnet, which this Foet addrelTed to him, we are to conciudet
*^ that he thought him the firil Engliih Compofer, who attended
** to this point ; for he there iays that his

— — ** tuneful and well-meafured fong '
'^ Firfi taught our Engliih muiic how to fpan
*^ Words with juil note and accent, not to fcan
'* With Midas ears, committing ihort and long.
^ And if Milton, who was certainly a competent judge, is allowed
*' to have fpoken truth on this occaiion, it is left with the lovers
*' of very ancient Mufic to fet their own value on that of the
** i6th and part of the 17th Century." Essays, &c. p. 149.
ed. 179$*

The republication of Lawes's Pfalm-tunes to Sandys's Para-
phrase was promoted by Mr. Mafon, as a proper tribute to that
mufical merit, which he was too well ^ qualified to over-rate. Of
Lawes's Pfalms it has been faid, howeyer, that " they never were
** adopted by any vociferous fraternity, or admitted into the pale
** of a fingle country church, that I have been able to difcover,
** fince they were firil printed. The jrJad Pfalm fet by H. Lawes
^* has, indeed, long had the honour oi^ being jingled by the chimes
** of St. Lawrence Jewry, fix times in the four and twenty hours,
•' in a kind of ^ Laus parpetua,'*^ Dr. Burney, Hist, of Music^
vol. iii. p. 388. Perhaps the honour of being jingled on the chimes
may feem to vindicate his 72<i Pfalm, at leail, from the fuppofi-
tion of unpopularity in its own days ; unlefs indeed the undif-
cerning Pariihioners of St. Lawrence Jewry gave it more than
** kimur du€^^ and ** admitted** an unworthy member to the
jingling " crew** of chimes.

Of the Choice Psalms Lawes relates, that " they had been
*' often heard, and well approved of, chiefly by fuch as defire to

f His *' Cbtici Pfatms,^'' printed in 1648, are without ban.
f ■ In his breaft each fofc afie^ion dwelt
That love and friendnilp know ; each fifte'r art,
With all ihat Colours, and that Sounds impart^
All that the Sylran theatre can grace^
All in the foul of Mason ** found tmsxr piac£ I"

Purfttits of Literature. P. i?. ver. 560. 2d ed«
- .. ti 'L«weft*s brother, in one of tho. Elegies on his death at the end of the
'C^akt l^^fii^u/' it called << the i^vi of o«r naticHi."

48 HBNRr LAWES;

^ ioyne Mufick with Devotion ;" and he modeftly adds, that ** her
^ nad been much impprtuned to fend them to the Prefle, and
** (hould not eafily have been perfwaded to it nowy ^ef|>eciaUy in
** thefe diifonaut times) but to doe a Right (or at leaft to iheir
^ his Love) to the Memory of his Brothtf, unfortunately Joft ia
^ thefe unnaturall Warres ; yet lyes in the Bed of Honour, and
^ expir'd in the Service and Defence of the King his Mailer."

He compofed the Mafic alfo to ^ Select Psalm cs or a New
^ Translation, to be fung in Versb and Chorus oi fine
*^ Farts^ with Symphonies of Flolinsj OrgoMy and other InibumeDts^
*^ Novemb. 22. 1655." The Tranilatioa is printed on a fiagle
quarto fheet. The name of the trandator is not mentioned* ft
is probable, that thefe Select Pfalms were privately printed for
the ' Earl of Bridgewater's ChapeL The Pfalms tranflatcd are
the xx'**' civ**** cxxxvii"** part of the Ixvi**** and part of the cxi****
I will give an extras from the cxxxvii^'^ Pialm, which exhibita
an eafy and pleafing verfification.

z;

w Sitting by the (Ireams that glyde

Down by Bahets Towring wall,
With our teares we filPd the Tyde,

Whilft our mindfiill thoughts recall

Thee, O Sion, and thy tall !

2.
Our negle^ed Harps unflrung,

Not acquainted with the hand
Of the fkilfiill Tuner, hung

On the Willow Trees that ftand

Planted in the Neighbour Land.

3. •••• '
YtX the fpightfuU Foe commands

Songs of Mirth, and bids us lay
To dumb Harps our captive handsy

And (to fcoflfe our forrows) fay.

Sing us fome fweet Hebrew Lay.

4.
But (fay we) our holy Strain

Is too pure for Heathen Land,
Nor may we our Hymns prophane,«

Or tune either Voice or Hand ^

To delight a Savage Band.

i I foand them in one oF the varioas publicationt by Lawes, which Bare
been obligingly procure4 for mt, from the Duks of Bridgewater's Libraiy at
Aihrldge, by Mr. Egerton.

k Here is a favourite expreffion of Miltcm. See AacA.oia. v&'.77*

'< If ny ioferior bmnd or voice coult hit

'* Inimitable foands."
Paiu Rtio. B. L 171. ** the band fang, with the vmV^.'' A|^i^ B»i|r*l|55«
'< numbers hit by by voif$ oig hand*"

bENRY LA WES* 49

Itoly ^at^ if tltjr ljb\c ] ; '

Fait from my forgetful! hearty
Mav the ikill by which t move

St^ogs of liiii^k/ tuaM by Artf
• From my 'wither'd Hand depcnt^

6.
May my fpeechlefle Tongue give fnuhd
.. . To no Accent, but remam
To my prifon Roof ftft boitndv

If ray fad Soul entertain

Milth till Thou rejoice again.'^

Wit&ef^ c6ttaMitUis£bh of La^^es Ha^ he^n t6M&risiill By thdf
iatefcoWtflMiWi hffiortan df Nfiiffc in a: light ihii^vouifiblcr l?oth id*
Ac '^, ato^tb-the muficiair. «» ft would bb ilKbdraf,*' hkfCays;-
•*'t!b' chrtift fcch Jltt idea; but it di^s fomttMfcs- (feeiii a^ if th'tf

" fome years ago, why a certain great prince coritSiitltfdtb*honttUt
•* with fuch peculiar marks of fkvduf an old t>€rfbrro^l^ on the
•f Arte, wften he* had fo^ many mtificiarils of fiipmw abfliHes about
^}mxrim^2iB^^€t€&:^ike^fih^ m»hi)nifitf. And

^^miS' l&ib#s T^^hrther* IWrtfON" and Waller m^^c not feci'etly
!* in/hiema^fy Jh^i^fi^ifw^fd&mhmf arid' iiirere' ntft mdriTplriftd
vi^th' ILiwfesr fbf ribt prcftehdlng to embeUifli or Afbrce the^ ffeli-
tfrtleiitrof thfeiir' Ibngsi but' fettirig them tb fouitdsiefs dapti-
^ihg^ tttan thV fetl&V* Dr; Buriifcyi* Hist. Musitj. Vbh iii^
g. 3^^; Ait^ Sfihon ^^'"^ war ^:A«*r^r dir' ^c^ftkalfinfttrir y and,
* A th>^ fktoe tSme, wa^af fldlfiir perftirtner on the o^an, and a
^Mgt f fkujk.'^ PiWtap^^ thk* pme and' judgcniertt of Milton
ff IJ^k with (Wbthifflbri)' may not theh' He' contfdered' a^ thb
ecjileeifion's of jeridosfupdrioKty-, of akthtefltafiOttSf of hafty ad-
miration. Editor.

1 I'efliaps'tliis empKattc czpjreilfibh iiiay'W deflv^ fj^ro ^. MAttf^Btir.
iSlu i6. It may remind'die. reader of tHe clo(][uentB|iii6p Sherlock's fine aliufimi
io'tlie nb'tecl Miracle', wbicH' the ETanMlIft recbrcUl " Hbw dei^igbcrally '«lo
"wc treat the Cofjfelof Chnft,, to which we owe that dear Lkh't creii of
'^'.Keafon and Nature which'weQow enjoy^ when wf endeavour to let upiReafoB
^'aiid.l4atiire in Oppoflttoo to \i'} Qv^ht^ withered Hattd.ith'tch Chrlft hai
'freftbred and made whole, to be lifted uj^ aplaUk himT' SaaMONi. vol. !•
]Kic.i. p. i^. See I>ofter Blair'rnbtice of this allufion, In his L&ieTvki^si
** ElM^ucbtfc. of the Pttlpiu"

ai xe before^, p* 3^

i'

ORIGIN OF COMUS.

IN Fletcher's Faithful SaBPitBKDBsSf an Arcadian comedy,
'recently publilhedf Milton found many touches of paftoral
and fuperflitious imagery, congenial with his own conceptions-
Many of thefe, yet with the higheft improvements, he has trans-
ferred in CoMvs ; together with the general call and colouring
of the piece. He catched alfo from the lyric rhymes of Fletcher,
that Dorique tUlicacy^ with which Sir Henry Wotton was fo much
delighted in the Songs of Milton's drama. Fletcher's comedy
was coldly received the firft nip;ht of its performance. But it had
ample revenge in this confpicuous and indifputable mark o£
Milton's approbation. It was afterwards reprdented 9s a Mafk
at court, before the king and queen on tweuth-night, in 1633.
I know not, indeed, if this was anv recommendation to Milton ^
who in the Pa&adisb Lost fpeaks contemptuouily of tliefe in-,
terludes, which had been among the chief diversions of anelq;anfe
and liberal monarch, fi. iv. 767.
-— Court*amours,
Mix'd dance, and wanton mask, or midnight ball, &c« »
And in his Rtaelj and eajy Way H efiahl{/h a free Cmmtmuemkk^
written in 1660, on the inconveniencies and dtmgers ef readmiiik^
KiugAipy and with a view to countera<^ the noxious hammr^ ef rv«
turning to Bondage^ he fays, ^ a King mud be adored i^ a demi-
** god, with a diirolute and haughty court about him, 6t vafi,ex-
** pence and luxury. Masks and Revels^ to the debauclung our
^ prime gentry, both male and female, not in thrir /^'Mfr oiily|
*' ^c.'* Fa. W. i. 590. I believe the whole compliment mspaid
to the genius of Fletcher. But in the mean time it ihould bcftr
membered, that Milton had not yet contraded an averfion t9
courts and court-amufements ; and that in L'Allbgro,^ Masks

• The third edition of Fletcher's pUy wai poblUhcd is 1633. The/r^ fmnrU
WAS fUiblHhed during hit life-time; the /«(off^ is dated 1629, four jewt afkier
-his deceale. See Colman's Biaumont amd Fletciij(r» vol. iii. pp.ii3»
145. The Faithful Sbiphkkoih is meDtbned in ]>afiet't ScouMB
OP Folly, 161 1. See Warton's Note on Comos, ▼. 9^4. EpxToa*

h Masks, bat without any difplay of dramatic wu or charaAer, »ty bt
traced back to the early part of Henry the eighth's ragn ; in which they west
vften {performed by the king and his courtiers. HoUinglhesd and Hall, fpeak"
ing of the firft enteruiameot of this kind, relate that '< the king with ele«e«
" others were difgnifed afitr the manner if Itatie^ called a 11 aski, g thuf mf^
**feeB afere in EnglandeJ* Mr, Warton is of opinion, that theft KAtKiUfta
moft probably cameto the EnglUh, if from Italy^ through the mediom af Fr^fcisp
Hist. £ng. PoaTay. ad ed.Tol.i. m^9* note. Theirchicf aim at this period
feems to- have been, toforprife, by thendicnloua and exaggerated oddity of th«
vifors, and by the fingularity and fplendour of the dreOes, which the icASKtaa
wore. Erery thing was out of nature and propriety* Ibid. vol. iiL 157. They
fecn (o fall nndcr that dcfcription of a MAS^uxaADi} ('' to denocs which m

ORIGIN OF COMUS. jt

are amofifi; his pleafures. Nor could he now difapprove of a
fpecies or entertaiameot, to which as a writer he was giving en->
courageroent. The royal Malks, however, did not, like Cqmus,
always abound with Platonic recommendations of the do^rinc
of chaility.

" hetetr W9ri cooU hardly be lorented, thas Fopyfio^pfta*') which is giren in
llktjinguhr title to a Copy of Greek Elegiac Vtrjn^ printed at tttvjbur^bf in
the year 1 780, and addrett to Prince Poiemkin ;

^EwiypufAfM imi nit w»<(yy«5c tuu x«f«bMa^« FOPrEIO^OP/AX, tv(
scMMT^ MAZKAPAAOS luihMi^fniy iv K.r. ^.

That englifhed, .^ Pmm, m the JflenHd and del'^htful rasTiViTv, WHsaa
THKY wiAa GoaooNiAN vitoas ; wtgrt ttrnmoulj culled a MAB^uaaAoc^
m>bieb PrtBctVorKUfiiv celebrated^ ice Harris'i Pu;l. iNqjJiaiaa, Ap-
pendix, p. 567, The Maik was alfo frequently attended with an eshibitton ol
ibme gorgeous Bachinery, rcfembling the wonders of a modern pantomime*
SeeHiar. Eve Poitky. vol. iii* 157. MASKa were probably diftingui(bed
by no other charaAerifties, till the reign of Elizabeth, when thev aflumed a
dicamatic form* The yirtoes and vices perlbnified were admitted into tbeoBy
and they exhibited a fpecies of allegory not diffimilar to that which exifted ia
thoie popular dramas, the old Mora liti is. ** Eren after the pe«>ple had been •
V accnftomed to Tragedies and' Comedies, Moralities ftill kept their groaod i-
^ one of them intitled Tbt Sev CmJUm was printed fo late as 1573 ' ^ leogth
** they aflimcd the afime of Mas^is, and, with ibme clafuai mfnvtmnusf
** became in the two following reigos the favourite entertainments of the
^ court.** Oa tbe Orig. ef tbe Enr, Stage In Percy's RsLxquia or Ave.
PoiTiy* vol. i, 140. ed. 1794. They were alfo the nfual performances at
Bfincdy nuptials, at tbe entertaintncat of foreign nobility, and at various pub*
lie ceremonies, particularly at fofHvals by the focieties of the Iniia of court.
Many of Ben Joafon's *' M as^ la*' were presented on Tnmelftb^mgbt, it being
acfiftom to have plays at Court m the Chriftm»i holy-days, and efpeciall^ oa
that fcftivaL The title of Shakfpeare's Comedy, TwaLrTH-NiouT, it is
foppoied, might have been owing to its firft exhibition at this ieafon. See
Maloae's SHAKiPSAaa, ed. 1790. vol. i. P. i« 380. and Sieevens's, ed. 1793*
ToL L 6o9* Many elegancies of poetic imagery and diAioa may be firaod ia
ibme of theie enienainments. Among the more eminently beautiful Mr*
Warton places Browne a iMVfa TsMrLa Mas^vi. Hift. £ng. Poet, vol ii,
401. to which he fuppofes Milton may have been indebted inCoMUf. Some,
however, not poflefled of native charms, were indebted for the approbation they
apertenced to the aids of mu6c, dancing, and machinery. And fome could
ttpeCt ** to pleafe and fate the curious talle" bv the introduAJon of fuch fan-
caftic peribnagesy as W^ajfel^ Mummng^ Minced Pja^ and Bt^kCake* See Jem-
|ba's''MAa<^t or CiiassTMAf, 1616.**

C^een Eliubeth was olten entertained by her nobility with fplendid Masks^
•f wdicb iKMoe were more remarkable, than thofe at Kenelworth Caftle ia
Warwichlbire, by the Earl of Leicefter, in 1575, and at Wanftead-houfe in
Efl*ex, by the fame nobleman, in May 1578, when the Mask was named Tbt
Loify of tbe Me^f and was written by that accomplilbed gentleman. Sir Philip
BMncy. Perbajps I may be excufed, if I lengthen the note by giving an extraft
or two fpom this Malk, which mav remind the reader of a plealant charader oa
the modern fltge, the Lmgo of Tbe jiftreeahle Surfri/e, ^cmbns ( for that is the
Bafne of Sir P. Sidney's pedant) thus introduces bunfclf to tbe Q^een » " I am^
,** JPeiemljfima DffUfMa, a Scbool-Mafier, that. is to (ay» a Ptdagogue^ one not a
" little verfed in the difcipliaating of the juvcnal frie &c. Yet hath not thre
** pvkritade of my virtues proteficd m^ from the contaminating hands of theie
^ plcbdaM I lor oMoihg/tiamudo to have parted their (anguin^enr fr^^ tliey

S% ORIGIN OF COMUS.

The Inzicnious aisd £ccura:c Mr. Reed has pouied oiic m mit
oi:t-l:ce, from uhich Milioa ietm& partiy to have &rtcbed the
plan of c.e iVL.e of Ccul&. See BicG&Af b. Daamat. ii. p«
441. I: is au o*d pUy, with thi^iiile? ^^Tb% old wiv&s Talk,
•• a pleafar;! conceired Comedie, |.laied bv the Queexies Kljicttiei
*« piaycrs. Wriitcn Ly G. F/ [i. c. George Peek.] Primed at

•* yielded mec no mere lererer.ee, tben if I bid beta fioie Ttetrjti ^Smtu^ J^
•* e*eo I, that tra, wr.^ ixn I ? Pix-, vfimi jMf:ez-§fuMm ei I" L^t LtKM
irho, :i' I remembtr right, rei:;ft« on 'if i^aj'-r.-f zf :b ktts^fj zhtcns^ Vfp9
hmwf Kitti-g, Mir v.n*t be iiirted, Rombus alio ezclumi '* Fttm, Htit '"^f-
** tfifir:, Intif.tiK -jt.^-.rum e: f.fuiirtm ! Whj yos binte KcboioAfty kavc yoa
" had mv drpujch.u^ fo l^r.g amor.g yoC| aDd ^a: roc yci U.I how to ed tic att
<' argDmeDtr'— H^yrfm. in Love's LASoua's LoiT^ h^ been fptppofc^^
Mr. Cap*il to be»r a faint rferr.b'ance to Kzwbuu

The great paiBor. fir thefe dramatic p-rf'trmancci Id the t^o fnccccdipg
reign I has brm remarked by an acute writer : ** it vas the f^lhion" he ^y>
^ for the nobility to celebrate their weddings, binb-days» sod other 9 « w^
** 01 rejoiciog, with MAsqy as and imttrluiet^ which were ezhibiicd with fpb-
** prifir.g ezceoce; that great architeA Imlgi Jam beiag fre^nentlT emplojrcA
*< to fumifk decorations with all the magnificence of his inTcotioo. Dqdfle|%
Pa c FACE to his Cor.eft. of Old Plays. In the reign of Jamesi his ^)j|ee|^
<' had giTcn counttnanceto this praAice" [at Court]/' and,lbelieveyll«e is t^«
*' firft of our Queens that appeared pcrfonally io this moft cleganf and rytiv)^!
** eatrnainmentof aconrt." Hist. Enc.Pqit.toU ii. 431. lathelbllowiPB
reign, " the kiiig and his lords, ihe ^ueen and her ladies, trcqvci^tly perfor|||f4
** ia thefe MAsq^ss at pourt, and all the nobility in their own private boaw> I
*' in fbort, no public entenaioment was thoaght complete withoat the|pi ; f(l4
** to this humour it is we owe, and perhaps *iis all weoweit,theiyii«iT4ff f

taken

vaaced

at length, ** Crmnwell's ufurpation pot an end to them.**

Ab^iut rhe year 1675 a feeble effort was made to revive thefe liberal «i»4.i;l0il
gant amufements at Whitehall. Queen Catherine ordered Cp.ifoe to wr^f^H
Paftoral called C^/j/fs, which was aded at court by the ladles Mary 4n(| A^^^
daughters of the Duke of York, and the yoong Nobility. About the (ame VJp%
lady Anne, afterwards Queen, performed the part of Semandra, in Ice's A&Vt
ridates. Hist. Enc. PdZT. vol. ii. 401. note. At the marriage 9/ Jaipic|
Puke of Hamilton ai;d Lady Anne Cochran, Feb. 11. 1723, thiccelebtity'ir^
lenewed in the performance of a Mask, intltled 'the Nupii^ht which it)|
written by Allan Ramfay. An ingenious unknown friend m J^nghM^ wa^
pi i men ted the Scottilh bard, on ** his reviTal of a good oA^ form of poetry* U^
** high repute nvitb us" See the Introdudion prefiznl to the MaC^^ Tht iSM
writer, having ubferved that the original of Masks might he an imitatioio^ of
the Int eklui' es of the Ancients, and haying highly commanded Ramiay. fyg
bis noble and fuccefsfnl attempt to revive this kind of pocfy, gives thejoipt
opinion of Addison and himfelf refpeAing Comub: " the beft Maik evcf
^' written, was that of Milton, in the praife of which no words ^1^ b^ tc^
** many : and I remember to have heard the late excellent Mr. Addifoo agm
^ with me in th^t opinion." Another grand Mask, intttled MfreJ^ ai^
writtin by Thomfon and Mallet, may ^ mentioned. Sec B109. Daa^
▼ol. ii. p» 8. It was perfoqned on the ift of Auguft 174Q9 ip U»e Gard^
of Cliefden, in commemoration of the acceffion of George I. and in honoor
of the birih-day of ;he princefs of Brunfwick ; the prince and princcfs, of
Wales, and all their court, being prefent. EnxToa.

c Gzoacz FssLBj the author of the P id wiu4iTAi.S|Wua«itivf of

ORIGIN OF COM06, ^

^ tjbHAtm. by John Dantervand are to be Cold by Rtilpfh flan"
<* cockeand John Hardie, 1595.*' in quarto. This very fcarce
and curious piece exhibits, among other parallel incidents, two
Brothers wandering in quell of their Sifter, whom an Enchanter
had ixBpriConed. This magician had learned his art from hi«'
mother Meroe, as Comustiad been1nftni6led by his mother Circe^
The Brothers call out on the Lady's name, and Echo replic.s
The Enchanter had given her a f>otion which fnipends the poweis
of reafon, and luperinduces oblivion of herfeir. The Brotheii
afterwards meet with an Old Man who is alfo (killed in magic $
and by Jiftening to hie foothfayings, they recoirer their lott Sifter,
But not till the Enchanter's wreath had been torn ^m his head^
biii fword wrefted from his hand, a glafs broken, and a light ex«
tinguiftied. The names of fome of the chargAerCf as 6acrapanf|'
Chorebus, and others, are taken from the O&lando Furtoso;
The biftory ef Meroe a witch, may be feen in ** The xt HooketT
** of the Golden AlTa, containing the Metamorphose of Lucius
'^ Apuleius, interlaced with fiindrie pleaiant and dele6bble Tales,
^ ^c. Tranilated out of Latin into Eng^ifti by William Adling.
"ton, Lond. 1566." See Chap. iii. ^< How Socrates in his re-
M turjie from Macedoay to Lanilk was fpoyled and robbed, and
" how ht fell acquiiinted with one- Meroe a witph.*^' And Chap;
w» ^ How Meroe the witch turned divers perfoiuinto niiferable
^^ beafts<f ' Of this book there were other eclkions, in 1 5 7 1, 1 5961
|6oo» and 1^39' All in quarto and the black letter. The tranl*^

DcTQiilbin I ^xid A$ta^cot Qf Chrft-Charch Oxford, wbrre he bfc^ive 9 M^fioe
of arts in 1579* Ac the pDiTcrfitji he was much efieemefl for His pociicHl
talents. Going to London, he wa^ made condwftor of the citj r>agetthtr.
Hence he fecms to have g«t a oonacAion with ih« lUgf. Ho was one of the
wits of the towB» »ivd hU/< Merrk hA%" 4ppc«rcd iw j6pt* ReftfiMted 1627.
Mr. Steevens ju/ily fuppofes^ that the charader of GaPI^C* I'lsaoARO, in
the Fvitija;)^ w*$ <lr(ignfdforQ«Q%cy t^ycL*. SecMaione's Suppl. S^a^ sp,
U* 5^7* ^c ^^s ^<°nie few paftoral pieces in BNai'AiifOS ]^)£ 1.1c oik. He dt?
ditatedapoiein tilled the UoNeu a of T|iEGAaTB«,tothe Ear) oTNorthum*
berland, by whom he was patronifed in 1593* He wrote alio among other
^if^Sf Pof;v itY MKiAy t^c dcCcriptiqn 9f « Tv i t cj^bibited beiore the ^ern^
y^fi, Asio V&'pUjii beli<(e the Oip W;yEi Tai^«i 1595* he wio^ Tvn
Apf Aj^ANi^'^T 9r PAIkU» l5^«---Bi>WAilo rH« Fi»«T, ^i9a«— KiwQ
P4Y); ^><n.FA^» B^Tft'f4»*i y99' (See JJpie on Cooitif, ▼, ^34-)— An4
gi^^.Ti^aXxMi Mahqiai^t 4WP Hyrsii [Ireoej t^b fax^i Gksai^, never
ttr^Ate^. $c^>Ul9!ney m f^px- xoX^u 191. Of hi9> pof ^1 vityi and 19 rariom
|Lip(|p of P(VPtn[i f«cMcr«*« WiTj TuSASUBYi 1598. lamo, y^. p. »3^. ^83,
285. And Ka|b\ ^(i^TLf ^ the Ceotlei^cji Smdenu of h^th vnivecfitU^
prefixed to Greene's Arcadia, 410. Bl. Let. He lived on the Bank- fide, o{>-
vofite lo Black Friars t and die^, \n want and obfcvritv'i of a dffc«ft*» wh?ch
Wood fays is iutid^wt toj^ts, about the jeitr 1597* He was n fiivourite dra-
matic poet : and his phys eontbued to he'aded with applaofo long after his
death. A man of Peele's profeAon, fituation^ and charader, ranfl have left
nao^ npo^e play^ zf. leaft interlades, than are now remembered even by name
only* His Old WivBt Tali, which is nnrecited by Wood, and of wl^icli
the indaftriotts Lnghihto appetn to b«re knowi Bothisg mote ihn\ the utie;
had fanK into total «hHTioft« WMtTotf. '

$4 ORIGIN OF COMU&

htorwrnol UniTcdiqr CoO^e. See aUb Awvlmiv% in ikt cri-
jg^aaL A Mcroe is mmtinnrd by AuionHit, £ri«a. joz.
Ftde'f Fay opens tbw.

Afitickc^ Fn&kt^ and Fuicaiticke, three adveaciircffs are loft
in a wood, in the nigbc Tbcy agree to fing the oU Soo^

^ Three mcrrie men, aod three meirie naea,

'^ A%r1 three jnerrie mea be wee ;

** lifi the woody and thou on the ffwmd^

•*,Aod Jacke floepa in the tree."^
They hcafr a dog, aod feiacy thcmfehret to be near fome ▼ilbft.
A cUuCyr appears, with a buitcrn: oo which Froiickc ^yi, •• I
** perceioe tne gliovyn^ of a glowonnei a candle, or a cats-m^
** Sec*" They inucat hun to (hew the way : otberwiic, they uy,
^ wee arc like to wander aoioiw the owlets and hobgobliDS of the
^ fottA/* tie incites them to his cottage ; and orders his wife to
^ iaya crab in the Bre^ to roft for lambes-wool, &c" Tbej fiag

^ When as the rie reach to the chin,

** And tbofcierrie^ cktpehenk rife within;

'^ Strawbmies fwimming in the creame,

^ AfiA (choole-boycs playing in the ftreame, &ۥ"
Ax length, to pafs the time /r/«jr, it is pn^Mifed that the wife
ihaU tell ^ a merry winters tak," or, *< an old wives winters tale,''
of which ibrt of dories ihe is not without %Jcwt.^ She begini^
I'here was a kiug, or duke, who had a moft beautiful dai^ter,
aod ihe was ftolen awav by a necromancer, who turning himiielf
into a dragon, carried her in bis mouth to his caiUe. The king
fent out ail his men to 6nd his daughter; ^ at laft, all the king's
^ men went out fo long, that hir Two Brothers went to lecke hir."
Immediately the two Brothers enter, and fpeakf

'< I Bu Vpon thefe chalkie cliffs of Albion,

^ We are arriued now with tedious toile, &c«

«« To fccke our Sifter, &c/'—
A foothfayer enters, with whom they converfe about the loft
hdy. ^ S9oihJ. Was ihe fayre? % Br. The fayreft for white aod

A Thit old BalUd ii allnded to in TWBtVTB iiiftBT, A.ii. $.iii« Sir Tolf
fayti " My L«ly't a Cataian, wc are politiciani, Malfolio^t a Peg a Ramlrjj
srd *' thfte merry mtn bi wt,** Agaip, in the CoBQcdj of R^m-Allit, i6itw
flee Rrctl'i Old Ps.. vol. ▼. p. 437. And in the Pre&ceto the SaosMAata*a
Holiday I 1610. 410. BI. Let. ** The merriments that paffed in Eyrcfs bovib
** and oiher accidents ; with two merry tkree menifiKgt." And in ihc CMDCdf
Lavcm AMD LIE povKf x6»5.Signat. £. y ** He plaied fnch a ibag of the
^ itree mtrry men, &c." Many more infiaaccs occur, waatqm*

a See Shakfpearr' t ^y X If T 1 a 't Tal B| A* ii« S» i«

Ji, —Pray you fit by «8,

And tell ua a tale. A/. Merry or fad ibairc be ?«-f-^

•«— A fad tale's b((t for winters

X hava one of fprightt aod goblins.*— <-
There is an entry in theRcgiiierof the Sutioa^ntof** A Btckmtkiul^Mymtw
•* hygkttufyme^ May ia» 1 594^" Tbia is not Shakfpcare's WiWTsa't Talij
ivhicb pcrnapi did not appear till aft<r i^oo. 'W4lii9a4

ORIGIN OF COMUS- jj

^ the pureft for redde, as the blood of the deare or the driven
** fnowe, &c.'* In their fearch. Echo replies to their call/ Thef
find too late that their Sifter is under the captivity of a wicked
magician, and that (he had tafted his cup oiF oblivion. In the
clofe, after the wreath is torn from the magician's head^ and he
is difarmed and kiUed* by a Spirit in the (hape and charader of a
beautiful page of fifteen years old, file ftill remains fubjed to the
magician's inchantment. But in a fablequent fcene the Spirit '
enters, and declares, that the Sifter cannot be delivered but by n
Lady, who is neither maid, wife, nor widow. The Spirit blows
a magical horn, and the Lady appears^ (he diftblves the charm,
by breaking a glafs, and extinguiftiing a light, aa I have before
recited. A curtain is withdrawn, and the Sifter is feen feaced'
and afleep. $he is diiinchanted and reftored to her fenfes, having
been fpoken to thric«« She then rejoins her Two Brothers,
with whom ftie returns home ; and the Boy-fpirit vanifties under
the earth. The magician is here called '' inchanter vile," as in
CoMus, V. 907.

There is another circumftance in this play, taken from the M
Engtifti Apulbius, It is where the OU Mmm every night is
transformed by our magician into a bear, recovering in the day*
time his natural ihape.

Among the many feats of magic in this t^ay, a bride newly
married gains a marriage-portion by dipping a pitcher into«
welL As ftie dips, there is a vwcei

^ Faire maiden, white and red,
*' Combe me fmoothe, and ftroke my head,
<* And thou ihall haue fome cockell bread !
^' Gently dippe, but not too deepe,
*' For feare thou make the golden beard to weepe !

*' Faire maiden, white and redde,
*' Combe me fmooth, and ftroke my head ;
** And euery haire a ftieaue (hall be,
** And euery (heaue a golden tree !"
With this ftage-diredtion, ^^ A head cwtesvp full rf gold \Jht combes
<* it into ktr lap:*

I muft not omit, that Shakfpeare feems alfo to have had an eye
on this play. It is in the fcene where *^ The Hdrufft^men enter
** tuith a Song.*^ Again, ** Enter the Hamejt'menfinging inith women
•* in their handesJ^ Frolicke fays, " Who have we here, our
'^ amourdus harueft-ftarres?"—7%>yf»^,

** Loe, here we come a reaping a reaping,
" To rcape our hanieft>fru)te ;
^ And thus we pa(fe the yeare fo long,
" And neuer be we mute." ^

Compare the Mafque in the Tempest, A.iv. S.i. where Iris (ay^
You fun-burnt ficklemen, of Auguft weary,
Come hither from the furrow, and be merry ;

f See note oa Com, v, £40. And i(«c4'«0. Pl. vi, 416 kit. 401. Waatoit*

56 OKIGIN OP CCniOS*

Make hahf'dBL9 : your ryc*ftraw hats pet ort,
Anri tkefe fincftl nymphs enoounter every one
In country footing*
IVheie is this (h^e-dire^Von, Emer etrfmin Reap^rf^ /f»/fl^
hAiteli tiff fu'ft wiik the nymfhr m a irrmcefui Janc^, Ttts Ttf-i^
pjiST ptobably did Aot appear before the year i6i i.

That MHton hadi his eye on this atKient drami, which mighe
halve bee» the £siTourite of his early youtli, perhaps' it may'-fie at
lea ft affirmed with as much credibitity, as that he emicerved the
PjtE Aossa Losr, from feeing a My ftery at Fkirence, wtittea b^
Aadreini; a Fhirentine in 16^7, entitled A'i>amo. -

In l&e mean tkne it muft bie confefled, that Milton's ntagtciatf'
Conus^with his cup and wandy is ultimately f«HiiKledo(Y the HUM
ctf Ciree,^ The effe6!s of oorh characters are niu'eh th^ faille.
They ate bath to- be oppofed at firft with fbrce aild violence;
Circe is fubdued by the virtues of the herb Moiy whivh M^rcm*^
jpvoto Utyd^and Cdmus by the plant Haemony which the^
Spirit gives to the Two Brothers. About the year 1 61 5, a Miafqatf
GuUedthe iNtrrR TatePis Mas<^u b, written oy William BiV>wnc
author of BarT^iinriii's Pastorals, which! have fVieqtlexuly'
ehrcd, was prefen^ed- by the iludents oJF the Inner Temj^e. Seef
Notes on Com. v. 252. 636. 659. It has been latfely printed froitf
ap mamifcript in the Library^ of £manuel College : but I have been
anformed, diat » few copies weve printed foon aft^rr the prefeutitt'
tion. It was formed on the ftory of Circe, and perhaps mfgfft *
have fuggefted ferae few- hints to Miiton-. I will give fome proofil
of ParalJeiifm as we go along;

The genius oi the beft poets is often determined, if riot directed,
by circumftance and accident* It is natural, that even fo original
a writer as Miltoh flvoiild have been biafled by the reigning poetry
of the day, by the compofition moil in faihion, atid by fubjeAs
recently brought forward, but foon giving way to others, and al«
moil as foon totally neglected and forgotten. Wa*rton .

Docfor Newtbn had alfo obferved, tliat Milton formed the

iple aceouac it give

df'AiidN'ritri's pieccwitlt large £ztrad& fbom it, atid amoft fatisfadpry cnqsiiy
into MiUoD*s obligations to it. The chief idea that Mr. Hayley inelhs t&^n-
colcate is, that Miltoai dlid not tamely copy the Adamoof-Amlrrini, but that
his fancy caught fire from that fpirited, thoii|^ 'irregular and fahtaflic, com-
pofition-' that it proved in his ardent and for^le mind the feed of' Paradiie
Loft. The Adamo wte ffrft' printed in i6'i3, anJ again in 2617. See Mr»
Hayley[s valuable Life of Miltok, 2d edition, p. 257. Editor.

hi ThiBlateiaagenious Afr. Headley* in the Supphmtent ter his SetettBMMh
of Ancient Engligt Poetrf^- Land. 1787, direds the reader of CoiAus to the
^ Cbrifi's FiffoiU** of GijUEs Fletc4hb, in which the fiofryof Circe it in*
trodaced. Hi& acute ubfervations will be found in the following Notes <nr
CoQMiSywkh hHnMa»iffiM4. £iPitomi

ORIGIN OF eOMUS, 57

btan of CoMus very much upon the.epifode of Girce in the
Odyfley. And Do^lor Johnfon, iii his Life of Milton, fiiys, that
the fi^ion is derived from Homer^s Circe. But a learned and in-

genious anhotator pn the Lives ^tht Poets is of opinion, notwith-
ending the great biographer's alTertion, that ^* it is rather takeil
** from theCioMus ofERYCius Puteanus, in which, Under the
'^ fiction of a dream, the charadters of Comus and his attendants
'^ are delineated, sind the delights of fenfualifts expofed and re-
'* pro.bated. This little l^rad was publiihed at Loiivaih in 161 1,
** and afterwards at Oxford in 1634, the very year in which
" Milton's Comus was written.*' Note fiened H. in Johnfon 'fe
Lives of the Poets, vol. i. p. 134. ed. 1790. and p. 123.
ed. 1794.

In Remarks on the Arabian Night^s Entertainments byRicBARD
tloLE, L*L. B. Lond. 17979 this. obfervation has been confirmed
by various extra6^s from ruteanus^s work. But, before t prcr
fent the reader with the correfpondencies in the ^ Dutch and
Britifh Comus, which this acute and entertaining writer has
exhibited, it fhould be remarked, that the firfl edition of Putea-
BUS is not that which was printed at Louvain in 161 1 ; although
it is faid to be the firfi by Mr. Mole, p. 332, and implied to be
the^r;^ in the preceding information of the annotator on John-
Ibn. Mr. Warton refers to Puteanus> in his note on v. 58. of
Comus, whofe work, he fays, was written in 1608. It was pro-
bably ^publi/hed at Louvain in the fame year. The edition of
1611 has the following title, '^ ErtcI Puteani COMVS Sive
^' Phagesiposia Cimmeria. Somnivm : Secundo jam et ac-
** curatius editum; Lovanii, Typis Gerardi Rivii; cId.
•* loc. XI." Dan. Heiniius has prefixed a copy of verfes to Pu-
teanus in this edition.

** Miltbn certainly read this performance with firch attention,
as led, perhaps imperceptibly, to imitation. His Comus
Offers to every weary traveller
His orient liquor in a cryflal glafs.
in Puteanus, one of his attendants difcharges that office. Hie
[in limine] adolefcens cum amphori et cyatho flabat et intranti-
bus propinabat vinum. [p«35*ed. 1611J From the following

i EjiYiBius PuTBANui (whofe tttX namci according to Mr. Hole, was
llenri du Puy) was born at VcqIoo id Geldeiiand. He was Profcflur of Elo-
quence at Milan, and afterwards at Louvain. He was very much cfleemed in
the Low Countries, and e&joyed the titles of Hiftoriographer to the King of
Spain, and Counfellor to the Arch-Duke Albeit. He was even appointed
Governor of the Caftle of Louvain. He died in 1646, in the 72d year of his
age. He was author of an immenfe number of books. Scaligcr calls him a
trifler, but he was certaialy both learned and eloquent, although he did not
apply himfelf fo much to correA and comment upon authors, as in compofing
little pieces upon Eloquence, letters, and fmall tracts upon Mifccllancous fub*
jeds. See Baxllet, and Gbv. Pict. Art. Puteanui* Editor.

k Vid. AuAoris Prxfat. p. 8. et.. p. s«4, ed 161 1. Editor.

h

SB ORIGIN OF COMUS.

paflage Milton feems to have derived his idea of the mode, ill
which he firft introduces the voluptuous enchanter. Intem
CoMvSf luxu lafciviaque ftipatus, inmditur: et quid atdncc
pompam explicare ? Horz fuaviffimos Veris odores, omnemqiie
floram purpuram fpargebant. Amorem Gratiae, Delidae, Le«
pores, ceteraeque Hilaritatis illices fequebantur : Voluptaxem Rifiis^
locufque. Cum Saturitate foror ^brietas erat, crine flaxo, ru-
bentis Auroras vuhu : manu thyrfum quatiebat; ac br ev i te r,
totum Bacchum exprefferat. [p. 30. ed. Inpr.] Thefe figondvq
perfonages recall to our minds

Meanwhile welcome Joy and Feaft|
Midnight Shout and Revehry,
Tipfy Dance, and Jollity.
In the fame fpeech our Poet evidently has in ^ew a lively
Anacreontic Ode, which the Comus of Puteanus likewife ad-
drefTes to his diffipated Votaries." Hole's Remarks &c. pp.
233, 234.

Tiie lines, which Mr Hole has extra^ed from this Ode, are
given as *^ refemblances which can hardly be confidered acd-
dental;" and he adds, ** whoever choofes to compare farther the
poetical addrefs of Comus in each author, will find a fimilar
ipirit and congeniality of thought, though the Dutch Mcrfe in
point of chaflity is very inferior to the Britifh." Remarks 8ec.
p. 236.

From the comparifon which I have made, I venture to join a
refemblance or two with thofe that have been difplayed by an
abler pen. The Ode opens thus :

Limen siiavioris

riui laeve pulfat sevi,

Nomen bonis daturus

Sacris Phagesiorvm ;

Condifcat ille molli

Ditare melle guttur,

Dotare pedus udo

Mitis lep6re Bacchi :

* Condifcat iUefraBo

Jetram gradu favit^e^

Fulvae vigil lucernae,
' ' lix. ebric lucernaef • • ;

Cultor, novufqoc Myfta

Nodis, Meriqne Myfla,

" 'Nil turpe^ uilquefa^u

I Com. t. 143.

Come, knit hands, and beat iihe ground

In a light fantaihc round, Hdlk.
■ Com. v. 122.

fVhat bath Night to do mfUbJitep f ■ » -.

l^ight htitb beUtrfwteti to prove^

VcQOt now wakes, and wakens Love.

^

ORIGIN OF COMUS. 59

Fadumfuttts Uiere
Cdligmisjmi atrM

Qwd turpe^ quodqueftedunf*
Quid ctgd f fM moramitr f
Cur nanfacf gemella
Lufufurit Vwuptas
Dulciffimi Lyai^
Dulcijfiwut Dimes f
Vcni, vcni hyttt^
Te C0MV89 atquc Comi
Florens rogat caterva :
Veniy madere fuave eft :
Vcni, perire fuave eft*
Pleno vetuftioris
Fbrem cado Falerni
Carpamus 6 Sodales.
Truiiia^ fcypbis, diotis,
Carchefiisy culignis
Delete fas ^ fevers
N/evat mu^eut meniisy
N^tfim mta/fuefrmtif^
£t tit yeni 1)10069
Veni, veni Dione,
Riftitn, locumque prodic
Vrends et furentis
Duces 6ateUitefi|ue
Cw>idiiii$ procacjCS.'-!-
• Trifies ahtte cur a :
TraaquiilitaHs ahuf
H^c Sacra funt^ perire*
Hie Gratis decern ^
Hie niices Amorum^^
Hie Ferver^ et Juvcntas,

Come, let m our rightf begiof

'Tis only day-light that makes fin^

Which thefe dan (hades will ne'er report.
To the lines marked with Italics, theopeniogof the followlngpaflage might
hare contribated. An tn nefcis, iogoit [Comnsl, Sacris meis pcHrigilium de-
beri ? Necdnm Solis Occafus eSk^ et fomhum or<nris ? Si numen meum nefcis,
inter mortales immortalis ago, &c. Aa^/xaw \ KSfio^f wap ov t^ ttvfdM^M rotl;
Aji9jp(iPiroK^-»Iam Sacra mea PHAGft8XA>liTcPHA0.ssxPOSXA funt, Scriptori-
bus nominata, et Luxu LafcivJigue perjuruntnr. Faucis; totum Voluptatis
l^rnvm meum tft ; ncc felix quifquam, ninqui meus. [p. 20. ed. 1.6x1 •3 Uox. a*
B Com, t. 109.

Stri^ Age and four Sey^y. Editor.
• Com* t. 667.

Here dwell no frowns, nor anger ; from thefe gates

Sorrow flies far x Se^ hcrp be .all the plei^fares

That Cmcy can beg^ on youthfol tiiwj|toT-EpiTp^»

ha

Sot ORIGIN OF COlfOS.

Quein noo juvet vircnti
Bacchique, Cjptiditqmt
Vmbrare honde hmaeokf
^ Lietkit et vamfi9
RtramtUam im/edire
Serf 9 cafmt nf^rmm^

MtcantiumqMeJbrmau pp. jj, eCieq.ed.fiipr)
There is a remarkable paifiige in the Dutch Comusy where
Aderba, Puteanus's friend, exprefles the horror he feels, on find-
ing himfeif overtaken hj night at the very entrance of Comus's
portentous palace. Puceanus diffipates his au>pn:henfions by an
argument, not diffimilar to that, with which the Elder Brother, in
the Britiih Comus, combats the fears of the Younger refpe^ng
hff Sifter. Ego in numeros refponfionem acuens, fortiori coaydae
fententiae fpiritu difpeilere inanem metnm conatus fum.
Quid '* innocentis ergo candtr pe^mriij
Quid purtias beata, quid Ftrtus f^te/t^
Viraginifque dogmata Sapientue ;
Servam nigra Ji noBts aura ohnubHai
Mentem^ quat'ttqw^ umbratili fe£bu mthL?
Audebo rari : noHis aura quid nigra .
Potejl^ quid umbris obfita formidines^
Si liber am potente virtus offer it *
Mentem manu^Ji candw atque puritas^
Viraginifque dogmata Sapientia f
Animo pavor ; caligo teddjtemitur. p.a6. et feq. ed. fupr.
The addrefs of Comus to the Lady, his fpecious argumentation
and licentious language,

There was another meaning in thefe^fts^
Think ivhat^ and be advi?d^
might have been fuggefled, in fome degree, by the following

p Com. t, 105.

Braid ^our locks with rofy twine,

Dropping odours, droppio|^-wine* -. Hojue*
i Com. v. 366.

I do not think my iSi^er ib to feck..

Or fo unprincipled in virtue's book.

And the fwe^ peace thft goodncfs bofoms eyer,

As that the fiogle want of light and noife

TNot being in danger, as I truft Ihe is not)

Could ftir the conffant mood of her calxn thoughts^

And put them into mifbecoming plight.

Virtue could fee to do what Virtue would

By her own radiant light—
Compare alfo the Lady's foliloquy, v. 20^*

— — A tlioufand fanta£cs

Begin to throng into my memory, ' ' ^

or calling (hapes, and beck'ning ihtdowf dire, &c»

Thefe thoughts may ftartle well| bot notaftouhd

the vlituoui inSnd'— '^Editor.

k

OMGIN OF COliiUSi 6»

paflkge in Puteanasv Quas mortalium fine volnptate vita? pxiena
dl. Hzacy^fafert C9i^itm/i^ fiigie; lllam cafpe, d! ^mwr intfa^m
henigna te Natura proikixerit oogit^ : Aon utniiferum dari vir-'
tute crudes animum, et e felicitatis contubernio proturbes; fed
ut mollitie bees, . uc fuftvitatibus .lubcatliique oomtbus irriges
foveafque, velut tenerrimam brevis vitae flammam. p. 21. ed. fupr.
In the reply of the Lady to Comus there is aifo feme correfpoa*
dency to the language of Puteanus :
—To him that Jares
Arm his profane tongue with contemptuous words
Again ft the fun-clad pow'r of Chaftity,
Fain would I fomething fay, yet to what end ?
Ego tam profani fermonis audaciam nulli patienti^ digerens, int
fauftum numen, velut portentum deteftabar. Fuga in mente erat^
fed alas in votis ; cun) ecce denfiifim^ nube repente feptus, fub-
Jatufque, adfpirante et impellente nefcio qua auri, deferor,
Zephyri, an Somni ? p. 22. ed fupr. The Lady aifo '' goes about
** to rife^** or, wifhes to efcape, but is prevented by the incanta-
tions of Comus.

** It may naturally indeed be fuppofed," fays Mr. Hole, " that
Milton had perufed the defcription of Comus by ^ Philoftratus,
as well as the Dutch author, who evidently borrowed and ex*
panded feveral of his ideas; but Milton judicoufly avoids fome
traits of chara6^er, which Puteanus adopts in their full fpirit.*'
Remarks, &c. p. 238.

The defcription of the figure of Comus in Puteanus is entirely
taken from Philoftratus, and is introduced as an illuftration of
(domus's PICTURE, which, among the moft famous productions
of Painting and Statuary, Puteanus and Aderba behold in the
palace of Comus. See pp. 39. 40. ed. fupr.

The Comus of Puteanus carries a torch in one hand, and in
the other his intoxicating cup. Laev^ facem, dextrd auratum
roridumque Liberi lep6re cornu com plexus, identidem libabat.
p. 17. ed. fupr. Compare the entry of Milton*s Comus and his
attendants after verfe 92. Stage- Dire^ion,

Milton, however, in his imitations of Puteanus, has interwoven
many new alluftons and refined fentiments. Puteanus, it muft be
acknowledged, is often fprightly as well as "poignant, fiut in his
Comus we fhall fearchin vain for the delicacy of expreifion and
vigour of fancy, which we find in the Comus of Milton. From
the indecencies aifo in Puteanus the reader will turn away with
difguft; but to the jollities in Milton he can liften ^' unreproved, '

r See Mr. Warton't note on Com. t. $%• Editor.

• The learned reader will fcnile at the farcadic obfervation of Puteanus on a
falhion prevalent among the ladies near two centuries ago, and prevalent in
modern days. Veftis fartum in praegnantium farcinam puellae difiendunt,cuai
nXx fororiare cceperunt: prxvertunt ntero nuptias, gravidae priufquam con-
ceperunt; imo forta0is grayidxj ^uo yitimn celent. p. 155, ed. fupr. £oxtoa.

te ORIGIN OF COMUS.

heenfo hb ^ ^inntatioiii to pktfure are fo geiien], that thqr
^ ackc no diftind imaget ot corrupt enjoymenti aod Ikke no.
^ 4aiigaN>iis bold on tiie fuicy/' £djto&,

< X^*Jo]mioa»ialuiIdlttfBlilioii. lairoa*

PART 11.

CONTAXWXMO

C O M U S

Appendix No. L

Apfehoix No. II.

7HE PERSONS.

The Attendant Spirif, afterwards in the habit of

Thyrfis.

Comus with bis Crew*
^he Lady.
Firjl Brother.
Second Brother.
Sabrina the Nymph.

The chief Ferfbnsj who prefented, were,

^he Lord Brackley.

Mr. Thomas Egerton his brother.

The Lady Alice Egerton.

COM us.

The fir ft Scene difcovcrs a wild wood*'

'the Attendant Spirit defcends or enters.*.

EFORE the ftsyrry thrcfliold of Jove's court
My manfion is, where thofe immortal (hapes
f bright aereal fpirits live infpher'd

* The Attcndaia Spirit,] The Spirit is called Da^mo^ in the
Cambridge manufcript. This was Platonic. But Daemon ii ufed
ror iSpirity and alfo for J^zd* in Antony and Cleopatra;

• u. S. ni.

Thy Daemon, that's thy Spirit^ which keeps thee, is

Noble, courageous, high, unmatchable,
-.- Wh^rc Ctiskr's is not; but near him thy jhgel

Becomes a fear.
The expreffions, however, arc literaUy from >Iorth-s. Plutarch.
l&ife alfo Spcnfer's RuinsofRome, ft. 27. The Spirit's Prd-
logue, which opens the buiinefs of the drama, is introduced after
the manner oJ^ the Greek Tragedy. He might, however, have
avoided any application to an audience, as at v. 43. See, among
others, the prologues to'the Hecuba, Hippolytus, and Iphi-
GENiA IN Tau^s, of Euripides. • Warton^
. The Prologues t6 the Aminta of TafTo, and the Pastqr ¥ip^
of Guarini, are introduced after the fame manner.

Th^ Jttendant Spirit is alfo called Daemon, in the Alhridge
manufcript. Editor..

V. 3. tff hrigkt aerial f^rits live infpfier]dJ\ In II PensEROso,
the fpirit of Plato was to be un/pheredy v. 88. That is, to be
called down. from the fphere to which it had been allotted^ where
it had been tnfphered: the word ^occurs exadly in the fame fenfe
in Drayton, on his Miftrefs, vol. iv. p. 1352.

O rapture great and holy ! j

Do thoti tranfport me wholly.
So welt her form to vary \

That 1 aloft may bear her,

Whereas I will infphere her
In regions high and ftarry.-
Com|)are Shakfpeare, Troil. Cress. A. i. S. iii.

— the glorious planet Sol

In noble eminence enthroned 2s\Afpher''d

Amidft the ether.'

2 C O M U S.

In regions mild of c^ln) apcl fcr^n^ gir.
Above the fnioko and ftinr of this rKm fpot, 5

Which men call E^rch, and, with low-thoughced care
Confio'd and pefl;«r'd in thU p\n-fcdd bcre»
Strive to keep up a frail and feverifli being.

Light is ^^fpher^d in a radiant cloud.'* Parad. L. yii. 247*

Enffbaaf^J occMts in Donne's Pobm», ed. 1633, p. s6a. £||t
MiltOB here perhaps had iq rcEncmbraace tk9 SpinC'l Speochat
the beginning of B. Joqfon's FoftTVNAT^ Isi.£$ ;
Like a lightning from the ikie
With that winged hafte come (,
Loofed from the fpkere of Jwe. Editor.
V. 4. In rtgioHs mild ff calm and Jerene air ,'\ Aliuding pTobsblj
to Homer's happy feat of the gods. Odyss. K. 42.

"Ef^tpcit'^ or unfAiur* rtfocjnai, ^Tt err tf^Pftf
AivBTeUf UT§ x^* fwmiKHtrau' ct^Xoi fiaiX aSft

r. 5, ___ /^/j dim J pot ^

Which men call Earth. "\ As Adam fpeaks to the Angtt

l^AViAB, L. vm. 15.

When I behold this goodlr frame, this World
Of Heai^nand Earth eonufHng^ anc} com^te
Their magnitudes, this £artb> ^^^^ < gruD, frc.

And afterwards, v. 23.

Round this opscous Earth, this ^VLV\i8bjaXfpot»

That is, a fpot tie more than a mathe^iatical point. WAi^TQNr
V, 6. /^A/V^ iMM call BarthJ] Homer, Iliad. Y. 74,

Ibid. ■ kw'tlm^hted ^an;,] Pope hsi3 bonrpwcd tUi

expreffion. Elojsa, v. 208.

Divine oblivion of lotaf-thanghted care,
Thomfon has applied the epithet; to vice. Avtvmk, ▼•90S"

To tread kw-thoughted vice bejpeajth their faet. Editor «
V. 7, Confined and f/ffitr*d.] Peft^iHt is crowded. JtaL P^«> »
crowd or throng. So, in biihop Hallos Satires, B. iv. S. vii.

'■ " the churches, and new calendere,

Pefier*d with mongrel h\T\ts and rehcks deaiie.
And fee Milton's Prose-Works, vgLi. p,. 19;. ed. Amit 1698.
fol. " No lefs are they out oif the way irf Philofophy, pejirimg
«' their heads with the fapkfs doMnei of old Pans and Saib-
* manca." Editor.

Ibid. I in this pin-fold here.} Fin-fM is now nrovindal,

and (ignifies fometimes a JheepMdy\{xX, moil commomj a powulm
It occurs feemingly in the firft fenfe in Spenfer*s Ieelavd.

C O M U S. 3

Unmindful of the Crowti that' Virtud gives.
After this mortal change^ t6 hdr trud iervahts^ lo
Amongft the enthroh'd Gdds on fainted fsats^
Yet fome there b6, that by due fteps afpire

And perhaps in Gafcoigne's fiAilTHOLC^ksw ofBATir, p« €9,
edit. 1587, 4to.

In fuch a pinfdM were his pleaiiirefB penti
0\x( atKhor daiit tbe JLiitbrgy •« a ^/i^^^ ot fet wdrd^.*' Pno^t
Wo/tK8^ i. 4f j. CtiiftpaiT F&kfait'6 TaSso, C.xHL 10.

i^-^^ ncjere €he ^Vodd where olcHit ipent

The Wicked fpritds in fyltnid fin-foitis u^eiY.
Shikrpeare has <« Lifjhmy Piiifoltti'' where, sis Mf. 9t«eterts c^b-
ferves, foni6thing Hk^ the mnt-frtirafe L^sf^Uki k perhbpS iH<*
tended. K. Lear, A. h< 3^ il^ S6rhe miimbhf ja^A^ ^^ ci^n-
ilru^ed on this word, in thd Two GRivtLiMETf of Vbrona.
" Pro. You miftakc, I mtin the PdBtid, a prif^d^ Sit." A. i.
Si i. It ia a Pound i» Nuvibras. A PiMni^ ba fhepHtfrd in
fome parta of Englandy one who /f;i/ fi^ yb/^A GdfhpW^ Kfi«d'&
OikD PiiATSf Tol. Hi. p. 7. In old da^da, sfifong m&n^Hal ilghtd,
the pririlege of a P/^d^ for /Vmi^ ta dtiffnatii WAHtdil.

V. ^. Vnnnni^l rf the cr<MM ihcu t^irHa ghfifj'} Q^vtifMe the
Wisdom of Solomok, ch iv. 2. Of Fittue. "It vir«aMt-h *
<* trvTVHi arf«l tfhiitipbeth iot evefT/' 8ee aMb cb< t. I6. And
Kev. ch.ii. 10. Editor.

V. 1 1. Jntm^4i^t^^TiXkkrim'^G$ihm/aiMttdj€Mh^'\ Wrrhay read,
with Fent^n^ " M* entAt^eJ," Ot ratheri

Amongfl the Go^/r entkrM'd ovi fiiinte^ fes^st
Bbt Shakfpeare feenis to iifcertaiiv x¥k old cotldtdtidh^ A«¥oirY
and Cleopatra, A.i. 9.'iif.

Though ydu in: fWearing ihaher t^ fkfWtd Qik/s,
MHtoi^ iMweVer^ when fpeahiD|; df th^ IflhdbitA^Of Heaven,
ekcliifivefy of any aHujfien tor the %l«Ki of ddglfl^ f^yled M;^/,
feenis to hart abAdseckail ideb of adtgnky pettuMflf, ITAd hw oM^n^
to the word ewMnteV^ 8«f PuK^v^ L/ i. v. j ^6^

Myfel^i aadaft th'Aitgi^ffe Hcfkj tMt ^iMl

In iight of God^ iittkm'd,
fiorU li p&t^ tfao poAa§i^» CompBNre i. >. mS. <• O chief of
!L; fl|any mtmed Fowttrii" Thslt poem tflFoYds lAai^y ($lh^ prodfir.

WiiiiToK.
., Tbie Anootfaor fdadia§ of Fenion is pftsfefn^ by dordtof N^w*
jtM^ But, i ^riBimef jNl akeration i« needflaitv. MHtdh's o^A
4oUooKtid6 preftnti^ oat- of tkofe pfeirfin^ varteii^ hi ver&ficatio tf,
.v!W€h driunatic j^ci^try limits' of* The Meon^ f6o( is undccehted,
as 10 Hamlbt, A.iii. S. i.

" ' • Tfcr ilWijSfc f df deffiHsTd lb^,|th<- few'^ rfAy.

B %

.1'

'?i(

4 C O M U S.

To lay their juft hands on that golden key.
That opes the palace of Eternity :
To fuch my errand is ; and, but for fuch, i j

1 would not foil thefe pure ambrofial weeds

Qh&ist's VicTORiB, Part ill. ft. 51.

And ye glad^/V/'/j, that now fainted fit
On your celfjiial thrones in glory dreft.
S^Q Rev. iv. 4. Hence the Faithful are denominated by eccleflaf*
tical writer^ the STNGPONOl of Chrift. SeefilfnerOBs. SACiiiEy
vol. ii. 446. An appellation given zMo by the Greeks to thofe
Deities who were equal in dignity, and fat on the fame throne,
and to thofe mortals who were advanced to the fociety of the*
Gods. This Clascal allufion may be alfo obferved in Par. Lost,
B. ii. 961, where Chaos and Night fit together :
-r-^"^— with him enthroned
5^^ fable-vefted Night. £ditor.
; V. 1 3, ■■'■ ■ ' that golden key,] Mr. Warton obferves, that St,
Peter's two keys in the gofpel, feem to have fuppiied modera
poetry, with the allegoric machinery of two keys, which are
varioully ufed. This admired poetical image was perhaps fug-
gefted by St. Fcter*s golden hey. See Ltcidas, v. iio. Milton's
Smai.|.er Pqems, 2d edit, by Warton. p. 19;
: And.cpmp^e the figure of Truth in Jonfon*s Masqub op
Hymen.
^ Her left [holds] a curious bunch oi golden keys

With which Heav'n's gate fhe locketh and difplays.
Where di/playsis opens. Ibid. p. 502.

Compare alfo the p^rfonification of Sedition or Schifm, in P«
Fletcher's Purp. Island, c. vii. ft. 61.

Not in his lips, but hands, two heys he bore
Heav*n*s doors and HeWs to ftiut, or opem wide. EbztoR.'l
V 14. That opei the palace of Eternity,'] So Pope, with a ii^tie
^Iteration, in one of his Satires, fpeaking of Virtue^

Her prieftefs rpufe forbids the good to die, - ■ ^ -. •*:
And opes the temple of Eternity, Newton.
V. 16. / would not foil thefe pure ambrofial weeds

With the rank vapottrs if this fii-wom mottld.] Bat^'ik
Xht Paradise Lost, an Angel eats with Adam, B. y. ^f)^;
This however, was before the fall of our firft parent : and it is
jiot quite yet decided by Tiiomas Aquinaa, whether ome Aneds
^ay npt eat, when affuming a human form. He has ^ queftiM^
,*' An AngjBli poffiiit fomederei[\ corporibus aiTumptis?" Tom.vJ.
'p. 27. }n Lib. Sec. Petri jLomb. Quasft. i.. J)iftin^. viiL Artior.
iv. edit. Antv. 161 2. fol. . c .. . ~^ :•. -..

As the Angel Gabriel jcondefcends tq feaft with Adam, while
yet unpolluted} aind in his primeval ftatq .0^ innocea^e, io'.oui:

CO M U S. 5

With the rapk vapours of this fin-worn moulds

But to my taflt. Neptune, bcTides the fway -
Of every fait' flood, and each ebbing ftream,
Took in by lot *twixt high and nether Jove ao

Imperial rule of all the fea-girt iftes.
That like to rich and various gemms inlay
The unadorned bofom of the deep :

guardian Spirit would not FiEive foiled ttie punty of his ambrofial.
robes with the noifome exhalations of this fin-corrupted eartli,
but to aflift thofe diftinguifhed mortals, who by a due progrels
in virtue, afpire to reach the golden key, which opens the palace
of Eternity. Warton,

V. 19. Of ffoery fait flMd.} As in Ifarrington's Oklandpi
Fuaioso, ed. 160;, B. xlv, ft. 109.

Or when one hears froni far Xhefalti^fiaodSf
When Eolus and Neptune are at fquare. Editor.

V. 21,' fea-gWt i/ki.'] So, in Milton's Hift. of England,'

Pkose-Wo&ki, vol. i. p. 7. ed. Amll. 1698.

Beyond the realm of Gaul, a land' there lies, ^

Sea-girl it lies.
The epithet occurs in Sandys'a Tkavels, ed. 1615, p. 5,

Wooddy Zacynthus,_/(a-^iV/, we defcrie.
Thomfon, Aiijumn, v, 872, calls the Hebrides, " the ftiepherd'l
^^ fea-girt reign." Perhaps the epithet is originally from Pindar,
who applies It to the ifland ^gina. OLVMe. Os. viii. 34. K<^}
■t^ ki3X^\i.Xf,fa, EniToa.

Ibid. fcd.girt iflei.

Thai likf tt rich and variimi gemmt inlay
The aBaJnutii hfim ^ the deep. "] The thought, as lui^ b^en
pbferved, i» £rft in Shakfpeare, ot England. K. Kiqa'Asb JL

A.U. S.i. . '_.'\.

This precious ftone fet in the filver fea.
But Milton has heightened the coi]ipari(an,oiBiti;ing^ShakJpeare'E
.petty conceit of tac fiver Tea, the conception of n jeweller, and
.fubliituting another and a more firiking piece of iinagery.. This
.fichiMl^t-ia ufe an cxpre'ffion in the Pasapis.e Lost, gives
.b^uty to the bofom of the deep, elfe /atedBnifd, It h^ jts etfe^
,an 4 $i^ple ground, Tlius the iiK-eearih, before tbe.creaiioig,
waa "defert and bare, ufil<g)itly/ ««<t<^i>mV." JFakaoisB ,1^
B. vii. 314. ", , ■■ "*. "._ , ,■_

Eve's ireflcs sre.iifuidfni'J, Ibjd. B. iv. 305. Warton.'
Collins, in his Oak to Libekty, ha« applied ihje faihe C9nv-

pariifon to the Britifh'lfles! V. 80.. '

^nd fee ! /firfORj her laugUng tn'

The little iik^yn nerj &^,' Sditok.

6 C O M U S.

Which he, to grace his tributary Godsj

By courfe commits to feveral government, 15

And gives them leave to wear their fapbire crowDS,

And wield their little tridenti : but this Ifle»

The greatefl and the bcft of all the main.

He quarters to his blue-hair'd Deities ;

And all this trad that fronts the falling fun 3a

A noble Peer of mickle trull and power

Has in his charge, with temper'd awe to guide

An old and haughty nation, proud in arms :

Where his fair off-fpring, nurs*d in princely lore.

Are coming to attend their father's ftate, 3$

And new-intrufted fcepter : but their way

V. 24. — trihuttny Gods.\ Hence perhaps Pope in a fidnilar vein
of allegory, took his ** triiutary urns," Winds. Fok. v. 436.

WAHfok.
Compare Par. Rcc. B. iii. v. 258. And TaiTo Gffca. Lib«
C. ix. 46. of the Po.

£ con piu corna Adria refpinge, e pare,
Che gaerra pwiiy e non iriluto al mart.
See alfo C. xv, 16. of the Nile.

Shakfpeare has " tributary rivers." CymA£LiKe, A. iv. S. if,
And, in Drayton's Folyolbion, '* trihutary ilreams'^ and *lA'iV
•^ Butaty brooks'' occur repeatedly. BditoIi.

V. 28. The greatefi and the heft of all the maili!\ In B. JOfifofi's
Neptune's 1'riumph, Albion is called

His Albion, Prince of all his IJles, Editor.
V. 29. He quartef-f,] That is:, Neptttftc: with which name he
honours the king, as fovereign at the four feas ; for, from the
Britijh Neptune only, this noble peer derives his authorify.

WAltBtRTON.

V. 52. ' toith tettiter* d itwe to gaide

An old and hdughiy natkn^ frottd in arms.^ That iS, tfie
Cambro-Britons, who were ta be governed by ttiptSi ittfxed
with awe. The Earl of Bridgewatcr, •^ A «oMe Peer &f mitkle
•' truft and power,** was now gcnrernotir of the Weldt M lord-
prefident of the prmcipalfty. *♦ Frond in arniSy*' i« VifglPs

^ heUoquefupnbi.'' Jt^A,ll. WaRt^N.

V. 34.. if^here his fair ^f fringe &c.) In Arcav^s t. ar^.
an alluuon is made to the honotrrab^ bfrth erf the Maftertf; Sec
Fart i. p. 32. Probably an altefidn might have beett hcfer in-
tended to the princely defcent, a!( well as to ibt peHoMl bttttlty,
of the young A6tortf. Henry VII. by marryinJ^ EBSkabcth, the
heirefs of the houfe of York, tmhed m two famnufes t4 York and

k

C O M U S. 7

Lies throQgh the perplcxM paths of this drear wood.
The nodding horror of whole (hady brows
Tiireacs the forlorn and ¥randring paflenger ;
And here their tender age might fuffer perils 40

Lancafter* He had by her four children, Arthur, prince of
Wales, who died young; Henry VIII; Margaret, queen of Scots;
and Mary, married firit to Louis XI. king of France. Charles
Brandon, duke of Suffolk, married Mary, queen dowager of
France, tb« ypupger daughter of Henry VXI. and had two
daugbt^n, his cobeirs, Frances and Eleanor. Eleanor married
Henry Clifford, earl of Cumberland, who had by her an only
daughter, Margaret, married to Henry Stanley, earl of Derby^
whofe fon, Ferdinaodo Stanley, earl pf Derby, had threti daughters^
his heirs, of which Anne Staniey> the eldefl, married Grey Bruges,
lord Chandos; Frances, the u^cond, married John Eoertok,
^ARL OF BaiPQVWATSR ; and Elizabeth, the third daughter,
znarried Henry, l<Nrd Halting^ afterwarda earl of Huntingdon.
Upon the death of queen Elizabeth, the iflue of Mary, queen
dowager of France, by Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, be-
came joint coheirs to king Henry VII. and the boufe of Tudor
Vfith th^ ifllie of Margaret, queen of Scots, the elded fifter, from
whom the preff nt Royal family derive their right of fucceffion
|o the crown. See Lord Coke's Inftitutes of the Caws of Eneland,
vol. iv. cap. 69, Ada Kegia, p. 505. Henry Vlllth's wilTpub-
lifhfld in 1 795, by the Societies of Antiquaries, London. And
Note in Mr, Hargrave's Preface, p. x jC, to Lord chief juftice
Haie's Jurifdi£^ion of the Lords' Houie iS Parliament, 1796.

The adventure, to which this pafTage alludes, has been related
in the Account 09 the Eari. of Bridqewater and his
Family. See Part i. p. 24. Editor.

V. 37. Lies through the perfkx'd paths ef thit drear itmd.J The
accumulation of Sfomdmi in this line gives an echo to the fenfe :

Lies throu^ | the par | plex'd paths | of this | drear wood. Ed.
Ibid. ■ drear wod,] Mr. Waiton, in both editions,

reads ** thread wood." Editor.

v» 38. TheModdivg harrw rf vihnftjliady 3nw/.] Thus Pope, in
hisEAoisA, V. XTO*

And breathes a browner hrmr m the woods.
Compare Taflb's enchanted foreil, Gier. Lib. c. xiii. 2.

Sorge non lunge k le chriiHane tende

Tra folitarie valli aha foreila,

FoUiffima di pinnte antiche, harrendef

0ytjp^pn d'ogni intorno ombrafunefi^,

A«d Petr9rch*s Sonnet, compo&d as he paffed through the foreft
9f Ardennes, in his way to Avignon; Sov« I43i> Parte prima.

8 C O M U S*

But that by quick command from fovran Jove
I was difpatcht for their defence and guards
And liften why, for I will tell ye now
What never yet was heard in tale or fong.
From old or modern bard, in hall or bower. 45

Bacchus, that iird from out the purple grape

edit. Lond. 1796. vol. i. p. 147.

Raro un filenzio, un folitario errore
D'ombrofafelva mai tanto mi piacque. Editor.

V. 41. fivran,'] So Milton generally fpells it from the.

iizXviwfovrano^ and alfo the fubflantive^yS^vr/iii/^, noifivereignty^

Editor.
• V. 43. And liften wfyy &c.] Hor. Od. lii. i, a.
Favete Unguis : carmina non prius
Audita—
Virginibus puerifque canto* Richardsok.
Ibid. ■ -I will tell ye now.] Dr. Newton and Mr. War-

ton have printed **you." Tickelland Fenton read, as Milton has
pnnted it, *'^ff." See below, at v. j 13. ^* P II tell ye.** Editor.'
'V. 44. ff^Aat never yet was heard in tale or Jong.] The poet in^
finuates, that the flory or fable of his Maik, was new and unbor-
rowed : although diftantly founded on ancient poetical hiftory.
The alluHon is, to the ancient mode of entertaining a fplendid
afTembly, by iinging or reciting tales. Warton.

•u. 45. From old or modern bard^ in hall or bower.] That 18 li-
terally, in hall or chamber. The two words are often thus
joined in the old metrical romances. And thus in Spenfer's

ASTROFHEL,

Merrily maiking both in bmvre and hall^
So Chaucer, Mill. T. 259.

Heare thou not Abfolon,

That chaunteth thus under our ^m-wall i
*' Under our c^^^n^^- window." And Spenfer as literally, Fro-
th a l a m , i\. viii. Of the Temple,

Where now the fludious lawyers have their bowers.
And in his Colin Clouts come home again.

And purchafe higheft roome in bowreor hall. Warton.
Spenfer is fond of the expreffion in haU or bowre. See Faert
QuEENE, i. iv. 43. i. viii. 29. iv. vi« 39. Thus alfo Collins^
Ode t6 Simplicity,

No more in hall or bowW

The Paflions own thy pow'r. Editor.
V. 46. Bacchus^ that firjl from out the purple grape^ &c.] Though
Milton builds his fable on claffic mythology, yet his materials
of magic have more the air of enchantments in the Gothic t6^
finances. Warburton.

C O M U S*

c

Cru(ht the fweet .poifon of mif-ufed wine^
After. tJie Tufcan mariners transform'di
Goading the Tyrrhene fliore^ as the winds lifted^
On Circe's iiknd fell : (Who knows not Girce, j;o
The daughter of the Sun, whofe charmed cup
Whoever tailed, loft: his upright fbape.
And downward fell into a groveling Twine ?)

i>. 48. J0€r the Tufcan mariners transfarnCiSl This ftory is
alluded to in Homer's fine Hymn to Bacchus ; the punifhments
he infli(5l6d on the Tyrrhene pirates, by transformirig them into
various animals, are the fubje£^s of that beautiful Frieze on the
Lantern of Demofthenes, fo accurately and elegantly defcribed
"by*Mr. Stuart in his Antiquities or Athens, p. 33.

Dr. J. Warton,
See the fable in Ovid, Met am. iii. 660. et feq. Lilius Gyraldus
relates, that this hiftory was moft beautifully reprefented in Mo-
faic work, in the Church of St. Agna at Rome, originally a tem-
ple of Bacchus* Hist. Deor. S. viii. Opp. vol. i. p. 271.
col. u edit. i697.[foi. And it is one of the Pictures in Philoflratus*

Wartok.-
f», 49. ■ vitnds lijied,'\ So, in St. John, iii. 8. " The

"** wiW bloweth where it l^eth.*^ Wart on. '

And, in Gay's beautiful ballad, Sweet William's Fare*
WBLL, ft. iv.

Change, as ye liftj ye mnds ; my heart ihall be

The faithful compafs that flill points to thee. Editor*

V. JO. On Circe's iflandfell: (Who knows not Circe^ &c./] It is
the &me form in Spenfer, Britain's Ida, c. i. ft. i.
. In Ida's vale, (who knows not Ida*^ vale ?)
When harmlefs Troy, &c. £ditor«

Ibid. ■ Circe^

The daughter rf the Sun^ &c.] Mr. Bowie obferves, that
Milton here undoubtedly alluded to Boethius, L. iv. M. iii. v. 4,
etfeq. But fee Virgil, ^n. vii. 11, 17. Alcina has an en*
chanted cup in Ariofto, C. x. 45. Warton.

And the transformation of Aftolpho by Alcina, is an allufion,
as the paflage before us is, to Homer's Circe. See Orl. Fur.
C. vi. and Horn. Odyss. K. 135, aio. See alfo Horace, £pist«
ii. lib. i. v. 23, et feq. Editor.

v« 53. JkJ downward fell into a groveling fwine?'} How far
Milton might have been influenced by G. Fletcher's defcription
of the Bower of Vaine Delight, to which our Lord is conducted
hf Sattei I leave the reader to determine. See Christ's Vic-

TPftM, ft. 49. «

Aod fttt about, embayed in foft (leepe,

to C O M U S.

This Nymph, that gazM upon his cluilring locks, ■
With ivy berries wreath'd, and his blithe youth, £^
Had by him, ere he parted thence, a fon
Much like his father, but his mother more,

A heard of charmed beads aground were fpread.
Which che faire witch in goulden chaines did keepci
And them in willing bondage fettered ;
Once men they liv'd, but now the men were dead.
And turn'd to beads, fo fabled Homer old,
That Circe with her potion, charm'd in gold,
Us'd many foules in beadly bodies to immould. Hbadlkt.
V. 54. T/iis Nymph^ that gaT^d upon his clujiring locks. '\ This
image of hair hanging in cluiters, or curls, like a bunch of grapes,
Milton afterwards adopted into the Par. Lost, B. iv. 303*

— Hyacinthin locks

Round from his parted forelock manly hung
Clujiring.
Compare alfo Sams. Agon. v. 568.

thefe redundant locks
Robuftious, to no purpofe clujiring d(rxn.
This, as I have long ago obferved, was from the V^i^fj^M
Bo7pMev7«c, of ApoUonius Rhodius, ii. 678. And we have BOTPYS
XAITHS, in a defcription of Homer's ftatuein the Aktholog.B.
V. p. 394. Carm. 16. edit. Stephan. 1566. But Bacchus being de-
fcribed in this pafTage of Comus, Milton might have remembered
the cluflers of grapes intermixed in his hair, as he is fometimes
reprefented in antique gems and ftatues. Do6tor Newton is of
opinion, that Milton by his ufe iA the word ga%ed in this place,
favours the notion of thofe etymologifh, who derive to gaze from
the Greek AFAZOMAI. Mr. Upton might have quoted Shak-
fpeare on this occafion, to prove his knowledge of Greek, First
P. K. Henry VI. A.i. S.i.

All the whole army flood agax'd on him.
fiut this is nothing more than at gaze, Warton.

y. 55. fVith ivy berries wreathed,] Nonnus calls Bacchus ICopvfi-
ffofofoiif B. xiv. And Ovid, Fast. i. 393.

Fefta corymbiferi celebrabas, Graecia, Bacchi.
See alfo our author. El. vi. 15. Warton.

Compare alfo L'Allegho, v. 16. ** ivy-cranoned BzccHxiXi**
So Lovelace, Posthum. Poems, edit. 1659. p, 51.

The twice-born god, ftill gay and ever young,
With ivie crvmtCd'-^
Lovelace precedes Milton in the ufe of another poetical phrafe,
which has never been noticed. Milton fays, *^ The Sun Jups
♦* with the Ocean,'* Par. L. B. v. 425. Lovelace, " The Sun
^-^/ups in the Deep," Poems, ut. fupr. p. 15. £dixo&.

C O M U S. II

Whom therefore (he brought up, and Comu$ nam'd x

V, $8. ^nd Conns nmm'd.'] DoAor Newton obferves,. that
Comus is a deity of Milton's own making. But, if not a natural
and eafy perfoniiication, by our author, of the Greek KHMO!^
Comeffatio^ it fliould be remembered, tliat Comus is diflinc^ly
and moil fublimely perfonified in the Agamemnon of ^fchylus,
edit. Stanl. p. 376 v. 1195. Where fays Caflandra, enumerating
in her vaticinal ravings the horrours that haunted her houfe,
** That horrid band, who (ing of evil things, will never forfake
** this houfe. Behold, Comus, the drinker of human blood,
•* and fired with new rage, ftill remains' within the houfe, being
•* fent forward in an unlucky hour by the Furies his kiodrec^
<* who chant a hymn recording the original crime of this fated
. ^* femily, &c."

TijF yk^ riyyiTff rif ^* outtot ixXiJwt* Ko^y
B^sioy cufxec KHMOX ly ^/xotf fA£Vc»,

Comus is here the god of riot and intemperance, and he has af-
fumed new boldnefs from drinking human blood : that is, becaufe
Atreus ferved up his murthered children for a feaft, and Aga-
memnon was killed at the beginning of a banquet. There is a
long and laboured defcription of the figure of Comus in the
IcoNEs of Philodratus, O ^otfiyMf KHMOS i^fr>ix» Ir ^oiKxfM
Sv§c*K ;^i;(raJ'?, x.T.A. Among Other circumftances, his crown oi
roies is mentioned. Alfo, ^' KporaXa, x«i d^of lyAv^o;, xeti Son
" aT«)iV, >MiAva^<i Ti, X.T.X.'' EIKON. B. i. p. 733. feq. edit.
Parif. 1608. fol. Compare Erycius Puteanus's Comus, aVisiON,
written 1608. It is remarkable, that Comus makes no figure in
the Roman literature.

Peck fuppofes Milton's Comus to be Che mo s, " th' obfcene
** dread of Moab's fons." Parad. L. B. i. 406. But, with a
fufiicient propriety of allegory, he is profefledly made the fon of
Bacchus and of Homer's forcerefs Circe. Bcfides, our author in
his early poetry, and he was now only twenty-fix years old, is
generally more clafiical and lefs fcriptural, than in pieces written
after he had been deeply tindtured with the Bible.

It mult not, in the mean time, here be omitted, that Comus
the " god of cheer," had been before a dramatic pcrfonage in one
of JorSbn's Masques before the Court, 1619. An immenfe
cup is carried before him, and he is crowned with rofes and other
flowers, &c. vol. vi. 29. His attendants carry javelins wreathed
with ivy. He enters, riding in triumph from a grove of ivy, to
the wiid mufic of fiutesi tabors, and cymbals. At (^pgth Uie grove

C-2

x» C O M U &

Who, ripe and frolick of his full grown age.
Roving the Celtic and Iberian fields, 60

At lad betakes him to this ominous wood.
And, in thick (hclter of black (hades imbowr'd,

qf ivy is deftroyed, p. 3$.

And the voluptuous Comus, god of cheer,
]^t from his grove, and that defiac'd, Sec*
$ee alfo Jonfon's Fob est, B. i. 3.

CoMus puts in for new delights, &c. Wartov.
The lines, quoted by Mr. Warton from the Agamemnon of
^fchylus, do not agree with the character of Milton's Con us :
nor is his pi:otptype to be found in the Com us, which Ben Jon-
fon introduces into the mafquc of" Pleafure reconciled to Virtue,'* .
performed before King James in 1619. He is there reprefented,
not as a gay feducing voluptuary, but merely as the ** god of good
** cheer : Epicuri porcuf.*^ Hole's " Remarks on the Arabian
♦* Night's Entertainments." SeeORiGiNOFCoMus,Parti.p. 57.
The derivation of KX2MOX is thus given in Gronov. Thesau.
vol ix. p. 190. Di£lus Com us aKal/Ao, id efl, fomnus profundus,
quia eum producit Comus, quicquid enim in caetu aliquo proterve
geritur, five ut compotatio, five amatoria lafciva, Comus nuncu-
patur; l)inc comefiatores comum exerccntes. Editor.

V. J9. Who^ ripe and frolick of his full grown ageJ\ Milton and
Craihaw fometimes relemble each other in the combination I^i4
form of phrafes: See Crafhaw's Sacred Poems, p. 29. ed« PariSp
1652. " To the Queen's Majefty :''

But the world's homage, fcarfe in thefe well blown.
We read in you (rare Queen) ripe 2ind full-grown*
See alfo Notes infr. at v. 381, and v. 978. Editor.

V, 60. The Celtic and Iberian fields,'] France and Spain. Thybr.

V. 6i. «— — *• this ominous wood»\ Ominous ^ is dangerous, in*

aufpicious, full of portents, prodigies, wonders, monflrous appear*

ances, misfortunes, fynonymous words for omerts. So Beaumont

and Fletcher, Sea Voyage, A. i. S. i* of a dreary defert*

All that were made for man's ufe flie this defert :

No airy fowl dares make his flight o'er it,

It is fo ominous, ■
In Par. Reg. B. iv. 481.

—This ominous night, that clos'd thee round,

So many terrours, voices, prodigies,

'May warn thee as a fure foregomg fign.
Hence we may perhaps beft explain an obfcure line in HamlbT|
A. i. S. i. " And prologue to the omen coming on."

Here fays Theobald, prologue and omen are *< fynonimous."
But omen is the danger, the catailrophe. Afterwards, Comus's
wood is called *< this adventrws gladey'* v. 79. Wa&tok*

C O M! U S. 13

Excels his mother at her mighty art.

Offering to every weary traveller

His orient liquor in a cryftal giafs, 65

To quench the drouth of Phoebus', which as they tafte,

(For moft do tafte through fond intemperate tliirft)

Soon as the potion works, their human countenance,

Th' exprefs refemblance of the Gods, is chang'd

Into fome brutifli form of wolf, or bear, 70

Or ounce, or tiger, hc^ or bearded goat.

All other parts remaining as they were ;

And they, fo perfedt is their mifery,

X^ot once perceive their foul disfigurement,

V. 65. — «r/«i/.] Ricily bright^ from the radiance of the Eaji,
So Par. L. B.i. J46. '^ Banners with wrient colours waving." It
was a very common defcription of colour, and had long ago be-
come literal even in the plainefl profe. In old agreements of
glafs painters for churches, they bargain to execute their work in
oriait coUurs. More inflances occur in the Par. Lost. See
Thyer's note againft Bentley, B. iii. 507. Warton.

So, in the foitry that Milton loved : Petrarca, Son. 166. P.i.
Di cinque perle mental colore.
And Dante, Purg. C. i.

Dolce ^color d' oriental %affiro. Editor.
V. 67. (For moft do tafte through fond intemperate thirft)"] TIius
Ulyiles, taking the charmed cup from Circe, Ov. Met. xiv; 276,
» ■ ■ Accipimus facrS. data pocula dextrd,
Quae fimul arenti Jitientes haunmus ore, Warton.
«. 70. Into fome bruti/hform of wolf ^ or bear^ &c.] Oberon makes
St fimilar enumeration, Mids. N. Dream, A.ii. S.iii*
What thou feeft, when thou dolt wake,
Do it for thy true love take ;
Love and languifh for his fake :
Be it ounc£^ or eat^ or bear^
Pardy or hoar with bridled hair. Editor.
o. 73. And they^fo perfeB is their mifery^

Not onCe perceive their foul disfigurement, '\ Compare Spen-
fer, F. Q. ii. i« 54. of Sir Mordant, where his Lady relates to Sir
Guyon his wretched captivity in the Bower of Blifs, under the
enchantrefs Acraiia, whofe ^^ charmed cup^^^ ft. 55, finally deftroys
liiniy and by whom, fays the lady, he had before been
In chaines of hift and lewde defires ybound,
And^^ transformed from his former Jkilly
Thai me he knevf not^ neither his owne ill. Editor.
y. 7^ ■■ II II Jisfiptremefit%} Par. Lo8T| B. ix. 521.

14 COM US.

But boaft themfelves more comely than beforCf 75
And all their friends and native home forget ,
To roll with pleafure in a fenfual die.

Disfiguring not God's Hkenefs, but their own»
And B. iv. 127. of Satan.

Saw him disfigur^d^ more than could be^
Spirit of happy fort. War ton.

Milton repeatedly ufes the fubftantive itfelf. See his Prose-
W. i. 226. edit. Amft. ** A foul disfigurement and burden." Agaiot
p. 293. " Disfigurement of body." Editor.

V. 75. But boaft themfelves^ &q.] He certainly alludes to that
fine fatire in a dialogue of Plutarch, Op p. Tom. 11. Francof. fol.
1620. p. 985. where fome of UlyfTes's companions, difguiled
with the vices and vanities of human life, refufe to be reftorcd
by Circe into the ihape of men. Dr, J. Warton^

Or, perhaps, to J. Baptifla Gelli*s Italian Dialogues, called
Circe, formed on Plutarch's plan. Warton.

Y>t» Newton obferves, that there is a remarkable difference in
the transformations wrought by Circe and thofe by her fon
Comus : In Homer, the perfons are entirely changed, their mind
alone remaining as it was before, Odyss. K. v. 239: But here^
only their head or countenance is changed, and for a very good
reafon, becaufe they were to appear upon the ftage, which they
might do in malks : In Homer too, they are forry for the ex-
change, V. 241 : But here, the allegory is finely improved, and
they have no notion of their disfigurement : This improvement
upon Homer might Hill be copied from Homer, who afcribes
much the fame effeft^to the herb Lotos^ Odyss. l. v. 94, which
whoever tailed, " forgot his friends and native home.V

After all, Milton perhaps remembered Plato, where be alludes
Xo the intoxicating power of the herb and to the wretched iitui-
tion of the Lotopnagi^ in that flriking defcription of profligate
youths, who, immerfed in pleafure, not only refufe to hear the
advice of friends, " but boaft themfelves more comely than before :"
Kou -mt /xw AIAfl, 'HAI0IOTHTA 'ONOMAZONTES, w^ww t^^
ibriiAuq (fvyoc'^ar x.t.A. De Repub. lib. viii. Piaton. Op p. edit.
Serran. Tom. ii. p. 560. Editor.

V. 77. To roU with pleafure in a fenfual ftiel Milton applies
the fame fable, in the lame language, to Tiberius, Par, R. iv^;Oo
Expel this monfier from his throne,
Now made 2iftye, Warton.

But Milton here remembered B. Jonfon's Mafque, Pliasurb
RECONCILED TO ViRTUE, in whlch Hcrculcs thus addrefles
C o M u s and his crew^

Burdens, and fbames of Nature, perilh, die ;
(For yet yoy never iiv'd) but in thefti^^

C O M U $• 15

Therefore, when any favour'd of high Jove
Chances to pafs through this adventrous glade.
Swift as the fparkle ofa glancing flar 80

I Ihoot from Heav'n, to give him fafe convoy.

Of Vice have wallow^ d^ and in that^/w/W*j ftrife
Been buried under the offence of life. Editor*

V, 78. Therefvren when ax^ favoured of high Jove

Chances to pafs through this adventrous gladeJ] The Spirit
in CoMus is the Satyre in Fletcher's Faithful Shep-
herdess. He is fent by Pan to guide fhepherds paifing through
a forefl b^ moonlight, and to protedt innocence in diflrefs. A, iii.
S. i. vol. iii. p. 145.

But to my charge. Here muft I ftay

To fee what mortals lofe their way.

And, by a falfe fire, feeming bright,

Train them in, and fet them right :

Then mufl I watch if any be

Forcing of a Chaftity ;

If I find it, then in hail

I give my wreathed horn a blafl.

And the Faeries all will run, &c.
Sec alfo above, v. 18. Where our Spirit fays,
. But to my talk. War ton.

The expreifion, " favoured rf high Jvoe^** calls to mind the
happy ftatc of our firft parents, Par. Lost, i. 30. " Favoured of
** Heav'n fo highly,*' And compare Sams. Agc/n. 1045.
** Favoured (f Heaven who finds &c." Editor.

V. 80. Swift as the fparkle of a glancing far."] There are few
£ner comparifons that lie in fo fmall a compafs. The Angel
Michael thus defcends in TafTo, Stella cader^ &c. ix. 62. Milton
has repeated the thought in Parad. L. B. iv. 555.

Thither came Uriel, gliding through the Ecvcn

On a fun-beam,ywj^/ as 2jJmtingflar

In Autumn thwarts the night, when vapours fir^d

Imprefs the air, &c.

Where the additional or coufequential circumflances heighten
and illuilrate the ihooting flar, and therefore contribute to con-
vey a Wronger imaee of the defcent of Uriel. But the poet there
fpeaks : and, in this addrefs of the Spirit, any adjunctive digref-
fions of that Jdiid, would have been improper and without efie6t.
I know .not, that the idea of the rapid and dazzling defcent of a
celeflial being i« intended to be imprelfed in Homer's comparifon
of the defcent of Minerva, applied by the comentators to this
pafTage of Comus. See li*. iv. 74. The ilar, to which Minerva
is coiDparedy emitafparkies^ but i^ &itionary; it does not fall

i6 C O M U S.

As now I do : But firft I muft put off

Thefe my Iky robes fpun out of Iris wooff.

And take the weeds and likenefs of a fw&in

That to the fervice of this houfe belongs, 85

Who with his foft pipe, and Imooth-dittied fong,

from its place. It is a bright portentous meteor, alamnng tbe
world. And its fparkles, which are only accompaniments, are
not fo introduced as to form the ground of the fimiiitude. Shak*
fpeare has the fame thought, but with a more complicated allu-
lion, in Vrvus and Adonis, edit. 1596 Sigoat C. iiij. It is
where Adonis fuddenly flarts from Venus in the night.
Looke how a bright ^zrjhooteth from the /kie,
So glides he in the night from Venus' eye.
Compare Par. Reg. iv. 619.

By tlie way, the fi^jon of Uriel's defcent and afcent by a fun-
beam, is in Drayton's Legend of Robert D. of Normandy fl. 43.
As on the fun-beams glorioufly I ride,
Hy them I mount, and down by them I Aide.
Young has adapted this idea to his own peculiar caft of concep-
tion and of compofition, N. Thought, ix.
Perhaps a thoufand demigods defcend
On every beam we fee, to walk with men, Wartoh,
The firlion of Uriel's defcent may be from Shirley's Comedy of
THB Brothers, 1652. See '* EfTay on the Learning of Shak-
" fpeare," 3d edit. p. 30. However, G. Fletcher, muft be noticed
here: Chiiist's Vict. i. 72.

Wiien, like ihejiars^ the finging Angels shot
To xrartk,^ Editor.

V. 83. llicfe myjky r^besffun out of Iris wooff,^ So our author of
the Archangel's military robe, Parad. L. xi. 244.

——-Iris had dipt the wooff.
Mr, Steev<!ns fuggefts, that the vulgar phrafe Irifik fHtch is «
iorruption from Iris. Milton has frequent allufiions to the co*
lourb of the rainbow. Truth and Justice are not only orbed
in a rainbow, but are apparelled in its colours, Ode on Natiy.
ft, XV. War TON.

V, 85. And take the weeds and likenefs of afwain

Thmt to the fervice of this houfe belongs. "[ Henry LaweSy

the mufician, a6^ed the part of the Spirit. He taught mufic in

Lord Bridge water's family, and the. Lady Alice, who played thd

LaJy^ and excelled in finging, was his fcholar. Warton.

See the Account of H. Lawes, Part i. pp. 35, et feq. Edv

V, 86. Who with his foft tite^ andfmooth-dittiedfong^

M^ell knows tofliU the wild winds when they rottty
And hnfli the waving woods*} Lawes himfelf, no bad
poet, in *« J Ptifiorall Elegit t9 tki mnmit of Us bntha- WtUimmi^

/

C O M U S. 17

Well knows to ftill the wild winds when they roar.
And hufli the waving woods ; nor of lefs £iith»

applies the fame compliment to his brother's mufical (killt

Weep, fiiepherd fwaines !
For him that was the glorie of your plaines.
' He couM allay the morraurft of the wind j
He could appeafe
The fulleu leas,
And calme the fiiry of th6 ihind.
This is printed among " Choice Ps almes put into Mufick^ Ofc.
*^ By Hemy and ff^tUam LaweSf ^c. Lond. 1648." 4to. It is to
this book, that Milt6n's Sonnet to Henry Lawes is prefixed. I
have before mentioned Lawes's verfes prefixed to Cartwright's
Poems.

Lawes wrote a poem in praife of Dr. Wilfon, King Charles's
favourite lutenift, and roulGc-profeflbr at Oxford, prefixed to
Wilfon's ** PsALtEfeiuM Carolinuic, the devotions of his
** facred Majeiiie in his Solitudes and Sufferings, &c." foK
16C7. Warton.

Wilfon had alfo paid a poetical compliment to Lawes, on his
publifhing his ** Second Book of Atrxs," in 165c. See be^^
fore. Part i. b. 38. nbte i* Of Lawes's poetical talents fee a
ipecimen, Ibid. p. 37. EoTtoR.

v» 87. fTeil knvws tojiill the wild winds when they rooTi

And ht(/k the waving woods;] There is fomethidg ex-
ceedingly melodious in the cadence *^ and hn/h the waving woods;'*
and, to give it full force in the pronunciation, perhaps a long
paufe (hould follow it« The contraft between the roughnefs of
the preceding hemiflich ** the wild winds when they roitTf'' and the
fmoothnefs of this, is finely drawn. The Alliteration in thefe
lines is alfo obfervable, and refembles a continuation of the figure
in Lucretius. See Harris's Phil. Imq. P« iii ch. iv.
" ■ ■ adverfo/labra/eruntur
jFlumine.—
See likewife Sanots's Travels, ed. 161$. p^ 107^

The bitter florme augments ; the wilde windes wage
ff^zrre from all parts, and joyne with the feas rage.
And Sylveilcr's Du Bartas, ed. fol. i6si. p« 30. Of fliady
forefis.

fThen through their green boughs whiffing winds do whirl
i^th wanton puffis their waving locks to curl.
' Which lines will remind the reader of our poet's Arcades, V. 464
To nurfe the faplings tall, and cnrl the grove
With ringlets quaint^ and Vfanton vfindings wove.
Gray, with a little alteration, has copied v. 87. into his In-
stallation-Ode, ft. viii.

Through the wild wares as they roar. EoiToa.

IB C O M U S.

And in this office of his mountain witch,
Likelieft, ai^d neareft to the prefent aid 96

Of this occarion. But I hear the tread
Of hateful fteps, I tnuft be vidwlels now.

CoMus enters with a cbamif^ rod in one bdhJ, bis
glafs in the other ; with him a rout of monfters, headed
like fundry forts of wild heafis^ InU otherwife like men
and women^ their apparel gliftering ; they come iM
making a riotous and unruly noife^ with torches in
their bands.

COMUS.

The ftar that bids the (hephftrd fold.
Now the top of Heav'n doth hold ;

V. 91. » » n> »!■ n i kemr tie tread

Of hateful Jitpt.] So iu Par. Lost. B. iv. 865. «* /
" hear the tread of nimble feet." WAaTOW.

And in 8am8on AqoH. V. no. *^ / hear the trtai of many
•* feft«** £oiTORi

■wi 92. ■ ■■ ' I muft he viewkfs now*] The epithet ^ivtkfs

is altnoft peculiar to Milton. In the Ode obt tb£ Pas^iom . ft« 8.

Or fhould I thence hurried on viewlefs wing4
In Far« Lost. B. iii. 518. Of the gate of Heaven.
— -*^Drawn up to Heav'n fometim^
Fiev^fs^ and underneath a bright fea floWd.
But Shakfpearc has *' the Vie^^s wiiids/' Mr. Bowie obfetre^
that the Spirit's condu6k.here much refembies that of Oberon in
the MiDsuM. Night's Dream,

But who comes hert? I am inVifible,
And I will overhe^tr their conference. Wartoj^.
•y.93. The ftar that biditheJh^pktrdfoidJ] Virg.Eci.OG.vi.8S-
Cogere donee oves ilabuUs^ numerumquc referre
Juffit, et invito proceflit vefper Olympo.
And Georq; iv. 434.

Vefper ubi e paftu Vituios ad te^a reducit. NAwtont.
CollinS) in his beautiful Odb to £v«|9ing, introchicea tftls
paftoral notation of .time^ accompanied with the moft romantic
and delightful imagery :

—--When 'siiYfolding'Jiat arifing ihows
His paly circlet, at his warning lamp
The fragrant Hgurs and £lreS|

CO M U S.^ 19

An^ the glided car <^ d4]r g^

His glowing axle doth ^ay

In the deep Atlantic ftre^ip ;

And the flope fun hi| «pw4rd bcftin

Shoots againft the dufky polr>

pMing toward thC Pthflf gp%l J 00

Of his chamber in the EafL

Mean while welQpine Joy and Fcaft,

Midnight Shout a^d Revelry,

Tipfy Dance and Jollity.

Who flept in buds tl^^ d^f »

And many a Nymph, who wreathes h^f bfows wi^ fedge,
-And flieds th^ trcih'mwg dew, J^nd, Ipveji^ ffiJI,
The penfivc PleafyrfS fwe^^
Pfeoare thy fh^dowy ^r« Bditqi^.
V. 95, Jnd the gtliUJ car rf day.'] Fetrarca, Son", i?^. P. I.

Quando 'i/ol bagna in mar /' aurafo cfirrq.
•And Chaucer, T^^T- of QiiEsEip£. v. apg. ha^ *^ Phoebus*
^ gaidin^arte," £dito|l.

V. 96. His ^iowing a^lfi dpfi a^lay

In tie fieef Atlc^ttc jr^am,} The " gMng ^^" ^^"
fembles an expreilibi) of pe|rarc{)| Canz. y» P/i<
Come 'IJbl volge /; infiamniate rfiofe^
Per dar luogo alia no^te.
See alfo St. Jeroi|ie| Comni^ift. }n £ppi,ES, C« i. 5. '' ^0/
<^ ipfe qui in lucem mortalibus datus eft, iiyterUvm ^\)ncii Qftu
** iuo quotidie indicat et occafu. Qui pQ'ftqu^ijf^ (^f^sf^ifn rotam
** ocean9 tinxertt^ per incogni(^s i^obis vjaji ^cf toppna Bii^e ex|erac
** regreditur." Of, D. Hieronyn^i, TPWvn? p« ^%^p^*io\,trznz.
1684.

Perhaps thg tcjcl )8 ga ^UujScMj to the qpijilqi^ of the gpciepts,
t|ia| the fluting of th^ fuQ i> tle^tt^tff 9f^^n W^ accpn^panied
wki} s^ 90ife, as pf thii; fes^ M^ng^ ^f Q Juvenal Sj^t, X}y. 28^0^
Aiidiet Hekcv LEO^rideift^ QVi^QiTsyoi^. ^qitoi^.

V. 100, Pm«g t^ard th^ 9$hir gii^l

Of Mi ckfffffier m tk %f J Xn S|Uv»fiQn. ^P the ftnie
metaphors employed by ihe Pfe(mift» Ps. ^'Xj {• " 7??i»« as ^
•^ britJ^gFWm cm^tk wt f ii4 cim^* and rejoi^eth as a ftrpng

Spenfer applies the(e metaphors to the moon. £pitj^a(.a^.
V. 149.

1,0^ where (b? CQRie§ alongr ^ftjj portly p?c«,
Like P^Er^,/ii0iiir ;l^ ^ifA^B^R qf th]^ e^sT|

lo COMUS.

Braid your locks with rofy twine, IC5

Dropping odours, dropping wine.

Rigour now is gone to bed,

And Advice with fcrupulous head.

Strift Age and four Severity,

With their grave faws, in ilumber lie. |io

V. 10 j. Braid your locks with rofy twine^

Dropping odoursy dropping wine,] Hor^ On. U, xi, 13^
Cur non fub altd vel platano vel Mc
Finu jacentes fie temere, et rofd
Canos odorati capillos^

Dum licet, AJJyridque nardo
Potamus un6ti ? diifipat £viu8
Curas edaces.
Comus's diredion indeed perfeSly accords with that charac*
teriftic fpirit of revelry, which may be found in the Lyric fongs
not only of the Roman, but alfo of the Greek and Eafi^o
poets. Editor.

V. 107. Rigour n&w is gone to bed^

And Advice with fcrupulous head^ &c.] Much in tb;
^in of Sydney, England's Helicon, p. i. edit. x6o9.
Night hath clos'd all in her cloake,
Twinkling ilars loue-thoughts prouoke ;
Daunger hence eood care doth keepe,
lealoufie itfcife doth (leepe.
Coxi^pare alfp Spenfer's Astrofhel.

Your merry glee is now laid all ahed.
Again, in December.

Pelight is laid abed.
And in the Tba&es of the Muss^
M All that goodly glee
Js layd qfleepe* War ton.
V. 108. And Advice with fcrupufous head,"} The mznvicnptrt^in
ing, And quifh Lawj is the beft. It is not the elGendal attribute
of Advice to be Jciutulm : but it is of C^uici Lajpj or fTatcl^l
Lawy to be fo. iVar burton.

It was, however, in character for Comus to ^all ^dviccyfcrut
fulous. It was his bufinefs to idepreciate, or ridicule, Advi^^ tX
the expence of truth and propriety. Warton.

V. 109. Sour Severity. 1 There is an earlier ufe of this word i^
the fame fignifi9ation. See Dahiers Compl. Rqsa^. ft« 39. cd«
1601. fol.

Titles that cold S^ueritie hath found. Warton. ■
V. 110. With their grave faws,"] Saws^ fayingSj 9]axiiii8. Shak«
fpeare, As you like it^ A. !• S. ix.
Full df wifeyZra;/.

C O M U S. at

We, that are of purer fire,

Imitate the ftaixj' quire.

Who, in their nightly watchful fpberes.

Lead in fwift round the months and years.

The founds and Teas, with all their finny drove, 115

Now to the moon in wayering morrice move ;

And on the tawny fands and (helves

Trip the pert faeries and the dapper elves.

By dimpled brook add foiintain Brim»

And Hamlet, A, 1. S. v.

ril wipe away all trivial fond records,
All/aws of books. Newton.
V. 113. fnkof in their nightfy watc^td Jfkeres^ So Od«
NATiv.r. 21.

And all thcfpangUd hjt keef watck in §rder bright
And Vac* Exercise, v. 40.

I ■ thidfpheresof'matchfulfire, Editob.

116, -«/« wavering morrice move,] Tht .Morrice^ or Moorifi demce^
was firfl brought into England, as 1 take it, in Edward the
third's time, when John of Gaunt returned from Spain, where
he had been to amfl his father-}h-law, Peter king of Cafiil^
againft Henry the baftard. Peck.

In the MoRGANTB Maggiork of Puici, we have " Ballt
'^ alia morefca^'* which he gives to the age of Charlemagne. Cant*
iv. 92. Warton.

V. 118. Trip the pert faeries and the dapper elves.] The found is
here again accommodated to the fehfe ; for the inverfion of the
verb gives an appropriate gaiety to the verfe. Editor.

V. 119. Bj dimpled brooks] Shenftone has adopted this pic-
turefque expreffion. Ode, Rvral Elegakce,
Forego a court's alluring p^
For dimpled brook and leafy grbve.
Thomfon has ** dimpltd pool " Sfring. v. 173, and ^* dimpled
" water." 1b. v. 425. See alfo Browne's Brit. Past. B. ii.
$. v.ed. 1616. p. 114.

And euery Riuer with vnvfual pride
And dimpled cheeke rowles fleeping to the tyde* Ed.
Ibid. Pj diptpled brook and fountain brim.] This was the paf-
toral language of Milton's age. So Drayton, Bar. W. vi. }6.

Sporting with Hebe by zfnmteune»brim.
And in Warner's Ai«biom's England, B. ix. 46.

As this fame fond felfe-pleafing youth ilood at zfmm^
ta^'brim*
Wp meet with ocean brim in Par ad. L, B. v. 140.
With wheels jtt Covering o'er the oee^n brinu

2i C Q M U S..

The Wood-Nymphs, deckt; with 4^(iM tiiw, ifO

Their merry wakes and paftitT)cj§ kc;ep ;

What hath night tQ do with fleep }

Night hath better fweets to pFQVCt

Venus now w^e9» (ind wakens ItfOvc.

Come, let U9 our rights b^inj ng

In the Faerie Queene, Brim is fipnply ufed for Siore^ v, ix. 3 J*

Towards the wefum hrim beean to draw. *

>\nd fimply for ^ii|Ml,i» Drayton's Q.of Ctmth. vol.ii. p. 66a«
At length I on a fountaine lit

Whofe 6rim with pinks was planted.
Again, of the fame fqvntiaia, ibid*

Within whofe chearfu( Brims,
Th^ fame siuthor ha^ " ^o^j^rr^'wipW Orellan^i" PQi.yo?.B.
S. xix. vol. iii. p. 1037. Shakfpeare, Temp. A. iv, g. i. " Puv
" nied ancl twilM irimt.'* FletpHcr. *< Wb^rci the grarel from'
•'the brim,** Faith. Shep. A. iii. S. i. voL 114. p, ica. Xbt^
fame writer h^ ^ ^gubr life of the wgrd in ^s feQle; Ibid.

A. iv. 9t i* P* i^S*

i*.^— »Undernc»th the brim

Of (ailing pines that edge ypn mountiMn iq.
Wi^h ^P obvious meaqing. Qpr author haa a ftiU i^or^ peciill^
life of the word, yet in the fame fenfe, in his FiV£|.ATiQAi.
^piscov^CY* "This cjttfd pla« lies upon the very 4r/> of
" anqther cprryptjop,*' P&q#« Woanis, vol. i. jj, Many
other inftances might be brought from Draytqn, Qrpwiie, Speu.r
fer, *fc. Ope of njy reafpiis (or faying fo p^uch of thi§ word,
wiU Hppe^r 1(1 th^ Note 01^ v, 924.

M^y thy brimmd ^Vf^ for this;, Wa*tp»*
. V. i^j. Jhir m€r^ wa^ ^d pafiimv hfilf%'] Alludijqg^ pro-
bably to country ifiPii^«/, which wiere celebrated with iujrjitly
dances. Milton is fond of adverting to tidic f^Mtitt^ Thus
at V. 1 74. there feems aa aUvjfiop |o the qviflom qf Pgx^Ji-hme.
Sce^lfoIi'ALLfipRo, Y»97' Cowus, v,9j;9.4nd Sams, AGaN,
v. 13^3. wberf wc «icet with the mqtlcy crew yfually attwdji<tf
at Fairs and May-games :

fword-gtoycre^ and every fort

Of gymoic mlfih wreftlcrs;^ riders, piWCirP,

JuglerSf ^nd dancers, antics, ipummers, miflfiics, Ej>,
V. i^.,yenui tmv v<i4«, offd ^(^w ifr#.5 Milton perhaps
remembered his fj^vonritc peat's ailv£qn |o th^ god^cifs. Sec the
J^IippoLYTus of JLuripides, V, ip6.

Compare alfo Spenfer, Brit. Ida. c. ii. ft. j»
Night i.$ Lw€*s holy-day. £^^TQ|(j|
V. 125. Qm^t iff Hs ^r r^f ^%^«]. f^VMh I MUve, firft

COM us. a3

•Tis only day-light that makes fm.
Which thefe dun (hidts will nc*cr report.
Hail, Goddefs of nodkurnal (^ort,
Dark-veird Cotytte I tVhom the fectet flame
Of midnight torches bums i myfterious dan!ke, 13d
That ne'er art eall'd, but wheh the dragon woorn
Of Stygian darknefs fpetts hef thickfcft.glooEa^
And makes one blot of all the air ;

altered fighi tn fitts. He has Wn fdUo^ed by doddr Newton,
and by Mr. Warton in his firft ecUlion. But in Mfb Warton's
fecond edition the orighkl i^adibg is feftoired. TiclcttU reads
ri^its. £ditor.

^. ti6. *iPis 9Hfy Jajr-ltghtkat makes ^t"] Mr. B&wle fuppofes
that Miiton had his eye pn th^fe gallant lyrics of a S6ng in Jon*
ion's Fox, A. ill. S. vii. ' '

*Ti8 rto finne loVe'g fruit to ft^ale, . "

But the fw^et thefts to reveak :

To be t&ken^ to be feenei

Thele hbve cHmef acdouhted bcene^ Wa ktok.
V, 129. Dark-veil* J Cotytto,] Th* Q^ddrfs cf wantoamifs. Set
Leland's Advant. and Neceis. ^ ChriClian Revelation, vol. i.
p. 1 7), 8v6. br. Newlon obferves^ that ^ jQie was originaliy a
<« ftfUolpct^ attd htKl midnight facHfiees at Athchs, and is thef^-
** fore, very properly faid to be dmrk-utikd.** Her orgies were
celebrated aifo by th^ Thtfidfttis, Chians^ Corinthians, and others.
Her rites were termed GbiyHidt andherprIefts\F^/«. See Ju-
VenSd 8a t. ii. v. 01. Miltoii makes her the compknioh of He-
t^t^ the patrbnels df enchantnytnts, to whom Comus and his
x\ct\f 't, 535. "^ do bbhoited ritefcj** her myfleries requiring tks
iftit tftkai tfa^kkefi^ over which Hecate preiided. £d1tom.
V. ijii MM " I m ■ Tike dtdgm tUPo<H

Of Stygian ddrkneftJ^Us ker. ikickeji glo$m,'] This aUb is
Miltoh'i genuine redding. Tickeil firft changed the more fignk*
ficant word/feh tojfitsj which FeUtoil aitd Dodor Newton have
ado p ted. Mr. Wurton reftored the original readi^gt and^at the fame
time, obferved, that *' Drayton \xit\ffettetk without a fiaiAiliar kx
<< low fehfe. BAk. W. ii. 5$. Of an exhftklion or cloUd.

^ Bfttteih his lightning forth oiltrageouflie« .
** And Spenfer has * Fire-fpeUingforge^* F. Q. ii. vii. 3.".

In It Psiis. V. 59. «^ Cynttudi ^htokt her i^gm j^oks.*' Shak-
rpear« has the <' d^gm tf ike mgh^** Mios. N. Da .A. iii. S*ii.
ed. Malone^ voL ii. p. 505. where it is obfenred, that *^the image
^of dragdnS drawing the chariot of . night is derived LfTom.tbe
** watch^Uiefs of that fabled animal.*' Seoftlfo Tr« And C&»s4«
Ai'ii^iik%^^Thk4riig^wng^fii^X..:&m^Wi,,\ .. .«

a4 C O M U S.

Stay thy cloudy ebon chair.

Wherein thou rid'ft with Hecat% and befriend 135'

Us thy vow'd priefts, till utmoft end

Of all thy dues be done, and none left out.

Ere the blabbing eaftern fcout.

The nice morn, on th'Indian fteep

From her cabin'd loop-hole peep, 140

V. 1 34. Stay thy cloudy ehon chair ^

Wherein thou rid'Jl vHth JLcat*,] So Par. Lost. B, ii.
929. Of Satan, who

As in a cloudy chair^ afcending rides
Audacious.
Milton might have remembered Macbeth's execration of thil
weird fifters,

Infe<^ed be the air ixJiereon they ride. Edito a*

V, 13^. Wherein thou rid'Ji with Hecat*.] Hecate is here ufed
as a diHyllable, as it is in. the Mids. N. Dr. Ad^and Sc ult.
and in Macbeth A.ii. S«i. and A. iii. S. v. where Mr. Ma-
lone obferves that << Marlowe, though a fcholar, has likewife ufed
*^ the word Hecate as a diflyllable ;

" Plutoe*8 blew fire, and Hecat^s tree^
** With magic k fpells fo compafs thee. Dr. Faujhu.**
The fame may be laid of Jonfon, Sao Shepherd, A, ii. S. iiu

' that very night
We earth'd her in the ihades, when our dame Hecat^
Made it her gaing night over the kirk -yard.
Where, by the way, it may be mentioned, that Maudlin tlie wi^h
(who is the fpeaker) calls Hecate the mijirejs rf witches^ ^* ou&
*< D AME Hecate," which has efcaped the notice of Mr. Steevens
and Mr. Toilet, in their remarks on Shakfpeare's being cenfured
for introducing Hecate among the vulgar witches. See Steevens^s
Shaksp. vol. vii. p. 490. ed. i793. In the Camb. MS. Miltoa
obferves the legitimate pronunciation of Hecate. See alfo v. 53 j«
Doing abhorred rites to Hecati. Editor.
V. 1 38. £re the blahbing eqftemfcout. ] Shakfpeare, K. Hen • VI*
P. ii. A. iv. S. i.

The gaudy, blabhingy and remorfef ul day. Editor.
V. 139. Nice tttoin,'] A finely chofen epithet, expreffing a^
once, curiousy znd /queami/h^ Hurd. • t

V, 140. From her cabined loop -hole peep, "] So appearing to them,
who fee the morning break from the midfl of a wood, ^* at totp"
*< holes cut through thichefi Jliade. " Pa r . Lost, ix. 1 1 io» See aUb
Canticles, vi. 10. *^ Who is ilie ihsit- looieth forth as the morm'
**iMgf** Richardson.
Ibid. From her Ckbia'd loop-hole peep,] Rather cabin's. Comuf

C Q M U S. «5

And to the tell-tale fun defcry

Our conceard folemnity.

Come, knit hands, and beat the grpund

is defcribing the morniag contemptuouflj, as it was unfri^dty^
to his fecre&revek. WA&toN.

The mTningfatfthg ftQm the Eaft is an. expreffion, o£ which
our eWer poets appear to have been fond. Dr. Newton brings
aninflance from Fletcher's Faithf. Shepheubss, A. v. S.i*

See the bUtfhing ffum Jfok'fi^^ &c.
Mr. Bowie gives another from Drayton, Mv s.Elys. ed. 1630. p^ M«

Thtfunnt out of the eaft deth/^«.
To thefe nmf be »Med Speafer, Fabr. Qv. iv. v» 45.

And n»w the day out of the ocean mayne

Began to feefe above this earthly mafle.
Fairfaoc, Tab so, ed. 1600. B.ijr. ft. 74.

Mean, while the \iKaf\t mtming^ p€»fedy &c«
Mi&ouR, FOR Mi^GisTftATSs, ed. 1610. p*73Q*

When out of Baft the ^ began to pe€f€,
Sylvcfter, Dv Bia&tas), cd^ fol. 163U p. 841*

filiifking u^lw(w« fweetly/ri^Mg' out.
p. FktQher, Pvar, Isiajvis C. ju. £ i.

The eairiy morn lei aut the p^ing d^.
See aJfo Milton's FiLO»K-WotK.ai, iniL i. )ii 1160^ tiiu Aittt-^
ilerdam. *' £ver fince the day-peeft^ tiU now the funne was
<* g^Qwo (bmewhai ranlie." SotToa.

«• 141 • ..-M^-i..^ 1^ ttUt4^JkB,'\ The epithet has been faid tQ
allude to the £ible of the Sun's difcovenng Mara and Yenu3|. and
tailing taki to Vukan. Oi^Tsa. ^ 300*

But fee Spenfer, Brit. Ida. C.ii. ft. 3.

The tbick-lock'd bougbi Ihut out the tdk-tjaUfu^

For Venus hated his all'bkMing light.
And ^hakfpeare, Rape of Lv^crscb.

Make me not obje6^ to the teU^imlt dtiy^ Erjtor*
fi. 143. Cmf^kmi Imid^Md ieat tlu: gtiamd

In a light fttnt^/tm 9wnd.} Sfi, im L'Ajuxsjlq^ lr. 94 .

On the Ughfai^qfiic toe.
Compare Fletcher's Fawhf, Skef. A. u S. L

" ' » Am IF orm

Tread we foftfy in a round i

While the hollow neighbounog g^oundi &c»
And Jonfoo, in his Mas^uibs.

In motions fwift and meet

The hajppy gtmmd H ictou Waatoi^
Ste Hor. On. 1. xxxvii. i.

^rW^^BWI^P ^wWmt^

nunc pidfi Uier^

26 C O M U S.

In a light fantaftic round.

THE MEASURE.

Break off, break off, I feel the different pace 145
Of fotne chafte footing near about this ground.
Run to your fhrouds, within thefe brakes and trees ;

Sir John Davies ufes the expreffion in his Orchestra, firft

publiihed in 1622. fl. 75.

■ the Graces psunted are

JVith hand in hand dancing an endlefs r9und\

With equal foot they beM the flow'ry ground.

And Pope, Jan. and May, v. 353.

Mean time the vigorous dancers beat the grmnd. £0.

V 144. The ufe of the Trochaic meafure gives peculiar fpright-
linefs to Comus's invitation. Mr. Warton hasremarkecLits happy
effe6t, in a note on the lad line of Milton's Epitaph on
THE Marchioness of Winchester, the metre of which, hef
obferves, is that of I,' Allegro and II Penferofo, of this feftive
fong, and of the Spirit's fpeech, v. 922 ; from which fpeci-
mens of Lyric iWeetnefs and eafe we may juftly wifh that he
had ufed it more frequently. See Mr. Warton's ifl ed; p. 3091
and 2d ed. p. 304.

The Song on May Morning prefents another eminent
proof of Milton's attention to the effeffc of metre, in that admira-
ble change of numbers, with which he defcribes the appearance of
the May Morning, and falutes her after Jhe hat appeared^ as dif-
ferent as the fubje<ft is, and produced by the tranfition from
Iambics to Trochaics,

So, in L' Allegro he banifhes Melancholy in lanibics^ but in-
vites Euphrofyne in Trochaics :

Come, and trip it as you go.

On the light fantaftic toe ;
where the numbers dance with Euphrofyne and her attendants, as
here with Comus and his crew. Editor.

Ibid. A Dance is here begun, called The Meafure i which
the Magician almoft as foou breaks off, on perceiving the ap-
proach oi fome chafte footings from a fagacity appropriated to his
chara£ler. Warton.

A Meafure is fald to have been a cwrt dance of a {lately turn;
but fometimes to have exprefled dances in general, A liound is thus
defined in Barret's Alvearie, 1580. " When nUn daunfe mid fiig^
*< taking hands rounds Seealfo Grey's Notes on Shakfpearei voL
ii. p. 57. Editor.

V. 147* Run to your Jhrouds^ viithin thefc brnkcs OHdinei^'] T<>

C O M U S. 27

Our number may affright : Some virgin fure

(For fo I can diftinguifh by mine art)

Benighted in thefe woods. Now to my charms^ 150

And to my wily trains ; I Ihall ere long

Be well-ftock't with as fair a herd as graz'd

About my mother Circe. Thus I hurl

My dazling fpells into the fpungy air,

your recefTes, harbours, hiding-places, &c. So^ Hvmk. Nativ.
V. 2 1 8. *' Nought but profbundeft hell can be his JtravJ.'* And
in Par AD. L. fi. jc. 1068.

—While the winds
Blow moift and keen, fhattering the graceful locks
Of thefe fair fpreading trees, which bid us feek
Some better ^r0»^.—-
We have the verb, Par. Reg. B. iv. 419. And below in
CoMUs, V. 316. where the line is written in the manufcript,
**Within thefe Aroudie limits." Whence we are led to fufpeft,
that our author, in fome of thefe inftances has an equivocal re-
ference to ^wds in the fenfe of the branchis rfa tree^ now often
vfed. And a tree, when lopped, is faid to be Jhrwded, Com*
pare Chaucer, Rom. R. v. 54.

For there is neither buike nor hay
In May that it xx^M«imded bene
And it with new leves wrene. Wart ok.
See Jonfon's Mafque, Pleasure reconciled to VirtuB|
where Hercules thus addrefles Comus and his crew ;
But here mufl be no ihelter, nor no Jhrowd
For fuch : Sink grove, or vaniih into cloud. Editor.
V. 1 50. ■ Now^ to my eharm^y

And to my wily trains] Mr. Warton has not only
illuilrated Comus with notes of iniqnitable tafle and erudition,
but has alfo elegantly transfiifed fome of its fine imagery and
nervous expreffions into his own poetry. See particularly k^s
Fli^asures op Melancholy.

This fober hour of iilence will unmaik
Falfe Folly's fmiles, that like the daxxling /fells
. Cffwih Conms cheat th'unweeting eye
' 01ti llear iUufiem^ and perfuade to drink
The charmed atf^ which Reafin's mintage fair
UnmouUsy and ihunps the monfter on the man. Ed.
V, I j4« M^ dazling /fells into the/pungy n/V.] Fletcher, Faith*
Shsp. A.iii. S.i. vol.iii. p. 150.

I ftrew thefe herbs tp purge the air ;
Let your odour drive from hence
All ipifts that datsde fenfe, &c«

R %

08 C O M U S«

Of pow'r to cheat the €ye with blear iUufion, 155

And give it falfe prefentments* leSL the place

AAd my quaint habits bited aftoniJhmcflt,

And put the damfel co fu^icious flight,

Which mud not be« for that's againft my oouiie : -

I, under fair pretence df friendly ends» lio

And well-plac'd words of ;^ozing couttefy

Agaii^ in tii€ fiime flay, if I Kiaeiolxr i'igbty

There is anocher dsmi^ whaSt fovmr 'will §rct
The dazzled fenfe.
Adam fays, that in his converfation widi the angel, his earthly
nature was tverpowar^d by the heavenly, aad, at with aa objeft
that excels the fenOe, *^ Jmkd^ and ipent." P^aaad* 1»o«t, viil,
457. Warton.

Ibid. • ■ the hungf ak.'\ Mikon wailed hindelf of

Shak^>eare's epithet in CTMS£a.uii^ ^ Tb^ffitagy South.**

ST|iB<rBir8t.
The epithet is hene apiplied wkh pecoliar dfTefi, figniifying tint
the mr i^orhs and rttmius the JfeXk^ at the camMand cf tiie wetr^
gician. Ebitor.

V. I j j. To (heat the eye with hkmr ilhfim,'\ In mir author^
Reformation, &c. *' If our UBderftanding ha^afiha of igno-
^ ranee over it, or be hlear wkh gacing on other &lfe glider*
^ ings, &c." Pr. W. 1. 12. But hbrnr-tf^d is a carnation and
well-knowtt cihrafe. WAatroK.

To hlear the ^ was formedy a flmfe tfcat %iiiiied to dnmm^
See Songs aKd Sonwbts qv UarcRRTAiviV^7CT0<jRs, fir((
printed in 15 $7, reprinted in 8vo. 1717. ^ Aa old Lo^rer to a
** younff Gentlewoman." p. &4€.

Ye are too yonge to bring cne in^
And I teo old to eape for dies 4
I have too long a lover been.
If fttch yoQge babes ihould hleupe mine e^n.
So Shakfpeare, Tam. of the Svrzw^ A. v« &. L

While counHerfieit &pipo£esilear^dthmewfne.
And Sylvefter, Du Bartas, <d. £ol. i6&i. p. 47;.

•ii"-»blind Error had not hhat^d ids tyts. fiof to a ,
V. 16 1. ^^ words -rf gkzing cntrtofyJ^ Wkiujcmg^ 4kceiifuL Aa
in Parad. Lost, B. iii. 95. *^ cSotung lbs/' B. ix. i;49. <* Sa
*^ ^/mkW the tempter." Berbaps fnom SpcDfer, F« Q. «!• viii. 14.
*^ Could well his glozing ipeeches tonie." ^«e Marlow^ £d»
wardSbcovd, '^ The glo^finz headof thy bafe minion Dhrawn'*
Reed's Old Pl. ii. 327. And Lilly's A vex a hdb a anj> Cam-
PASFE. *« Not to gloze with your toague.?' A. iii. S* L Ccnn-
pare Apol. Smectymn. $• viii, *^ faawdiatriy ht fsdls to

CO M US. 39

Baited with reafons not unp!au(ft)lC|

Wind me into the eafy4ieaited aian.

And hug him into fnares. When once her eye

Hath met the virtue of this magic duft, 165

I {hall appear fome harmlefs villager.

Whom thrift keeps up about his coiiiiitrjr jgear*

^^j^Uzing, &c." Pr. W.i. zAi. Aod Sbakfp. RicsJLA.lL SA.

Than they whom youth and eafe have tauj2;ht to jrU/e,

Waktow,
' «. 162. Baitei-wtk reafims mi mfUn/JBNt.] So, in Sams. Asov.
T066. ^ The ^nf of honied ivords*" TJae iame afltaphor is lilU
by Speaieri F. Q. iu x. 6,

■■ ■ • ■ ■ with CQOimuae fpeech

He courted her, yet iaiteii ercry word.
See alfo Mn EgoaAn^ editaom of the Hx»fok.ytvs of £iidiu4c%
printed at the Clarendon FvcCsg Ox« 4to. ^796* v, 969.

■ eHPEYOm yof
XtfUMS Xoyotait mer^fou ^y^avtu^nn, . .

Where the learned editor points out the tife of the fame figure ia
the Hebrew and Arabic lan^ages. Editdb..

»/ 163. Winder.] Tickdland Fenton read ** Wtnmt^'* Ton-
fon^ edition of 1713 reads the fame ; but that of 1705 has die
genuine reading " Wind me." Editor.
V* 164, ■ ■ ■ When mce her eye

Haih met the virtue^ this magic d^/t.'] This refers to z
previous line, *• my f^wder'd fpcHs,** v. 154, But fozodet'dwas
afterwards altered into the preient reading dazling* When a
poet corre^s, he Is apt to forget and dellroy his original train of
thouglht. WartoI*.

V. 166. I Jhall affear fime tarmf^s t^JIager.'] Compare TafTo,
GxEH. Lib. C. xiv. 5c.

Non lunge un ugaciffimo vafletto
Pofe, di panni ps^rai veflito. Editor«
Ibid. I^iaJl affearjwie larmJe/} 'wHa^er

Whom thriftf ftc.*] So fiands the context in the editions
T637 and 1645 : But thus la the edition 1673, and in thofe of
'Toidbn*

I JhtU appear fome harmless villager,
And heancen, if I may, her bufiheis here.
But hereihe comes^ I faiily ftep alide.
Where, befide the tnanfpoCtion, the line, Wh^m thrifty is omitted.
Tickell^ however, has followed the two firlt editions, with the
emendation of ** her bufinefs /Jaw," and no comma after may^
according to the table of £&&ata in 1673* Fenton copies
Tickejl. Wartok.
Jn Tpnfom*s edition of x 7 1 } the reading is predfely the fame as

30 C O M U S.

But here (he comes, I fairly ftep afide»
And hearken, if I may, her buiinefs here.

The Lady enters.

This way the noife was, if mine ear be true, 170

My bed guide now ; methought it was the found

Of riot and ill-manag*d merriment.

Such as the jocond flute, or gamefome pipe

Stirs up among the loofe unlettered hinds.

When for their teeming flocks, and granges full, 175^

In wanton dance they praife the bounteous Pan,

And thank the Gods amifs. I {hould be loath

To meet the rudenels, and fwill'd infolence.

Of fuch late waflailers ; yet O ! where elfe

Tickell's. Tickell's edition was publifhed in 1 720, Dr. Daltoa
alfo has followed this reading. Editor,

V, 168. Fairly. ] That iSyjiftfy. HuRD.
** Fair andfoftlyy* were two words which went together, figur-
ing gently. The corpfe of Richard the fecond was conveyed in-
a fitter through London, ** Fa ire and fiftly^^ FroifTart, P. iL
ch. 249. Warton.

** Sojt and fAiRR. By little and little.*^ Barret's Alveane. i58o«

£dito&.
V, 1 70. If mine ear he trne*^ ** Lift mortals, if your ears h
•* true,** V. 997. infr. In another, and lefs literal, fenfe. Warton.
t;. 173, jocond, 1 He ufes this word from the .Italian

^/Woff^0, rather than from the LaXm jucundus. See v. 4i«'ivpir«
Jocond is alfo ufed by Chaucer, Pr. Can. Yeoman. 607.
He is ful joconde alfo I dare lay. £ditor.
V. 1 78. To meet the rudenefs^ andJuoilVd infolence^

Of fuch late waj/ailers,} In fome parts of England,
efpecially in the Weft, it is ftiil cuftomary lor a company of
mummers, in the evening of the chriftmas-holidays, to go about
caroufing from houfe to boufe, who are called the vit^aiUrs, To
much the fame purpofe fays Fletcher, Faitii. Sbep. A. v. S. i.
The woods, or fome near town,
That is a neighbour to the bordering down,
Hath drawn them thither, 'bout fome lufty fport,
Or fpiced viaffeUhoul^ to which refort
All the young men aud maids of many a cote*
Whilft the tnm mihftrell ftrikes his merry note.
Selden m^iitions the ** y earlie Was-haile in the country ojx the vigil

COM us. .31

Shall I infom Qiy i^nafsquAHU^ £&si - ii(^

in the blmd imxs» f>{ thh imgied «i^o4 ?
My Brothera, -mhm itey ^w ^e wearied out
With this loog wfty, feiolv)!^ hftre tp lodge

** of the new year." Notes on Polyolb. S. ix. vol, iii. p. 839.
CQwp9xpi^9y4i,\9 Ia41I. X'O.^Ta a., v. S. iif

HcU Avit's p^dlacy ajid retails Ms wares
At w^t^9 and <zh^Zc, xneetjings, markets, fairs.
And Joufoi^^ a rural fea£t iotbe^liaii.of Sir Wroth. For. ii« iii.

The jolly Wajfal walks the often round.
In Macbeth* " Wine and v^ffcl^^ JX^m%\xxj^tt^ Xtxm% feafting
and drunkenneft, A.i. j^^yii. Jpnfpn penotn^ ^^A ^* ^^'^
. " p^gc bearing a hjQpwv^ howt'' Masqum, veil, vi, 3. Jn
Ai^T. AND CU.e9P. we have ^^ lalcivioiis waffeh,^* , See aUo
Hamlbt, A. i. S. vii.

In the ^cxt, JwUTd iiifikncfi 13 £npiil9r tQ ^(nt;» w//3( irifilence aufi
wine^ in Par. JLopt* i. 50;^^ JSicAi/woh, War ton.

Mr. Nott, the ingeniojiis Tiiaaflator of S^\fi6k Qde3 from the

Perdan j}pet IJafez, Lpnd> ^7879 iD^rerving that feveral of our

words are deduced from the Periian apd Arabic^ coiiiiders WaJfQil

.as derived fipm the PerjCian word W^<ih which* be believes^ -fig-

Jiifies enjoyment in almoft |dt itsfenfes^ Pr. Johnfon has derived

it frofn.the $^xoit Wdfj leal^ Br €f fooJ healthy or, Your health :

. W^he4ce a drinker was anciently call^ a fvas-heikry or a wiAtr of

1M$h. Qi the cudopn of WaffdUir^ Jo Herefordihire, difiereht

irom any thing of the kind pr^ued elfewhere ; See Lodge's

^^ Jntrodiu^ory Sketches towards a Toppgraphical Hiftory of

*Vthe county of Hereford." 179}. Editor.

V. 180. ihgU J u^wrm my .unofjmainttui feet.l The expreffion
wna^^uaimidfm is a little hard, Hur d..
^ In the FAiT9rv|[. ^iL%jfiiji^i>%%%^ Amoret wanders through
a wild wood in the night, but under different circumlhmces, vet
not without fome apprebeniions of danger. We have a piwaliel
exprciiion in Sams. Agon. v. 335.
———Hither bath it^ornt'd
ypur younger feet.-—— W a r t o n .

V. 181. In tkr Jlind masifis ^ this tomUd wood-2 So, in Tar.
/Hcjc. E. ii. a^fi. *^ Wandering ^t his jwqo^ matte^" Dunster.

Tbomlbn has inverted this exprei&ori, Sprincl, v. 794,
■■■■'■ ■ or through the ma^ su^d
jDejei^ed wanders, ^oitar.

Ibid, ■ UUfgUd ^amd.] " They feek the dark, the

«* butoy^ the /<«^iW.fcr^." jRosBrW. vol. i. p. 13. So Pa.r.
Lost, B. iv. ly^. "Jii»f/ihinf.bwftie». bad, perplexed." Warton.

And, Ode NAiiry. v. ^88. ** The Itfymphs in twilight Jhade

3i C M U S.

Under the fpreading favour of thefe pines,

Stept, as they faid, to the next thicket fide 185

To bring me berries, or fuch cooling firuit

As the kind hospitable woods provide*

They left me then, when the gray-hooded Eev'n,

V. 184. Under tht ff reading fdvmr if thefe fines ^ This is like
Vi rgil *s '* Hofpitiis teneat frondentihu arbos ." Georg. iv. 24.
An inveriioo of the fame fort occurs in Cicero, in a Latin ver«
fion from Sophocles's T&ACBiNiiE, of the Shirt of NeiTus.
Tusc. Disp.ii. 8.

Ipfe iniigatus pefte interimor Uxtili. Wajlto h.
V. 185. To bring me behries^ or fuch coding fruit

As the hind hofpitable woods provide,^ So Fletcher,
Faith. Shep. A.i. S. i. vol.iii. p. 105. Where, fajs the vir-
gin-fliepherdefs Clorin,

My meat (liall be what thefe wild woods afford,
Berriesy and chefnuts, plantanes, on whofe cheeks
The fun fits fmiling, and Che lofty fruit
Fuird from the fair head of the flrait-grown*pine^
See alfo ibid. p. 107. and p. 145.

By laying the fcene of his Mafk in a wild forefl^ Milton fecured
to himfeif a perpetual fund of pidurefque defcription, which^ re-
fulcing from fituation, was sdways at hand. He was not obliged
to go out of his way for this ftriking embelUftiment : it was fug-
geftcd of neceffity by prefent circumllances. The fame happy
choice of fcene fupplied Sophocles in Philoctetbs, Shakfpeare
in As YOU LIKE IT, and Fletcher in the Faithful Shep-
herdess, with, frequent and even unavoidable opportunities of
rural delineation, and that of the mod romantic kind. But Milton
has additional advantages : his foreil is not only the refidence of a
magician, but is exhibited under the gloom of midnight. Fletcher,
however, to whom Milton is confefledly indebted, avails himfeif
of the latter circumftance. Warton.

No parts of Tailb are read with greater relifh, than where he
defcribes the darkiiefs, filence, and other horrors of the enchanted
foreft : and the po6t himfeif is fo fenfible of the captivating in-
fluence of fuch ideas over the human itnagination, that he makes
the cataftrophe of the poem in fome meafnre depend upon them.
Milton is not le(^ enamoured of ^^forefls and enchantments dreary'* as
appears from the ufe to which he applies them in Comus, thefce-
nery whereof charms us the more, becaufe it affects onr minds«asit
did the bewildered lady, and caufes *^ a thoufand fantafies /o mmg
** into the memmy^ &c.'' See Dr. Beattie's Dissert. Moral and
Critical, 410. Lond. 1783. p. 6i6« Editor.
t», 188, I *o:hen the gray-hooded Eev'n^

Like a fad voHtrtft in palmer's weed,) Milton, notwhh*

C O M U S. 33

Like a fad votarifl: in palmer's weed, ,

Rofe from the hindmofk wheels of Phoebus^ Wain. 1 90
But where they are, apid why they came not bkck.
Is now the labour of my thoughts ; 'tis likeliefl:
They had engaged their wandring fteps too far;
And envious darknefs, ere tliey could return,
Had dole them from me : elfe, O thievifti Night, 1 93

ftanding his abhorrence of every thidg that related to ('uperftitiooi
often drefTes his imaginary beings in the habits of pdpery. But
poetry is of all religions : and popery is a very poetical one. In
Par. Reo. the morning ** comes forth with pilgrim-fteps iii
" amieegray,*' B* iv. 426. This is what is called graius amiSus^
in the Roman ritual. Milton's Melancholy is a peniive Nun.
A veiarifi is dne who had made a religious vow, here perhaps
for a pilgrimage, being in paJmer*s toeeils, Leland fays, that £la
countefs of Warwick, was buried in Ofcney Abbey, her image in
'* the habite of a wror/," that is, a Nun. Itik. vol. ii. 19. Fo*
tarijt occurs in its more general and modern acceptation, in our
author's treatife of Reform atiok. "To the tw/^rj^/ of an*
** tiquity I fhall think to have fully anfwercd." Warton.
V. 189. ■ ■ paUner^s weed J] Spenfer^ F. Q. ii. i. 52.

—I wrapt myfelf in palmer's 'weed. Newton*
Guy, difguifed like a pilgrim^ when about to engage Colbrond
the giant, ** puts off his palmerU t^ed?^ Drayton Polyolb*
Song xii* vol. iii. p. 89^. Warton.

So, in the " Hist, ot* King Leir and Bts tfitRKE dauch-
•* TER8," Lond. 1605. the French King fays to Mumford^ A. i.
— — we will go difguifde in palmefs^ weeds^
That uo man ihall midrufl us what we are. Editor.
v. 192. '"•''^'tis likeliefi,] Milton is fond of this fuperlative*
** As iiieiieji was." Par. Lost, vi. 688. " Where likeliefi he
« might findt.'* ix. 414. " Where he may lUeliefi find." ii. 525.
** And here art likeli^ like honour to obtain." iii. 659. See be*
low, at v. 237. Warton-.

. V. 193. ■ their wandriftgJieps»'\SOf in thofe beautiful and

imprcmve lines, which clofe the Paradise Lost :

They hand in hand, with tiiandring fteps and flow,
Through £den took their folitary way. Editor^
V. 19 c. Had ftole.] The manufcripts and edition of 1637 rightly
. rtAdftJne, But Milton often ufes this form of the pad time for
» that of the participle. Se6 below, at v. 558. ** Silence was /wi."
And fee biihop Lowth*s Grammar, pp. 90, 92. ed. 1763. Eo.
Ibid. — O thievi/h Night.] Ph. Fletcher's Fisc. Ecl. p. 34,
edit. 1633.

— ^ the thiev(/h Night

Steals on the worklj and r^s our eyes of light.

34 C O M U S,

Why flioiiId*ft thou, but for fome fellonious end.

In thy dark lantern thus cloTe up the ftars.

That Nature hung in Heav*n, and filiM tbek hn^pt

With evcrlaftiog oil, to give due light

To the mis-led and lonely traveller ? . 200

This is the place, as well as I tazj guefs.

Whence even now the tumult of loud mirth

Was rife, and perfedt in my li(l*nii^ ear.

Yet nought but fingle darknefs do I find.

Euripides has ** n^avTSf ya^ n wiJ* Ipbioiii. Tiur. t. 1033^
But quite under another fenfe. As alfo Homer, II. r i u

In the prefent age, in which almoft every common writer
avoids palpable abfurdities» at lead monftroos and unnatural eon-
ceitf, would Milton have introduced this paffiige> where ikkwf/i
Nijrht is ivi^ipoitA^forfimefclmiHufmrpofi^ HjmiupthM^mrs hthtr
dmk lantern f Certainly not. But m the prdeot igt^ correA and
rational as it is, had CoMvt been. written, we ihouid not p rr hy
have had fome of the greateit beauties of its wild and romantic
imagery. Wartoh,

Compare Cartwright's O&diva&t, Reed's Old Piats^ vol.
X. p. 259.

See, how thtjiealing Night
Hath blotted out the light.
But Milton's uncommon expirefiions, tbevifi.nigit^/dlmmmr emi,
and Jari lofitetHj feem as if refuUing £rom the confideration of
circumftances peculiar to a fubje^ that had often employed bb
nen ; 1 mean the Gunpowdea-Plot. See Ids one poem
IN QuiNTVM NovBMBEis, and his four epigrams hr P&o«
DiTioNEM BoMBA^DjcAM, NoT would Milton, i think> bave
ufed thefe remarkably phrafes, if he^ had not intended an aUufien
to the hiftory. Randolph, his contemporary, expreftly reim to
the confpiracy, and to Faux, the tool employed in it. See Musi's
Looking-Glass, 1638, A.ii. S. ik

In the Afhridge manufcript this paflage la not to be fovmd.
The Lady proems from the hemifiichi ^ Had ftole tben £roin
*^ me," to V. 226^ *^ I cannot hallow to my. Brothers '*

Dr. Dalton has omitted this paiTage, poffiogoafrom v. 193 •
to V. ooi. £ditor.

V. 200. ■ tin mis^Ud and Umely travtiUr*} In the MiirK

Night's Drcam, A.ii. S.i. Puck ^^ miJUaJs mghXfWSOid^rtnf
** laughing at their harm/' So, in Par ad. Lost, B« ix^. 6}St
the ignis nituus

Hovering and blazing with delufive light.
Ml/leads th'amaz'd night-wnudenr firoA hifl way
To bogs and mires. Editor,

C O M U S. 35

What might this be ? A thoulaiid fantafies 205

Begin to throng into my memory.

Of calling (hapcs, tad beck'ntng (hadows dire»

V. 205. """^A thMffimdfoMtafiis

Begin io tkrtng iMt$ my tntmny^ &c.] Milton had here
perhaps t remembrance of Shakfpeare, King John, A. v, S. vil.
With many lerims of ^magt/antq/^y
Which, in their tk-pttg and prefs to that laft hold,
ConfouiHl themfelvek'---** Wa&ton.

fr. BO^. €f cutting Jhmf€S^ mnd hetk^mng Jkmdtnos dirt^
And mery tmgneSf ikatj^a^le mens names
On femdsy md AmtSi emd de/ert wiUemefis,] I re-
member thefe fuperfUtioas, which are here finely applied, in the
aadent Voyaset of Marco Fiolo the Venetian. He Is fpeaking
of the ^raft uia periioiM defert of Lop in Afia. *^ Cerauntur et
** audiuAtur in eo, interdlu, e^/^ins neSm, daemonum yariae iJlu*
** fionet • Uilde viatoribm fumme cavendum eft, ne multum ab
** invioem feipfoi diflbcitnt, aut aliquii a tergo fefe diutius im*
'* pediat. Ahoquin, quamprimum propter montes et calles quif-
*< piam oomitura fuorum afpeAum pmllderit, non facile ad eos
*^ penrentft : nam audiuntur ibi mees datOKNium qui folitarie in-
'* cedentes profriis appellant nemmiMu^ voces ^fingemes illonim quos
** comitari fe putant, ut a re6h> itinere abdu^tot in perniciem de-
** ducant.'' De Reoiomib. OaiiNTAi.. L. i. C.xhv« But there
ia a mixture firom Fletcher's Faithful SBSPaBRDBtSi A.i. S»i.
p. io8. The ibepberdeia meatioo% among other nodurnal ter-
rourfiin a wood.

Or voices calling me in dead of night.
The& Amciea, from Marco Paolo, are adopted in Heylin's Cos"
MPOBAf Hii» 1 am not fure if in any of the three editiDOs printed
before Comus appeared. . See Lib. lii. p. 201. .edit, 16^X0 fol«

Sylvefler, in Du Ba&tas, has alfo the tiadition in the text,
edit. fol. ut fupr. p. 274.

And round about the de&rt Lop, where oft
By firan^e phantafinas pailengers are fcoft* Wamton.
The iame fiinaea are related in. MunftcHs Co^MooitArHiA,
lib. V. See Hifi. de SpeAns. ed. 16^6. p. iii. See likewife
Burton's An at. of Melancholy, Part i, Seft, ii. ediu ?6»4*
p. 43. Milton might here alio have had in remembrance the
marvelkus advetuwre related by Alexander de Alexandrq, Gen,
Piait iib*ii* cap. ix. which Heywood, in his HiEHAACfiia o?
ANQEta, ed, .163;. p. 601, has abridged, s^ follows: '< A frifnd
^^ of (nine of approved fidditie. called Gordianus, travelling with
** a neighbour towards Arctium, the^ loit their way, and fell into
*^ defarts and uninhabited places, mfcBDUcb that ike ve^iyfilitude
^ kred nf^att/e0re. The fimne being fct» and darkneife grow^

F 2.

36 C O M U S.

And aery tongues, that fyllable mens names

On fands, and Ihores, and defert wilderneflfes.

Thefe thoughts may ftartle well, but not aftound 210

The YiryiQ.ys_n^ind, that ever walks attended

By a ftrong fiding champion, Confciencc. —

O welcome pure-ey'd Faith, white-handed Hope,

Thou hovering Angel, girt with golden wings,

^^ ing on, they imagin th«y heare men talking\ and hafHng that
** way, to enquire of them the readiefl path to bring them out ^f
*^ that defart, they fixed their eyes upon three fmuige human
^^Jiapes^ of a feareful and unmealureable ilature, &c. wno coUing
** and bcckwing to them both with voice and gefture, and they -
*^ not daring to approach them, they ufed fuch undecent (kipping
<^ and leaping, with fuch brutiih and immodeft geftures, that
** halJFe dead with feare, they were inforced to take them to
^ their heels and runne, till at length they light upon a poore
*< countreyman's cottage, in which they wer^ relieved and com*'
*f forted." Edttor.

V. ao8. Syllable mem names.'] Pronounce di(liu6^1y. As in Pb* '
Fletcher's Poet. Misc. ad calc, Purpl. Isl. p. 85. **Yet*
^f' Jjfllahled in flefli-fpeird charaaers." W a rto h.

V. 213. I wiite-kanded Hope^

Thou hovering angelj girt with golden toingsj] Thus, in'
Shakfpeare*s Lover's Complaint, Malone's Suppl. i. p. 759.

Which like a cherubin above them hovered,
But hovering is here applied with peculiar propriety to the Angel
Hope. In fight, on the wing ; and if not approaching, yet not
flying away. Still appearing. Contemplation foars on goldem
wingy I L Pens. V. 52. Mr. fiowle diredi us to Arioilo, Orl.
Fur. C. xiv. 80.

-— -Mofie
Con maggior fretta le dorate penue.
And we have' *^ that golden-winged hoil," in the Ooi OK thi
Death op an Inpant, ft. ix. Wartom.

Compare alfo on the d$ath op a pair infant, ▼• 38^
Tell me, bright Spirit, where'er thou hoverejl.
And Par. Lost, B. i. 344.

So numberlefs were thofe bad Angels feen
Hovering w wing under the cope of Hell.
In Sandy s's elegant P a r a p h r a s e of the Pfalms, 1 6 38, we have^
in Psalm xviii. ^* 9^ golden-winged cherubin ;" ^nd in Craihaw's
Sacred Poems, ed. Paris, 1652. p. 82. *^the j^^/i/ncw/j^/of the
•' bright youth oi heau'n."

Perhaps Milton might have feen fome beautiful pi6ture^-or
painted glafs, in whiph the Virtues, to whom the exckunatioii

*

G O M U S- ^r

And thoii, unbletnilht form of Chaftity ! Mjis'

I fee ye vifibly, and how believe ^

That He, the Supreme Goodj^ tVhom all things ill .

Are but as ilavifh ofEcers of vengeance.

Would fend a gliftVing guardi&n, if need were.

To keep my life and honour unaflail'd. 220

Was I deceived, or did a fable cloud

Turn forth her filver lining on thfe riight ?

I did not err, there does a (able cloud

Turn forth her filver lining on the night.

And cads a gleam over this tufted grove : 225

I cannot hallow to my Brothers^ but *

is made, were reprefented. The impreffion, made on bis mind
by " floried windows richly dight," or by fome other defcriptivc
painting, might now have been recalled by the coilifion of fimilar
ideas in the Kore-houfe of his fancy. Editor*

9. ±1^. And /Am, wihkmiflit fvrm rfChaftify^ &C.J In the fame
ih^in, Fletcher's Shephsrdbss in the foliloquy juft cited, ibid,
p. 109.

—Then, ftrongeft ChaiHty,
Be thou my ftrongeft guard, for here I'll dwell
In oppofition againft fitte and helU Warton*
Ibid. •— — unbkmi/htfmn,'] May, of Rofamond in her virgin
ftate, Hen. II. lib. v. edit. Lond. 1633. ismo.

When that unhkmi/h^dfwmt^ fo much admir'd* Warto>n.
«• 22 1. Was I deceiv*d^ w did ajahle cUmd

Tumferth her fiver lining an the night f
I did mi err^ there does^ Sec] Thefe lines are turned
like that verfc of Ovid, Fast. lib. v. 545.

Fallor ? an arma fonant ? non iallimur : anna fonabant.

HURD.

See alfo note on^ Eleo, v« {• *

■ The repetition, arifing irom the convi^on and confidence of
an unaccufing confcience, is inimitably beautiful. When all
fuccour feems to be l6ft. Heaven unexpectedly preients the filver
lining of a fable cloud to the virtuous. Wartok.

This mode of repetition our poet is fond of, and has frequently
ufed with fingular effedt. See Par* Lost, fi. iv. 640, and Par.
Reg. B, ii, 287. Dunstbr*

V, 225. I tufted greve."] So, in L'Allegro, v. 77.

Towers and battlefnents it fees
Bofoin'd high in /i^^i/ /r«£r. Editor,

Vft 226. 1 cammt hoihrn te my Brothers j &c.] So the Jaylor't
Paugbter in B» and Fletcher, benighted alfo and alone 10 a wood|

3« C O M U S.

Such noife a& I aus make to be beaxti &itheft
ru venture^ for my new ioliveo'd fpiriU
Fiompt me ; and tbey perhaps are not fiur off.

SONG.

Sweet Echo, fweeteft Nvmpbi tliat liv^ft uofeen

Within thy aery mcll, 23 1

By flow Meander's margent green^
And in the violet-embroider^ vale,

whofe chara^er afFords one of the fioeft female mad fcenes in our
language. Two noblb Kivsk. A. iiL S.ii. roLau p. 55. Shcr-
Is in fearch of Palamon.

I cannot hatloWy kCm
••««*M.I have heard

Strange bowls this lire long night* &c« WAETOir.
V. 227. Such tmjc as lean iMi#.] Perhapa the Jjkiy <iom not
fpeak quite contemfrtuoufljr, although modeftlv^ ^•if§ is| io a
good fenfe, mufc. So, in P»a(.m xlrii. $. ^ God it go^e up with
** a merry mife.** See v. i8. At a solemn Music, ^^thaC fpe*
*^ lodious noije,'* And the Note t2icre« W^aTOir.

V, 230. ■ that U^^ft mtfrnnt^'i So Sylreflttri Pv Ba&tas^

p. 1210. ed. ut fnpr.

Babbling £cho, voice of vallieSi
jiierie eUe, gjtimft/hm vino, £911*01^1
If. 231. JHthiM thv aerf JheU.] Dr. Dalton, in adtpdng this
maik to the ilage, has written ^tf. OH i$ alfo written in the
margin of the Camb. MS* Drayton* Nimphai*!. iii. p. %S.
«d. 1630. might ItkcwUe countenance this reading*
And £rV oft doth tell.
Wondrobs things from her fett*
But Dr. Hurd fays, ** the true reading is certainly ^^//; meaning
<* as Dr. Warburton obferves, the 4ari;«s«, which, in anottier
^ place, he calls the hoikw rmmd of Cynthia's feat* O91S N ativ.
^ fl. 10. That is, the holhw ctroin^erpHP of the b«i>ent«'* Mr*
. Warton adds, that ^^Ml is vwk \ irom tffinA t and \% the ftme
<* vault, which is intended in the Oof Nat* ft* 10/* ^piTOa*

«i. 232. ■■! marg€Mi gr<0n»] Gr^yt Rtoii. Co|,t« v. 93,

Difporting on thy margent gfui^.
And Mafon, £ng* Garden, B.iv* 333,
The watry bed--*-rby margjm gffm
And rifing banks indos'd- £ni70a*
V. 233. " tMet-^cmhrgidpr'd,] This if a beautiAil com*

pound epithet, and the eombination of the two words thst ^m-
pods it, natural and eafy. Our peet has, in hi« eiurty poems^

C O M U §• 39

Where the love-lorn nighdif^Ie
Nightly to thee her fad fong mourneth well } 235
Cand thou not tell me of a gentle pair

That likeft thy Narciffus are ?

coined many others, equally happy and fignificant : fuch a%
love-dart ingy amher-dropping^ fhwery'kirtUd^ loW'twfied^ fnafy*
hetukd^ fiery-wkeeUd^ wkite-kanded^ Jim^viom^ kome-felt^ tH/h^
fringed^ pureey'd^ tinfel-flipper' d. Dr. J, War TON.

There are none more elegant than Uve-lom ^nd coral-psvem^ both
alfo in this poem : while none can be produced (6 majeftic and
fublime z&ftar-pa^'d. Par. \»ovt^ B. ir. 976. It has been obr
ienred to me, that compound epithets are more common in the
Ferfian, than in anv other lan^age. Milton has abundantly en^
riched the Engliih language with graces of this defcription. Ei^:
Ibid. ■ '■ ' II vkSst-emhrQtder^dvaU.I Compare Par. Lost,
B. iv; 700.

■ ———Under foot the vioUt

Crocus and hyacinth, with ricfa tnlay

Broider^d the ground.
And Browne, Sbbph. Pipe, Eel. ir.ed. 1614.

Methinks no April fbowre

Embfidir fliould the ground.
The allufion is the fame in Lycidas^t. 148*

And every flow 'r that fad AMT^^At^ wears* Warton,
G. Wither, Emblems, Lond. 1634. B. iii. lUuftr. 2 {• has ^ The
<<^wV-Mi^«X^rr^ earth." And Browne B&tx. PASt. B.i. S* iv.

■ " ' the various Earth's emk'odered gowiu
A^in, B» ii. Songii. ^Xhthndredvali/^ And E. ii. Song ui.
" Earth's «i»^r»<fo7. Editor.

V. 234 Where tke Jeve-km nightingale J\ Deprived cf her niate.
As lafs'krn in the Tbmfest, A. iv* S. ii. Waetov.

V, 235. Nightly to thee her Jad Jimg mmmeth well,'} Com-
pare Virgil, Geo&g. iv» 513.

■ ■ ILIA

fUt noBemy ramoque fedens mijerahlle earmeu

Integraij et maeftis lat^ loca quefiibus implet*
So Petrarch, Son. x. Parte prima,

B' 1 rofignuol, che dolcemente a Pombra

Tutie U notti fi lamenta, e piagne—
Again, Son. xliii. Parte Teconda.

Quel rofignuol, che sl/oave piagne

Forfe fuoi figli, ofua eara conforte^

Di dolc€%ss£t empie il cielo e le campagne

Con tante note si pieto/e e fcorte ;

£ tutta Mottc par che m'accompagne— Editor.
sr, 236. Can/i thou not tell, me of a gentle pair,] $0 Fletcher,

40 C O M U S.

O, if thou have
Hid them in Ibme fldwry cave.

Tell me but where, . 240

Sweet queen of parly, daughter of the fphere 1
So miay'ft thou be tranflated to the ikies,
And give refounding grace to all Heav'n's harmonics.

Faith. Ship. A. i. S. i. p. 11 7.
A gentle fair

Have promised equal love.- Warton.

V. 237. likeji.\ Mod, or, very like. ** Likefi to thee id

«* Ihape." Par. Lost, ii. 7 j6. " Likeji Heaven." iii. ^jz.

•* Likejt gods they feem'd." vi. 301. " To Pales, or Pomooay

*' likeft flie feemM." ix. 394. See Aipr. note at v. 192. Warton.

V. 238. O, if thou hinfe

Hid them in/pmeflotuty cave."} Here is a feexning inac-
curacy for the fake of the rhyme. But the fenfe being hypothetf-*
cal and contingent, we will fuppofe an elleipfis oijhmlde^ before
kave. A. ver£ in St. John affords ah appoiite illuftration.
** If thou have born him hence, tell me where thou hafi laid him."
XX. 15. We find another infhmce beloiv, v. 887.

And bridle in thy headlong wave,

Till thou our fummdns anfwer'd have*
In the mean time it mufl be allowed, that thm and yw, are abfo-*
lutely fynonimous. See bifhop Lowih's Gram mar, pp. 67.
68. edit. 1775. Warton.

The expreffion, **xf thw have hid,'* is corref^. It is the proper
form of the fubjun^ve mode. Editor.

V. 240. Tell me hut where,] Mr. Steevens fuggeils, that part of
the Addrefs to the Sun, which Southerne has put into the mouth
of Oroonoko, is evidently copied from this palfage.

Or if thy fifter goddels has preferr'd

Her beauty to the (kies to be a ilar.

Oh I tell me where fhe (hines. Wartok.
V. 241. daughter of the fphere.] Milton has given

her a much nobler and more poetical original than any of the an-
cient mythologifls. He fuppofes her to owe her firft exiflence to
the reverberation of the muiic of the fpheres; in confequence of
which he had juil before called the horizon her aeryJheU. And
from the gods (like other celeflial beings of the claffical order)
file came down to men. War burton.
So, in his Verfes At a Solemn Music, v. &•

Sphere-hinrH harmonious Sifters, Fgice and Verfe.

EOITOR.

V. 243. And give refiunding grace to cfll Heav'n^s harmoniis.]
That is, ** The grace of their being accompanied with an echo."'
Lawes, in letting this Song, has thought fit to mar tht foundy

C O M U 3. 4t

Enter Comus.

Comus. Can any mortal mixture of earth's mould
Breathe fuch divine inchanting ravUhment ? 24 j

fenfe and elegance, of a mofl bedutiful line, by maldng a pleafant
profeffional alteration.

And hold a cvunterfoiut to all heav'n's harmonies^
The goddefs Echo was of peculiar fervice in the machinery of
a Ma(k, and therefore often introduced. Milton has here ufed
her much more rationally than mod of his brother mafk-writers.
She is invoked in a fong, but not without the ufual tricks of fur-
prifing the audience by ftrange and unexpected repetitions of
found, in Browne's Inner Temple Masque, to wmch I have
fuppofed our author might have had an eye, p. 136. She often
appears in Jonfon's .maiks. This frequent introduAion, how-
ever, of Echo in the maiks of his time, feems to be ridiculed
even by Tonfon himfelf in Cynthia's Revells, A. i. S. i*
Mercury invokes Echo, and wiflies that ihe would 721/2^/^ him with
her repercuj/ive voice, that he may know with certainty in what
caveme of the earth her ayrie (pirit is contained. ** How or where
" I may dire£t my fpeech, that thou maift heare." When fhe
fpeaks, Mercury wondering that ihe is fo near at hand, proceeds
with great folemnity.

Knowe, gentle foule then, I am fent from loue ;
Who pittying the fad burthen of thy woes
Still growing on thee, in thy want of wordes
To vent thy pafHon for Narciflus death,
Commands that now, after three thoufand yeeres
Which have been exercifed in luno's fpight,
Thou take a corporall figure, and afcend
Enricht with vocall and artiailate power.
He then, in burlcfque of this fort of machinery ufual on the oc-
cafion, prepares to fh-ike the ohfequiiots earth twice with his wing«
ed rod, to give thee tuay, i\nd as a fong was always the fure
confequence of Echo being raifed, a buriefque fai^g follows,
which Mercury thus introduces.

Begin, and more to grace thy cunning voice,
The kumwroBs aire (haii mixe htr /olemne tunes
"With thy/aJ words : flrike muficque from the Jf/ieareSf
And with your golden raftures/weU our eares.
This play was firit a6ted in 1600. Wa&ton.

V. 244. . Can €mj mwial mixture of eartks mwdd

Breathe fuck divine inchanting rdvi/hment fl This was
plainly perfonal. Here the poet availed himfelf of an opportu-
nity of jpaying a juft compliment to the voice and fkill of a real
fongfbeu ; jult as the two boys are complimented for their beauty

41 C O M U S.

Sure fomething holy lodged in that breaft,

And with tbefe raptures moves the vocal air

To teftify his hidden refidence.

How fweetly did they flote upon the wings

Of filence, through the enipty-vauUed night, j jo

At every fall fmoothing the raven dowa

Of darkndS) till it (oul'd ! I have oft heard

and etegance of f!gufe. And afterwards, tlie ftraitis that ** migAt
«* create a foul undei' the rihs <f heathy'* are brbught home, a[n4
found to be the voice ^^ofmytnoft htmur^d La^fy^** ^•5^4? Wlicre
the real and airamed chara^^ers of the fpdaker are bleodecU

Wartok.;

V, 249. HotoJkv^etU did tli^flole up<m the noings

Ofmence.} This is extremely poetical, andlnlininrtes
this fublime Idea and imagery, that even lilenoe herfetf was con-
tent to convey her mortafenemy, foond, on herwingS| fegreat^
was ihe charmed with its harmony. Warburtok.

The Paons^ formed of the fyrrMc and lamhicy render tids paf-
ftge alfo extremely charming and expreifive :

How fweetly did they flote upon thf vf\ug%
Of silence. Editor.
V. 252. >■ f ■ I^havi oft he/ird

My motTier Cincey ivitk die Sirens tiree^ Sec. Zcci Ori-
ginally from Ovid* Mbtam. xlv. 264. Of Circe.

Nereides, Nympbfleqtie ^Timul, quae viellera ^ti«
Nulla trsmunt digitis., nee iila JGcqucMtla ducuaty
Gramina difpouuiit ; fp^riofque Qd€ ppdine 0orcB
Secernant caiothis, variafque coloribqs berba^. *
Ipfa, quod bae £aciimt, opus exig^ : ipia qndd ufiis

Suoqiae it in folio, quae it concorjdia miQk^
ovit ; et adverteus penfas examinat herbas,
;See alfo ibid. v. 22. 24* Mihon calls the. Naiades, lie ij^of^
iuve &id Nereides, fiofwery-kiriUd^ bec^ufe tlyey were ena^yioy^
in coIle6Hng flowers, fiut William Brawne, the pafioral wxit^,
had jufl befQrej>receded our author in this inutatioo irom Ovid,
in his lNN£jt Tem;p1'|e Masqur, on the Qory of Circ^ p* 143.
Call to a dance ihe fair Nereides,
With other Nyxnphs which do in every creeke,
In woods, on pla^iil* on mountains,^ifj^x feekc^
For powerfuU Circe, and let in a Tone, &c.
Here, m fimplesy we 'have onratithor*s "** fotefit ieris and drugs. ^'^
It is remarkaMe, ihat Miltcm has imermbeed the "Sirens wjth
Ch"ce*s Nymphs. Circe indeed -is a fongftrefsin the^Odyflfey :
tiutfhe has nothing to do with the Sirens, f^rhtps Milton lixd
this aUb from Browned Maf(pe,where<Sirce'itfestiiei]iaftc of

(

C 0;M :U S,. 43.

My mother Circe witb the Sir^as thKC^
Amidft the flowry^kirtkd N^iadosi - .*.:■:

Culling their potent herbs ain) bftl^itU <^rMgS9 lljT
Who, as they iungs wqu14 Uka tho prifonM Couli

the Sirens in the procefs of her incantation, p. 134.

Then, SirenS| quickly wend nie tptbe bowi^i

To fitte their wclconrfe, and ihew CiKe*« ppwf^r
-Ag^%p. ly ^

Syrens^ vnougb^ ceafe ; Circe hap prevayl'd*
A finde line of Horace perhaps occa^^ncd this coofofion of t^iQ,
d!flin3 fables. EpisT.i. ^i. a).

Sirenum vocea, et Circes poCuh aodu
Mitton, as we have feen, cal]^ the Naiaiks, ^teiid^nt on Cin:^,
Jhuien-hirtki. They, or her Nymphs, ar^ fnirodnved by Prowfte
<< With chdplets of flowers^ heros^ and weeds, ^n tto'r henfis^ ^t*^
p. 144. -And the h?u*n)on/ of Circe's choir of Nyniphs is df^
fcribedby Browne, p. 145. It is oot iaid either in iic«Eier Pf
Ovid, that Circe's Nyrnnhs were ikiUed in fiogiug^ WAitvoiy;
V. 254. Amidft the fliwty'itrtled Noiadff,} Dodor N^WtOn
remarks here, that iirtUis a woman's g^a. So \t is in the padorai
writer's of Milton's aget and before. And in ^bvkfp9ire, where
Falftaffe aiks DoU| ''l^hgt fiuff wilt have a iiiV/iV ofr^ (sOoirp
P. K. Henr. IV, A* iU $• iv, Bui it origiiwmy figmfied a man's

farment^ and was fo ufcd anciently* At kafty maft ^^ommonly*
n Spenfer, Bnvy, not a female deityt wears a ** iiV/ii of dif"
<( coloured iky," F. Q» i.iv. 51. It was the nauM of iIm fvrcMA
at the creation of l^nfghts of the Gaiter. See Aiiflis, Ord.
Gart. i« 3 1 y. In aa original roll of the Hoi|fliQld-&xprfices of
Wykeham, bifhbp of Wincheftef, dated 1394, is thise^try* " In
*^ nirrura duarum curteilarum pro Domino CUm furmra agnina,
" X. s." That is, " For Jfurring, or &ci;ig two Unkfhr my lww4
^' with lambs-(kin, los/' Wartov,

V, 956, fThf as th^fmg^ ymdd take th$ fry<m*dfoldi

And lap it tn Efyftam,] lo the w playt thi^ RiTvuff
PROM Pahnassus* i6o6* A.i* 6tii.

Sweet ConOahie doth take the wondering eaC}
And lays it up ip willing prifmment,
Priftmed was more common than imprtftm^, Shakfpearey Love's
Lab. Lost, A«iv« S«iii,

— — — ufuver&l plodding frifws up
The nimble fpirita in the arteries^
Aud i» Beaumoint and Fletcher's P^iM^TSRy Ar y* S. i« ^' Per-
*' petual priftmment,*' Thefe are few infiances out of jaaoy* We
have ^ lapped \n delight," in Spenfer^ F* Q« v« vit 6« And in
L'Allegro, v. 136. <* Lap me in foft LydiaH airf*" Warton*
Compare Oo» Natiy^ v« 9S.

c %

44 C O M U S.

And lap it in Elyfiom ; Scylla wqn.

And chid her barking waves into attention.

And fell Charybdis murmur'd foft applaufe :

Yet they in pleafing flumber iuU'd the fenfe, 260

And in Iwcet madnefs robb*d it of itfelf ;

And all thar Jwls in hlifsfml rapture ictk.
And Thomfon, Spring, v. 499.

Breathes thro' the fenfe, and takes tke ravifiCdJM^ £t».
V. 257. And lap it in E^^fiim.] Laf it in Eljfium is fublimelj
exprefled to imply the binding up of its rational faculties, and is
oppofed to the fiber certainty of waking blifs. But the imagery is
taken from Shakfpeare, who has employed it, in praife of mufic,
on twenty occafions. War burton.

The extraordinary fweetnefs of this cadence, heightened by
the remaining part of the verfe, << Scylla wept,'' cannot be nn«
noticed by the reader* Such founds as thefe will ** take the
<< prifon'd foul, and lap it in Elyfiuro." Sec Say's £flay on the
Harmony of Numbers, p. 127. Editor,
Ibid. S<^lla vyeptj

And chid her harking waves int9 attention^
And fell Charyhdis murmur' dfvft applaufe.^ SiliUS ItaliCUS^
of a Sicilian (hepherd turning his reed, Bei.l. Pun. ^v. 467.

Scyllsei tacuere canes, fletit atra Charybdis.
The fame fituation and circumfhinces diflated a fimilar fi^ion or
mode of expreffion in- either poet. But Silius avoided the bold-
nefs, perhaps impropriety, of the laft image in Milton.

Wartoh.
V. 2J9. ■■ ftll Charyhdis, '\ So, in Sandys's Travris, ed«
1615. p. 248.

And fell Charyhdis rageth now in vain.
And in Sylvefter*s Du Bart. ed. fol. 1621. p. 2i6,
Through/<r// CharyhdiS'^ Editor.
V, 260. Yet they in pUaJmgJlumher lulled thefenfe,\ So Spenfer,
Faery Queene, Itroduct. B.iii. 11*4.

My fences lulled are in flomber of delight. EDiroa,
V. 261. And inftveet madn^s rohh^d it rf itfilf^ &c,] Compare
Shakfpearc, Winter's Tale. A. and S. uh.
■ 1 Q fweet Paulina !

Make me to think fo twenty years together;
^o fettled fenfes of the word can match
The pUafure of that madnefs. Editor,
V. 263. isuchfober certainty if winking hli/s,} G^iarini pASTpl^
FiDO, A. v. Sc. ult.

Vorrei pur, ch* altra prova

Mi fefle omai fentire,

Che'l mio dolce vegghiar* non e dormxre^

COMUS. 45.

But fuch a facred and home-felt dpiight^

Such fober certainty of waking blifs

I never heard till now. Til fpeak lo her, 264,

And (he (hall be my Queen. Hail, foreign wonder!

Whom certain thefe rough (hades did never breed.

By the way, Milton, I think, has been indebted to this beautiful
poem foranexpreffion in L'Allegeo, v, 54. Roufe thcJkmhWbig
mtm ; which the commentators have not noted. A* i. S* i.
— — Ite voi dunque,
£ non-fol precorrete.
Ma f/rvQocoH ancora

Col rauco f uon lafomtackiofa Aurora. Editor.
V. 265. Hail^foreign vxndtr!

Whmt certain thefe rmghJhaJes did never hreedy
Unle/s the Gfiddefs, &c.] Thus Fletcher, Faitbf.
Shep, a. v. S. i. vol. iii. p. 188.

Whatever fhe be 5

B'eft thou her fpirit, or fome divinity;
That in her (hape thinks good to walk this grove.
But perhaps our author had an unperceived retrofpe^ to the
Tempest, A. i.S.ii.

Ferd. Mod fure, the Goddefr

On whom. thefe airs attend !— — -

——My prime requeft,
Which I do lail pronounce, is, O you wonder!
If you be Maid, or no ?— ^-
Milton's imitation explains Shakipeare. Maid is certainly a
creaud heing^ a Woman in opposition to Goddefs. Miranda im-
mediately deflrovs this fine ienfe by a quibble, tn the mean time,'
J have no objeaion to read made^ i. e. created. The force of the
fentiment is the fame. CoMt^s is tmiverfally allowed to have
taken fome of its tints from the Tempest. Compare the Faerie
QuBENE, ii). V, 36. ii. iii. 33* And B. and Fletcher't Sea?
Voyage, A. ii. S. i. vol. ix. p. 106. edit, ut fupr. And Ovid,
where SaJmacis firft fees thfc boy HerpiaphrodituS, Metait;
IV. 390. Aqd Browne's Britannia's Pastorals, B. i.
S. iv. p. 70.

— Hayle glorious deitie !
If fuch thou art, and who can deeme you lefle ?
Whether thou reigneft Queen o* th' wildernelTei
Or art that GoddefTe, 'tis vnknowne to mee,
Which ixom the ocean drawes her pedigree, &c.
Homer, the fiather of true elegance as well as of true poetry, in
the addrefs of Ulyil^ to ^auficaa, is the original author of this
piece of gallantry, which qould not efcape the vigilance of VirglL
Dj^ AnqADEs, v. 44« Waiiton.

46? C O M U S.

Unlefs the Goddefd that in rural flirin^

Dweirft here with Pan, or Sylvan, by bleil fong

Forbidding every bleak unkindly fog a6o

To touch chc profperous growth of this tall wood.

Lad. Nay. gentle Ibepherd, ill is lod that praife^

That is addreft to unattending ears ;

Not any boaft of ikili, but extreme fhift

How to regain my fevered company,

Compeird iiie t6 aWake the courteous Echo 175

To give me anfwer from her mofly couch.

Com. What chance, good Lady, hath bereft you thus ?

V. 267. Unk/s the Goddcfs^ &c.] Spcnfer, FA£aV Qveeke,
i, vi, 16. Of Una.

The wood-borne people fall before her fiat,
And worihip her as G^dtfs rf the wooJ.
And Dry den's Cymon on viewing Iphigenia fleeping:
An awful fear his ardent wifh withllood,
Nor durft difturb the (Mdefs rfthe wooJ;
For inch fhe feemM. Editor.
V, 270. Comus's Addre/s to the Lady, from v. 265, to the
end of this line, is in a Very high (tile o/claffical gallantry. As
Cicero fays of Plato's language, that if Jupiter were to fpeak
Greek, he would, fpeak as Plato has written > fo we may fay o
this language of Milton, that, if Jupiter were to fpeak Engliih,
he would exprefs himfelf in this manner. The paflage is ex-,
ceeding beautiful in every re(j|>eA ; but all readers of ufte will
acknowledge, jthat the Hyle of it is much raifed by the expreffion
XJfdefs the Godde/sy ah elliptical expreffion, nnufual in our langtiftge^
though common e'nougn in Greek and Latin. fiutifWeWer^
to fill It up and iav, Vnlefs thou beeft the Godde/s ; how £at and in*
£pid would it make the compoiition, compared with what it is.
Lord.Monboddo's O&ig. and P&og. of LANdUAGfij V6i. iH«
td edit. p. 99. £ditor.

t;» 275. ""—"*-* to awake the ewrteous Echo

To give me anfwer from her mofjy couch.^ Compare Jon*
fon's Pan's Anniversaris. Hymne iii.

the applaufe it brings.
Wakes Echo from herfeate
The clofes to repeate. £ d i t o a .
V. 277, &c. Here is an imitation of thofe Scenes in the Greek
Tragediep,. where the dialogue proceeds by queftion and anfwei^
a fingle verfe being allotted to each. The Greeks, doubd^fs^
found a grace in. this fort of dialo^e. As^ it was one Of the
clraradteriiUcs of the Greek drama, it ivas natural enottgh for our

€ O M U S. 4?

L4i. Di^i daricneft, and thM tofy labjrrintli. ' .1 \
C^;;!. Could that divide you from oearHi(hsring'guides?^
Lad. They left me weary on a grafly turf; ^ aSd
C^/;!. By fatiheod^iqr dtfcourcdy^ or why f.: - 'J I "A
Z^z^. To feek i' th* valley fome cool friendly fpring.
Com. And left your fair fide all unguarded) Lady-? f
Lad. They were but twaiii, and purppVd Q^J^it^ i;eturn.
C0m. P^fb^ for^-Aaliiiig P^ht pr^vsnt^.Uv^W??^
Lad. How eafy my misfortune \h to hit V
Com. Imports their lofs, befidjj tte'Dfefcnt necd^ :,
Lad. No lefs than if'I (hpuld rpy Brptb^rp.lQ^,,
Com. Were they of maolypfime, or youthful bloom?

yotmg poetf ptflionat^Iy fosd of tlic Gfeck tragedies to zSeGt
this peculiarity. Btir he hidzcd better In Ws riper years; ttietfe
being no inflance of this $aAtigve, I think; ^ his Samson
Agokistes. Husd,'

V. 278. Dim tiarkne/i.] So Bhirftfpcartr, RxTi or LucnecE.
Till fable n1gl)T, fad fouree of dread and f^,
Upon the world vfim ehfrihteff^cf^ dHplay'. - Eof tor.
- v.ji!%2. To/eefi* tff'vaiif^Jhm^ Here Mr.

Sympfon oblerved" VitH jj\e,tlKR thik fc « different reafott from
VM:^^ l?2td affisjifed bef5Tie, v, i86«- ^- • ^

Tlii^'mtg^t teve left licr 01? both acootofrt«. KE^«<Hot*.

V. z%^.\FfrAapf /hr-JfaiHyig fii^ ^Bn *w iani d fkpm.J Tfce «w>fd
/w^flff was foiTnertyHefspflfepffyeiti a4erf<krt» and fuWifne poeth
than at prefent. It occtixis again, V. \6%. AM in' the It^nfe df
prevent^ njpAr^ ^Sct. ' ■ '■ : *

What npcd ^ mzn fireball his date of grief.
And tn Par. Lost, B::i.'lt>24. So in Farimt's Tasso, xv; 4*7.

An ii|iie fefpent liiatj/^^i<//»/thei¥ way.
So ^o in Sylreftei-'s Do Bart ^9, p: M edit. fol. Ut fypf •
** Pcre-JIdltfig thee of thy kind lorirt kVi."^ And oftisn %ti
Spcnfer and "Sfaakflpeare. Oncp in tlie-laftter, wkh tlir pfaHidilar
application of the text. C«w BR L. A. ffi. fi.ir. ^

May

This -NT G wtforejlall him of die -coming day. ' W a rt o n .

V. 289. ff'^ere thp ^ manly primes or youthful bloom. ^ WelK fhdy

young men, or finphngs? Prime is pcrfefeion; ■ » Nature here,

** wanton Villas Iri her /f/wc." Parao. L.- r. ^-95. Again, what

is more apjpofitc to the fcnfe of the tejrt. 'Ibjd. m. »45, - ' *

His 'ftarry heta unbtickled fhew'd'him v r i « e . "

It^ H^n a 00 D^ wkfreyoittA enefed^
Again, ^lefe perhaps the diftlniAioiif lattore fhmgly marked.

48 C O M U 9.

Lad. As Tmooth as Hebe's their unrazored lips. 290
Com. T^yo.fuch I faw, what time tbe laboured ox
In his loofe traces from tbe furrow came»
And the fwink't faedger at his fupper (at ;

Ibid. iii. 646.

Aad now ^iftrtpling Cherub he appears,

Not of the frime^ &c.
Do6^or Newton is certainly miftaken in fuppoQng that the poet
means a Cherub ^ nof of the prime trder or dignity." He is de-
fcriblng a Cherub in the figure, and with the beauty, of a trip-
ling. Prime is oppofed to Jtripling, War ton.
Compare Par. Reg. B. ii. 200.

How he firnam'd of Africa difmifs'd

In Yi\& prime youth the fair Iberian maid. Editor*
tv. aQo. — -«- their unrazored Ups.] The unpieaiant epithet
unraKor'd has one much like it in the TEMPfiST, A. ii. S. v.

■ till new-born chins

Are rough and razorahU. Warton.
V. 291. ■ '■ ■ what time the laboured ox

In his kofe traces from thefurrov) came.'\ The notation
of time is in the pafloral manner, as in Virg. £cl« ii. 66. and
Hor. Od. iii. vi. 41. The Greeks exprefs the whole very hap*
4>ily in the (ingle word BOTAYTOS. Horn. II. P. 779.

''H/Mf ^ qiXiof /MTf rat^o-otTo /SuAim^. Nbwton.
This is claflical. But the return of oxen or horfes from the plough,
is not a natural circum0ance of an Englifh evening. In JEngiaud
tbe ploughman always quits his work at noon. Gray, therefore^
with Milton, paintea from books and not from thelifei where in
defcribing the departing day-light he fays.

The ploughman homeward plods his weary way.

Wartok.
^^ The return of oxen and horfei from the plough is not a natural
*' circumftance of an £ngli(l) evening." So far Mr. Warton is
right : except it be an evening in winter, when the ploughman
muft work as long as he can fee. '' In England the ploughman
^ always quits his work at noon.*' This is by no means the cafe:
three, four, and fometimes ^vt^ being the time of returning^ from
that work ; in general, between three and four.

Pope, in his third Pastoral, has been indebted to this
paflage; v. 6i.

While laboring oxen, fpent with toil and heat^ '

In their loofe traces from the field retreat.
Gay alfo, in his Rural Sports, v. 91. when defcribing the
*' parting day^^ makes the returning ploughman one of the cir-
cumflances attending it. Editor.
V. 293. And the/winh't hedger at his fupper fat. ^ The fwinhU

^ 6 M U si " '4^

I faw them under a green mantling vine,
That crawls albtig the fAt dlyoti mudl hill^ ^9 i;
Platfcmg ripe dtiftcrsfrom the tender Ihoots j
Their port was more than human, &s^ they ftood n

Itook it for a faery vifion

c ' ■.■■'■

hedgtr's Jupftr is from Nature. Aiid ttiifff^ a wofd new in
poetry, although of common ufeii, has a good «ffeft» S^Mt^ is
tjred^fiitt^tied, , War Toy*

^tt^cniis the language of Chaucar and Spenfer. The notation
of time here is marked by. fiaukr (k^oety i^ Apollonius Rh<M
diiis, Argonaut. Lib. i. I t7a.

» *

V, 297* 7^/r p^i «Mtj iJNfi^ MttPV tfltrilivil^ mu ^ktyjtmdt
' £> mk kf^ n/oify vifim
.. Qffomi g^ trtatmti ^ tkliikmeiii^
Thit inthe cdmtts^mpdid^mlwi^

. . ABi, ms I /^, / iMO^fjir^ I havd adopted) lA tht
£rft line^the pMndng of editiom 1^ and« i673« But ptrhapft
.Ihiit of 1637) IB to be preferiKd.
r Their port wRBiniOFethaii huindtt»vas ^jr ftood.

itooktt^bc.
** As the7 ilood bcfovc. me^t took It, Uro,*' >lit we have mudk
4faB iamOL form of exprefliea In- the fiFiVAiNr^ir f Mfs MAftCflR'^

/. . Attdiahis^rland, «^Jy>0iiJ^

Ve might 'diloertt«^^«u blMl«
^eeAjctt AvosT. xxiL 13, 14. *« One Anaiiias came ttnto ffie^
«< and/W, and (aid onto me, 4rc.'^

Comus thus defcribes to theI<ady^(Mkiflg«ppeatttiiceof
her Brothers t and aittrthe^fioeiemafiiitr^ia tlie IiptttoaNiA lU
Tauris of Miiton^s favourite Gftek tragedian Euripides, a
dhtohciadddttribes. Pylodtok and OreAcrs to Iphigenia the Giidf oF
lhr-Mitar,asyrBteniatural1>eingsand objeteM^adoradonA v. p^

50 C Q M U S.

L

Of fome gay creatures of the element^
That in the colours of the rainbow livCf 300

And play i* th' plighted clouds. I was aw-{bruck.
And, as I pad, I worlhipc ; if thofe you feek^

Compare Note on v. 265. We have f^t in the fame fenfe.
Farad. L. B. xi. 8. ^

Their fort

Not of mean fuitors ^
** Their port was more than human^** occurs in Cartvrieht's Foemsr^
in a piece written 1636, after the exhibition, but before the pub-
lication, of CoMus. To the Queen, p. 268. edit. 1651. 8v^o.
A (lately maid appear'd, A^'hofe light
Did put the little archers all to flight ;
Her fhape was mere than human.
And here, a partial determination of the fenfe at kuman^ may
afcertain the pun^uationof 1637, Warton.

The pointing of editions 164c and 1673 more emphatically
afcertains the graceful flation or the Brothers, to which| I pre-
fume, the poet intended a compliment.

The fucceeding compliment, paid to their elegant appearance,
is highly poetical. The paifage has been particularly noticed in
a very valuable and interefting work lately publifhed, from which
we learn, that the Perfian Periesj the airy creatures of their poets,
although a diftinft fpecies of imaginary beings, whofe qualities
and appearance by no means accord with Shakfpeare's id^of the
fairy race, correfpond, however, with the fublime notion of '^
faiiy vifiofiy which Milton has here exprefied* Of the Fates ez«*
quifite beauty is faid to be the mofl obvious chara^erifHc^ as
appears from their poets, w,ho, when they wi(h to compliment,
in the mofl flattering manner, an admired objedl, compare her to
one of this aerialrace. See*^ Persian Miscellanies, by Wil-
" liam Oufeley, Efq." 4to. Lond. 1795. chap. vi.
Thomfon, fpeaking of the Goddefs Liberty, fays
At this her eye, coUeding all its fire,
^3Ln\*d more than human.
But Lovelace, in his Lu casta, ed. 1659* p. cs. determined to
exceed all other defcriptions, fpeaks of ^* a youth of more thtmgud^
** like form." Editor.

V. 299. — — the element,"] In the north of England this
term is ftill made ufe of for thefiy, Thyer.

v. 300. That in the colours of the rainbow live,"] It is the fame
imagery in II Pens. v. 8.

As the gay motes that people the fun-beams. Editor.
V. 301. And play V th* plighted clouds. ] The luflre of

Milton's brilliant imagery is half obfcured, while /%^/ remains
unexplained. We are to underftand the braided or embroidered

GO M U S. 51

It were a journey like the path to Heav'n,

To help you find them.

Lad. Gentle Villager, 304

What readieft way would bring me to that place ?

Com, Due weft it rifes from this fhriibby point.

Lad. To find out that, good Shepherd, I ibppofe.
In fuch a fcant allowance of ftar-light.
Would overtafk the beft land-pilot's art.
Without the fure gucfs of well-praftis*d feet. 310
Com. 1 know each lane, and every alley green,

clouds: in which certaiin airy elemental beings ar^moft' poeti-
cally fuppofed to fport, thus producing a variety of tranfient
and dazzling colours, as our author (ays of the fun, Parad. L.
B. iv. 596.

Arraying with reflected purple and gold

The clouds that on his weftern throne attend.
In Spenfer we find fligAi for a fold, a fiiken robe, **purfled upon
•* with many a fold^ plight J* F. Q. li. iii. 26. And plight
for folded 9L participle, ** ringes of rufhe» ///g^A/," ii. vi. 7; Chau*
cer, in the Txstamevt of Lovs, has plites for folds. And
plitCj a verb, to fold^ Tr. Cr. ii. 1204. Of a Letter.

Yeve me the labour it to fowe and plite.
That is, " to flitch zadfold it." From this verb plight^ imme-
diately came Milton's plighted^ which I do not remember in any
other writer. It is obvious to obferve, that the modern word is
plaited, Warton.

V, 506, Due -wejl ii rifes from this Jkrubhy point. "] Milton had
perhaps a predilei^on for the wefl, from a (imilar but more-
pidumqucinforoiation in. As tov ltkk it, A. iv. S. i.

Weft oftkuphce^ down in the neighbour bottom, &c.

« . ■ Warton, '

^ V, 509. Overt^J] So Soil n. xxii. 10. *' everplfd in liberty*s
*^ defence*? ^ Of his eyes. Milton is fond of the compound
wkh wer^ Various ioitances occur in Paradise Lost; many,
^ here, of hl& own coinage. 6ee ever-multitude^ below, v. 731,
and Son N. ix. 6.. ''They that wer-weeu.** Where fee the note.
i .' Warton.

V, 311,. ■ ■ evety alley greenJ] So Par. Lost, B. iv. 626*

Yon flow ^ry arbours, yonder aUeys green. Editor.

Ibid. / hmo each lane^ and every alley green^
Dinghy or hn/hy dell of this wild weedy
■ j^nd every hejky hemm from fde to fde^ &c.] The outline
]f in Fletcher, Faith. Sbrp. A. i. S. i. vol. iii. p. 163. But

B a

S^ CO H'lhSi

Dingle, or buihjr ddl pf this wild WQodt - : I

And every bofky bourn from fide to fide, .

Milton has judicioufly avoided Flotcher's digjrpllkinal omameotiy

whichy however poetic^l^ are here unaece(&iy, and would have

been mifplaced^ - ; '

•»««-7 1 buve crofi'd

AH thefe woods over, ne'er a nook, or deil^ . .....'

Where any little bird or beaft doth dwell, . /

But I have fought him ; ne'er a bending broir ' r

Of any hill, or glade the wingi- fing througli,
N9r a^jreen banky wr ihade, yrhm ihephocih iifo ■ >
To fit and riddle,* fweetly pipe, &c, Wa rton.

«. }xa. JDh^kt or ^ti/Sfy d$U.] Pock fuppofes that f^ dM
explains diuFU : and by £Mgkf which he thinks is no irheie eiie
to oe found in pur language, he undcrQaods, boughs han^Bg.
Jsngk-dangk over the edge of the dell. But Peck is to be praifed
only for his indufiry« The word is itill in ufe» and figoifies a val-
ley between two fleep hills. J>MU is the fame word. In the
Z)r4Mkiirir |'#r/iQi^ of the quarto of Jonfon's Sad Sreviib&d, I
£od '« the Witches dimth\'\wi^y «' a gtoomie dimik^'* A. li.
§. vii. And in Drayton's Poi.YOi*aioK, S«u. voi«iL |>.69eu.
*| glooniie ^mik^*** And iOwghf in his Mous fiiTs« M vmcs^
ix» vol. iv. p. 14$$.

In iiiMgles dcepc, and mouatains iiore. Wajitok.
Dyer has adopted Mitton's combination* Ft^sos. B« i.
■■■ Bothnic realms
And dark Norwegian, with their ch«c^ fields,
Dingles and dellsy by lofty fir embowr'd. Enrroa..
V. |i).' 4*d aumy h^ imafu/rmJUp^ hJU^.'] A J iaw a, tfie
ffufe of which in this pai&ge has never been exphuned witb pf^.
cifion, properly figpines here, a winding, deep, and narrow wd4
ley, witn a rivulet at the bottom. In the prcftnt inQance, tho
declivities are interfperfed with trees and buflies. This fort of
valley Cqinus knew from JUt t^^JUk^ He knew M the-^M&r
Jid^s or ridges, and had confequeatly traverfed the intepnecliat^
fpace. Sucn fituations have no other name in the Wed of finglurt
at this day. In th« wafte and open coiuntries, Mtitrm ate tho
grand feparations or divifions of one put. of the counts^ fitom
another, and are natural limits of difiridts and pariihes. For
fiwTB is fimply nothii^ more than a Boundtry^, ^ As In the
Tem?sst, A.ii« S.i. fflvm, boynd of land, tilth, ^c. And
in AvTOMY AfiD CisorATHA, ^TUfeta bmc^ how fi^ ](i^be
«<belov'd." A.i. S.i. And in tjic Wintw's Ta4-e, A i,
$. ii. ** One that fixes no Imrtk 'twiau; his and mine.*'. Dover-
clif is called in LsaRi ^* this ^hi^lky .^ifi" ^t tf» tbU ch«tf(y

C.OMU S. 5j

My daily walks tiud indent ndgbboiirhood ;
And if your ftray-attenckoce be yet lodg'd, 315
Or fiiroud wichin thefe limits^ I (ball know
Ere morrow wake, or the low-roofted Jark

boundary of England towards France, A.iv« S. «L See Fore*^.
tiere in Bmwj aoi bu. Canflp id Btnia^ Lau GiQ4s. In Saxoiv
£umy or Buma^ is a fifreain c7 water, aa is Bourn at prefent in fome.
counties : and a» rivers were the mofr difttnginlhable aboriginal
ihAiationf or dhifions of proper^v nigbt not the Sajcon word.

8ve fife to the Freach Bertie f Tkare is a paflage ia tiie F^ejlic.
UEENE, where a riyeri or ratiier ftraiti is calfed fk^varMc^iu vi« lo.'

My little boate cah fefely paffb this perilous four/Hf. • -
But feemingly alfo with the fenie of divifiw ot/efaratm^ For
afterwards this ^MTii^ is IRIed ^tjkrrdn .

~« Wliea bte he ^ur'd i

In Phedria's flitt barck over dieperIoiis>«r.t^.
Here, indeed, is 41 metathefis; and the a^Hve participle JUr/iv^ is
confounded with the paffivejiviivi^ This perilous hmme was
the boundary or divifioa which parted the maiD bad from Phe*
dria's ifle of blifs, to'whkk it lenred as a defence. In the meaa
time, Jhard may figi)i^ the gap made by the ford or firid» between
the two hinds. But luch a fenfe is unwarrantably catachreilical
^nd licentious. Wartom.

Ibid; — :-. i«^.} Wmif, from the Belgian i^ aad the.
Italian A^ a fV0M^ fays Skifiner. KawtoN.
j0#f ^ vf$$^y or rather M^« As ia the Tsmfbst, A. iv. S. k

My iq^UTtBj and my iM|^»A^Vdown.
Where un/krubbed is ufed ia cootraf^. Aad in Peek% Play of
Edward THE FtasT, x^i^.
r M-i-In this ii«/%i wood

Bury his corpfe ■

Kis^ie&nte word in First F. Haira. IV. A. v. S^ i.

Hew bloodiky the fun begtas topeor

Above yon ^ii^ hill \
ipeiifeff bas«Bi;^ifcd tho originai: French w<»d ^m, in Mat,

VW'IO.-

To gather May ht/l^rts aad imeilSag brcere.
If h(fit^ be not there the French !•»} jm^, aotw become Fnglifh.
Chaucer vfes »#iit4^, ^ Fot there is aeithet kffi$ aor hay.*'
Aoit. &• ?r» $4% Where Asi^ is hrdje row« Agak, ibid* v^ i$o.
Of th^ birdt^thit oa the int^f fingiackfe^" ^e^i&iaiddk
LetinforWoD^ Waa.TQV«
ak5ty* Mw pi i i III nthhm^vjfhilmti

m I and now the herald lark

54 C O M U S.

From her thatch't pallat roufe ; if otherwifey

I can conduft you. Lady, to a low

But loyal cottage, were you may be (afe 320 -

Till further queft.

La J. Shepherd, I take thy word.

And truft thy honeft ofFer'd courtefy.

Which oft is fooner found in lowly flieds

With fmoaky rafters, than in tap'ftry halls

In courts of princes, where it fir ft was nam'd, 325

And yet is moft pretended : in a place

Lefs warranted than this, or lefs fecure»

V, 322. ' Cmrtijjf^ &c.] Probably, as Milton was (b

famiJiarJfed to the Italian poets, from Ariofto, Os.l. Fvr. xiv. 62.

Erano paftorali alloggiamenti,

Af iglior flanza, e piu commoda, che bella.

Quivi il guardian cortefe degli armenti

Onoro il Cavaliero, e la Donzella,

Tanto, che fi chiamar da lui contenti :

Che non pur per ciitadi^ e per cajiella^

Ma per tugurii ancora, e pcr/aiilif

SpeiTo a trovan gli uomini gentiil. ,

A fianza which has received new graces from Mr. Hoole's tranfia*
tion. But Milton, as Mr* Bowie had long ago concurred with
do6tor Newton in obferving, perhaps remembered Harrington'a.
old verfion, however fhort of the original. St. 52.

As courtefie oftimes in fimple bowres

Is found as great as in the flately towres.
The mode of furniiliing halls or ilate-apartments with tapeflry,
had not ceafed in Milton's time. Palaces, as adorned with ta-
peflry, are here contrafled with kwly Jicds ^n^Jpnud^ rtfters. ^J^
modern poet would have written ^i^rco^/ halls. Warton.
V. 323. ■ fwmer found in kwfyjheds

Withjmoahf rafters^ than in tap'Jiry haUsy &c. ] Tbe fam^
train of thought is in K. Hem • IV. applied to Sleep. P. ii. A. iii. $• j«

Why rather, Sleep, ly*fl thou in/moafy crUs ^ * ■ ■

Than in the perfum d champs rf the great.

Under the canopies of coftlyJiateT £dito|(. . j . '•

<^. 325. In courts of princes J] This is Mr. WartoD*s emefidadoh.
It was before ** jind courts of princes." In the- preceding verfe
<< JVith fmoaky rafters" was at firft written by Mikon >< ,^id
** fmoaky rafters :" but he left it for his excdient editor to make
the elegant corredion in this verfe, which he himfcif mud have
intended. Editor.
. Ibid. In courts of princes^ vJi$re it frfi vas nam^^i*'] Mft Symp-

k.

C O M U $• sS

I cannot be, that Ifhould fear to change it.

Eye me, bled Providence, and fquare my trial 329

To my proportioned (Irength. Shepherd, lead on^ •

Efiter The Two Brothers(.

E. Br. Unmuffle ye faint ftars, and thou, fair moon.
That wont^ft to love the traveller's bcnizon, .
Scoop thy pale viiage through an amber cloud,

fon percdv'd with me, that this is plainly taken. frpm Spenferi
F. Q. vi. i. I.

Of court, it feems, men couitefie do <all,

For that it there mod ufeth to abound. Newton.
V, 331. Unmuffle ye ftuntftars^ and thou^/air tmmJ] Muffle was
not fo low a word as at prefent. Drayton, Heroic Epist. vol.
i. p. 251. Of Nighc

And in tinck vapours muffle up the world.
Browne, Shep. Pipe, ed. 1614.

if it chanc'd Night's fable (hrowds

Muffled Cynthia up in clowds.
And Sylvefter, immediately in the feufe before us* Du Bart.
cd. 1621. p. 198.

WhUe Night's black Mkffler io$detk up the ikies.

Warton#
See alfo Shakfpeare, Rom«.akd' Jul. A. v; S.iii.

Muffle me, l^igh^ awhile.
The word feems indeed to Inve'been' more particularly adjoined
to Wight by our elder poets. Compare MiROua por Mac.
cd. 1610. p. B06. Of ifigkJ'

-——with black cloake of clouds mufflmg the flues.
And G. Wither, Shepherd's Hv;Kting. 1622.

And Night begips to muffljeykp the day.
Young has ^ muffled deep in midnight darknefs.'* Night.
Thouobt. li. V. 176. Editor..

V, 332. That wont'' ft to love the traveller* sheni%on.'\ Mr. Rich-
ardfon and Mr. Thyer here* faw with me, that there was an
.allufioa to Spenfer, F. Q. iii. i. 43. . ''

As when fayre Cynthia, in darkefome ni^ht.

Is in a noyous cloud enveloped, - ■'*

Where ihe. may finde the fubftance thin and light,

Breakes forth her filver beames, and her bright head
. , (Difcovers to the word difcomfited :
. . Oftheptmre travdlp- that toent aftre^

trith Umifemd hlejfingsjhe is heried, Newton*
t>. 333. ^toof tfy pale vifage : thmgh '^mm ^mhr €huj.] Mr.

And di(inherit Chiaos, that feigns here
In double n^ht of darknefs ai^ of (hades; jjtf

Or, if your influence be quite damned up -
With black ufurping mifts, fome gentle taper.
Though a ru(h-caadleironi the wicker hole

9KHrle» tdgether with t pti&ge ttom the Fabrib QobbniV BA
cited by RichardfoQ^ men to B. and Fletcher'^ Make's TaA*
GBDTy in the Mafque, A. i. S» i.. vol. i. p. la*
Bnght Cirithia, hfear my voice 1 — ^—
Appear^ no loneer thy pale vifage (hroud,
. B«t ftrike thy fflver horaA quttiB through a doiuU

Warxok.^
Compare II Peks. v. 71. Of the mooii*
A Ad oft) as if her head (he bow'd,
' St99ping through a fLtccf clmd. Editor,

if, 354^ ■ ^^SnhiHt dte0/.] This expreffion ihouM be
animadverted upon, as hyperbolical and bombail, and a kia t*
that in Scriblb'rvs, ^ Mow my beard/* Dr, J* Wartok.

Milton feems to imitate Nabbes's MicaocotMUt. ilQtd%
Old Pla ys» vol. ix. p. 1 16, where Janus fays to Nature,
I ■ jiir had beft

Confine himfelf to his three reg^As,
Or elfe I'll Mfinherit him.
And fee Crafhaw, Hviiii on thb Epiphakir. edb F^ois, i6^%^
p;2o»

Bright Babe ! whofe awful beautyes make
The morn incurr a fweet miftakei
For whom the officidus heavns deuife
Todifiiherittthefim^frife. Editor. '
t^. 335. In dwbk night rf darknefs mnd rf/haJltt.'] Sctf^ $8o.
This line, fays Mr. Bowie, refemblcs one of Pacuvius, qtioted by
Cicero, De Divikat. Lib. 1. 14. ' ' v

Tenebrae emJmpUeantur^ no^quc et nimbomm occaecat
nigror. Wartok.
There is a bold expreffion in Sylvcfier, Dv Bart. ed«-' t6»i.
p. 1177.

DoMe-mghtedm^xtYi error.
Perhaps this fuggefted to our poet the cognate word ill^ PaVb
K^G, B. i. 499.

I ' ■' now began

Night with her fuUen wing to drnthk^Jhade
i Thcdefert—
The << double night of darknefs and of (hades'* has aflbrled Toung
an opportunity of moral adaptation. Niort TROVotax.' i. v« 43,
Through this opaque of Nature and of Soul,

^MvMfni!^. . Eritqr.. U: '

k.

C O M U S. $7

Of fome day habitation^ vifit us

With thy long levelled rule of ftreanaing light 5 340

Atid thou (halt be our ftar of Arcady, .

Or Tynan Cynpfure.

Sec. Bf\ Or, if our eyes

Be barr*d that happinefs, might we but hear

The folded flocks penned in their watled cotes.

Or found of paftoml reed with oaten Hops, . 345

Or whiftle from the lodge, or village cock

Count the night watches to his feathery dames^

*Twould be fome folace yet, fome little chearing

In this dole dungeon of innumerous boughs*

V, 339. — — vt/!t us

fTith thy hmg leveWd rule rf fireaimng light.'\ See. Pab.
Lost, iii. 23. and ii. 398.

■ not unvifited of Hcav'n's fair light.
St. Lu&B i, 78. ** The day-fpring from on high hath vifittd us,**

Warton.
if. 340. " ■ ' Jong levelVd rule rf fireaming %A/«] A ray of the
fun, in the fame manner, is called, 19;^ KANAN ZA^HZ, in the
IKETIAES of Euripides v« 650. wluch his late editor (Markland)
had not imagination enough to conceive the meaning of. See
Note on the place, edit. London, 1763. 4to. Hurd.

The fun is faid to ** Uvel his evening rays%" Par* Lost, iv.
543. Warton.

V. 341. ' ourftat rf Arcody^

Or Tyrian Qm^e.] Our gceskter or leflcr bear-fiar.
Califlo, the daughter of Lycaon kine of Arcadia^ was changed
into the greater bear, called alfo^ HeUce^ and her fon Areas into
the lefler^ called alfo Cymfura^ by obferving of which the Tyrians
and Sidonians fleered their courfe, as the Grecian mariners did
by the other. See Ovid, Fast. iii. 107. and Val. Flaccus, Argon.
i. 17. Newton.

V. 344. The folded flocks femi^d in their watted cotes. ] P a R . Lost,
B. iv. 18 C. '* Pen their flocks at eeve in hurdled cotes.'* Warton.
See alfo Horace, £pod, ii. 45.

Claudenfque textis cratibus laetum pecus. Editor.
V. 349. -' innumerous houghs."] Iiuiujnerous is uncommon.

Par. L. vii. 4C5. ** Innumerous living creatures.'.' The expreifion,
innumerous houghs^ has been adopted into Pope's Ody OTey. W a r tq n .
Compare Par. Lost, ix. 1089.

Ye Cedars, with iunumerable houghs
Hide me.
But inmimei'ws is common in the poetry of Milton's friencf,

I

5? C O M U S.

But, O that haplefs virgin, our loft Sifter, 350

Where may (he wander now, whither betake her

From the chill dew, among rude burs and thiftles i

Perhaps fome cold bank is her bolfter now.

Or *gainft the rugged bark of fome broad elm 354

Leans her unpillow*d head, fraught with fad fears.

What, if in wild amazement and affright ?

Or, while we fpeak, within the direful grafp

Of favage hunger, or of favage heat ?

EL, Br. Peace, Brother; be not over-exquifite

To caft the falhion of uncertain evils : 360

For grant they be fo, while they reft unknown.

What need a man foreftall his date of grief,

Henry More. See his Platonicall vSong of the Soul, edit.
Camb. 1642. i2mo. Pfycathanafia, B. iii. C. iv. ft. 30. •♦ Innn*
*' merous ofF-fpring.*' Again, ft. 32. ** Innumerous mifchiefs."
Milton and More were " nurft upon the felf-fanre hill," and had
drank deep of the fame fpring. See Note infr. at v. 467. Thus,
in More's Song, ut fnpr. B.i. C.i. ft. 18, 19. Plato is called
** divinefij^^ and his Philofophy ** begot rfhigheft Jwe^

•* That fires the nobler heart with ipotlefle love,
" And fadder minds luith 'NtBar drops*4^th chear.**
This is MiIton*« " divine Philofophy," the " perpetual feaijt of
" neftar'd fweets," infr. v. 476. And More nirther obfervcs,
that " with crabbed mind Wifdom will nere confort,'* nor ** make
•' abode with a^owr ingeniis," Song, ut fupr. B. iii. C.iii* ft. '58.
So Milton contends, that Philbfophy is " not barjh and crabbed^**
infr. v. 447, and, in the fame fpirit, reprobates thofe *^ Hbidinous
*' and ignorant poetaftcirs," who by their writings *' make the
" tafte of virtuous documents A/ic^^ and.^wr.'* Prose-W, i. 223*
edit. Amft. 1698. fol. Editor.

• V. 353. Perhaps fame cold bank is her bolfier ttvivJ\ Compare
Drayton, Nimphall. iv, cd. 1630.

Is the roW^o»«// become thy ^r^^

The graffe become thy pillow? Edtto r.

V, 359. ^'^ Be not over-exquifite. \ Exquifite was not now un-
common in its more onginal fignification. B. and Jfletcher,
Little Fr. Law. A. v. S. i. vol. iv. p. 253.
' They^re exquifite in mifchief; War ton.

V. 360. To caft the fn/hion,^ A metaphor taken from the
Founder's art. Warburtow,

Rather from Aftrology, as " to caft a Nativity." The oiean-
ing is to predi^i prefigure^ compute^ ^c, Wartoij.

V. 361. This line obfcures the thought, and loads the expref-

C O M U S. 59

And ran to meet what he would moft avoid ?

Or if they be but falfe alarmi of fear.

How bitter is fuch fclf-delufiori ? 365

I do not think my Sifter fo to fcek.

Or fo unprincipled in Virtue's book.

And the fweet peiace that goddiiefe tx)ofdms 6ver,

As that the (ingle want of light land noife

(Not being in danger, as l truft (he is not) 370

Gould ftir the conftant mood of her calm thoughts.

And put ihttti into mif-becoming plight.

Virtue could fee to do what Virtue would

fion. It had been better out^ as srny one may fee by reading the
pailage without it. Warburton.

V. 367, Or fo unprincipled in F'irtue*s bpok,^ Thus, in the
Tractate op Education, p. loi.ed. 1673. ^^ SomU/o unprinci"
^^ pled in Firtue.^^ Comp&re alia Sams. Agon. 760. Warton.

Again, in his Prose-W. i. 222. edit. Amft. " Teaching over
** the whole b^k of Sanctity and Firtue,** Editor.

V* 369. As that thefingle want oflighl and m\fe

(Not being in danger^ as Itrujiflieismt) &c.] A profound
Critic cites tfafe intire context, as containing a beautiful example
of Milton's ufe of the parenthefis, a .figure which he has fre-
•quentJy ufed with great eifed. " The tfrhole palTage. is exceeds
*' ingly beautiful ; but what I praife in the parenthehs is, the pa<»
** thos and concern for his fitter that it ^xprefles. For every pa-
*^ renthefis fhould contain matter of weight ; and, if it thrown in
** fome paifion of feeling into the difcourfe, it is fo much, the
*^ better^ becaufe it furnifiies the fpeakcr with a proper occafion
** to vary the tone of his voice, which ought always to be done in
^^ fpeaking a parehthefis, but is never more properly done than
" when fome paifion is to be exprefled. And we may obferve here,
'* that there ougbt to be twp variations of the voice in fpeaking
•* this parenthefis. The firft is that toije which we ufe, when wc
** edean to qualify or reftrid any thing that we have faid before.
^ With this tone (houid be pronounced, not being in danger ; and
V. the fecend member^ as I tiuft Jhe is dot^ fhould be pronounced
*» with that patb^fk tone in which we eari^eftiy hope or pray for
"anything.? Or^cin aSd Progr. of Language, B. iv. P,
ii.voL iii. p. 76^ Bdtngb. 1776. This is very fpecious and in-
genious reafoning. j^ut fome perhaps may think this beaut;)^ quite
accidental and unldefi^gned. A parenthefis is often thrown in, for
the iake of exphndtSon, after a paflage is written. Warton.

V. 373. Firtne could J^ to do what Firtue would

By her own radiant light, ^ It h^.been noticed by man^

6o C O M U S.

By her own radiant light, though fun and moon
Were in the flat fea funk. And Wifdom*s fclf 375
Oft leeks to fweet retired Solitude ;
Where, with her beft nurfe. Contemplation,

Critics, that this noble fentiment was infpircd from Spenfer»
Faert Queenb, i. i. 19.
* ^ Virtue gives herfelf light through darknefle for to wade.

But may not Jonfon here be alfo noticed, who, in his Mafque,
Pjleasurb reconciled to Virtue (to which I have ven-
tured to aflign other allufions in Comus), lays of Firrsr;
She, ihe it is darkneiTe fhines,
'Tis (he that dill herfelf refines.
By her own light, to every eye. Editor.
■ V. 375. Were in the flat fea funk,'\ Perhaps he wrote, '* Went
*' in the {t2i flat funk." Compare Farad. Reg. B. iv. 363*
^ Lays cities ^0/." Again, B. ii. 222. of Beauty.
—AH her plumes
Yi^iXfiat and ihrink into a trivial toy.
And Par. L.fi.i. 401. '^ On the groundfill-cdge, where he fell^//'
But we have ** hvel brine," in Lycid. v. 98. Warton.

The prefent reading, whicli has been adopted by Dyer, Fi.bbcx.
B. i. perhaps is preferable :

And here and there, between the fpiry rocksy
The broad^/>4».
Again, B. vi.}yx)E^ flat fea fhines like yellow gold.*' And.ia
B. ii. he ufes the anahgous expreiHon in Lycidas :
' huge Lemnos heaves

Her azure head above the level brine. Editor.
V. 376. Oftfeeks to fweet retired SolituJe,"} For the fame un-
common ufe of faei^ Mr. Bowie cites Bale's Examinactoit of
A. Afkew, p. 24. ** Hath not he moche nede of helpe who fUgtJk
*^ to foche a furgeon?" So alfo in Isaiah, ii. lo* ^ T9 it ihail
*« the Gentiles^ri." Warton.

V. 377. ' ■■ her h0 nurfej Contemflatioa.} Contempla^a

is finely perfonified by Milton in his Prose-Works, i. a66.
ed. 1698. *^ For fo oft as the Soul would retire out of the Head
'*^ from over the (leaming vapours of the lower parts to divine
<( contemplation, with him (he found the imeft and fuktefl
*' rttreat^ as being moil remote from foil and diuurbance."

Mr. Warton, in hts Note on I l Pens. v. 52, fays that Con*
templatlon i$ firfi perfonified in Engliih poetry by Spenier. - 1
preuime he adverts to the Fabry Queenb, i. x. 46. ^ His
'** name was heavenly Contemplation." Yet it is perfonified
by Sir Philip Sidney, Spenfer's patron, in his Arcadia, which
was written about 1589. See 13th edit. p. 229. The v^ea are
called " Afclepiades i''

Ik

C O M U S. 6i

She, plumes lier feathers, and lets grow her wings,
That in the. various buftle of refort
Were all to ruffled, and fometimes impairM. 3i8o
^e, that has light within his own clear breaft,
May fit i' th' center, and enjoy bright day :

p fwcet woods, the delight of folitannels-*
CosTEhtFLATiom iere hoUetA HIS otify /eat :
Bounded with no limits, borne with a wing of hope,
^ Climes even unto the ftars.

So, in II ,Peks. ** The cherub contemplation foars on
*' golden wing." Editor^

V, 378. SAe plumes her feathers,'] I believe the true reading to
h^ prujiesy which Lawes ignorantly altered to //jif/r/^j, afterwards
imperceptibly continued in the poet's own edition. To prtme
-wtngs^ is to fmooth, o'r fet them in order, when ruffled. (For thh
is the leading idea. Spenfer, F, Q. ii. iii. 36.
She 'gins her feathers foule disfigured
Proudly to prune, ■ Z*

A Critic of the moil cbnfumniate ^bTtitiesKsts confirmed bifhop
Warburton's opinion, that Pope plainly copieoLtkis fublime and
elegant imagery, and that he hUs ,Aewn his dexterity in contending
with Jo great an original. Pope fays,

Bear me, ^me God, oh ! quickly bear me hence.
To wholefome Solitude, the nurfe of fenfe;
Where Contempl at i 6 n prunes her ruffled wings.
See On the Marks or Poetical Imitation, i2mo. 1757.
p. 43. I find, however^ in Hughes's Thought in a Garden,
written 1704, -Poems, jwlit. 1735, vol i. i2mo. p. 171.

Here CoNTEB«PLATioN/rafw/^ wiWj, Warton.
V. 380. Were all yi ruffled,"] So read as in editions 1637, 1645,*
•and 1673. Not /m( nimis. AU-to^ or AUto^ is Intirefy. See Tyr-
vhitt's Gloss Aflnr, Chaucer. V. Too, And Upton's Gloss.
: Spenfer, V. All J Various inftances occur in Chaucer and Spen-
./cr, and in lain- writers. The corruption, fuppofed to be am
•emendation, '^all too ruffled,'' began with Tickell, who had no
; knowledge of our old language, and has been continued by Fen-
ton, and dodor Newton. Tonfon has the true reading, in 1695,
<and 1705. Warton.
, V. 381. Hcy that, has light within his own clear hreajl^

May Jit V tk center^ and enjoy Inight day,] So, in his

pROSE-Ww.aiy. ed. 1698. " The anions ot juft and pious men

** do not darken in their middle courfe; but Solomon tells us,

. >< they ar^ as the fhimug light, that ihineth more and more unto

. ^* the perfp^ day."

.5cc CrjaQiaw's Wishes, to h», supposed, Mistress, v. 79.
Diiys, th?t in fpitc

62 C O M U S.

But he» that hides a dark foul and foul thoughts.

Benighted walks under the mid-daj fun ;

Himfelf is his own dungeon*

Sec. Br. *Tis mod true, 38^

That muiing Meditation mod affefts

The penfive fccrecy of defert cell.

Far from the chearful haunt of men and herds.

And (its as fafe as in a fenat boufe ;

For who would rob a hermit of his weeds, 390

His few books, or his beads, or maple di(h.

Or do his gray hairs any violence ?

But Beauty, like the fair Hefperian tree

Laden with blooming gold, had need the gimrd

Of dragon-watch with uninchanted eye, ' ^ 395

To fave her bloflbms, and defend her firuit

From the rafti hand of bold Incontinence.

You may as well fpread out the unfunn'd heaps

Of mifer's treafure by an outlaw's den.

Of Darkncfs, fy tht light

Of a clear mind^ are day all night. Editor.
V, 385. Kimfelf is his vum dungeon.] In Sams. Agoh. v. X($«
the Chorus aoply this foiemn and forcible expreifion to the cap*
five and affliaed hero :

Thou art become ^O worft imprifonment)

T)^e dungetm of thjijelf. Editor,

V. 388. «*— the chearful haunt ofmenj] In Pab. Lost,- B. iii*
46. it is '* the chearful ways rf men.'* Thomfon copies GoMvs;:
Summer, V. 1072. '^ The cheerful haunt of men." £biTom»

V, 389. jind Jits as fafe as in a fenat houfe.] Not tfiany yeats
after this was written, Milton's friends ihewed that the farety of ^
fenate houfe was not inviolable. But^ when thr people tum.le-
giflators, what place is fafe from the tumults of idnoTatioit^ aold
the infults of dilobcdience ? Wartok.

V, 393. But Beaut^j ice] Thefe fentiments are beightemkl
from the Faithful Shepherdess, A. i. S. i« vol. iii« p* ^£3.
■ ' Can fuch beauty be
Safe in its own guard, and not drawe the eye
Of him that pafi^th on, to greedy gaze, &c. WAU.'t^nt*
V, 3^^. I I with uninchanted eye.] That )s, which cattkofbi Ih*
chanted. Here is more flattery ; but certainly fuch as was jaftly
due, and which no poet in fioiilar circurMdances, could refill tkie
opportunity or rather the temptation of paying. Wailton.

C O M U S. 63

AncJ tell me it is fafe, a$ bid mc hope 400

Danger will wink on Opportunity,

And let a fmgle helplefs iiuiden pafs

Uninjur'd in this wild furrounding wafte.

Of night, or lonelinefs, it recks me not;

1 fear the dread events that dog tbem both, 405 ^

Left fome ill-greeting touch attempt the perfon

Of our unowned Sifter.

B.L Br. I do not. Brother,

Inferr, as if I thought my Sifter's ftate

Secure, without all doubt or controverfy j

Yet, where an equal poife of hope and fear 410

Does arbitrate th' event, my nature is

That I incline to hope, rather than fear.

And gladly baniih fquint fufpicion.

My Sifter is not fo defenceless left

As you imagine ; (he has a hidden ftrength, 415

Which you remember not.

Sec. Br. What hidden ftrength,

Unlefs the ftrength of Heav'n, if you mean that ?

El. Br. I mean that too, but yet a hidden ftrength,

Which, if Heav'n gave it, may be term'd her own :

V, 402. And let a JingU helfUfs maiden pafsy &c.] Rofaiind
argues in the fame manner, in As you like it, A. i. S. iii.

Alas I v^hat danger will it be to us.

Maids as we are, to travel forth fo far !

Beauty provoketh thieves fooner than gold. Warto n.
Compare alfo Guarini, Past. Fid. A. v. S. ii.

£ donna fcompagnata

*E fempre mal guardata. Editor.
^,41^, ^ a hidden fir ength,"] Addifon, who fa much

^admired Comvs, might have adopted from it this expreflive
phrale'into his Cato.

The Gods, in bounty, work up ftorms about us.

That give mankind occafion to exert

Their hidden ftrength. Ed it o r .
V. 4 1 g. IVhichy if Heav*ngave it^ may he termed her vam* J Guarini
Past. FiDo. A.iii. S.iii.

Troppo lungi fe' tu da quel, che brami :

II proibifce il ciel; ia terra il guarda,

. f Sfie Part 1. p.ci, nqtct

64 C O M U S,

*Tis Chafiity, my Brother, Chaftity : 426-

She, that lias that, is clad in compleat fteel.
And, like a quivered Nymph with arrows keeny

E '1 vendica la morte.

Ma piu d* ogn' altro, e con piii faldo fcudo,

L' onedate il difende :

Che fdcgna aima ben nata

Piu tido guardatore

Aver del proprio onore*
Perhaps Milton remembered the Fathers alfo on the fubjed of
Chadity. By St. Ambrofc, Virginity is thus impregnably for-
tified, and thus divinely protedcd: '* Undique vallata eft mnro
*^ caflitatis, et fepto divinae munita protect ionis." D. Ambroi.
Opp. vol. iii. p. 1046. edit. Paris. 1586. foU See alfo Notes infr.
at v. 440, and V. 455. Editor.

V. 421. ■ // clad in compleat JieeL^. This phraie is fuppoled
to be borrowed from Hamlet. Critics mud £bew their reading,
in quoting books : but I rather think it was a common expreffion
for ^* armed from head to foot." It occurs in Dekker's Vh trus-
sing OF THE Humourous Poet, Lond. for £. White, i6oa;
4to. Signat. G.

— Fipft, to arme our wittes

With compleat Jieele of ludgment, and our tongoes

With found artillerie of phrafes, &c.
This play was adted by the lord Chamberlain's fervants, - and the
choir-boys of faij;^ Paul's, in 1602. Hamlet appear^ at leaft
before 1598. Again, in a play, The weakest gobth to thb
Wall, 1618, 4to. Signat. H.

At his fird comming, arm'd in compUte^eele^

Chaleng'd the duke Medine at his tent, &c.
The fird edition of this play is in 1600. 4to.

Hence an expreffion in our author's Apology, which alfo
confirms what is here faid, §. i. ^' Zeal, whofe fubdance is ethe-
real, *' arming in ro;ff//f/z/ diamond, afcends his fiery chariot, &c.'*
pR.-W. i. 114. Warton.

V, 422. And^ like a quivered Nymph with arrvaos 1teen*\ I maj^e
no doubt but Milton in this paffage had his eye upon Spenser 's,
Belphabcy whofe character, arms, and manner of life, perfe&ly.
correfpond with this defcription. What makes it the more cer--
tain is, that Spenfer intended under that perfonage to reprefent
the Virtue of Chajlity, Thyer.

Perhaps Milton remembered a danza in Fletcher's Pui^p.
Island, publidied but the preceding year. B. x. d.a;* It i«
in a perfonification of yirgin-Chaftitie*

With her, her fider went, a warlike maid,

Pattheniay all in deele and gilded arms.

In needle's deady a mighty fpear die fway'd, &c. Walton.

C O M U §• «$

May trace huge forefh.and unharbourM heaths.

Infamous hills and fatidy perilous wilds.

Where, through the facred fays bf Chaftity, 42^

No favage fierce, banditc, or mouhtaneer,

Will dare to foil her virgin purity :

V. 433. Mof trace knge fareftt^ &c.] Shakfpeare^s Oberon, as
Mr. Bowie obftrves, would breed lu6 cbild-knight to '< trace
« the forefb wild*" Mids. N. Dr. A. ii. S. iii. In Jonfoti's
Masques, a Fairy fays, vol. v. 206.
Only We are free to trace
All his grounds, as he to chace. Waktov.
Coxnjpare PAr. Reg. B.ii. 109. ^^ tracing the dcfert wild«" And
alfo Drayton, Nimf^all. iii. edit. 1630. of tairieSi
About the field tracing
Each other in chafing. Editor.
v» 424. Infamous hiHs.] Hor. On i» iii. 60.

If^ames /eofttUs^ Acroceraunia. Newton.
V, 425. tfHerCy tirougk tie /acred rays rf Chafiitf^
No favage farce^ bandite^ #r meunttoieery
JVill dare to /oil her virgin purity.'] So Fletcher, Faitb;
Shbph. a. i. S« i. vol. ill. p. 109. A Satyr koeds to a virgin-
fliepherdefs in-a foreft.

Why (hould this rough thingf who never knew

Manners, nor fmooth humanity} whofe htsats
Are rougher than himfelf, and more miihapeni
Hius mildly kneel to me ? Sure there's a power
In that great name oi Virgin, that binds nUk
. All rude uhcivil bloods, aU appetites
That break their confines 1 &c. Warton.
V. 426. Ifofavagejiercey bandite, friMmwy/tf^^tfr. ] Tickell changed
iandite for ianditti. He introduced alfo a fimilar change in
ir. 441. namely, biana tor Dian»

Banditej dtnotigh not a very common word} occurs in Love-
lace's LiK:ASTAip.62. edit. 1659. And it is adopted from CioiKus
by Pope, in his Essay ok Man. See Note on v. 41^. of the
Afiiridge manufcript. Editor.

Ibid. II I mountaneer.} A mountamer ftfems to haye conveyed
the idea of fomething' very &vage and ferocious. In the TeK-
PEST, A.m. S. in.

Who would believe that there were mountaineers
* l)ewlapp'd likis buliaK— <
In Cymbeline^ A«1v. S. ii.

Who catrd me traitor, momitaineer.
In Drayton, Mvs. E&Ys. vol. iv.

This Cleon was a mountaineif^

And of the wilder kind. Wartok.

66 C O M U S.

Yea there, where very dcfolation dweUs
By grots and caverns (ha^*d with horrid Ihades,
She may pafs on with uablencb'd majeflyy 430

Be it not done in pride, or in prefumption.

V. 428. where very de/olatiwt dwells ] Par. Lost, B. i. i8i .

" The feat of defolation." Wartok.

V 429. By grots and caverns Jhag^d^iik horrid Aades,\ Pope
appears to have adverted to this line, Elois. Abel. v. 20.

Ye grots and caverns ihagg'd with horrid thorn.
Again, in the fame poem, v. 24.

I have not yet forgot myfelf to (lone.
Almofl as evidently from our author's II Pbvs, v. 42.
There held in holy paffion ftill,
Forget thyfelf to marble.
Pope again, ibid. v. 244.

And low-brow'd rocks hang nodding o'er the deeps.
From L' Allegro, v. 8.

There under ebon ihades and low-brow'd rocks.
And in the MsssiARy v. 6.

— touch'd Ifaiah's hallow'd lips with lire.
So, in the Odb Nativ. v. 28.

■ touch'd with hallow'd fire.
See fupr. at v. 24. and 380. And infr. at v. 86 1. And Essay on
PopB, p. 307. <{. vi. edit. 2.

This is the firft inftance of any degree even of the Ifighteft at-
tention being paid to Milton's fmaller poems ^y a writer, of note,
lince their firft publication. Milton was never mentioned, or ac-
knowledged, as an Englifh poet, till after the appearance of Pa r a*
DI8E Lost : and, long arter that time, theie pieces were totally-
forgotten and overlooked. It is ftrange that Pope, by no means
of a congenial' fpirit, ihould be the fine who copied Com us or
II Penseroso. But Pope was a gleaner of the old EngHfh
poets ; and he was here pilfering from oijhlete Engliih poetry, with-
out the lead fear or danger of being dete6led. Wartok.
Ibid. ■■ horrid Jhades,'\ Par. Lost, B. ix. 185.

Nor yet in horrid Jhade^ or difmal den.
And Par. Reg. B. i. 296.

A pathlefs defert, duik with horrid Jhades,
Compare TalTo, Gier. Lib. C. xii. 29.

Me n' andai fconofciuto, e per foreila
Caminando, di piante horrida ombroik—- Editor.
t>. 430. •— w/'/// unblenckd majejiy,'\ Unblinded^ unconfounded.
See Steevens's Note on Blench^ in Hamlet, at the clofe of the
fecond A6t. And Upton's Gloss. Spenfer, V. BUnd. And
Tyrwhitt's Gloss. Ch. V. BUnt. In B, and Fletcher's Pil-
grim, A. iv. S. ill. voL v. p. 516*

C O M U S. 67

Some fay, no evil thing that walks by night,

In fog, or fire, by lake, or moorifh fen,

Blue meager hag, or ftubborn unlaid ghoft

That breaks his magic chains at Curfeu time, 435

—Men that will not totter.
Nor hUnch much at a bullet. Warton.
V* 432. Some /i^y m evil thing that tvalks fy night."] Mikon had
Shakfpeare in his head. Hamlet, A. i. S. i.

Some/qy, that ever 'gainfl that feafon comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated—
But then, they Jaj^y nofpirit walks abroad.
Another fu perdition is ufliered in with the fame form in Par.
Lost, B. x. 575.

Yearly injoin'd,,^^ytf^, to undergo
This annual humbling, certain numbered dajs.
Where, dodor Newton fays, " I know not, nor can recolle^fl',
** from what author or \9\aX tradition Milton borrowed this notion,**
But do^^or Warburton faw, it was from old romances.

And the fame form occurs in the defcription of the phyfical
cfFefts of Adam's fall. B. x. 668. Warton.
Ibid. ■ no evil thing that walks by night j

^^fiS^ w firefly la£e^ or moori/hfin^ «c.] Milton here had
his eye on the Faithful Sh£pbbrdbss, A. i. He has borrow-
ed the fentiment, but raifed and improved the didtion.
—I have heard, (my mother told it me.
And now I do believe it) if I keep
^My virgin flow'r uncropt, pure, chafte, and fair.
No goblin, wood-god, fairy, elfe, or fiend.
Satyr, or other pow'r that haunts the groves.
Shall hurt my body, or by vain iilufion
Draw me to wander after idle fires ;
Or voices calling me &c. Newton.
V 434. Blue meager hag,} Perhaps from Shakfpeare's ** blue-.
" eyed hag." Tbmp. A.i. S. ii. Wartok.
Ibid. ■ ■ ■ J hihhom unlaid gho/i

That breaks his magic chains at Curfeu time."] An unlaid
ghtoft was among the moft vexatious plagues of the world of
Ipirits. It is one of the evils deprecated' at Fidele*s grave, in
Cymbeline, A.iv. S. ii.

No exorcifer harm thee.
Nor no witchcraft charm thee,
Ghofi unlaid forbear thee !
The metaphorical expreffion is beautiful, of hreakif/g his magic
chains^ for *' being fuffered to wander abroad." And here too the
fuper^tion is'-from Shakfpeare, K. Lear, A. iii. S. iv. ^ This
** is the foul fiend Flibbertigibbet \ he begins at Cvrfem)^ and walks

K 2

68 C O M U S«

No goblin, or fwart fatry of the mine.
Hath hurtful pow'r o'er true Virgimty.
Do ye believe roe yet, or (hall I call
Antiquity firom the old fchools oi Greece

** till the firil cock." Compare alio Cartwri^bt, in Us iday of the
Oadinaay, where Moth tfie antiquary fiogs an old loog, A.ii.
S. i. p. 36. edit. 165^1. He wUhes, that the houie ip3j reowin
Irec from wicked fpirits,
From Curfew time
To the nextjprime.
Compare Note on It Psaia. v. 83. Profperoi 19 tbo T>mpsst»
Invokes thofe elves, amo^ otjiers,
■ ■ that rejoycc
To hear the folemn Curfew.
A. V, S. i. That is, they rejoice at the found of tbe Cuifew, be*
caufe at the clofe of day annoupced by the Curfew^tbey 9it per«>
mittcd to leave their feveral confinements, and be at large tiU
cock-crowing. Macbi th, A.ii. S.iii.

Good tbin« of day begin to 4roop and drowfe.
While night's Uaci agents to their prey do roufe.

Wartov.
v« ^36. ^^"^ /wart f any fftig mumuI In the Gothic fyftem of
ppeumatolo^y, mines were fuppofed to be inhabited by varioim
forts of fpints. See Olaus Magnus's Chapter dc: MsTAtittcia
Djf.monibus, Hist. Gent. Sbptentriokal. vi. x. In an
old tranflation of Lavaterus De Spedrit et Lsmurikufy is the fol-
lowing paffage. *' Pioners or diggqrs for metall do afSrme, that
** in many mines there appeare llraunge Shapes and Spirites,
** who arc apparelled like vnto the laborers in the pit, Thefe
** wander vp and downe in caues and underminings) and feeme
** to befturre themfelves in fdl kinde of labor ; as, to digge after
** the vcine,to carrie together the oare,tQputit into balketts, and
'* to turn the winding wheele to drawe it vp, when in very deed
^* thev do nothinge lefle, &c.""— — " Of Gho&tss and SFiaiVEs
** walking by night, ^c." Lond. 1572, Et. Lett. cb. xvi^p. 73.
And hence we fee whjf Milton gives this fjpecits of Fairy a fwar-
thy or dark complexion. Georgius Agricola, in his tnA De
SuuTKRRANEis Animantibus, relates among other wonders
of the lame fort, that thefe Spirits fometimes afl'ucne the xx^oSi ter-
rible fltapcs ; and that one of them, in a cave or pit in Germany,
killed twelve miners with his pefiilentia] breath. Ad. calc. De
Kr Mrtai.l. p. 538. fiafil. i6ii. foL Drayton peifonifies the
Peak in Derby mire, which he makes a witch ikiUiil in metallurgj.
PoLYOLB. S. xxvii. vol. iii. p. 1176.

The Sprites that haunt the mines ihe could correft an4 tBio^
iVnd bind them as ihe lift, ^c« W art9n,:

C O M U S^ 69

To teftify the arms of Chaftity ? 440

Hence had the huntrefs Dian her dread bow^
Fair filyer-ftiafted Queen, for ever chafte.
Wherewith (he tam'd the brinded lioneft
And fpotted mountain pard, but fet at nought
The frivolous bolt of Cupid ; gods aud men 445

See alfoPoLYOLB. S. iiuecL i6m, p. 63. Keyfler, in his Tra-
vels, fpeaking of Idria in Germanyy fays, ^^ As the inhabitants
** of ail mine-towns have their (lories of goblins, fo are the people
*^ bere ftrongly poilefTed with a notion of fuch apparitions that
** haunt the mines/' roL iii. p. 377. In certain fiber and lead
mines in Wales, nothing is more common, it is pretended, than
thefe fubterranean fpirits, who are called imciersy and who good-
naturedly point out where there is a rich vein. They are repre-
fented as httle ftatured, and about half a yard long. See Grofe's
PoFutAR Superstitions, 1787. p. 41 And the Gknt. Mac^
vol. 65. p. 559.

The ^Mm is claflfed with ihe/tteiy <f the mim by an elaborate
writer on the fubjed. See Wierus De Pra&iligiis Dasmonum, lib, i,
cap.22. edit. BalEl. 1583. Editor..

V. 440. To tcftify the arnts of Chatty f] St. Jerome^ vgutng on
the famefubje^, calls ** AntiqjUity from the old fchools of Greece
" to teftijfy the arms of Chaftity." Ad Principiam Virginem,
*^ Ut autem fcias iemper Virginitatsu gladium habere pudi-
** citiae &c : gentiUs fuoque ^rror Deas virgines Jinxit armatasJ*
Hierdnyou 0pp. Tom, iii. p. 7a. edit. Franc, fol. £]>itor1

V. 441 . Hence &c.] Milton, I fancy, took the hint of this beau-
tiful mythological interpretation from a dialogue of Lucian be-*
twixt Venus and Cupid, where the mother alking her fon how,
after having attacked all the other Deities, he came to ijpare Mi-
Dcrva'and Diana, Cupid replies, that the former kek'dfijkrcefy
at kim^ and jfrtghteiC d him Jo with the Gcrgoft HeadvjhickJhntvortufKm
her hreafky thai he dmft not maddU wit her* K4u apn ^ ^/i*^ m iit\

fMffMKu^tra* yup fu, xeu ^ttyu trait 2^ owro-^and that as to Diana,
Jbe toas always JO emfU^d in huntings that h& amid not catch her, -u^l
^^Ta?Mfitit» mvvi» Jiont^ ^ufHsmo mu ^ vup^ oftuiw Th Y B a.

V. 44 c. The frivokm bolt of Cupid ^ This reminds one of the
** dribbhng dart of Ltm;^^ in M* vo& Measure. Bdt^ I be«
Uere, is properly the arrow of a cro&^bow. Ektcher, FAiXBr.
Sbepo. A« ii. Sk i^ p* 134.

* ■ ■ ■ . w idii bow and holty
' To ihoot at nimble fquirrels in the holt*. 'VI/'ar.tov. •
SflP Shakfpcare, M]^s» Niom's Dream, Ai ii. S. ii. < : ^

Yet mark'dil where the.' i»jr-e^C«^'4M. Eoitorv .

70 C O M U S.

Fear'd her flern frown, and (he was Queen o*th* woods.
What was that fnaky-headed Goi^on (hield.
That wife Minerva wore, unconquer*d Viigin,
Wherewith (he freez'd her foes to congeal*d done.
But rigid looks of chafte aufterity, 450

And noble grace that daih'd brute violence
With fudden adoration and blank awe ?
So dear to Heav'n is faintly Chaftity,
That when a foul is found fincerely fo,
A thoufand liveried Angels lacky her, 455

Driving far off each thing of fin and guilt ;
And, in clear dream and folemn vifion»

V, 449. Whe}'ewith Jiie ft-eez'd her /oes."} Milton here ufes the
regular lorro of the pail time of the verb, free»€. So Chaucer^
Test, of Creseide, v. 19. *' The fro^t/refid.** Editor.

Ibid. — /• coH\geaVd JiweJl The fourth foot is ungc-

centedy as above, at v. 273.

Not any boaft of (kill, I but ex I treme fhift-—
And in Par. Lost, fi. i. 735*

And fat as Princes, whom |the fu | preme King— •
Compare Shakfpeare, Rich. III. A.i. S. ii* '

^ See, fee ! dead Henry's wounds

Open their congeaVd mouths, and bleed afreih \
Where the fecond foot is unaccented, as at v. 11. " Amongft

** the enthron'd Gods;" and again, at v. 217. " That He, the

" Supreme Good." EpiTOR.

V. 450. But rigid looks &c.] Rigid looks refer to tht/naky locks^
and nohk grace to the beautiful face, as Gorgon is reprelented on
ancient gems. War burton.

V. 451. ■■ ' that di{/Ii*d bt'ute vioUuce,"] Par. Reg. B.4. 2i8.
> '■ to fubdue and quell o*erxdl the earth

Brute violence, Thyer.

v. 455. A thoufand liveried Angels lacky her,"} The idea, wkhout
the iownefs of aiiu^on and expreffion, is repeated in Par ad. Lm
B. viii. 559*

About her, as a guard Angelic plac'd. War ton. . .
A paflage in St. Ambrole, on Virgins, might have fuggeiled thit
remark. *' >^eque mirum fi pro vobis jdngeli ntilitautqux An*
gelorum moribus militatis. Meretur etrum frstfidium Cailitas
virginalis, quorum vitara meretur. £t quid pluribus exequar
*' laudem Caltitatisf Caflitas enim angelosfacit^*. Ambrosi.OB»w
Torn* iv. p. 536, edit Paris. 1586. fol. Editor... •:

^

C O M U S. 71

Tell her of things that no grofs ear can hear.

Till oft converfe with heav'nly habitants

Begin to call a beam on th* outward Ihape, 460

The unpolluted temple of the mind,

And turns it by degrees to the foul's effence,

V. 458. Tell her of things that no grofs ear can h^ar.] See Xote on
Arcades, v. 72, Tins dialogue between the two Brothers, is
an amicable contefl bettveen fa^ and philofophy. The younger
draws his arguments from common apprehenuon, and the obvious
appearance of things : the elder proceeds on a profouader know-
ledge, and argues from abilra6ted principles« Here the difference
of their ages is properly made fublervient to a contraft of charac-
ter. But this flight variety mufl have been infufficient to keep
io prolix and learned a difputation alive upon the ftagc. It mull
have lauguiflied, however adorned with the faireil flowers of elo-
ouence. The whole dialogue, which indeed is little more than a
lolitary declamation in blank verfe, much refembles the manner
of our author^s JLatin Prolufions at Cambridge, where philofophy
is inforced by pagan fable, and poetical allufion. Warton.

V. 459. Converje is here accented on the fecond fyllable as iu
Paa. Lost, B. 'ml, 909.

Thy fwcet convirfe and love fo dearly join'd.
But on the £r{l, B. viii. 408. and B. ix, 247.

Shakfpeare affords an inftance of the accent on the facond
fyllable, in Haml£X, A.ii. S. i.

Your party in converfe^ him you would found—
And Pope, Ess. on Criticism, v. 642.

Gen'rous cmvhfe\ a foul exempt from pride. Editor.
V. 461. The unpolluted temple of the mind,'} For this beautiful
metaphor he was probably indebted to St. John. ii. 21. " He
^' fpake of the temple of hi& body.'' And Shakfpeare has the lame.
Tempest, A. i. S. vi-

There's nothing ill can dwell in fuch a temple, Newton.
So, in his Rape of Lucrece, of Tarquin.

■I " his foul's fair temple is defac'd. Editor.
V, 462. jitid turns it by degrees to the fouVs ej/ence.] This is
' agreeable to the fyilem of the Materialifts, of which Milton was
one. Warburton.

The fame notion of body s working up tofpirit Milton afterwards
introduced into his Par. Lost, v. 469. &c« which is there, I
think, liable to fome obje6lion, as he was entirely at liberty to
ha^e chojfen a more rational fyilem, and as it is alio put into the
mouth of an Archangel, But in this place it falls in fo well witii
the poet's deiign, gives fuch force and flrength to this encomium
on'Chaility, and Girries in it fuch a dignity of feutiment, that
however repugiiani it may be to pu/ philolophicat ideas, it can-

^^ C O M U S*

Till all be made immortal : but when Lull,
By UQcbafte looks, loofe geftures, and foul talk.
But mod by leud and lavifh aft of fin» 465

Lets in defilement to the invirard parts.
The foul grows clotted by contagion,

not mlfs (Inking and delighting erery virtuous and inteUigent
reader. Thter.

V, 464. By unehafte koks^ &c.] ** He [Chrift] cenfures an «r-
** chafte look to be an adultery already committed : another time he
*' pafles over a6tual adultery with lefs reproof than for an mtdt^i
** looi.'^ Divorce, B. ii. c. i. P&. W. i. 184. See alfo, p*. 304.
Milton therefore in the expreffion here noted, alludes to our

Saviour, «< vak d BAEHAN rTNAIKA ^ff^ rh tai&tMHLAl mMi^
K.T X. S. Matth. EvANG. V. 28. Warton.

V, 46$. But moft hy leud and Icmjh aH rffin^ &c.] It is the fame
idea, yet where it is very commodioufly applied, in P. L. B-vi. 66d.
—Spirits of purefk light,
Pureft at firft, now rrofs hy Jhmtng grown. Wartok.

V. 467. The foul grows Clotted by coniagkH^ &c.] I cannot refift
the pleafure of tranflating a paflage in Plato's Phabdok, which
Milton here evidently copies. ^^ A foul with fuch afi^i^ons,
*' does it not fly away to fomething divine and refembling itfelf f
** To fomething divine, immortal, and wife? Whither when it
** arrives, it becomes happy ; being freed from error, ignorancey
" fear, love, and other human evils.— —Biit if it departs from
*' the body polluted and impure, with which it has been lone;
*' linked in a flate of familiarity and frieAdlhip, and by when
*' pleafures and appetites it has been bewitched, fo as to think
** nothing elfe true, but what is corporeal, and which may be
<^ touched, feen, drank, and ufed for the gratifications of luK : at
'* the fame time, if it has been accuftomra to hate, fear or fhuny
^' what ever is dark and invifible to the human eye, yet difcemed
*' and approved by tihilofophy : I aik, if a foul fo difpofed, will
*^ go fincere and difincumbered from the body ? By no means.
** And will it not be, as I have fuppofed, infeded and involved
*' with corporeal contagion, which an acquaintance and converfe
<* with the body, from .a perpettial afTociation, has. made con|e-
*' nial ? So I think. But my friend, we muft prodoUnce that
*^ fubftance to be ponderous, depreiEve, and earthy, which fuch
'* a foul draws with it : and therefore it is burthened by fiich a
*< clog, and a|ain is dragged off to fome vifible place, for fear of
*' that which is hidden and unfeen ; and, as they report, retires
'* to tombs and fepulchres, amone which the fliadowy phantafms
** of thefe brutal fouls, being loaded with fomewhat vmble'i' have
<* often actually appeared. Probably, O Socrates. And it is
*< equally probable, O Cebes, that thefe are the fools of wicked, not

k

G O M U S* 73

Imbodies, and imbrutes, till (he quite lofe

The divine property of her firft being.

Such are thofe thick and gloomy (hadows damp,

Oft feen in charnel vaults and fepulchers 47 x

Lingringy and fitting by a new made grav«.

As loath to leave the body that it lov*d,

And,linkt itfelf by carnal fenfuahty

*^ virtuous men, which are forced to wander amidA burial-placesy
** fuffering the puniQiment of an impious iife^ And they lo long
*' are feen hovering about the monuments of the dead, till from
*' the accompaniment of the fenfualities of corporeal nature, they
*' are again cloathed with a body, &c." pHi£D. Off. Platon.
p. 386. B I. edit. Lugdun. 1590. fbl. An admirable writer, the
prefent Bifhop of Worceiler, has juftly remarked, that '' this
** poetical philofophy nourifhed the fin^ fpirits of Milton's time,
** though it corrupted fome.'' It is highly probable, that Henry
More, the great Platoniil, who was Milton's contemporary at
Chrift's College, might have given his mind an early bias to the
ihidy of Plato. Wa&tok.

468. Im^its^ ond imbruttsJl Thus alfo Satan fpeaks of the
debafement and corruption of its original divine eflcncei Par* L«
B.ix. 165.

— mixt with beftial flime,
This eflence to incarnate and imhrute^
That to the hight of Deitie afpir'd.
Our author, with the^ Platonic refinements in his head, Aippofes
that the huoian foul ivas for a long time emhodied and imirutsd
ivith the carnal ceremonies of popery, jufl as (he is fenfualifed
and degraded by a participation of the vicious habits of the body.
Op Reformation, &c. Prosb-worrs, vol. i. 1. Imbrute or
^mbrute^ occurs in G. Fletcher, p. 38. I believed it to be Mil*
ton's coinage. Warton.

G. Fletcher's expreffion is applied to the ''^fwilling rout,"
transformed by Circe from pien into beafis. Christ's Vict.
P.ii.ft. 46.

This their imbrutedfwU efleem*d (heir wealth,
To crown the boufing can from day to night. JSnitOR.
V. 469. iTii^ di%nne property ffherfirfi being.] Hor. SAT.ii. ii. 79.

Atque adfligit homo divhue,particulam aura. Editor.
9. 473. As loath to have the body that it lov'd,] See Sir Kenelmc
Digby's Observations on Religio. Medici. 4th edit. p. 327.
**. Souls that go out of their Bodies with affection to thofe ob-
*^ jeds.they leave behind themf (which ufuaUy is as long as they
^ can reliih them) do retain ftiil, even in their fbparation, a byas
*^and a languiihing towards them 1. which is the reafon, why

74 C O M U S.

To a degenerate and degraded ftate. ^475

Sec. Br, How charming is divine Philofophy Ir '

Not harfh and crabbed, as dull fools fuppofe>

But mufical as is Apollo's luce.

And a perpetual feaft of nedar*d fwoets, 479.

Where no crude furfeit reigns.

EL Br. Lift, lift, I hear ,

Some far off hallow break the filent air.

*' fuch terrene SouU appeare ofteneft in cag m cte ri ci and charnel-
« houfes."

See alfo Dr. Henrj More's Immoktalitt op thb Sovl,
B.ii. Ch.xvi. And compare Homer II. P. 856.

^vyrii y in. ft^iut rflafAtni «Si')b^ fftfiiKUf

And TafTo Gier. Lib. C. ix. 33.

Dal giorinetto corpo ufc) divifa

Con gran contrairo I'Alma, e la/ci^ mefta

L *aurefoiwi ik la vr/tf -*- £ d i,T o a .
V, 376. How c/tarming is divine PAiiofopfy/] This is tn imme*
diate reference to the foregoing fpeech, in which the tUvtme
Pkib/uffy y Plato concerning the nature and condition of the
human foul after death, is fo largely and fo nobly difplayed. The
fpeaker adds,

Not harih and crabbed, as dall fools fuppofe f

But mufical as is ApoUo's lute,

And a perpetual feaft of nedar'd fweets.
Much the fame fentimMits appear in the T&ACTAta on Evjj^
CATION. *^ 1 fhall not detain you longer in the demonftradon of
** what vre (houid not do; but ftrait condvd: you to a htU-fide,
*< where I will point ye out the right path of a ▼ertuona and aoble
*' education, laborious indeed at tiie firft afeent, but alio fo fnootb^
** fo green, fo full of goodly profpe^ and melodious founds, that
'' the harp of Orpheus was not more charming/' p. loz^ed. 1675.
And fee Par. R£g. B« L 478. &c. WAaToy.

V, 478. But mufical as it AptlWs lute.l Parhaps from Lora'a
Labour Lost, as Mr. Bowie iuggefts, A>iv. S.iit.
' as fweet and mtficat

As bright Jpdh's hot ftrung with his hair. Waetoit.
V, 47^. And a firfttmdftt^ tf MRair^dfvH9is.\ Petrarca, Son.
t6o.P.i.

Pafce ia mente d' mi st nobil dbo,

Ch' ambrofia, e nettar aon iniHbdio a Oiove. Soit^a.
«. 480. Wkert n$ trade fitffi^ rdgrn.^ As in P. Lv B. v. 638.

-—* quaff immortality unijoj, Juan

C O M U S. 75

Sec. B. Methoifght fo too ; what (bould k be ?

EL B. For certain

Either focne one like us mght^founder'd here.

Or elfe rome neighbour woodcnan, or, at worft,

Some rovii^ rofa^r- calling to his fellowSb 485

&ec. B. Heav'n keep my Sifter. Agen> agency ami near!

Befl draw, and (land upon our guards

El.B. rU hallow:

If he be friendly, be comes well ; if not,

Defence is a good caufe, and H^v*n be for us.

f
[Enur the Attendant Spirit, habiied Hke a JbepherdS\

That hallow I fhould know, what are you ? fpeak ;
Come not too near, you &U on iron flakes elfe, 491
Spir. What voice is that ? my young Lord ? fpeafc

i^en.
Sec. B. O Brother, *tis my father's (hepherd, fure.
EJ. B. Thyrfis? Whofe artful £bf^ns bwe oft delay*d

Vi 483; '■^night-fimntfen^d,'] So, in Parai>. Losr^ B. 1.204.
** Nigkt^fMHder^dfkif^*'* Wiiere Benftey', who pcrha^shad fcarcdy
feen our Mafk, would read ni^h-fiuniiStr^di Wa'rtojt.

V. 494, Tkyrjttf' Whft arifuhJUrkhiii' bct:.^ A Cqttlplimcnt to
Lawes, who perfbtaatM the Spirit; Wfe^ have jufir fuch another
abbve, r: 86. But tlHs, bdng ipokfen bjjr aAbthcf, coracs with'brt-
ter grsice and proprietjr; or, to ufe doiftbr Newton^ pittiilcht
c*p«ffioh^ i^mott gMtteh Thfe Spirit app^rs/habitfcd fikc a
fhiepberd; and the pbct hJ« berecaiight a nt of rhyrtiftjg fhifai
F!etcher*s pafbral comfcdj-;

Milton's eagernefsto praife Nfs friend Lawes, makes hhxi here
forget the circumfian'ces of the fable: hd'is more* inrcnt'oit the
tfiUfician than the (hepherd; wiib-contto at acrititlal feafon, ahd
whofe afliflance in the pfefent ^((iulty ihonM haVe haiHIy been
aflced. Btir time is loft itt an^ciidtWs ehcrnnhrm!; aAd in idle en*
quiries'hb^r the fhiepherd cotrW-t)bffibly find out th!s^foHtaf^y part
of the forell. The youth, however, feerts to be* alhamed bfr un-^
willing to tdl the unlucky actMbnt that had befiJlen his Sifter,
Perhaps the real boyifm of 'thcJ'Bfother, WMch yet fhould have
been forgotten by the poetj is t6 be tnken into the account.

\V*ARTON,

Jonfon's Sa© SiircFRiBR&, anWhcf Wftoral DrJamlr, exhibits
alio an intermixtyre of heroic rhymfci^ and bbtikvetfe: And the

i; 2

76

C O M U S.

The huddling brook to hear his madrigale» 495

And fweetned every mufkrofe of the dale !
How cam'ft thou here, good fwain ? hath any ram
Slipt from the fold, or young kid loft his dam.
Or ftra^ling weather the pent flock forfook ?
How could*ft thou find this dark fequefter'd nook ?
Spir. O my lov*d matter's heir, and his next joy, 501

encomium here is clalfical t Compare Hon Od. i. xii. 8.

Orpbea —
-Arte matern^ rapt Jos morantem
Fluminum lap/us^ celerefque ventos ;
As above, at v. 87. " Well knows toJUUthe wild winds .•"—

It may alfo be eafily iuppofed, that Thyrfis, who had juft re-*
turned the Elder Brother's halloo, was flill at fome di(lance,.and
advancing to join them while the compliment was uttered.

Pope, in his second Pastoral, pays a fimilar complimeht
to Garth, v. 81.

But would you fing, and rival Orpheus' (Irain,
The wond*riug forefls foon fliould dance a^n.
The moving mountains hear the powerful call,
And hetidlong Jheams hang lift^ning in their faU ! Editok.
V, 49$. The Madrigal was a fpecies of muiical compofition,
now actually in pradice, and in high vogue. Lawes, here in-
tended, had compofed madrigals. So had Milton's £sither* The
word is not here thrown out at random. Warton.

The Madrigal was compofed for two, three, four, five, fix,
feven, and eight voices. This fpecies of compofition has ob-
tained among the Italians the peculiar appellation of U StiU-
madrigalefco. See BrolTard. Di£t. Muiique. Editor.

V. 496. And fweetned &c.] In poetical and pidurefque cir-
cumftances, in wildnefs of fancy and imagery, and in weight of
fentiment and moral, how greatly does Comus exceUthe Amiitta
of TaiTo, and the Pastor Fido of Guarini which Milton, from
liis love of Italian poetry, muft frequently have read ! Comus,
like thefe two, is a Pafloral Drama, and I have often wondered it
is not mentioned as fuch. Dr. J. Warton.

V. 500. How could'ft thou find this dark Jequefter*d no$h f] Thus
the fhepherdefs Clorin to Thenot, Fletcher's Faith. Shsp.
A. ii. S. i. vol.iii. p. 129.

Shepherd, how cam'fi thou hither to this place ?
No way is trodden ; all the verdant grafs.
The fpring ihot up, ftands yet unbruifed here
Of any foot : only the dappled deere, '
Far from the feared found of crooked horn,

Dwell in this faflnefs.

Compare Parad. L. B. iv. 789*

C O M U S. 77

"X

I came not here on fuch a trivial toy
As a ftray'd ewe, or to purfue the ftealth
Of pilfering wolf; not all the fleecy wealth
That doth inrich thefc downs, is worth a thought
To this my errand, and the care it brought. 506
But, O my virgin Lady, where is flie ?
How chance fhe is not in your company ?
EL B. To tell thee fadly. Shepherd, without blame,
/Or our negleft, we loft her as we came, 510

Sfdn Ay me unhappy ! then my fears are true.
EL B. What fears, good Thyrfis? Prethee briefly (hew.
Spir. ril tell ye ; 'tis not vain or fabulous,
(Though fo efteem'd by (hallow ignorance)
What the fage poets, taught by th* heavenly Mufe,
Story'd of old in high immortal verfe, 516

Of dire chimeras and inchanted iles,
And rifted rocks whofe entrance leads to Hell j
For fuch there be, but unbelief is blind.

Within the navel of this hideous wood, 520

Search through this garden, leave unfearch'd no nooJt,
Again, B. IX. 277.

As in a.ibady Moi I flood behind.
Seqtiefier'd occurs, in the fame application, Par. L, iv. 706.
'^ In (hiadier bower, more facred zn^/equefiei'd.^^ Wartosi.
f>. joa. ■ wjuch a trivial tcy

Asajlraydfiue,'^ So, jn P.R. B.ii.223. " A trivial toy. ^^
And, in B. i. 315- '* the quefl of iomt Jiray ewe.'* Dunster.
- V. 508. How chance Jhe is not in your company ^] It is the fame
form in PJ£ricles, Prince of Tyre, A. iv. S.i.

How chance my daughter is not with you? Editor.
V, ^9. To tqlV thee faifly .'\ SaJly^ foberly, ferioufly, as the word
is frequently ufed by our old authors, and in Par. Lost, B. vi.
* 541. where fee the Note. Newton.

V. 513. ril tell ye.] The manufcripts and edition of 1637 ^^^^
jw. But Milton often ufesjv as the obje^ive cafe. Editor.
«• 517. '^ dire chimeras. 1 Par. Lost, B ii. 628.

Gorgons and Hydras, and Chimeias dire. Warton.
V. <i8. J^nJ rifted rocks. 1 Drayton, Poly o lb ion, Spxig. xiv.
' ed. 1022. p. 234.

Sent through the rifted rocks'^
And Pope, Messiah, v. 71.

On rifted rocks^ the dragon's late abodes. Editor.
V. 520. Within the navel.'\ That is, in the'midft; a phrafe bor-

78 C O M U $•

TmmurM in qrprefs fhades a forcerer dwelis^
Of Bacchus and c^ Circe born, great Comus,.
Deep fkiird in all bis mother's witcheries -, .
And here to every thirfty wanderer
By ily enticemept gives his baneful cup, 525

With many murmurs mixt, wbofe pleafins; poifoa
The vifage quite transforms of him that orinks^
And the inglorious likenefs of a bead
Fixes inftead, unmoulding reafon's mintage
Charader'd in the face : this liave I learnt 530

Tending my flocks hard by i' th' hilly crofts.
That brow this bottom-g^e, whence night by night

rowed from the Greeks and Latins, Newton.
So Collins, Ode to Liberty, of Britain.

'Midil the green navel of our Ifle. W a trow.
And Drayton, Polyolb. Song xxiii, ed. 1622. p. 6^

Up tow'rds the navell then of England from her flanke^
Which Lincolnfliire we call. Editor.
V, 526. fFiti many murmurs mixtJ] That is, in preparing this
inch'anted cup, the charm of many barbarous unintelligible words
was intermixed, to quicken and lirengthen its operation.

Warbv&ton.
So the patronefs of magicians in Statius, Tree. ix. 733)
■ cantufque lacros, et confcia mi/eet

Murmur a,'^ Editor.

V, J 29. Unmoulding rtttfmCs mintage,^ A metaphor borrowed
from the Coiner's art. Compare Donne's Poems, ed. 1633. p. 267.

■ ■ She, whole rich beauty lent
Mintage to other beauties. £ o 1 to r .

V, J 30. Charafier'd in the face. '\ So, in his Divorce, B. i.
Pref. *' a law not only written by Mofes, but cAaraSer^d in as
" by nature." Prose-W. i. 167. See Obssrvat. Spenfer^s
F. Q. ii. 162. Warton.

See above v. 68, and compare Shakfpeare, Rape of Luc reck*
The light will (hew, chara^er^d in v^ hrtruj^
The ftory of fweet chaftity's decay.
The accent here falls on the fecond fyllable of the Mrticfplt^
charter' d\ often fo pronounced by our old writers, as ur* New*
ton has obferved and exemplified from Shakfpeare, who alfo
accents it on the firft fyllable; as in Sonnet, cxxiii* edit.
Malone, 1 790. p. 290.

'' thy tables are within my brain
Full ch&raHei^d with lading memory. Editor*
V. 532. > thh Imtom-glad^.l So Shakfpeare^ Venus ani>

C O M U S* 79

He and his raoofbrous rout are heard to howl»

Like ftabled wolves, or tigers at their prcy^

Doing abhorred rites to Hecate . 535

In their obfcured haunts of inmoft bowers.

Yet have they rtiany baits, and guilefill fpells,

T* inveigle and invite th* unwary (enfe

Of them that pafs unweeting by the way.

This evening late, by then the chewing fiocks 540

Had ta'en their fupper on the favoury herb

Of knot-grafs dew-befprent, and were in fold,

I fat me down to watch upon a bank

With ivy canopied, and interwove

Adonis, edit. i$96. Signat. A. iiij.

Sweet hattom-graffc^ and high delightful! phine.

Waeton.
t^. 533. Hi and hU wwnftrms rout ar€ heard to hovd^

Doing ahhoned ritts to Hecate.] Such was the practice
of Comus's mother, Circe. Ovid. Met. xiv. 405.

— magicis Hecaten ululatibus orat. Editor.
V. 534. LikefitAledviolv^Sy or tigers at their frey^\ Perhaps from
Virgil, ^N. vii, yj. Of Circe's ifland.

Hinc exaudiri gemitus* irsque leonum
■■■■ a c formae magnorum i|iulare luporum :
Quos hominum ex facie Dea faeva potentibus herbis
Induerat Circe in vultus ac terga ferarum. Nswtok.
^. 542, » dew'he/firent.} In Drayton's PotYoi.B. Song

ix. ed. 162a. p. 135. the Water-Nymphs have ^' their locks with
^^ dewe hefyrent^' XhsLt iSj heffrinhled* And R, Niccols, Induft.
Mir. for Mag. ed. i6iQ» has the expreffioa *^ he/prent with
** froftie </pw." EofTOR.

V. 543. I/at me dowu &c,] We have the fame form^ Par.
LosT) B, iv. 327.

■ by a fi-efh fountain fide

Theyy^ them dtmm. Warton.
Milton has almoft repeated this paflage« in Par. L. B. viii. 28;*
On a green ibady bank profiue of flowers
Penfive I fat me dwM*
^o Shakfpeare, HamirT) A. v, S. li. ^^ tfat me dovm " And
fee R. Niccols's Indud« Mir. for Mag. ed. i6zo p. 779*
IJate me dtnm upon the graffie ground. Editor*
V, 544* With ivy canopied^ and interwove

fVtthfiaunting hou^-Juchle.] Perhaps from Shakfpeare,
MiDs. Night.Dr* A. i). S. ii.

Qi\k\\tovtv-canopiiid w^(h lufcious kvoodhine.

8o C O M U S.

With flaunting hbney-fuckle, and began» 545

Wrapt in a pleafing fit of melancholy.
To meditate my rural minftrelfy.

Compare Dray ton| Quest or Cynthia, roLii. p*623«

And their large branches did difplay

To canopie the place.
And Carewy p. 59. ed. 1651.

that aged oak .

Did canopie the happy pair.
To which I will add a line from Browne's Pastor a ls, which
perhaps Pope, a reader of the old poets, might have remembered.
B. i. S. iv. p. 74.

Uncanopied oi zny thing but heaven.
Interwove is almoft peculiar to Milton. See Par. Lost, B. i. 621.

Words interwove with fighs. found out their way^
And in Par. Reg. fi. ii. 263.

Under the hofpitable covert nigh

Of trees thick interwoven, W a r t o n •
However, fee Jonfon's Pleasure reconciled to Virtue*
1619. *^ interweave the cmous knot :" his Fortunate Isles.
1 626. '' And enterweave the Myrtle and the Bay :" and his Love's
1'riumph through Callipolis. 1630. ** Your enurwoven
<* lines of good and fayre." See alfo Browne, Brit. Past. B. ii*
Song iv. — '^ a garland interwove with rofes*" Editor,

V. 545. ^~fiaunting heiney-/uckle.^^'\ In Lycidas, we have
" th^ gadding vine," v. 40. Thomfon, SprI:NG, v. 976* ** Nor
^^ in the bower where woodbines flaunt.*^ It is weU-mttir^d^ in
Lycid. v. 146. Warton*
Mafon, Ekg. Gard. B. i. 433.

Tbat flaunts the gadding woodbine* E d tTOR »
V. 547. To meditate n^ rural minftreljy^ Virg. BucOL, i. 2.

Sylveftrem tenui mufam meditaris avena.
So in Lycidas, v. 66.

Or ilri6lly meditate the thanklefs mu/e. War ton.
Compare Browne, Brit. Past. B.ii, S.ii. ed. z6i6* p. 30. Of
Ihepherds.

Some from the company remoued are

To meditate t/te Jongs they meant to play. Editor.
Ibid. ■ ■ mral minftrelfy,^ Compare the Eglogues of

Brooke and Davies. Lond. 16x4. i2mo.

Ynough is mee to chauuten fwoote my fonges,

And blend hem with my ruraU mynflra^.
And Browne, Brit. Past. B. i. S. i. P. ii. *^ love's ruraU min-
*^Jh-alfie.'* Warton.

See alfo the Return from Parnassus, 1606. Of Spenfer.

Blithe was each valley, and each (hepherd proud,

While he did chant hb runO minflrml^. Sditor.

C O M U S. «»

iTill Fancy had her fill; but, ere a clofc^ .

The wonted roar was up aniidfl: the woods.

And fiird the air with barbarous diftonance y 550

At which I ceas't, and liftenM them a while,

Till an unufual Hop of fudden iilence

Gave refpit to the drowfy frighted fteeds,

i,. ^48. het, ett a elo/e.] A mufical clif^ ou his pipe.

As Id Shakfpeare, K. Rich. II. A. ii. S.i.

The fetting fun, and mufic at the clo/^y
As the lail tafle of fweets is fweeteft iaft. WAktov,
t^. 5 JO. ' ■■■ hitrbarcus dijpmance.'] Par. Lost, B. vii, 32.
Btit drive far off the bmbarom dijfinaiibt
Of Bacchus, and his revellers. Warto)}.
Gay, in his poem called Wine, borrows this expreffibn, v. 171.
Drhst hence the rude and barbarous diJJfManct
Of farage Thracians, and Croatian boors. Editor.
<i. 553. ■ the drowfy frighted ^^/&,

That draw the Utter ^ chfi-cuYiaitCd Jktp.'\ I f6a<l,
according to Milton's manufcript, drvmjyjltghitd, JAiid this ge-
nuine* reading do6tor Dalton has alfo prefefved in CbMtJs.
Drowfie frighted is nonfenfe, and manifeflly an error of the prefs
in ail the editions. There can be no doubt, that in this pafTage
Milton had his eye upon the defcription of Night, ink. Hen. VI.
P«ii. A.ir» S.i.

And now loud-howling wblves ^roitfe. the jades
That drag the tragic melancholy Night,
Who with their drowfy, flow, and iftaggih]^ wihgs
Clip dead mens graves.
The idea and the expreffioti oi dr^wfie-flightidin the one, are plainly
copied from' their drowfy^ Jlvto^ ond flagging, wingi in the other.
Fletcher in the Faitb. Srep. A. iv. has much the fame image.
Night, do not fteal away 1 I wob thee yet
To hold a hard hand o'er the rufty bit
' That guides thy lajoytedm. Newton,
It miift be allowed, that drowj/y flighted is a very harfh corobina«>
tion. Notwithftanding the Cambridge manufcript exhibits
dnrwfiefligkted^ yetDROWsis rRtdliTBD without a compofition,
is a more rational and eafy reading, and invariably occurs in the
editions 1637, 1645, ^"^^ ^^73* ^^^^ ^' *' ^^^ drvtofy ileeds of
^ Night, who were t^gkted on this occafion, at the barbarous
^^ dijmmice of Comus's no6hirnal revelry." Milton made the
emendation after he had forgot his firft idea. Compare Browne,
Brit. Past. B. ii. S. i. p.2i.

AU-dnwfie night, who in a earre of jet
'byfltedes of iron-gray drawne tlirough the iky.
And ijWwety of Sleeps Dv Bart. p. 316. ed foL ut fupr.

M

U C O M U S.

That draw the litter of clofe-curtsun'd Sleep ;

At lad a foft and folemn breathing ibund 555 •

Rofe like a fteam of rich diftill'd perfumes.

And in a noyslefs coaek^ all darkly dlght,
Takes with him filence, droti/hufiy and nighti
We are to recollect that Milton has here transferred the horfes
of Night to Sleef. . And fo has Claudian^ BfitL. Gild. v. ^13.
and Statins, THEB/ii. v. 59.

Mr. Bowie conjedures drov^-freigiteJ^ that is, charged or
loaded with drowfinefs. Warton.

Mr. Warton vindicates the juflneis of the old readipgt ^rawj^
frighted. Indeed, if Lawes had ignorantfy introduced it into the .
edition of 1637, the poet would have altered it in hit owa ecHtion
of 1645 ' f^^9 ^^ y^^ " light revifited his eyes." Morepveri as the
emendation in his manufcript muil have been made before the
publication of the edition in i673» if not of the former edition, it
may reafonably be fuppofed, that, although he had indulged the
variety of his fancy m making the emendation, hi^ judgement
'finally inclined to the unvaried reading of the printed cqpw* In
a paffage fo bi^ly defcriptive, an error woidd hardly have palTed
Urice unnpticeq.

The Aihridge manufcript exhibits drtrnfie frigjkttd. And
do^or Dalto'n'sCoMusyin 1738, reads the fame. Drfm^-fligkted^
in his alteration of the Mafk, was not adopted till after the.pi}l)-
lication of Peck's Memoirs op Milton, in (740; where
*' drowfy-flighted'* made its appearance long before dodor New-
ton's edition, ^and the " horles of Sleep" were firfi ftripped of
their old poetical harnefs with great contempt. EpiiroK.

V, 554. " clt^e-curtaitCd Jleep."] Perhaps frpm-Sh^-

fjfeare, Macbeth, A. ii. S.i.

■ and wicked dreams abufe .

The curt aift^djleef,' Thyer.
See alfo Rom. and Jul. A. iii. 8. ii.

Spread thy clo/b curtain, love-performing uigit* Editor,
v. 555. udfr laji.a/oft andfilemn breathing found
Rofe like a fteam tfrick diftiW d ferfumesy
Attdftale upfun the airC[ Shakfpeare's Twel PT B Ni g bv,
at the beginning, , has here been alleged [by Mr. Thycr]. The
idea is Jtrongly implied in the following lines from Joofon's
Vision op Delight, a Mafqueprefented at Court intheChrift-
masof 1617. Vol. vi. 21.

Yet let it like an odour rife

To all the fenfes here;
And fall like fleep upon their eyes,
Or muficke in their eare.
But the thought appeared beforei wlierp it is exquifitdy ezj^refled,

C O M U S. 83

And ilole upon tbe air, that even Silence

Was took ere flie was ware, and wifht (he might

Deny her nature, and be never more.

Still to be fo difplac'd. I was all ear, 560.

in Bacon's Essayes. *^ And becauie the breath of flowers is farre
'* fweeter in the aire, where it comes and ^s like the warding ef
^^ muficke.*' Of Gardens. Ess. xlvi. Milton means the gradual
increafe and diffiifion of odour in the procefs of diftiliing per<*
fumies : for he had at firft written " flow-diftill'd."

Solemn is ufed to cbara&erife the mu£c of the nightingalei^
Par AD. L. iv. 648. " Night's 7o/«»» bird." And flie is called
** tht/oUmn nightingale,'* vii. 435.

In the edition of 1673, we have^^^M ioxjteam. A manifefl
OTeriight of the compofitor. War ton.

V. 557. — that even Silencey &c.] " Silence was pleas'd" at
the nightingale's fong. Par. Lost, B. iv. 604. The conceit in
both paflages is unworthy the poet, Warton.

The perfonification of Silence is taken from the Hero and
Leander of Mufaeusy v. aSo. See Dr. Warton's Eflay oq Pope^
voLii. p. 207. 4th edit. Editor.

V. 500. ^'^''^I was all ear.} So Catullus, of a rich p^rfumei
CARM.xiii. 13.

Quod tu cum olfacies, deos rogabis
Totum ut te faciant, Fabulle, nafum.
There is the ferae thought, in Jonfon*s Underw. vol. yi, 451,
Come, with our voices let us war,
And challenge all the fpheres,
Till each of us be made a fbu:,
And all the world turn ears.
And in Shakfpeare, but differently expreffed. Winter's Ta,le,
A. iv. S. iii. of hearing a fong. " All their other fenfes ftuck in
" their tarsy* And in the Tempest, Profpero fays, " No tongues^
<^ all^a*^* Compare alCo Herricl^'s Hes?£ridss, p. 91. edit.
1648. 8vot

' When I thy finging next (hall heare
Ue wifh I might titme all to eare.
This thought, and expfeffion, occurs firA in Drummond'is
8911NST&, i6i6« Signal, D. a To the Nightingale.

Such fud l^iTiienting tlraioes, that Night attends,'
Become all eare^ ftarres ftay to heare thy plight, if c,

.Wartok.
The expreffion may be traced to a more ancient fource. Sir
W. Jones, in his Poeseos Asiat. Comment* p. 137, gives a
quotation from a Perfiaii poet addreffing the Divine Being ;
*^ Dum laudes tuas modulate canit lutcinia^
«* Ejf ojHtti farte ^ris/um,^ jt^n^uam jrofae fnitex."

M %

84 C O M U S,

And took in drains that might create a foul

Under the ribs of Death : but 1 ere long

Too well I did perceive it ^as the voice

Of my mod honourM Lady, your dear Sifter

Amaz^'d I ftood, harrowed with grief and fcar» ^65

Where the expreffion fignifies all atfcntiatt ; and the learned Com-
mentator adds, *^ quain locutionem linguae etiam Europeae
" non afjefnari videnrur." See alfo Theatre Italien, Tbnu \u
p. 20* LiA Cause des Femmes, S. iii. ** Gageons que vons
** allez voulolr devenir tout oreilles," Compare Spenfer, BitlT.
Ida, C.ii. ft. iv. *^

— I'uch ftrange harmpny he feem'd to hear
That atl his /en/es flbck*d into his ear.
Donne, Poems, ed. 1633. p. 267. " grov/nt all eye,^* and p. 278V
** growne all minded Young, N. T. lii. 452.

Jll tye^ all ear^ the difembody'd power* Editoi..
V. J 61. ' . that might create afoul

Under the ribs of peath,"] f he general image of creating
a foul by harmony is again from Shakfpeare. But the particular
one of afoul under the ribs rf death^ which is extremely grotefcjue^
is taken from a pidure in Alciat's Emblems, where a loul in th^
figure of an infant is reprefented within the ribs of a ikeleton, at
in its prifon. This curious pidure is prefented by Quarles.

Warbuetov.
Mr. Sympfop pxplainM create afoul by recreate^ ^Mul^^tf ; txA
Mr. Theobald had propofed to read recreate^

" And took in ftrains might recreate a fowl :**
But, I prefume, they knew not of the aliuiion juft men-
tioned. Nbwto^. • .

The pi^ure alluded to, is not taken from Alciat's Emblons,
but from Herman Hugo's Pia Desideria; and is the yiiith.
SuspiRiuM ANiMA AMAKTis. The 24th verfe of'the^'viith..
Chap, of Romans is the motto to it. ^ O wretched man that I am!
" who ihall deliver tntfrom the body of this death f* Queries wis
indebted not a little to Hugo : for all the prints, in the Emblems
of the former, from the beginning of the third book, are copied
from the latter. £pitor.

V, 565. II harrowed with grirf and fear'] To harrtw h

to conqufT^ to fubduc. The word is of Saxon origin. So, in the
old brack letter romance of Syr Eglamoure or ARTqys;

He fwore by him that harowed hell.
Thus Shakfpeare, Hamlet, A. i. S. i.

'■ it ianws me withy^^r and wonder. Stb^ tbks.

The phrafe is in Chaucer, Mill. Tale, v. 404.
$ay what thou wok, I ihall it nevir tell,
To cfaiUii ne ^yfe, ^ Urn thu idrrfwcdML Edxto &•

\

C O M U S. 85

And, O poor haplefs nightingale, thought I,

How fwect thou fing'ft, how near the deadly fnare !

Then down the lawns I ran with headlong haflc.

Through path$ and turnings often trod by day.

Till guided by mine ear I found the place, ejo

Where that diamn'd wifard, hid in fly difguife,

(For fo by certain figns 1 knew) had met

Already, ere my beft fpeed could prevent.

The aidlefs innocent Lady his wiUit prey ;

Who gently afk't if he had feen fuch two, cj^

Suppofing him fome neighbour villager.

Longer 1 durft not flay, but foon 1 guefs'd

Ye were the two (he meant ; with that I fprung

Into fwift flight, till I had found you here.

But furder know I not.

S^c. Br. O night and (hades, 58Q

How arc ye join'd with Hell in triple knot,

Againft th* unarmed weaknefs of one virgin.

Alone, and helplefs ! Is this the confidence

You gave me. Brother ?

El. Br. Yes, and keep it ftill.

Lean on it fafely ; not a period 585

Shall be unfaid for me ; againft the threats

Of malice or of forcery, or that power

Whicji erring men call Chance, this I hold firmt

Virtue may be aflTail'd, but pever hurt.

Surprised by unjuft force, but not inthrall'd 9 590

Yea even that, which mifchiief meant moft harm^

ShaU in the happy trial prove tnoft glory :

f^. $84. Yesy tmdieep it ftlll^ Arc.} This confidence of the EU
itr Br^hr in favour of the final efHcacy of virtue, holds forth a

* Vefy high ftrain of philofophy, dtftvered in as Mgb fhains of elo-
qujcnce and poetry. Wartok.

V. $89. Kirtne mtt^ he affhifd^ ha never ittrt,J\ Milton feems in
tfaii lipe to allude to the famous anfwer of the bhiiofo^her to a
tyran^ who had threatened him with death, ^^Tmumayejl •killmey

' ^' hut that itmA wt hirt me.** And it may be obferved, that hot only
iii this fpeecn, but alfo in many others of this poein, our author
h^s made great ufe of the noble and exalted fentimeat^ of the
Btoic concermng the power of Viituc, Tht » v. * '

86 C O M U S.

But evil on itfelf fliall back recoil,

And mix no more with goodnefs, when at lafl

Gather'd like fcum, and (ettled to itfelf, j^j-

It fliall be in eternal reftlefs change - -

Self-fed, and felf-confumed : if this £iil.

The pillar'd firmament is rottennefs,

And earth's bafe built on Aubble. But come, let's on*

Againft th* oppoGng will and arm of Heaven 600

May never this juft fword be lifted up j

But for that damn'd m^ician, let him be giit

With all the griefly legions that troop

V. 593- But evil m it/elf ^all back rteoit.} SoinPAk. L.Jx. 171.

Hevtngt, at firll though fweet,

Bitter ere \<Xif,,batk at ii/dfrecoiis. Editor^
». 597. Self-fed, tad felf-anfumtd :\ This image is ivonderfuUf
fine. It i> taken from the conjeAures of aflronomen concerniog
the dark fpots, which from time to time appear on the furlace <n
the fun's body, and after a ichile difappear agun ; wlucli they
fuppofe to be the fcum of that fiery matter, which firll breeds }^
and then breaks through and confumes it. Wakiu&ton.

Ibid. if thit fatly

The pillar' dfrmameHt ii rtttetmefi^

And eartk'i iafe Imili m Jluiile.} This \» Shakfpcart^x
thought, but in more exalted language. WiNi.Tii.ti, A, ii, S.t.

Iflmiftake

In thafe foundations which I build upon,
The center is not big enough to bear
A fchoolboy's top. Steetbni.
V. ^98. The filLrt of heaven, and the ^«/i of the earth ifB
mentioned togetTicr in Par. Rkc. B, iv. 4.55.

Ai dangerous to the /t/JAr'f^ frartie otH^ven,
Or to the Earth's dirk' iajSi undta-Qteth. WlxrOR.
The poet may allude, as MnjXhyer obfervett-ii) both P^nkge* to
Job xxvi. ii. " Tie fillarj ^ Heaven tremhle." Or perhaps to
tbe&bleof Atlas. HEROD«Tvs,'Lib.iv.c, 184, fpeaking of Mount
Atlas, ufes this cxpreJ£on i wrs KIQNA ■tat OYPANOt tiimjr^r^n
(vi^vfoi ■'(«. And Pindar callt Mount £tua, Pytq. 0^4.
KlUN OTPANEIA. EniToa.

V. 60a. Bui f*r I that daim'd \ magician, | — let hiin \ ic ^f.
In the dramatic |>entameter greater liberties are allowed i[i;tfae
metre, as well is in the accentuation, than in the epic : the ule«f
the redundant or hy perry thmical fyllable at the end of the l^e
is unlimited : a iypenytimicai payfe will never offend, if not too
frequently repeated. So, in v. 66.

To quench | the, droutb| of P^tcbuSt | — whi^ 9s | they tailf :

^ C O M U S.' *7

t

Under the footy flag of Acheron,

Harpy es and Hydras, or all tfce monflrous forms 605

'Twixt Africa and Indc, I'll ^nd him out.

And f(OTCe him to return his jpurchafe back.

Or dr^g him by the curls tofa foul death,

Curs'd as Ws life. \

Spir. Alas ! goodjfrcntrous Youth,

I love thy courage yet, andpold emprifej 6 id

Again, in v. 302.

An4» us 1 1 paft, 1 1 wQrfllft^ : I —if thofe | you feek.
Mitford's EfTay upon the Hardjoopy of. Language, p. 128. £d.

v. 605. Harpycs ati^i J^t/ras^oaSaihic mon/b'ous forms, '\ Or fpoiit
the metre. ^ Yet an anapaefl 'miy be admitted in'' the third part,
fee V. 636/662. Although tbisJaft is- not an anapaeft. .But any
foot of three fyllables may be adhnitted at this place of an Iambic
Ytrky if the licence be not takeii tpp^ frequently* Huad.

Harpyes imd Hydrtts are a combination in an enumeratioa of
monflers, in Sylvefter's Du Bart. p. 206, fol. ut fupr.
And th' ugly Gorgons^ and the Sphinxes fell,
Hydras and Harpies 'gan to yawn and yell. War ton.
Milton introduces thefe monftrous combinations in his Pa ol us*
p. 8 1, ed. 1674. i2mo. *^ Quos tunc Sphinges et Harpj^i^e^ quos
*^ tunc GorgoMs et Ckimara intenUtis facibus ixiiequuntur." And
in Par. Lost, B. ii. 625. et feq. where do^or Newton notes
the imitation from Virgil, ^n* vi, 287. and refers alfo to Taflb,
Gier. Lib. C.iv* 5. Milton might then hav€ had theifollow^
jng paflage alfo in view. ib. C« xiii. 18.

Se non, che '1 timor forfe a i fenfi finge
Maggipr prodigi di Chimera, o Sfinge. Editor*
Ibid. All the monftrous forms

'Tivixt Jfrica and Inde,} Such as thofe which Carlo
and Ubaldo meet, in going to Armida's enchanted mountain, in
Fairfax's Tasso, C.xv* 51.

All monfters, which hot Afrieke forth doth fend
•Twixt Nijus, Atlas, and the fouthern Cape,
Were all there met.— —
Milton often copies Fairfax, aujjnpfhis original. Wart on.
V. 608, 9. In Lawes's edition^ 1637.
■ and cleave his fcaTpe

Down to the hippes,^^ . . '

See Note on v. 608. in AppEisfpiX No." L Editor,

•y. 610. ■ ■ and hold ei^nfe.^ Enterprije* So, in Par«

Lost, B. xi. 641.

Giants of mighty bonCy and hol^ emprije. WartoN".
Boldemprife often occurs in-Spenfer. Se'eF-.Q. ii.iii. 28.''and 35,

$8 C O M U S,

But here thy fword can do thee little ftead i

I*ar other armsi and other weapons muft

Be thofe, that quell the might of hellifh charms :

He with his bare wand can unthred thy joints.

And crumble all thy finews«

£/. Br. Why prethee. Shepherd, 6i j

How durft thou then thyfdf approach fo near.

As to make this relation ?

Spin Care, and utmoft {k\£ti

How to fecure the Lady from furprifal.

Brought to my mind a certain (hepherd lad|

Of fmall regard to fee to» yet well ikill'd 620

In every virtuous plant and healing herb.

That fpreads her verdant leaf to th' morning ray :

And iv. iv. 36. Emfri/e is from the Italian imfre/s. Editor.

V. 61 1. But hert tfy /word can ih thee little ^ead,'\ Virgil, Air4
ii« 521*

Non tali auxilio^ nee defenforibus iflit
Tcmpus egct,—
See alfo i£N. ri. 290* and TaiTo) Giervsalem Lib. C. zr«
ft* 49. Richardson*

V. 613. ■ ■■ the might of hellijh charmsJ\ Compare

Shakfpeare's Kmo Richard III. A.iii. S*iv.

with devilifh plots

Of damned witchcraft ; and that have prevaiPd
Upon my body with their helli/h charms. Wartok*
t^. 6 14. He with his hare tuami can unthred tfyjoints^

And crumble all tfy J^ews,] Soy in Profpero^s com-
mands to Ariel, Tbmp. A. iv. S, ult.

Go, charge my goblin's, that they grind thiAr joints .
With dry convulfions, ftiorten up their^^ww/
With aged cramps.— Wartow.
«. 620. ■ ■ ^et welljhill'd

In every virtwms flisnt &c.] Pope's *' fhepherd's boy"
polTeflei the fame accomplilhments, Pastoral ii, v. 31.
!■ ikilrd m every herb that grew,

And every plant that drinks the morning dew. Editor.
v» 612. That ff reads her verdant Uef te tV morning reyC\ Com*
pare Shakfpeare's xxvth. Sonnet :

Great princes fevourites their fair lea^sfpread
But as the marigold in thtJwCs e^e.
And Spenfer, P. Q. iv. xii. 34.

And 'gint \»J^r%U his ktfhefkt the fair fnn/hine. Ed.

k

C O M U S. 89

He lov'd Hie well, and oft would beg me fing,

Which when I did, he on the tender grafs

Would (it, and hearken ev'n to extafy, 625

And in requital ope his leathern (crip.

And ihow me fimples of a thouPand names.

Telling their ftrange and vigorous faculties :

Amongft the reft a fmall unfightly root.

But of divine efTedt, he cuird me out; 630

The leaf was darkilh, and h4d prickles on it.

But in another country, as he faid.

Bore a bright golden flow'r, but not in this foil :

V. 623. He Iw^dme weli^ &c.] Dr. Newtofl and Mr. Wartoil
alEgn this charaAer to Milton's fchool-fellow and friend,
Charles Deodate, who was bred to the fludy of Phyfic;
who tifed to hear Milton repeat his verfes ; and who fometimes
explained to him the nature and virtues of fimples. Dr. New-
ton refers to Milton's firft and fixth Elegies, and to his £fi-
I'APH. Damokis ; with which Mr. Warton points out his fourth
Sonnet, as pleafing evidences of their friendfhip) and of Deo-
date's admirable characEler. Editor,

V. 633. Bare a hright g^denfltwW^ hut not in tiisjoilt

I/nhtowM^ and like efttenCd^ &c.] DoAor Newton iayt,
that ** redundant verfes fometimes occur in Milton." True : but
the redundant fyllable is never, I think^ found in the fecond, tlurdi
or fourth, foot. His inftance of v 605, in this poem,

Harpyes and hydras, or all the monftrous forms-^
where the redundancy is in the third foot, and forms an anapaefl^
does not prove his point. The paflage before us is certainly corrupt,
or, at lead, inaccurate; and had better, I think, been given thus.

But in another country, as he iaidf

Bore a bright golden flow'r, m/ in this foil

Unknown, thtmgh light eileem'd, H u a d •
Seward propofed to read,

^^-^But in this foil

Unknown and light efteem*d.
The emendation is very plaufible and ingenious. But to fay
nothing of the editions under Milton's own infpe^lion, I muil:
obje^, that if an argument be here drawn for the alteration from
roughneis or redundancy of verfe, innumerable inftances of the
kind occur in our author. Milton, notwithflanding his Angular
ikill in mufic, appears to have had a very bad ear \ and it is hard
to fay, on what principle he modulated his lines. Wahton.

By another accomplifhed writer the pailage before us is con-
iidered as one of thofe licences, which are not di&greeable in

^ C O M U S.

Unknowni and }iko cfteem'd, and the dull fwata'
Treads on it dflily v^itli his clouted (boon : 6^g

And yet more med'cinal is it than that ^ply,

dramatic, althquzh t^fv WQ1)14 ^eftaiiily 4ifpl^^<? jO hcrpir ]>^rf4i

Bore a | Dfight gol | dea flow'r, |— but nQ( in | ttijs foil.
See Mitford's EiTaV upon the Harmony of Language p. 199. Ta
the remark on *' Milton-^ e^u**" the nicenefs of which laorp Qoa«^
fpicMoufly difplays i|(eif is^ ^»»ivs, tl^ fpllovinqg Ql:dr(nrvaliqn| gf
General Ru(dj may bp pppoG^, «♦ T^erg is no kipd Qf 4^rW, ^
*' harmony, or which oyr langqage is capable, which may not be
*' found in numberlei^ inilances in MiHon's writings t t«b kx«

<( TO THAT OF HIS IMAGINATION AND LEARNING." Foller'S

f flay on A9c?nt, 24 ed. p. 67.

t>r. Newton defends Uke eJie^nCd, without any alt$;fatiou« " Ug-
** I^npwi^ and /ii; efteem'd, that is^ «xiknown and ««file^ii)'4| U^t
<« known and efteem'd accordingly."

Ha alfo prpppfed tp read the pafTage thus :

Por9 3i Dright gol4ep flow*r, but in this fpit
Unknown and i^ke ^e^mV %
Of. to leave out only b^t^ in v. 653.

Bore a bright golden flpw'r^ not in this foil :
Unknown, and like efte^m'd, &c.
Fenton had printed <« littU cftcem\i»* inftead of « like eftecmM,"
but, in the repubKcation of his edition in 1 730, the original rea4-'
ing is re{![ored. Dr. Warburton, as well as Mr. Reward and IV«
Hord, propofed to read " light eiteem'd." Editor^

V. 635. ' clouted Jhoon,"] To the paflage aHtge(] by Dr<

Newton from ShakCpeare^ K. Hbn. VI. P. ii. A.hr* S^ iii. ano-
ther (hould be added from Cymbblinb, A. iv. S. ii. vrhieb w^
only exhibits, but contains a comment on, the phrafe ii| quefHoa.
— -i' thought he flept, and pmt
My clouted brogtUs from o^my feet, whofe ruden<(fs
Anfwer*d my ileps too loud.-
Clouts are thin and narrow- plates of iron affixed wkh hob nails ^
the foles of the (lioes of ruflics. Th^fe made too mucb Roiie. The
word brogues is flill ufed ioxjhoes amonj; the peafantry of Ireland.

Warto^,^
The exjpref&on oi^curt in the prefent rtr^ofk of our Bilges

{o^HUA. IX. 5. So the Hertfordihh'e Proverb,, in Dwytpo^
OLYOLB. S. xxiii. ^ The club and clmvted iloM.^ Editok.
v. 6.36. And yet more medicinal is it tkcoi thatMtfy, &ۥ} Dn^rtOfi
introduces a ihepherd ^ his fundry finiples forting," who aj»Qi}|r
other rare plants, produces Moly. Mus. Elys. Kymfh. t. toT
iv. p. 1489.

Here is my S^fy of much fame^

In magicks often ufed. . ■

C O M U Sw ft

That Hermes once to wife Ulyffes ganra j

He caird it Hmmaptf^ ktA gaVe k nx^.

And bad me k^p it ay of forrati ufe

' Gainft all iaqhaatotdAt^^ mildew bhff^ «r dimrpr^ d^d

It is not agreed^ Whether MUtos's Hemony, m»re rrhxhtnr t)n^
Moly, and *' of (ovrafh vfe 'gainff all inchavtilhenU/' i» a rcid ofr
poetical pt^fril. I)«yt6ti, irf i1S€ IFfift Alld^^i Ag* flie pa%e juft
quoted) recites with many more of the kind,
Here holy v^rraMf and Mr€ dil^

lot Miltoff^ tlMMg4 tfie wh^tff ^ th^ t^mttf hidhi^^e'bu
9)Meh»r» #ha pvrhafpi avj^«l< Mi«felf nf DHh^yASM,- Fi^i4»#. S^^p^
A. H« ». i>. f oL iii/ ]|k. tt/. wh«^tf efce flfepherd^s-GIbfli^ ^^ri
HAtM hi tie iittflkiitarl Md fag^rftitidQ# ufe^ ^ f^^. VM ifttiff

written on Milton's fubje6t, Circe, allehdtfd Ay tft# Sfi^As,- trfSf
Moly for a charn^ p f 3^/ 6>«r aMfor i^ ^ffMe^ to the
powers of Moly for ** quelling the might m fkSSSi cAarms.'*

mh. k 9f^ Ce«imtf# Stmiyi'p 0^1 ly, p. i^e.- ^^/ed^t. i^«

And Drayton's Nymphid. vol* ii/" fft 4^.- ^hkf ^^tv&t^:
S. xii. vdl#ili^ l^*^9^ 'a Tsl(l])f l!>Kard^« ^^mo^Hii^ A)^gician,
performs his operationf^ ttot by tHe dhA-tflS' 6f n^iSii^dtii^cy and
the machinations of hell, but by the hiMdS j)(3^nF 6f h^bs and

Ih.tMl'FA«lAt4 QuiM«^ tllir PilliDiidfifkfts'a *mfifmf0, #h(ch»
like Milton's Moly and NttnttOfiy, dHdiit92llflndimQi^9}^{M^
^ong andrdlabeHoil illoimikr And T^Obr's Ub'aMo ibiA^cf^nKn-
tioncd olrnBt a ftaffcf tho fakoe fort, wh«r«iie'ema^tbeF pttlalSit
«f« Acnnite,> XTF. 73. xViF 49^ WA'arair,'

Wierlu gfavoly dii^tei? tfct power gI tiilfr' tNw^)%^ twb'fat* dhti^
luig Qw^ evil fj^riia : ^ Btiliam cbMfoa' Mairgnos' f)$(i4tufc Mtf ptfi
^ thkiti^iiieirc Mw^ ▼# li)iipcf icoBf fditil»; dMl(l FW^mnmm
^ if«perftitiof4d cred^Ui atihciipcQM' I" Hk Prahlig* I^MMV «%
Jnteiiitiati EMI. ^989^ iitt. V. oapv jn^^ Eb rr^k «

V. 673. Tib/ ^-mrj «vr^ fed.}j CMdy Ki^/li^ x?^.' »9^
-<*— N«otaiil» cMitra^'itio--
Certior, ad Circen uttor vrniifer Uhfffks j
. BatTihtfkuur dlmkrmt'A\ktiSi^ GyHenkk' alb«nV
ilip/y vooaat* fc^>cri^ (h ^ ' » '* *
From Homer, Odyss-K. v^ 30^- V^ii^f dm

'vy ^«.' '(3dii{^ #^ /«riiuiMi«fi^f mitie# bliad,^^* Wbnr/.] This is
)4>|flBa^owiv poindDgf no cemBM-ft^ter miidfw. And^: aitiiMigb
k-i^ not -adopted iii other- editioos) I* preftimc it^itf fi^;r|k Setf if.
»4>r «' Ucifisig$^ur€iiit^l0^'' SeetUbtke AOuidpf^ Md.v*«2ff.

gz C O M U S,

Or ghaftly furies apparition.

I pursM it up, but little reckoning made»

Till now that this extremity compeird :

But nqw I find it true ; for by this means

I knew the foul inchanter though difguisM, 645

Enter'd the very lime-twigs of his fpells.

And yet c^me off: if you have this about you.

Here is your hufband ; like <i miUew'J ezr^
Blafiing his wholefome brother. Editor.
V. 641. Or ghafify/uri€s apfariiim,] Peck fuppofes, that the
Furies were never believed to appear, and prQpofeg to read
" Faay*s apparition." But Milton means any frightful appear-
ance raifeJ by magic. Among the fpe^res which furrounded
our Saviour in the wildernefs, and which ihtjievd had rmifid^ are
furia. Par. Rig. B.iv. 422.

Infernal ghofts, and heilifhyiirr/ri round
Inviron'd thee.
There is more reafon for reading /mt^, inftead of ^41/171 in the
Com. of £rrors. A. iv. S. ii.

One whofe hard heart is buttoned up with fteel ;
A fiend, ^faity^ pitilefs and rough,
A wolf, nay worle.
It is true, that there is a fpecies of malevolent and nufchievouf
fairies, fiut/^try, as it here (lands, is generical. Wart on.

The combination '* ghaftly furits'' occurs in Sylvefltr's Dir
BART,ed, i62i,fol. p. 201. £oiTOR.

V. 642. I furs' d it v/.] It was cuflomary in families to have
herbs in Jlorc^ not only for medical and culinary, but for fuper*
ilitious purpofes In fome houftfs, rue and roiemary were con*
ilantly kept for good luck. Among the plants to which preter-
natural qualities were afcribed, Perdita in the Winter's Tax.x
mentions Rue as the herb of grace, and Rtfemmy as the emblem of
remembrance. A. iv.S.iii. CompareHAM.A.iv.S.v. Wartoit,
Ibid, ^'"^but littU reckoning made,} I thought but little of it«
So Qaniel, Civil Warres, B. i. 02.

Yet hereof no important reckoning makes.
Our author aeain, Ltcidas, v. ii6.

Of other care they little reck*niug make. Warton.

V. 647. ' ifjou have this ai^utjw^

(As I will give jou when loe g^) J/9U may
Boldly ajfault the necromancer* s halL] The notion ^f
facing danger, and conquering an enemy by carrying a charm,
which was often an herb, is not uncommon in romance* Hence
in Sams. Agon* v. i 130, &c. and v. 1 149, Milton's idiA is IpA-
mediately and particularly taken from the ritual of the comiNtt in

C O M U S. 93

(As I willgive you when we go) you may ^

Boldly affault the necromancer's hall ;

Where if he be, with dauntlefs hardihood, 65a

And brandiflit blade, rufli on him, break his glafs^

And (lied the lufcious liquor on the ground.

But feife his wand ; though he and his curft crew

chivalry. When two champions entered the lifts, each took an
oath, that he had no charm, herby or any inchantment about him.
See Dugd. Warwickshire, p. 73. and Dugd. Orig. Turid.
p. 166. And I think it is clear, that Milton, in fiirniihing the
Elder Brother with the plant Haemony, notwithftanding the idea
is originally founded in Homer's Moly, when like a knight he is
to attack the necromancer Comus, and even to afTail his hall, al-
luded to the charming herb of the romantic combat. Wa rtqn.

V. 649. Boldly affault the necromaMcer*s hall,} Milton here
thought of a magician's caftle which has an inchanted hall in-
vaded by chriftian knights. See the adventure of the Black Caftle
in the Sevbv Champions of Christendom. Where the
bufinefs is iinally atchieved by an attack on the hall of the necro*
xnancer Leoger. P. ii. ch. ix. Warton.

It is the fame idea of romance, as in one of our author*s Pro-
tus. ed. 1674. i2mo. p. 127. ** Nee validiffimi illi regis Arthuri
*' PUGii.Es, igniti et fiammigantis Castelli incantamenta vice-
•* runt facilius, et diiSparunt." Editor.

V. 6c 1. And brandiflit blade r%fli on him, — ] Thus Ulyfles af-
faults Circe, ofteriiig her cup, with a drawn fword* Ovid, Ms-
TAM. xiii. 293.

■ Intrat

Ille domum Circes, et ad infldiora vocatus

Pocula, conantem virgi mulcere capillos

Keppulit, ttfiriHo pavidam deterruit enfe*
See Homer, Goyss. K. 294. 321. But Milton, in his allufions to
Circe's ftory^ has followed Ovid more than Homer. Warton.
Ibid. ■ ■ breah his glqfsy

Andjhcd the lufcious liquor on the ground.} Our author has
here a double imitation of Spenfer's Faerie Queene, which has
not been obferved or diftingiiiftied. The obvious one, is from Sir
Guyon fpilling the .bowl ot Pleafure's Porter, ii. xii. 49. But' he
9lfo copies Spenfer, and' more clofely, where Sir Guyon breaks
the golden cup of the enchantrefs Excefte, ii. jui. 57.

So ftie to Gu^on oftred it to tafte :

Who taking it out of her tender hand,

The cup to ground did violently caft,

That all to pieces it was broken fond.

And with the liquor ftained all the lond.
v» 65}.- Bnt/ei/e Us «Dvnu/.i>p— ] In the Tempsst, in the in*

94^ C O M U S.

Fierce (ign of battel maket and menace high»

Or like the fons of Vulcan vorait fmoke* 655

Yet will they foon retire, if he but fhrink.

El. Bt. Tbyrfis, lead on apacei Til follow thee.

And fome good Angel bear a ihield before Us.

tended attack upon the magician Profpero, Caliban gives Stephano
^Uiother fort of aeceflaiy precaution, without which nothing eUe
could be done, yet to the fame purpofe and effect, A. iii. S. li.

——Remember

Firfi to poflefs his Sooks,^^*^
But Profpero has alfo a flaflf as well as a book. A. v, S. i. A. i.
S.ii. Armida in Taffo has both a book and ^ wand, GieBt. Lib.

Con una man' picciola wr^a fcuote,

Tien I'altra un liAro.^-^^
As ihe reads from this book, one of the knights to&s his human
ftape. In Ariofto, Andronica gives Allolpho a wonderftft book.
C« XV. 14. And Bufyrane in the Faerie Quesme, iiu xii. 3a*

His wicked ^ke in haile he ouerthrew.
But TafTo^ the firfi of thefe, copied Boiardo, Orl« Tn am. Libv, i«
C. V, 1 7. And in other places, fict (ee, L« i. C. 1. 56, His in*
chanter Malagife has a magical book.

Che Malagife prefe il fuo ^4utnno

Ter faper quelta cofa ben compita

Quatre demonii f ralTe de llcrferno, ice.
AgsuAi ifl rcacUng one leaf only, he lulls four giants a(leep» ff. 44.

Ne ancor hauea il mmo/ogtio volto

Che gfa ciafcun nel fonno era fepoltcr.
Again, ft. 51. " Ritrova il liiro confecrato, &c." Many ifrilihg
pafTages, which TalTo has borrowed from Boiardo, are unnoticed.

Warton.
Panglory is dcfcribed with waaJ and ^lafii in G. f (etcher's
Christ's' VicTORiE, P. ii. ft. 52.

A filver wand the Sorcerefi did fway,

Andy for a crowne of gold, her haire ihe wOrCi

Only a garland of rofe-buds did play

About her locks, and in her hand me bore

j4 holTov) glohe ^f gtaffe. He A D JkST.
V. 655. Of lik€ the Jons of FuUan vmnit /m§ie.J AUudin^tiv
Cacus. Virg. JEu. viiL 252.

Faacibus ingentemyv«r»«i, mirabile d!ftu«

Evomit, Editor.

V. 658. And fome good ^g(l bear a Jhidd hrfaet us*\ From the
divinities of the clamc& and of tomancCy we are now gpt to the
theology of Thomas Aouinas. Our author fias. ntfbly dilated thia
idea ofa guardianhangel,.yetnot without £dixik pavticidaa and ex«
pfeis warraAL from Sciifturei wblcb be. Aa& a]il»:]poeikaU2 faeigh«

c o M u s; gs

The Scene cbangn to n fisiify palace ^ fit out with all
manner of delicioufnefs : /(^ mufiCj tables fpread witk
all dainties^ Comus appears with bis rabbhy and
the Lidy fat in an incbanted cbair^ to whom be offers
his glafSy which Jhe puts by^ and goes about to rife.

COM08.

■

Nay, Lady, fit ; if I but wave this wand.
Your nerves are all chain'd up in alabafter, 660

tened, in Samsqv Agonistes, v. I43t.

Seod me the Angel of thy birtb, to (hnd

Faft by thy fide, who from thy fathcrV field

Kode up in fiames, after his mefi^ge totd

Of thy conception, and be nmo aMitd

Of fire, Warton.
%, 6^0. Here, as we fee by the ib^-(fire6Hoa| Comus is tn«
ttoduoea whh his apparatus of incantation. And much after the
feme manner, C?rce enters upon her CharmcofUIy flies in Browne's
Inner Temple Masque, p« 131. She appears on the ftage
*' quaintly attyn^ hev te>re roole about her ihouldersi an anadem
^ of ioweM OR he» h««d, with a wand in her band, &c." Tht
tompttfion of 9 fttaoptuQUt banquet i& oommoti tn the megic of
rQiiianc«w Compare Timi^ist, A. irt* S. iii. ^'^ Enter fcreral
^^flrange fliapes bringing in a banquet, and nicking the king •#
** eat.*' Our autbor^is temptation of Chrift in the WrMt rnefs by
the Devil, with laxuriMia viands, is lomicd and condv^ed on the
principles of roiaaBce » and a table ritkfy ffrtmd in wegel modt^
vaniflies li4ie the ban<)iMt a£ % Gothic nccriNnanccr. See Pa r.
RjK«^ & il* 4Q<I* Jw lA tbft feme flyle, the bapquet of Arid in
the T B HP E ST van^es with a auaint dwice. All this fort ef fiction
had been long before adoptea from romance by Spenfer^ and his
mailers the Itelfan poets* Perhaps the ground- work is in Ylrgil's
Beft. Stcitif. vJ. 603. Wartok.

Ibid. i¥<»f , £<9«^, Jk\ ^ I but wave thk w/wrf,

Your nerves are all cham*d up ht afaBetfier,^ ft is with the
fame magic, and in the fame mode^ that Profpero threatens Fer-
dinand, in the Tempest, for pveteochng «9 refift. A. i. S. ii.

Come from the ward ;

For I can here d&ikrm the& wfrh thia^Wr/^.' ■

Come OR-, oft««y.— — ^pBBfe,]

Ifty Hefts' Art m thcif iiiliHtey agam,

And hsLVM i|p> vigour ha theaa^ ■ ■
>Shwi haac ccjpa>cote liywi Sh4ijpwa#ft>. WAS^ay,

96 C O M U S.

And yoa a ftatue, or, as Daphne was,
Rooc-baund» that fled Apollo.
Lad. FooU do not boaft.

Thou canfl: not touch the freedom of my mind
With all thy charms, although this corporal rind
Thou haft immanacled, while Heav'n fees good. 665
Com. Why are you vext. Lady ? why do you frown ?
Here dwell no frowns, nor anger ; from thefe gates
5>orrow flics far : See, here be all the pleafures.
That fancy can beget on youthful thoughts,

V. 66 1 • gf, as Daphne wasy

Root-bound^ &c.] The poet, inftead of faying rut-hound^
as Daphne was that fled Apollo^ throws in root-himndxuXxs the middle
betwixt the antecedent and the relative, a trajeftion altogether
unufiial in our language, but which mull be allowed both to vary
and raife the (lyle; and, as the connection is not fo remote as to
make the language obfcure, I think it may not only be tolerated
bur praifed. This way of varying the flile is.a figure very ufual
both in Greek and Latin. Lord Monboddo'sO&iG.ANDP&OG*
OK Lang. vol. iii. 2d edit. p. loi. Editor*

V. 663. Thou canfl not touch the freedom of n^ mind

IVlth all thy charms.'^ This Stoical idea of the invio*
lability of virtue is more fully exprefled, v. 589. 90. Warton*
Com}>are Prior's Solomon. B. ii. ai8. where the fair, indig*
joant captive fays to the monarch,

This wretched body trembles at your power:
Thus far could Fortune, but (he can no more.
Frtt to herfelf my potent mind remains.
Nor fears the vigor's rage, nor feels his chains. £o.

V. 666. This line confifts of a Choriamhic and two Anataeftu

Why are you vext. Lady? why do you frown? £d.

V. 668, Here he all the pleafures^

That fancy can beget on youthful thoughts^ &c.] An Ccho
to Fletcher, Faithf. Sreph. A. i. S.i. voUiiL p. 119,
Here be woods as green
As any, &c.

Here be all new delights, &c. ,

And again, p. 128.

-^— Whofe virtues do refine
The blood of men, making it free and fair
As tho firll hour it breathM, or the beft adr. Wartoit.
V. 669. Thu fancy COM beget on youthful thoughts^

When thefrK/k UooJgrtfms iive^^ &C.J TUs.k a ihoDght

C O M U &

97

When the frefli blood grows lively, and returns 670
Bride as the April buds in primrofe-feafon.
And firfty behold this cordial julep here.
That flames and dances in his cryftal bounds.
With fpirits of balm and fragrant fyrops mixt ^
Not that Nepenthes, which the wife of Thone 675

of Shakfpeare's, but vaftly improved by our poet ia the maimer
of expreffing it. Rom. and Jut, A. i. S. ii.

Such comfort as do lufty young men feel,
When well-apparcll'd April on the heel
Of limping winter treads. Thtbr.
Compare Taflb, Gibr.Lib. C. x1v« 62.

O giovinetti, mentre Aprile, e Maggio
V anmiantan di fiorite, e verdi fpoglie, Sec. Editor.
V. 675, That JIames and dances in his cryfial hounds *'\ So in
Sams. Agon. v. 543. ** the dancing ruby fparkling, out«pour'd«"
In both paflages the allufion is to Pro v. xxiii. 31. ** Look not
** thou upon the wine when it is redj when it giifetn its colour in the
** cufy when it moveth it/elf aright.** Newton.

Milton's expreffion, ddtUes in his cryjlai hounds^ correfponds with
the original, which the learned Dr. Hodgfon renders, in his
Tranflation of the Book of Proverbs, " fFheh it /parhleth in
^' THB glass; Glafs being ufed before the days of Solomon."
And the dancing ruhy JfariTing refembles the periphrafis for wine
in the Perfian poetry, a melted ruhy. Again in Par.LosT| B. v.
633. ^ mhied ti^&ar" Editor.

■ V. 6 74. WJth fpirits ef halm and fragrant J^rops mixt,} Made more
inebriating, like the bowl of Helen, or, like the mixed wine of the
Hebrews, by the addition of higher ingredients, as fpices, opiatesi
and drugs. See bifiiop Lowth on Isaiah, 1. 2%, Editor.

V. 6jc, Not that Nepenthes,'^] The author of the lively and
learned Enquiry into the Life and Writings of Homer, has brought
together many particulars of this celebrated drug, and concludes,
p. 135. edit. i. ** It is (rue, they ufe opiates for pleafure all over
^' the Levant; but by the beft accounts of them, they had them
** originally from Egypt; and this of Helen appears plainly to
^ bea production of that country, and a cuftom which can be
*' traced from Homer to Auguflns's reign, and from thence to the
" age preceding our own.** Dr. J. Warton.
. Compare Homer, Odtss. a. 219. x.r.^. A curious treatife
on this celebrated herb has been publifhed, entitled *^ Petri Pe-
**' titi Philofqphiet Do6toris Medici Homeri Nepenthes, five de
^' Helena Medicamento luClum, animique ^ritudinem abolente,
^^ et aliis quibuidam eidem facultate prseditis, Diflertatio." Tra-
je^. ad Kocn. 1689. Editor.

9$ C O M U S.

Iq Egypt gare to Jove-born Helena,

Is of fuch jX)w'r to ftir up joy as this,

To life fo friendly, or fo cool to thkft.

Why (houM you be fo cruel to yourfelf.

And to tboTe dainty limbs, which Natiune lent 680

For gentle uifage and foft delicacy ?

But you invert the covenants of her truft.

And ha^fll^y deal, like an iU borrower.

With that which you received on other terms ;

Scorning the unexempt condition^ 685

By which all mortal frailty muft fobfift,

RefrcQiment after toij, eafe after pain.

That have been tir*d dl day without repaft.

And tirnely reil have wanted ^ but, faif Virgin^

This will reftore all fooo.

Lad. 'Twitt not, felfe traitor, 69a

'Twill not reftore the truth and honefty.

That thou haft banilh't from tby tongue with Ucs.

V, 676. — — — Jwe-hom Melena,'\ Here Ac Englifli woni
iarn, which anfwers to the Latin word natusf Mikon has ilfed in
rhe clafficftl fenfe afnatus; for the Romaos ^tid w^ms^k Mtn^ as
y!e\\ as ex tnatrey whereas, in common fiag&ifh we fay ooly^ born
of the mother. Lord Monboddo'sOfiiG. an^ P«og.4»f Lano*
vol. Sii. ftd (ditrp. 49. R. Nkcok, in. Ins I«dii^« Mie. vsor
Mag. €4. i6<o. has ^^J4nfe^ham PhoebiiS)" -and agsia, p..';f64»
« Jwe-bcm Aftraea." £i>it6&.

V. 679. W%y Jf»ulJjm Me fi eraei /» yourfe^.l See Skakipeaie,
60KNET i. ed. Malone.. 17.QO. voL x-p. 193^ . .

Thyfclf thy foe, /p tnyfiuettfelf/f truel^ £ piTOH ,
V. 680. Jhii to thpfe dainty limh.j jStpeofer* F. Q. jl. Si'u J^-

All night ifae watcht, ne onoe miowne w>dujki lny

Her JatMt^ Ufti^s,
Tlie expre^ion is repeatedly ufed in the JaB:KY Quj^tvi sAd in
G. Wkher's Mistressb of P)ii«.AftST«i/i62». jkeaifo Sir Hv
Wotton's Shojit Hist, of Witi*iAM I. ^ H^ivas iv>t^ ftnj
^' delicate texture > his/rWx were rather ftturdy than dmjfnty^'* £0%
Ibid. — — — which Nature lent.} So ShakfpeJuv, Soivmbt.
iv. ed. Malone, 1790. vol. 1^. p. 196.

Nature's heqttejl gives nothing, but doth imd;

And being h^nk, Ihe lends to chofe are iiee.

Then, beauteous nig^rd, ^hy doll t\xoxi,4dnifit, .

The bounteous. lar^^sgLvsen thee to-^^c.? ^Bsrcitft.

k

C O M U Sl

99

Was this the cottage, and the f^e abode

Thou toldfl me of ? What griair afpedts are thefe,

Thefe ugly-headed moufteirs ? Mercy guard me !

Hence with thy brew'd inchantineucS) foul deceiver 1

Halt thou betray'd my credulous i&nocence

With vifor^d falmood and bafe forgery ?

Aod would'ft thou feek agaio to trap me here

Wiih lickcrifti baits, fit to infnare a brare ? 700

Were it a draft for Juno when fhe banquets,

I would not tafte thy treafonous ofier ; none

But fuch as are good men can give good things.

And that which is not good, is' not delicious

To a well-govern*d and wife appetite* 705

V. 694, — WhiS grim ofpeHs mre tiefe T\ So Draytony. Pol yo lb.
$. xxvii. vol. iii. p. 1^90;

H^r grim i^ffeU to ice.— —
Agai% ih^* S. xxx. vol. iii. p. 1225,.

Tk' m/pea of tbeifr J7'm flales.^-—
And Spcnfcr, F. C^. v. ix. 48*

With griefly grim afpe^
Abhorred Murder.—— Wak^oi*.
So Shakfpeare, Rape of Lucukce^

■ fome ghaiily ffM'ite
Whofe grim afpe^ fets every joint a (haking-
And Sir T. Overbury^s CHARAC'rBR&« ed*. ^da^'}^ Eilay on Va-
lour. " They bee both of a irade, but he of ^;i» ojpe^^''

Mikon uniformly follow* the acceotUAtioik of ^fp^y by our
elder poets, on the fecpnd fyllablc. But the accentualttoa of the
fub^ntive conv^i^^ on the iame fylktble, ver. %\y is perhaps pecu-
liar to Milton. Edit^k.

V. 695. " Ougly^'* or " o»F^/p-headed" in th« oJd cdd. See note,
V. 695. A pp. No. I. TiekeU ao^ Fenton readi "wy/y h€a4ied,'[ Ed.
V. 696, H4MU wiih tk^ hrem'J iitchantrntMs^foid deceiver /] Magi-
cal potions^ brewed or copipoa>nded of iucanCatoTy herbs aiid poi-
fonous drugs. Shakfpeare's caaildroift \a 9 brewed inchantment^
but of another kijQKL War ton.

V. 700. With lickerifti ^//s.} Dr. Newtoa and Mf. Warton
read " liquori/h bait*," Editor.
V, 702. ■ . I . mm

. Su^/ufk as an g^d men eon gi'we good AmgsJ] This no-
ble fentiment Milton has borrowed froim Eufipyesy Medea.
V. 618. iJUiui >Mf M»^ ^* int^i* m ix^i^ NswTOH.

V. 704. Jind thai wiici is not gfit^ ii Mt dekcims

To a ivett'gmarn'i and vdfi apptiiu.} ThaH », an appe-

o 2

167974

loo C O M U S.

Com. O foolifliners of men ! that lend their ears
To thofe budge do<%ors of the Stoic fiirr.
And fetch their precepts from the Cynic tub,
Praifing the lean and fallow Abftinence.
Wherefore did Nature pour her bounties forth 710

tite in fubjedion to the rational part, and which is plea(e<l with
nothing but what reafon approves of : It is a noble fendmentt
but exprelTed in a manner which will appear flat and infiind to
thofe who admire the prefent faftiionable uyle, far removed from
the fimplicity of the antients. Milton was not only the grtateft
fcholar and fined writer of his age, but a good philolopher.
See Lord Monboddo's "Antient Metaphtsicsi" voL iii.
Preface, p. xlii. Editor.

V. 707. To thofe budge dolors rf the Stoic furr.] Thofe morofc and
rigid teachers of abflinence and mortification, who wear the gown
of the Stoic philofophy. BuJge isjufj antiently an ornament of
the fcholaflic habit. In the more ancient colleges of our UAiver*
fities, the annual expences for furring the robes or liveries of the
fellows, appear to have been very confiderable. " The Stwkfwr^*
is as much as if he had faid <* The Stoic feft.'* But he explains the
obfolete word, in which there is a tindure of ridicule, by a very
awkward tautology. Warton-

Dr. lohnfon, in his Di^ionary, introduces this paflage in order
to illuftratc the ufe of budge^ as an adjeftive, fignifying/w/y,^/^
rugged. This definition accords with another expre^on, which i9
applied to the fame philofophers, in Par. Reg. B.iv. 280.
> the left

Epicurean, and the Stoic fevere.
The phrafe " budge do^ors*^ may thus feem highly appofite in the
mouth of a contemptuous voluptuary* Editor.

V. 710. Wherrfwre did Nature &c. &c.] Randolph, in his
Muse's Looking' Glass, A* ii. S. iii. ed. 1638. argues in the
fame fpecious manner :

■ ■ Nature has been bountifiil

* To provide pleafures, and fhall we be niggards
Ax plenteous boards ? He's a difcourteous guefl
That will obferve a diet at a feafl.
When Nature thought the earth too little
To find us meat, and therefore ilor'd the air
With winged creatures ; not contented yet,
She made the water fruitful to delight us, &c.
Did ihe do this to have us eat with temperance?

■ I ■ ■ Not to enjoy

All pleafures, and at full, were to make Nature
Guilty of that ihe ne'er was guilty of|
A vanity in her works. Editor,

C O M U S. ibi

With fuch a full and unwithdrtwing hand,
Covering the earth with odours, fruits, and flocks,
Thronging the Teas with ipawn innumerable.
But all to pleafe and fate the curious tafte ?
And fet to' work millions of fpinning worms, 715
That in their green fliops weave the fmooth-hair*d filk.
To deck her Ibns ; ahd^ that no corner might
Be vacant of her plenty*, in her own loins
She hutch't th' ali-wor(hipt ore and precious gems.
To (lore her children with : if all the world 720
Should in a pet of temp'rance feed on pulfe,
Drink the clear flream, and nothing wear but frieze,
Th* all-giver would be unthank't, would be unprais'd.
Not halt bis riches known, and yet defpis'd ;
And we (hould ferve him as a grudging mailer, 725
As a penurious niggard of his wealth;
And live like Nature's baftards, not her fons.
Who would be quite furclfarg'd with her own weight.
And flrangled with her wafte fertility ;
Th' earth cumbered, and the wing'd air dark't with
plumes, 730

V. 719. Ske hutck't,'] That is hoarded, Hutck is an old word, (lill
in ufe, for coffer. Archbiihop Chichel6 gave a borrowing cheil
to the Univerfity of Oxford, which was called CkicheU's Hutck,
Some perhaps may read hatch^dy for it was ** in her own loyns."
And the fpeaker is difplaying the produce and fertility of every
part of nature. Warton.

V, 727. And live Hie Nature* s baftards^ not herfmuJ\ The expref-
iion is taken from Ueb. xii. 8. ^* Then are ye hafiards and not
^^/ms,^* Newton.

It occurs agaiii in Milton*8pRos£-W.i. i65.ed,i698. £d.

V. 730. Th' earti cumber^ d^ and the ^tcing^dair dark^t with flumes,

A trochee in the fecond place is unufual. Huro,
The trochee is admitted in every place of our verfe, except the
laft. See Poller on Accent. 2d ed. p. 59. The paufe, falling
upon the third fyllable in this hne, affords an infiance of judicious
variety in verfification, (imilar to feveral in Pa a. L. as in B, iii. 39.
■ ■■ the wakeful bird

Sings darkling, — | and in fhadieil covert hid
Tunes her nodumal note. Editor •
Jbid. ■ ■ I the winfd air dari't wiikfhmesJ] The image is

loz C O M U S.

The herds would over-multitude their iords.
The fea o'erfraught would fwell, and tb'uofought
diamonds

ft

Would fo im blaze the forehead of the deep.
And fo beftudd with ftar% that they below
Would grow inur'd to li^ht, and come at laQ: 7^5
To gaze upon the fun with (hamelefs brows.
I^id, Lady » be not coy, and be not cofen*d
With that fame vaunted name Virginity.
Beauty is Nature's coin, mud not be hoardcd>
But mud be current ; and the good thereof 749
Confifts in mutual and partaken bliis»
Unfavoury in th^ enjoyment of ilfelf ;

taken from what the ancients faid of the air off^e nortken
iflands^ that it was dogg'd aiid darkea'd with Heathers.

WARau&TOJb

Thomfoa has alio particularly alluded to this notion, and. has
formed an elejrant compound epithet from this patAgt, 9<e

AUTUMK. 867.

Infinite wings f till ail the rLVME*DAitK mir

And rude refounding ihore are one wild cry. Edivok.
V. 731. TAe herds^ &c.] Mr. Bowie obferves, that the tenonr of
Comus's argument is much the fame with that of Chtrinda, in B.
and Fletcher's Sea- Voyage, A. ii. S.i. vol. ix. p. no.

Should alt women ufe this obfiinate abftioeiicey

You woukt force upon us :

In a few years the whole world would be peoplod

Only with bealls.
And the obHfervatfon is ftill further juftificd, fron MtltM^'s great
intimacy with the plays of the twin-barda. Waktoh.

V. 732. Jhefea ^erfraugkt wmld /weUy &c.) Dr. Warburton
and Dr. Newton remark, that this and the four following lioes
are exceeding childifh. Perhaps they are not incaofiftest with
the cliarader of the ^^ wily" fpcaker : and might be inteuded to
expofe that oilentatious fophiilry, by which a bad caufe is generally
fupported. Editor.

V. 734. Jnd/^hefiuddfvithjars.'^'] So Drayton, in his moft ele-
gant epiille from King John to Matilda, which our author, as we
Avail fee, has noore largely copied in the remainder of Comus's
fpeecln vol. >. p. 332. Of Heaven.

Would fhe put on \i^x fiar^htftuddid crown*
Sylvefter calk the ftars ^^ gufitring-Jludsr Du Bart. (p. 147.
4to.) D. V. W. i. And "the^t/ici/j of the fiimameBt," Ibid.
(4to. p. ^7*) W.i* D. vii. Wa&to v.

k

G O M.U S. 103

If youiet4liptime,>iitee4aJftegteftcd rofc T • r
It withers on the &tAk i^th iaogoUh'tbead.^ . ' ^ :!
Beauty is Nfttii^re's brag, ra^ m&ft be. Ihooail . 745
In courts, at fettfb,iihdJiitgbfelAnaiw

V. 743. Tbisllbe1hoiiidpieftaH>sl>c i^^imoiiflithfis, «.

If you let I (lip I time | like a | neglected rofe.
Gmeml Rsk* ^^The iic^mkiu^ .foot (hail b«, m VociV im^Umf^
*« either the firft, thir<J^ or fifth." Hi^RD.

Ibid* '^y«» ietfikf tms% like a^nff^Se^f rf/i .

// witktrs'^tw^tie j^M^ti kmgtti/k'i iu^fd^- Spt^nier and
SWkl^emre's VfiNVs and Aponxs, Ih^^ h^e been adduced. But
I radier tiiiak, we are mm^dS^iyto ri^ertp^,pafla^ ^i MUton's
favourite, the Midsummer Night's Da-jEA^fWiiere Thefeus
Waiaee ihitnaonc tmrttMmi fa nwry JDjemetrWy A- i« 'S.i,

But cajfHer iutppy (s ibe rofe. diiljU*4, ...

Than that, whicli^ wkh^rjqg on the yirgia tboriJt

Grows, iiyti9, iUKi^d»eK, in-&^lc J^^iulBeis.
Mr. Malone jn&ly nefearks* thigt^bi^ is ,b ^hpugbt witii which
Shakfpeare, from tm frequ^iH fepctilioji^ appears to have been
•Msch iLdti|;1»fed* SvtfLm Shaks^^ • i. 1 14* . $oa)Of))ing like it
occurs in Lilly's My das, A. ii. S. i. '' You bee all ;yovjag and
^ ^Ke,«3ideaQour i;a>ee wifr aod ¥€itu<)i»: (hat whe», likerofes,
^^y«u diaiil7aid /root tte Aaike,,yp\} naay .bi^^thered, and put to
** the sTi L L . ** This play was adtgd before Queen Elizabeth on We w»
year% day, by the^oir^x^y^ of St.. ifa«il>, .i{92. Waaton.
Compare 'Ari\«n«, 0*t. fwE#.C# i». .5ft.

ChciardJMHio^ ft^gioo p«sfdef,ppaia»i
Cmapare alio ihAfe l^oai^tifuUA^p^a^ i(w)uf h a^e, ^ppted frptt
iiaialluf) iftthe fime^anli^i #1, 43.

ik VergineUa ^! ikiile aite ro6, .4^^ :, £p^tq«..
V. 745. Bumt^yif Mti0^i'^ir^9 ^^Jf^ i^i/^*^^ .

/« fo»r/j, &c.jlSa.¥ta^h4i:,.f A^yii. Sppy.. A.i. S.i.

Give not yof>riiptfri<^jte%Wi(Bfe-5ind.'th9i]e/|;r^*

iiittiefsoM 1^9 f^l^^ oili^ei^ ^at w^e iikte^d/^ \ ,

lo live among us fwaiii«^«rr**-r - . i-

But tiiai^ .argnment k tHviujed im^e at JUrgie jn l>ray):pa's £pifile
above-quoted. I will give fome of the more palpable refcjonblaj^i/c^.

Fic^'fdtmfb gk^4^«te[r-a(efuUAi^ioi)at^ .

- Did ftfc tgf tlis i^iid fomi ttiae fmb ^ 'Cr«atttrc.?

ThfttthlPU: her glory .ib9iiWH>fai«rfi?thw .

Aiid thou alone fliould fcorn fociety !

Not tcy^e ftiH up io » fovwky niew^ ' ■

A« mify.>tl$D^r'd iPeature i^ heau^n's j;old
Which all n^ JQ^ to tp¥ch» iiu4 ^ j^^bold, &c«

104 C O M U S^

Where moil may wonder at the workmanlhip ;
Ic i^ for homely features to keep home,
Th^ had their name thence ; .coarfe complexions
And cheeks of forry grain, will ferve to ply 750

The fampier, and to te^fe the hufwife's wooll.
What need a vermeii-tindur*d lip for that.

Here we have at ieaft our author's ** What need a ▼ermeil-dnc*
** tur'd lip for that ?" And again,

All things that faire, thkt pure, that glorious beeoe.
Offer themfelves on purpofe to be feene, &c.
But a parallelifm is as perceptibly marked, in Daniel's Com<>
FLAiNT OP Rosamond, ft. 74. and in the Fabrie Qubeiib,
u, iii. 39. Wartow.

I think that Milton here remembered a po^age in Pbriclbsi
Prince op Tyre, A.ii. S.ii. where Simonides iajrs,

■ Oor daughter,
In honour of whofe bifth thefe triumphs are.
Sits here, like beauty* s chiU, whin nature gat
Fw men tojee^ and feeing nixmder at. Editor.

V, 746. zxfea/is,'\ Dr. Newton and Mr. Warton read

" in fcafts." Editor.

V. 748. // is for hamefy fratures to keep home,'\ The £une torn
and manner of expreffion is in the Two Gekt. op Verona, at
the beginning.

Home-keeping youth have ever homefy wits. Newtok.
V, 750. Cheeks rf forty grain will ferve to ply

The f ampler^ and to teafe the hufwife's woitf.] Greun is
technical, in the arts of dying and weaving, for d^itr. ** Sky*
** Xm&.\irtdL grain.'^ Parad. L. B. v. 285. Again, the ^* Gtmi
<^ of Sarra," ibid. B. xi* 242. In the fame fenfe in Ii. Pens.
V. 33. *^ In robe of darkeft jr^m." In Hamlet, A. iii. S. iv.
And there I fee fuch black and grained fpots
As will not leave their tin^.—
<^ Of fo deep a dye as never to be difcharged."

Teafe aKb is technical, from the fame art, to comb, unravdt
and foiooth the wool. Wartow.

- The technical word grain^ applied to ehetks^ occurs in one of
Drummond's Sonnets.

Nor fnow of eheekes with Tyrian graine enrolled. Ed*
v. 752. A vermeil'tinSur*d lip.] Edward Bendlowes has the
epithet to cheeky in his Theofhila. C. i. ft.ai. Lond. i6$ft« foL

Warton.
From the Lady in Comus Mafon transfers an elegant refem*
blance to his beautiful Elprida. Edgar to Elfrida.

Why glows that vermeil lip? why rolls that eye
Bright as the ray of morn. Editor.

i

V.

C p M U S, 105

■

Love-darting eyes, or trcffes like the morn ?

There was another meaning in thefe gifts, 754

Think what, and be advisM, you are but young yet.

Lad. I had not thought to have uniockt my lips

In this unhallowM air, but that this jugler

Would think to charm my judgement, as mine eyes,

Obtruding falfe rules pranckt in reafon^s garb.

I hate when Vice can bolt her arguments, 760

And Virtue has no tongue to check her pride.

Impoftor, do not charge mod innocent Nature,

V. 753. Love-darting eyesJ\ So, in Sylvefter's Du Bart, ed.fol.
ut fupr. p. 399.

Wholo beholds her fweet love-darting eyn. Wart on.
So Pope, Eleg. on an Unfortunate young Lady, v, 34,

And thofe hve-darting eyes muft roll no more.
And Collins, Ode on the Poetic Character, v. 8«

The wi(h of each love-darting eye. Editor.
V, 755, ■ ^ yw are iut young yet,} This v^^ls too ferfonal. Lady
Alice Egerton, who did the part, was about twelve. She here
fuftsdned a feigned character, which the poet overlooked. He
too plainly adverts to her age. Particularities, where no compli-
ment was implied, ihould have been avoided. Warton.

Perhaps the only meaning, here intended, is : Taie my advice^
I am older than you ^ 4ud wi/er.

This and the preceding eighteen lines are not in the Afhridge
manufcript. Editor.
tr. 756. The fix following lines are fpoken aiidet Svmpson.
V. 759. ■ ■ fal/e rules pranckt in redfmCs garh,'\ Pramkt^ or
frank, is an old word ufed by Chaucer, S]>enfer, and Shakfpeare,
for decorated, Milton ufes it in his Prose-W. i. 147. ed. Amft.
It is exchanged, in Par. Lost, for cloth* d^ B. ii. 226.

" ' ■ words clothed in reafon^s garb. Editor.
V. 760. / hate when Vice can bolt her arguments, '\ In the con-
flrudion of a mill, a part of the machine is called the houlting"
mill, which feparates the flour from the bran. Chaucer, Nonnes
Pr. T.I 355.

fiut I ne cannot bolt it to the htnne.

As can that holy doctor faint Auften^
That is, << I cannot argue, and fift the matter to the bottom^
" with the fubtilty of faint Auftin.^' So Spenfcr, F. Q. ii. iv.24^

Saying he now had boulted all theftoure.
And our author himfelf, Animadv.Remonstr.Def.&c. <* To
^^t Mafs into no Mafs, and popifh Into no popifh : yet faving
** this paffing fint/ofkifiicalboulting hutch, &c.'* Pr. W. vol. i.
84. In fome of the Inni of Court, i believe the exerciies or dif*

i06 C O M U 9.

•

As if fhe woold Tier children fhoold be riotom

With her abundance j flic, good catcrefs.

Means her provrfion only to the good, 765

That Kvc according to her fobcr bws,

And holy diftatc of fpare Temperance :

If every juft man, that now pines with want,.

Had but a. moderate and belecming (hare

Of that which lcwdly-pamper*d Luxury 770

putatioM in htw are ftili xMtd himlthgu H«n«e Shftkfpeve-ii
to be explained in Coriolanus, A. iii. S. L who indeed cx-
.phdus himiietf.

' is ill fchooPd

In ^oux/TED language, Mf^/and hran together
He throws without diftindi«n. 1 <•, .

It is the fame allufion Jn the Mbrgh. oy Van. A. i. S. i. *< His
'^ reafms are as two grains of wheat hid in two buihels of chAft;
*' you ihall feek all day ere you find them, &c." The meaning of
the whole context is this, ** I am offended when Vicej>retendi to
/' difpute and reafon, for it always ufts fophiflry." Wa&to v.
. Dr. Newton defines the word Mt ^^Xojimt ; as we had befois
^' Cu|Nd's M/, and Junius derives it from $m^a^jmehx** Dr. Jokst-
fon, ** to ikri09tj oxikrwomt.preciphmifyV This definition might
,perbvps be ^QdUntenaoced by a metaphorical phrafe, frequetft in
the Greek tragedians, as in J^fchylus, Sup ?• V. 45 {• .\

And, in Juvenal, Sat, vii. the Diffuter is oalled Jactdattr^ .

But Mr. W^on -s explanation muft be preferred. . See Barret's
ALVV^aiE. ijSo* **To BouLTE. Curktiffy t^ u^finje Mmd
*^ BOVLTK OUT ikt trmh in rutfwing, Limare reritatem in d^-
'* Gf ptatione. Cicer$/* £dito&.

if, 767. And hfy '4iHate rf /pare Temperance *\ II Piirs*-^..4i({.
Spare^ Fafi^ that oft with gods doth diet. Wa&xom.
- v.j^^, ffemty ji^'maity ikat novj^pines -with vmMtf &c.]'CMn-
pareShakfpeare,-K. Lbar, A.iv. S. i.

•Heavens, deal Co dill !

■iHirfi*!

Let the fuperfluous and luft-dieted man, . .

That (laves your «rdiiiance, that will not. fee
fiecaufe he doth not feel, feel your pow*r quickly;
' So diftribution fliould undo fucceb,
. . ., Apd each man have enough. Editor. . "

V, 769. a moderate andhefeemmg Jhare^ Bo^ in his

.{jLOsx-'W. i% l6i. edit. Amfl. *^ We cannot therefore do. better

'f than to leave this care of ours to God,; he can eafiiy fend k-

*< hourers into his harvefl;, thatfhall not cry, give, giiee^ but be

*.* XDnfieHted with a jinderau and booming amwnta.** Smt oj^s

k

C O M U & |0;

Nqw heaps upoxi faooe few with vaft «ccf%i • .

Nature's full bkffing* would bq well dljlpeoa'd

In unfuperfluous even; propQitioQ^

And (he no whit incumbcrd with, her ftore j

And then the giver would he better thanktj^ 7^5

His praife due paid ; {ov fwinifh Gluttony

Ne'er looks to Hcav'n anudft his gorgeous feaft^

But with befotced bafe ingratitude

Cramms, and blafpheoics bis feeder. Shall I go on )

Or have 1 faid enough ? To him that dares 780

Arm his profane tongue with contemptuous words

A^oft the fun-clad pow'r of CbaiUty,

Fain would I fomething fay, yet to wW end I

Thou haft nor ear, nor foul to apprehend

: ^. 778. Btit v»ftk i^fiaud iafr ittgrathude

Cramrns^ ^ blafiimirkU/i^4hrJ\ LUte M9rt»rs. is^
Situated noofter, Epigs. iv. xxi^

NuUos eile dcos, inane caelum
Affirmat Selius, probatque \ qvod fe
Faduzn, dum negat base, vulet heatum* Ep^tqi^.
V. 784. Thm Ujt nar «#r» mrfml M 4^fpnhfmi
Thefuhlime notion^ and high fn^^%
That muft h vttir'd to unfold ^^fi^
Andferious dodrtne of Flrginit^.j foe before, v. 453, &c,

By fludying the reveries of the Platonic writers, Milton con-
-.trafted a theory concerning chaility and the pnrity of love, in the
contemplation of which, like other vifionaries, he indulged his
imagination with ideal refinements, and with pleafine but unmean-
ing notions of excellence and perfe^ion. Plato's fisntimental or
metaphyfical love, he feems to have applied to the natural love be-
tween the fexes. The very philofojphical dialogue of the Ang^l
and Adam, in the eighth book of Paradise Lost, alto^ther
proceeds on this dodrine. Jn the Smecttmnpus, he declares
his initiation into the myfieries of this immaterial love, << Thus
*^ from the laureate fraternity of poets^ rippr ypars, and the ceaf-
*' lefs round of ftudy and reading, led me to the fh^dy fpaces of
** philofophy : bu( chiefly to the diving volume of Plato, and his
*• equal Xenophon. Where if I ihould tell ye what I learned pf
•* Uuifiity and Lovf^ J mean that >vhich is tn/{y fo, &c.— With
l^ fuch abOraAed fnblimities as thefe, &c.*' P&. W. i, 1 1 1 • But
in the (Ualogue juft ijnentipn^d. where Adam afks his celefliiil
guei^ whether Angel* are fuiceptiUe of love, whether th^y exprefs
their paffion by liH)]u ooiy^ or by a nxjxtvre of irradiatipni by vir*

r 2

io8 C O M U S.

The fublime notion, and high myfteiy, J85

That muft be ucter'd to unfold the (age

And ferious doctrine of Virginity,

And thou art worthy that thou fliould'ft not know

More happinefs than this thy prefent lot.

Enjoy your dear wit, and gay rhetoric 790

That hath fo well been taught her dazling ience,

l^hou art not fit to hear thyfelf convinc'd ;

Yet (hould I try, the uncontrolled worth

Of this pure caufe would kindle my rapt fpirits

tuat or immediate conta6^, our author feenis to hare over-leaped
the Platonic pale, and to have loft his way among the folann
conceits of Peter Lombard and Thomas Aquinas, It is no
wonder that the Angel blufhed, as well as fmiled, at fome of thefe
qucdions. Wartok,

V, 785. The /ublime notion^ and high wf/tery^ &c.l Thus in his
Smrctymkuus, fpeakine of Chaftity. ^* Havine had the dodrine
*^ of Holy Scripture, urifoUing thoit chafte 9nd high MQ^erief^^ith
** timclicd care infus'd, that the body is for the Lordy and the
" Lord for the body." Prose- W. i. 178. ed. Amft.

DoAor Newton accents /Mime on the firft fvllablc, agreeably
to the flri£t rules of verfification. But perhaps the firft footinight
be read without an accent ;

The fub I lime notion, and high myftery.
As above, at v. 469.

The dl I vine property of her firft being.
Yet it has been obierved, in the Eflay on the Harmony of
J^anguage, that the accent can Jcarcely be difpenfed with in the
firft foOt| even of a dramatic verfe. Editor.

V. 790. — gay rhetorici See Beaumont and Fletcher's
PiiiLASTRR, A. iv. S. i. << I know not your rhetarici; but I csia
•• lay it on." Warton.

Compare Par. Reg. B. Iv. 4. of the Tempter,
' the perfuafive rhetoric
That fleek*t his tongue, and won fo much on Eve,
So, in Sylvcfter's Du Bart, ed, fol. ut fup. the Serpent's a4-
drcfs to five is termed " glozing rhetorike." ■ Editor.

V. 791. —— — her dazling fence.] We have the fubftantive
fmce in Shakfpcare, Much Ado about Note. A. v. S. u

Dcfpight his nice/ence^ and his a^ive pra^ice. Wartow,
And in our author's Pr. Wori^s. vol.i. p. 323. ed. Amft. 1698.
** hirM mafters of /Mr^arr-PSNCK.** Editor.

V. 79 A» ■ my rmfi/firits,'] My elewugd fpirits. Com-

pare lu Pens. v. 40. <« Thy rm/t fout fitting in thine tjeu" The

C O M U S, to)

To fuch a flame of facred Vehemence, 795

That dumb things would be ifioved to fympathizc.
And the brute Earth would lend her nervesiand (hake.
Till all thy magic ftruftures, reared fo high,
Were (hattered into heaps o'er thy falfe head.
Com. She fables not, 1 feel that I do fear Bpo

Her words fet off by feme fuperior power ;
And though not mortal, yet a cold ftiudd*riDgdew.^

participle comes from the old verb, to rafe, which perhaps
is derived from the Italian, rapire. In Browne's Brit. Past,
B. ii. S. ii. we have *'^ /ouUraping ftrains," that is, foul-ravifliing.
And, in P. Fletcher's Purp. Island, C. xii. fl. 73. *^ my rapt
*<,/a»/." So, in Shakfpeare, Cokiolan. A. iv« 5. v.
■- more dances my raft hearty

Than when I firil my wedded miftrefs (aw
Beftride my threfhold. Editor.
V. 797. And the brute Earth would lend her nerves,^ The unfceU
ing Earth would fympathife and siffiit. It is Horace's Brutatellus.
O&.i. xxxiv. 9. Warton.

Perhaps Milton had not forgot Rich. II. A. iii. S. ii.
The Earth fhall have a feeling. Ste evens.
. V, 799. Werejhatteredj &c.] In G. Fletcher'i Christ's Vict*
the S^eeieJJe fings a fong, the fubjeA of which is, Love <^ ob-
^ truding lalfe rules prankt in reafon's garb," and endeavours to
cajytivate our Saviour in the fame manner as Comus does the
Lady. The e£fe£k of the Song on our Saviour is, that,
■ he her charms diiperied into winde.
And her of infolehce admonifhed,
And all her optique glaffes Jhattered, He ad l]ST*
V, 800. Thefe fix tines too are afide, but I would point the
firil thus : She fables, noi^ I feel that ; that is, I feel that die dopt
not fable, &c. Stmp^soit.

The vtrb/ablej but not neutrally, occurs in Par. L. B. vi, 292.
Or turn this heaven itfelf into the hell
Thou/«^/5^.—
Fabledj the participle, is more common in Milton. In either
the Firfl or Second Part of Shakfpeare's Hrnry tbe sixth,
I recoiled.

He fables not, I hiear the enemy. ,

There is a dignity in the word» which in the text gives it a pe-
culiar and fuperiour propriety. Warton.

V. 802. And though not mortal^ yet a coUJimdd'rittgdew^ &c.] Y//
had better been omitted. Hurd. 1

Her words arc affiftcd by fomewhat divine.; and \% although
imnmriaij and above the rasc^ of man^ aot fo;fffie^^%^itb.M)^

ii9 C O M U S;

Dips me all o'er* as when the wrath of Jove

Speaks thunder^ and the chains of Erebus,

Xo fome of Saturn's crew. I niuft diflemble, 805

And try her yet more ftrongly. Come, no more^

This is .mere moral babble, and diredl'

Agfiinft the canon Uws of our foundation ;

I muft not fuffisr this, yet 'tis but the lees

And ibttiingl of a melancholy blood : 8 10

But this will cure all ftreight ; one fip of this

force, that a cold fliuddering dew, icc» Here is the nobktt pant*
gyric oa the power of virtue, adorned with the AiMimfft inagerf r
It is extofttid from the mouth of a oMgician and a prtteniatiiiid
being, who, althovgh adoaUy po(&ffi^ of his prey, feels all the
terrours of human nature at the bold rebuke of innocence, and
fhudders with a fuddea cold fweat like a guilty num. Warton.
v. 808. Againjt the oamm Uems rf §Mr /midmiiom.} Cmm-laws^
a joke! WAaBvaTON.

Here is a ridicule on eftaUiihments, and the canoa law noi^
greatly encouraged by the church. Perhaps on the Canons of the
Chuch, now rigidly enforced,, and at which Milton frequently
ghinces in his profe tra^s. He calls Gratian ^ the compiler of
'* camn^ini^ityJ* Pft • W. i. 2 1 1« In his book on Reformation^
he fpeaks of ** an infulting and only ^ami*tu^ prelate." Pa. W.
vol. i. 7. And his arguments on Divorce, afford freouent op-
portunities of expofing what he calls the sgaaraua and nufuitjf of
the Canon-Law. See particuUrly, ch. iii. Warton,
f;. 809. ——vet *tu but ihiUes

Andfettlings rf a meUmMjf ih9d,'\ 1 like the manufcript
reading beft,

« This is mere moral /«/; the vay lees."
yirfisbad* Siv^ Very inaccurate. Hurd.

Yet is omitted by Tickell and Fenton. Editor.
Ibid. ikeket

Andfettlings9feimeUm€h§fyhkoel.']StXf in Sams. Agon. 599.
Believe not thefe fuggeflions, which proceed
From anguiih of the mind, and humours blacky
That mingle with thy fiuicy. Wartoh.
». 811. One/f of this

mU hathe ths drnping/piritt In deiijht^
Beywd the ili/s rf dfeamt,'\ So FletcheTi Faitjh ifL
Sbbph. a. iv. S. i. Vol. ill. p. 164%
' m^mmJitpmfitkJreams^
Or madmen's fancy, when the many ^ew^
Of new imaeinatious rife and fiill.
C#fnpare> the delicious but deadly fountain of . Anniila iskJtskHH^

COUVSl tit

Will bathe the dn>(^g fpirift to dVUgbt^^

Beyond tke blif^ .0f dreanns. ^ Be wife, and Ufte.^^ '-

7%^ Brothers ru/h in with Jixjards drawUy wrefi bis.
glajs xM afhishcmd^ mnd break it againfi the ground ;
bis rout make jfigni>f re/iflancey but are all drivettinJ
The Attendant Spirit c&mes in.

S?4R;IT*

What, have you let the falfe inchanter Tcape ?
P ye miHook, ye (hoiild have (hatcht bis wand, Si^

Gix&.'LiB. C. XIV. 74«

Ch?iw/f£rm/.^f^ diTue iuckfe onde
Jneh-ia.l' alMato&a,.Cihi'fk\ietBy 8cc.
But Milton ifeems to 'have remembered Pairfax's ver£on.
Omjnf thereof the drinker's heart doth' bring
Toiudden ioy, whence laughter vaine doth rife, &c.
See alfo Par ad. L. B.ix. i04:6*

.Soon as the force of tluit faUadous firuit,

That with exhilarating vapour bland

About their Tpirtts:had play'd) and inmoft powers

. Made .etr.

We may add the fame effe^b-of the forbidden fruit, ibid* ioo8.
,As with new wine, intoxicated both,
Thcnr fwim in^mirth, and imcy && Wa«tow.i
V. 8i2. Will hmtht tlk.dro$fmg Jfiriis m diUght.] So, in the
Hist, op Pjlximos anb Cassa-nd&a, by George WhetiloneS|
Gent. London, 1578* P.i. A. i, S.ii*

— — ' therudiing youthes that-^^M^ in vuintm i^«
Spenfer, pABaT.Q.i. K 4.7.

BathedAuvmntm hits 9iTAviicix&]cxy. ; ,. *

MiaouR FOR MAGisTRATBs,.ed. 1610. p. 60$.

She bathed in. Uiff^ while, we ]aif drowa'd in wo^;.
And FcjiMus Tross, 1655. •Reed's Old Pl« vol..vii. V 445.

Elyfian ields, where -footlefs fouls ■ . .

Da bathe tkemfilves in • blifi. -fi d ito r •
V. 813. ---'--•& w^,«(k/' A9^tf..J The iei^entdofdshisifpecious
conference with £ve icpa fimHarftrain,'PA«. L. B» xi«^32.

Godde&humaney retch' then, and:freel/taAe« 'Editor.
V. 8 1 5 • Oye mi^boky ytjhmld knvefraithi bifmamd^ :-

^td.bmmd Idmf^fl | wiiiota^ Ms rod i^KMnrVfc : -^.v* *^\ A
And backward mutters rf^ dijfevering ptmr^
Wrtamntfree the^Ld^^ itzr] TlieyiiH^ireacd before

fit COM U S.

And bound faial fad; without his rod reVersM^
And backward mutters of diflevering power,

to feiie Comus's wand, v. 653. And this was from the Faeris
Que EKE, where Sir Guyon breaks the Chd^rming Staffe of Plea-
fure^g porter, as he likewife overthrows hia bow!, ii. xtt. 49^ fiut
from what particular procefs of diGnchantment, aucient or mo-
dern, did A^ilton take the notion of reverfing Comus's wand or
rod ? It was from a paflage df Ovid, the great ritualifl of claflScal
forcery, before cited, where the companions of Ulyfles are rellored
to their human ibapes. Metam xiv. 300.

Percutimurque caput eonver/a verbere virga^
Verbaque dicuntur di6kis contraria verbis.
This Sandys tranflates, " Her wand reverft^ &c.*' Traksl*
p. 462. edit. 1632. And in his very learned Notes he fays, ** As
" Circe's rod, waved over their heads from the right fide to the
*' left, prefents thofe faife and finifler perfwafions to pltafurei
*^ which fo much deformes them : fo the reverjion, thereor, by dif-
*' cipline and a view of their own deformitie, reftores them to
'^ their former beauties." p. 481. By backward muittrsy the
** verba diftis amtraria verbis," we are to underftand, that the
charming words, or verfes, at firft ufed, were to be all repeated
hackwardsy to deftroy what had been done.

The moft ftrikiiig rcprefeutation of the reverfal of a charm that
I remember, and Milton might here have partly had it in his eye,
is in Spenfer's defcription of the deliverance of Am(»ret, by Brito-
mart, from the enchantment of Bufyrane. F. Q. iii. xii. 36.
And rifing vp, gan ftreight to ouerlooke .
Thofe curfed leaucs, his charmes backe to reuerfe ;
Full dreadfuU thines out of that balefull booke
He read, and meauir'd many a fad verfe,
That horrour gan the virgins* heart to perfe.
And her faire lockes vp Itared iliffon end,
Hearing him thofe fame bloudy lines reherfe :
And all the while he read, fhe did extend
Her fword high over him, if aught he did offend.

. 37- ^
Anon fhe gan perceive the houfe to quake.

And all the dores to rattle round about \

Yet all that did not her difmaied make,

Nor flake her threatfuU hand for daungers dout :

But flill with ftedfali eye, and courage flout^

Abode, to weet what end would come of all. -

At laft, that mighty chaine, wluch round about

f Her tender waile was wound, adowne gan fall.

And that [great brafen pillour broke in peeces fmali, &c.

*Biitomart. f Amoret who was inchaaud.

C O M U S. 113

We cannot free the Lady that fits here
In ftony fetters fixt, and motionlefs : 819

Yet (lay, be not difturb'd ; now I bethink me.
Some other means I have which may be us'd,
Which once of Meliboeus old I learnt,
The footheft (hephcrd that e'er pip't on plains.
There is a gentle Nymph not far from hence.

The circumftance in the text, of the brothers forgetting to felze
and reverfe the magician's rod, while by contrail it heightens the
fuperiour inteUi'^ence of the Attendant Spirit, affords the opportu-
nity of introducing the fi6lion of raifing Sabrina; which, exclu-
iive of its poetical ornaments, is recommended by a local propriety,
and was peculiarly interefting to the audience, as the Severn is
the famous river of the neighbourhood, Warton.

<;. 821. Do6lor Johnfon reprobates this hn^ narration^ as he
ftyles it, about Sabrina ; which, he fays, '• is ot no ufe bccaufc it
•* hfalje^ and therefore unfuitable to a good being.'* By the poeti-
cal reader, this fiction is coniidered as true. In common fenfe,
the relator is not true: and why may not an imaginary being, even
of a good charafter, deliver an imaginary tale ? Where is the
moral impropriety of an innocent invention, efpecially when in-
troduced for a virtuous purpofe ? In poetry falfc narrations are
often more ufeful than true. Something, and fomething preter-
natural, and consequently falfe, but therefore more poetical,
was neceflary for the prefent diftrefs. Warton.

V. 823. The footheft ^<r///^r^.] Tht truejt, faithfuUefl . Sooth h
truth. Infoqth is indeed. And therefore what this footheft fhcp-
herd teaches may be depended upon. Newton.

Tickell reads ^^fmootheft ftiepherd."

Dyer, in his Flbbce, B. i. copies Milton*
— Firft arofe in fong
Hoar-headed Damon, venerable Twain,
TYit foothefijiepherd of the flowery vale. Editor .

Ibid. -- — that e'er pip't on plains.'] Spenfer thus charafterifes
Hobbinol, as Mr. Bowie obferves, in C. Clouts come home

AGAIN.

■ A iolly groome was hee.

As euer piped on an oaten reed.
And Amyntas, in the fame poem.

He, whilft he lined, was the nobleft fwalne.

That euer piped on an oaten quill. Warton.

V. 824. Theie is a gentle Nymph not far from hence^ &<^- J Sabrina's

fabulous hiftory may befeenintheMiROUR for Magistrates

under the Legend of the Lady Sabrine, in the iixth Song of

Drayton's Polyolbkon, the tenth Canto and fecond Book of

. .*

114 C O M U S.

That with moift curb fwajrs the fmooth Severn ftream,
Sabrina is her name, a Virgin pure ; 826

Whilom (he was the daughter of Locrine,
That had the fcepter from his father Brute.
She, guiltlefs damfei, flying the mad purfuit

Spenfer's Faerie Queene, the third Book of A.L9ton's
England, the Hrfl Book of our author's Hiflory of England, in
Hardy ng's Chronicle, and in an old Englifh Ballad on the Tub-
je£t. See Note on epitaph. Pam. v. 176.

The part of the fable of Comus, which may be called the
DisiMCHANTMENT, is evidently founded on Fletcher's Faith-
jfUL Shepherdess. The Moralof both dramas is the triumph
OF ch^astity. This in both is finally brought about by the
fame fort of machinery.

. Sabrina, a virgin and a king's daughter, was converted into a
fiver-nymph^ that her honour might be preferved inviolate. Still
ihe prefer ves her matden-gentletiifs \ and every e vetting vifits th^
cattle axnoog her twilight meadows, to heal the raifchiefs inflicted
by elfifh m^gic. For this (he wa^ praifed by the iUepherds.

She can unlock
The claipiag charm, and thaw the numming fpell^
M fhe be right invok'd in warbled fong.
She prote^s vij;gins in diflrels. She is now foleninly called, tp
deliver a virgin imprifoned ii^ the fpell of a deteftable forcerer.
She rifes at the invocation, a^d leaving her car on an ofiered
ruihybauk, bailens t;o help infnqred cliqfiit^. She fpulnkles on the
bread of a captive maid, precious, drops felcfted from her pure
fountain. She touches tnrice the tip of the lady's finger and
thrice her ruby lip, with chafte palms moift and' coid; as alfo the
envenomed chair, fineaf ed with tenacious gums« Tlie chanp is
difiblved : and the Nymph departs to the bower of Arnphitrite.

But I am anticipating, by a general exhibition, fuch particular
pafiages of Fletcher's play as will hereafter be cited in tfteir pro-
per places ; and which, like others already cited, will appe^ to
nave been enriched by bur author with a variety of new aliufiopsi
original fictions, and the' beauties of unborrowed poetry.

Wartow.

V. 829. She, guiltlefs dam/el:] So edit. 1 645. and MS. The^
ed. i637« followed by Tonfon, 1695, &c. Tickell* and Fenton
have^^. Warton.

And Tonfon, in his edition of 1713,^/^. Editor.

Ibid. — ^/«g-.] Pronounc'd, as one fyllable, ^*»5-; as, at
v» 831, /»»V^«f^ in two fyllables. Hurd.

This pronunciation offing often occurs in Milton. See-PAR,
LosT> ii. 942, vi. 536, and Par. Reg. iii. 322. And innpcettt^
as two'fyllables, at v. 574. fupr. Editor. . * - ■ .^^ :. .

^

G O M U S4 us

Of her tnftig(wi ftepdatn Guendoten, 83O

Commended her &ir innocence to the flood,
That ftay'd her flight with his crofs-flowing courfe^
The Watcr-Nymphs, thet in the bottom play'dj
Held up their pearkd wrifts, and took her in.
Bearing her (Ireight to iagcd Nereuis hall, 835

Who, piteous df her woes, rdar*d her l^nk head.
And gave her to his daughters to imbathe
In nedarM lavers, ftrew'd with afphodil,

V. 833. Tie Wafer-JtyMp^s^ fhdi iii M? boltorH pli^%

Held up thiif pe&ykif wri/isy and toon her i«.] Drayton
gives thfe Sev^rtl pilaris. Vit hys of Sabrina, Polyolb. S. v,
vol. ii. p. 7 J2.

• Where fhe nJeaht to go,

The path U^as ftreiV*d ^\th pBarL
He fpeaks alfo of *' the pearfy Cbntvay's hfcdd," a helghbouring
river. , Ibid. S. ix. vol. iii, p. 827. Arid of thfe ♦• precious orient
^^ pearl that breiideth in her fand.*' Ibid. S. x. vol.iii. p. 842,
We (hall fee, that Milton afterwards gi^ds gems to the Severn of
a far brighter hue.

See Peacham's P^f/ad'gf il/<ttrh»/«r^, edit. 16 1 3.NtrfT.HTM N.ii^

To a VITATER-KYMPI!.

Doris, gather from thy fhoft

Corall, cryftall, amber (lore ;

Which thy queene in bfacelets twift?

For her alabafter iJoriJls :

While ye fllvCf-focrtfed girls

Plait her trefTes with your pearls,
R. Heyrick has the ^'//v<rNwr^<r^ Naiades,** Hesperid. ut
fupr. p. 375. iti t)fayton, the Nereids adorn their zvrijs with
bracelets of fhells. Po£tolb. S. xx. p- 1042. Warton.

V. 835. Bearing her Jheight to aged Nereas halL] Drayton has
ghty hall.*^ POLYOLB. S. xx. tcrl iii. p. 1643,
And •* Neptune's hall.'* S. xv. vol. iii. p. 943. Warton.

^* Neptune's mighty hall.

^/. 837, -; — td imbafht,'] The word itttbalhe occurs in our
author's Reformation, " Methinkes a fdvereign and reviving
" joy muft needs rti(h lnt6 the bofotri of him that reads or hears ;
" and the fWeet oddur of the returning Gofpel ithMhe his foul
** with the fragrance of Heaven.*' Prose-Works, vol. i. 2,
What was enthufiafm In vtioQ. 6f the puritanical writers, was
poetry in Mi[to|>. WART^y.

Ibid. ^ ■ T,- fq ifftbathc

In neaat^d Aw;^i.1 This at leaft reminds us of AIcjbus's
Epigr^rfi 6^ Epitaph on Hotnef, who died in the ifl^nd of lo,
Tkt Nerdds of (her C^rcuriKTmbicM feat birthed Jws dt^tl body with

ii6 C O M U S.

And through the porch and inlet of each fenfe
Dropt in ambrofial oils, till (he revived, 84a

And underwent a quick immortal change,
Made Goddefs of the river : ftill (he retains
Her maiden gentlenefs, and oft at eeve
Vi(its the herds along the twilight meadows.
Helping all urchin blafts, and ill-luck figns 845

ne6lar. Antholog. Lib. iii. p. 386. edit. Brod. Francof. i6oQ«
fol.

NEKTAPI y tlvocXia^ Ni)^»9s(/ i^iffetrroy
Kal 9SKVV AKTatfj S>;xfiev vttq (TTriXal^.

The procefs which follows, of dropping ambrofial oyls " into
** the porch and inlet of each fenfe" of the drowned Sabrins^, is
originally from Homer, where Venus anoints the dead body of
Patroclus with rofy ambrofial oyl. Ii,. '¥f 186.

— 'Po^'erri 5i xjf^p 'EAAU2#

'AMBPOSinf.—
See alfq Bion's Hyacinth, ^' J^Ttv f ofA^foaU xa] nnra^iy ie,T.X«"
Idyll, ix. 3. Warton.
Compare alfo II. T. v. 38.

narpoxXo; ^' avr AMPPOSIHN xai MEKTAP ept^Spov

STASE KATA 'PlNflN, ?»« oT ;^<y? sftwe^f tin, EdITOR.

V. 839. j^nd through the porcL\ The fame metaphor in Hamlet,
A. i. S. viii.

And in iht porches of mine ear did pour
The leperous diftilment. Newton,
V, 841. A^d underivent a quick immortal change »^ So, in the
Tempest, A.i. S. ii.

Nothing cf him that doth fade,
But doih/uffer a (cdLchan^e, Steevens.
V, 844. F'i^ts the herds along the twilight meadows^
Helping all urchin blafts, and ill-luck Jigns
That thejhrewd medling elfe delights to make,"]
The virgin fhepherdefs Ciorin, in Fletcher's paftoral play fo
frequently quoted, poflefies the (kill of Sabrina, A. i. S. i. p. 104.
Of all green wounds I knowe the remedies
In men or cattle; be they (lung with fnakes.
Or charm'd with powerful words of wicked Vt.
Or be they lovefick, &c. ■ ■
■ Thefe can I cure, fuch fecret virtue lies
In herbs applied by a virgin's hand. Wah.tqn.
V, 845. Helping all urchin hlafis,-^] The urchin, or hedge^hog,
from its folitarinefs, the uglinefs of its appearance, and from a
popular opinion that it fucked or poifoned the udders of cows, was
adopted into the demoAologic fyflem : and its fhap^ wa^ fomC'*

Ik

C O M U S. 117

That the fhrewd medling clfe delights to make.
Which (he with precious vial'd liquors heals ;
For which the (hepherds at their feftivals
Carrol her goodnefs loud in ruftic lays.
And throw fwcet garland wreaths into her ftream

times fuppofed to be aflumed by mifchievous elves. Hence it was
one of the plagues of Caliban in the Tem p£sT| A. ii. S. ii«
■ His Spirits hear me,
And yet I needs muft curfe. But they'll not pinch,
PVight me with urchin-^ftHnos^ pitch me i*th*mire,
Nor lead me like a fire-brand in the dark^
Out of my way, unlefs he bid *em.
And afterwards, he fuppofes that thefe Sprits appear,

^ like hedge-hogs^ which
Lie tumbling/in my barefoot way, and mount
Their pricks at my foot-fall
i^gain, A. 1. S. ii. It is one of the curfes of Profpero.

■ urchins
Shall, for that vaft of night that they may worl^
All exercifc on thee.
And, in the opening of the incantation of the weird fillers ia
Macbeth, A. iv. S.i.

I W. Thrice the brinded cat has mew'd.
a W. Thrice. And once the hedge-pig whin'd.
Compare alfo a fpeech in Titus Andronicus, at lead cor-
rected by Shakfpearc, A. ii. S. iii.

They told me, here, at the dead time of night,
A thoufand fiends, a thoufand hilling fnakes,
Ten thoufand fwelling toads, as many urchins^
Would make fuch fearful and confufed cries, &c.
There was a fort of fubordinate or palloral fyftem of magic, to
which the urchin properly belonged. Warton.

v. 846. That the Jlirewd medling eife delights to make.] Shakfpearc
. mentions a Spirit, who ** mildews the white wheat, and hurts the
** poor creatures of the earth." K. Lear, A. i. S. iv. The plant
Heemony is before mentioned as good *' againft all inchantments,
** mildew, blalt, or damp." v. 64.0. Shakfpeare calls Robin
Goodfellow a "^my^/and knavilh fprite." Mids. N. Dr. A. i.
S. i. Drayton attributes the fame malignant power to the Druids,
Heroic. Epist. vol. i. p. 301.

Their hellifli power to kill the ploughman's feed.
Or to forefpeak whole flocks as they did feed. Warton.
V. 850. Aid throw Jweet garland wreaths into her Jiream.] This
. reminds us of a palTage in Spenfer's Prothalamion, il. 5.
And all the wanes did flrew.
That like old Peneus* waters they did feeme,

ii8 C O M U S.

Of pancies, pinks, and gaudjr daffadils. ^5^

And, as the old Swain faid, (he can unlock

The clafping charm, and thaw the numming ipcH,

If (he be right invoked in warbled fongj

For maidenhood (he loves, and will be fwift 855

To aid a Virgin, fuch as was herfelf.

In hard-befetting need ; this will I try,

And add the power of fome adjuring verfe.

SONG.

Sabrina fair,

Liften where thou art (it ting 86d

Under the gla(ry, cool, tranlluccnt wave.

When down along by pleafant Tcmpe's ihorr

Scattred with flowres through Theflaly they ftrcame.
But B. and Fletcher exhibit a paila^e more immediately to the
purport of the text. False one, A.iii. S.iii. voLiv* p. i^

With incenfe let us blefs the brim.

And as the wanton fi(hes fwim,

Let us gums and gariamis fling, &c. Wahton*
Compare alfo Spenfer, Faery Q. iii. i. 36.

And throw into the well fweet roiemaryes, '

And fragrant violets, and pauncies trim* £DiToa,
V, 852. Jhe can unlock

The clafping charm^ and thaw the numming JfelL'} This
notion of the wiidom or (kill of Sabrina, is in Drayton, Polyolb,
S. V. vol.ii. p. 753.

Who was by Nereus taught, the moft profoundly wifc^

That learned her the ikill of hidden prophecies,

By Thetis fpecial care. —
Jonfon*s witch, in the Sad ShbI'hs&d, is faid ^* to rivet charwu^
** planted about her in her wicked feat," A. ii« S. viii. Wa&tow.
V. 854. ^^fFarbled Jong,'] Par. Lost, B. ii. 242. ** JFeuriied
«* hymns." Arcades, v. 87. " IVaxbled ftring." That is, the
lute accompanied by the voice. War ton.

V, 8 $6. To aid a Virgin^ Juch as was herfelf. '\ Alluding perhaps
to the Danaids invocation of Pallas, wherein they ufe the (mc
argument. iElfchvL Supf. v. 15 j.

'Pw«o<f yiviff^u, ThyeR,
V, 861. Under the glajfy^ cooly tranjlucent wave,'\ KiakfpCire^
Hamlet, A. iv. S. i.

There is a willow grows aikant the brook

C O M U S. S19

In twifted braids of lillies knitting
The loofe train of thy amber-dropping hair;
Liften for dear honour's fake,

That fhews his hoar leaves in the glaj]^ ilream*

Wartok*
So, in Jonfon's Neptune's Triumph, firft a6led in 1624..

Upon the glajfie waves .
Perhaps Gray borrows it from Comus. See £tok. Coll. the
Thames' " gl^Jfy 'tvave.'*

Milton, in his Tranflation of the 114th Pfalm, has ^^ glajly
" floods," which Prior copies ,ia his Solomon, B. \u v. 683«
Donne, Poems, cd. 1633. p. 14. has " the glaffie d^tp.** The
phrafe feems to have originated from Virgil, ^En. vii, 759.
•* Fltred te Fucinus unild,'* Editor.

Ibid. Tranjlucent^ which I always thought to be £rft ufed by
Milton, occurs in Brathwayte's Love's Labyrinth, Lond.
1615. i2mo. p. 29. of the fun, " Heaven's /r<»^«f«»/ eie." Pope
perhaps had it from Milton, on his grotto.

Thou, who (halt ftop where Thames' tranflucent wave.

Warton.
Tranflucent occurs in the defcription of the fcenery of Jonfon's
Masque at Court on Twelfth Night, 1605. -^"^ ^" Sir Joha
Davies'is Orchestr a, publifhed with his Hymns, in 1622. " The
" air's tranflucent gallery."

Compare Sam&on Agok. v. 548.

Wherever /imntaitt or frejh current flow'd
Againfl the eaftern ray, tranjlucent, £oitor«
i<^ 862. In tailed braids of lilties knitting

The loQje train of thy opiber-dropping hair»1 ^^ 3rc to
underftand water-lilies, with which Drayton often braids the tref-
fes of his water-nymphs, in the Polyolbion. See Note on
Arcades, v. 97. Warton.

V, 863. The loofe train ^ thy amber-dcopping hair.'\ We have ** an
^^ ^mh&r <;loud>" above v. 333. And in L'Allegro, " the fua
^ i^ rob'd in. flames and amber light." v. 61.. But Liquid Amber
is a yellow pellucid gum. Sabrina's hair drops amber^ becaufe la
th* poet's idea^ her Hredoi^ wa». (uppofed to be tranfpareat* As
in Pahaq. L. B.iii. 358*

And where the river of blife through midft of Heaven,
Rolls o'er Elyflan floures her amber f!ream«
And when Choafpes has- an ^^ amber llreaiu." Parad. Reg.
B. iii 28S. But Choafpes was called the goliten water. Ambet
when applied to water,, means a luminous clearnefs: when to
bair^ a bright Yella«v» Amber UcJis are given to the fun in ^yX-^
vefler's. D u B a r.ta s more thao, once. And to Sabriiu's daugb«
t^. ^ Witi3er,-£piTH^L..edit. iQii^ Warton.

I20 C O M U S.

Goddefs of the filver lake, 865

Lillen and lave.
Liften and appear to us
In name of great Oceanus,
By th* earth-lhaking Neptune's mace.
And Tethys grave majeftic pace, 870

By hoary Nereus wrincled look,
And the Carpathian wifard's hook.
By fcaly Triton's winding (hell,

V. 86^. — ^her lake J] Par. Lost, B. vii. 437, ^^Jilver
*^ lakes,** Warton.

So, in the Mir. for MAC.ed. 1610. p. 730. the ^^Severme's
^^Jiher ivaves ** Editor.

V. 867. Lijten and appear to us

In name of great Oceanus,] In the reading of the Spirit's
adjuration by the fea-deities, it will be curious to obferve how the
pott has didinguiilied them by the epithets and attributes, which
are affigiied to each of them in the bed claffic authors.

Great Oceanus^ So, in Heliod, Theog. 20. 'flxiaMP ti fMyav.

Newton.

So Drayton, Polyolb. S. xvii. " The court oi great Oceanus"
And in other places. And, in one of Jonfon's Queenes
iVIasques, 1616.

Fayre Niger, fonne to^-^tf/ Of^fl««j. Warton. •

V, 869. jSeptune is ufually called ear tit -faking in Greek.

*E^»oJ,ya^oi;, II.. M. 27. and 'Etoffix^uvy II. Y. 13. Newton.

V, 870. Tet/iys the wife of Oceanus, and mother of the Gods,
may well be fuppofed to have a grave majeftic pace : and Heiiod
calls her ao?>»a T^iSy?, the venerable Tethys, Theog. 368.

Newton.

V. 871. Milton had before called Nereus at v. 835. agedy as in
Virgil, Geor G. iv. 392. grandavus Nereus : he may be called hoary
too upon another account; " Fere omnes Dii mariniyZ-wj funr,
** albent enim eorum capita fpumis aqua rum." Servius, in Georg.
iv, 403. Newton.

V. 872. The Carpathian wi/ard is Proteus^ who had a cave at
Caipathus^ an ifland in the Mediterranean, and was a wifard or
ptophet, as alio Neptune's fhepherd ; and as fuch bore a hook. See
Virgil, Georg. iv. 387. Newton.

-And Ovid, MeT. xi. 249. Carpathius vates. Editor.

V. 873. Triton was Neptune's trumpeter, and v/^s fcaly, as all
thefe lorts of creatures are; ** fquamis modo hifpido corpore,
** etiam qua liumanam effigiem habent." Plin. lib ix. fe^. iv.
His vending Jhell is particularly defcribed in Ovid, Met. i. 333.

Newton.

S

C O M U S. ifti

And old footh-faying Glaucus fpell.

By Lcucothca's lovely hands, 875

And her Son that rules the ftrandsi

By Thetis tinfeWlipper'd feet,

And the fongs of Sirens fweet>

V. 874. Glaucus was an excellent iiilier or diver, smd fo wtt
feigned to be a fea-god. Arillotle writes that he propheJzeJ to the
gods, and Nicander fays that Apollo himfelf learned the art\9f
frediftuM from GlnucUs. See Athenaeus lib. vii. cap. lak And
Euripides, Or est. 363. calls him the feaman's prophet^ and in-
terpreter of Nereus; and Apollon. Rhodius. Argonaut* tJiO.
gives him the fame appellation. Newtok.

V. 875. /«ft, flying from tjie rage of hcrhufband Athamas who
was furfoufly mad, threw herfelf from the top of a rock into the
fea, with her fon Melictrta in her arms; Neptune, at the inter*
ceffion of Venus, changed them into fea* deities, and gave them
new names, Leucotiea to her, and to him PaLem&u. See Ovid,
Met. iv. 538. She, being Leucothea^ or the "white godd^s^ may well
be fuppofed to have lov^y handsy which I prefume the poet men-
tions in oppofition to Thetis' feet t and her fon r^Us Mr Jtranis^
having the command of the ports, and therefore called in Latia
Fortumnus, See Ovid, Fast. vi. 545. Newton*

i>. 877^ ***.^^^ iinfeUJlipper^d feet.'l The poet meant this as a
ptraphr^e of ayfvp^?n^» oxfiver-fnoted^ the ufual epithet of Thetis
in Homen Newton.

W« Browne has ^^Jihtr^ftMed Thetis," as Mr^ Bowie obferves,
Brit. Past. B. ii» pk 35. Perhaps thefirft time in £ngli(h poetry.
Siivef-hf/iim^^NymphB are in Arcades, v. 33. Warton.

Silver-froted is the epithet applied by Chapman^ in his tranf-
lation of the Iliad, to Thetis, feveral years before Browne. See
HiiL of Eng. Poetry, voL iii. p« 443. id ed. And the phrafe oc-
curs in Browne prior to the inflance given by Mr. Bowie, See
Brit. Past. B. iL p. 22. Jonfonin Neptune's Triumph has
^^ ^Iver-f ootid Nymph&." And, in his Pan's Anniversaries
*^ fiver -footed Fayes." Crafhaw, in his beautiful little poem, the
Weeper, has ^^fyluer-footednVi^y* PoEMS,ed. Paris. 1652. p. 8;.

Mr. Warton, in his Triumph of Is is, remembered Milton's
compbund, amd formed thence another no lefs elegant :
•— the fmooth furface of the dimply flood
The fihoer-Jlipper'd Ifis lightly trod. Editor.

V. 878.. The Sirens are introduced here, as being Sea-Nymphs,
and flnging upon the coaft* Newton*

San4ya. iays, that the fabulous melody of the Sirens has a to*
pographical aliuiion. ** For Archippus tells of a certaine Bay,
** contraded within winding freights and broken cli£Fes, which,
** by the flnging of the winder and beating of the bUlowcs^ report

tit C OMV S.

By dead Farthenope's dear tomb.

And fair Ligea*s golden comb, 880

Wherewith Ihe fits on diamond rocks,

Sleeking her foft alluring locks ;

By all the Nymphs that nightly dance

Upon thy dreams with wily glance.

Rife, rife, and heave thy rofy head, 885

*^ a delightful! harmony, alluring thofe who £ul by to approach x
>^ when forthwith, throwne againft the rocks by the wauety and
** fwallowed in violent eddyes, &c.*' Sandys's Ovid's Met am.
B. V. p. 197. edit. 1637. I do not at prefent recoiled any Archip-
«|>iiS9 except the old comic Greek poet, who has a few fragments
in Stobseus, Whoever he be, Spenfer has exa&ly deicribed
.the feat and allegory of the Sirens in the fame manner. F. Q.
il. xii. 30. Warton.

V. 879. ParihetMpe and Ligea were two of the Sirens. Farthe-
nope's tomb was at Naples, which was therefore called Parthenope.
-Flin. Ub. ill. fe6l. ix. Silius ItaL xii. 33. Ligem is alfo the name of a
Sea-Nymphin Virgil, Georg. iv. 3 36. and the poet draws her in
the attitude in which mermaids are reprefented. See Ovid, Met.
iv. 310. OfSalmacisi Newton.

if One of the employments of the Nymph Salmads in Ovid, is
-.to comb her hair. But that fiction is here heightenod with the
brilliancy of romance. Ligea's comb is of gold, land ihe fits on
diamond rockl. Thefe were new allurements for the unwary.
. Ligea is celebrated for her iinging in Po l yo lb. S. xx. voL iu. 1043.
Then Ligea which maintaines the birds harmonious layeS|
Which fing on riuer banks &c. Wartow*
t;. 88 1. on diamond rocks. '\ G. Fletcher has *^ maine

*^ rocks of diamound.'' Christ's Vict. P. i. ft. 6i. ed. x6io«
' Compare Par. Lost, B. v. 760. of Lucifer's Palace.
Rais'd on a mount, with pyramids. and towers
From diamond quarries hewn, and rocks tfgoUm
And fee Note on Elec. iii. v. 49. Warton.

In the Note on £lbg» iii. v. 49, Mr. Steevens adduces a paffiige
• from Pymlico, or Runne Red Cafpe^ &c. 1609^ where the palace
of the Sun is defcribed fhinin^ like ^^ a rocke ofdiammidJ* So in
the ^^ Pleafaunt Conceited Hift. called Taming of a Shrew,"
1607. " rocks of pearU and pretious Jione^^^ and "purple rocks ^
. ** amithefts^ and gUftering hia/ntL** And in Spenfer, F. Q. i. vi 4.
^^ rock of diamondy^ but in its ecymological fenfe, that is, an ismmm-
akle, an impenetrable rock. Compare Par. L. B. vi, 364. "In a
" rock of diamond ZTtii^d.** And Par. Reg. B. iv* •530*
Proof againfl all temptatipn, as a rock
Of addmamt^-^ £ditor.

k

C O M US. i,j

From thy corll-pav^n bcAi
And bridle in thy headlong wave.
Till thou our fummons anfwer*d have.

Liften and fave.

Sabrina rifeSy attended bji Water-Nymphs^ andjings.
Bf the rafliy-fringed bank, 890 ,

■ •

V. 886. Frt^ thf cQral-payen h^<L\ Drayton of Sabri^a's robe,,
PoLYOLB. S.v. vol.iii. p. 153.

Wfaofc ikirt^ were to the knees with coral frii?gM beloV.
And we b^vp ^ts^l-ptfved in Drayton, ibid. S. X7C)c. vqI iii»p«.
laaj. " Thi3 clear pearl-z^jt^W Irt." Again, " Where eycry^
•* pearl-/#iv/ ford." Mus. Elys. Nymph, vol. iv, p. 1494.
Shakfpeare has fimply "/^-y^^^ fountain." Mips. N. Df . -A^ii*;
S. ii. In Marlowe, quoted in England's Pa&na&^us, 1600,
p. 480. " /^^^/^-/«i/f^ channcll," Warton*

V. 889. Liften andfyve,'\ The repetition of the pfay^r ver. 866
and 889 in the invocation of Sabrina, is fimUaf to th^t of i£fchy-
lus's Chorus in the invocation of Darius's ibade. ^^%\&. ver*
666 and 674. Thyer.

Thus Amarillis, ija ihe Faithfuil Shsphbrpxss^ invokes
the prieft of Pan to proted her from the SuUcn §.lieipfierd, A, v,
S.i.p»i84.

IJear me, and fave from cndlefs infamy . . . ...j

My yet unblafted flpwer, Virginity : . , . ,

By all the garlands that have crowned that head.

By thy chafle ofjlice, &c. Warto^.
. Perhaps Mr. Mafon had th? iqivocation of Sabrioa in view,
where he maj^es the Chor<MS of Druids cpnclude their adjuraiion
^xA prayer in Caractacvs, thus,

Spirit invifible ! to thee

We fwell the fojemn harrpony.

Hear i)s fipd aid. Editor.
V. 890. By the mfiiy-f ringed ^afii.] See Pa had. L. iv. 262,
** Th^Jringfd hank with myrtle, crown'd." So Browne, Brit,
Fast. B.ii. S. v. p. 12^.

To tnend thsfring'4 b?^k of an amourous flood.
Again, B. i. S. iv. p. 68..

TJ:>e tuftj^s which/f/ffj'V tjbe .flioare about.
And Draytonf.PoLYOL9» 3':ii. vpl.ii. p. 685.

Upon /wjjofe moifted ikirts with fea-w.ecd/n>^'^ about, ,
And CarcrOr, Milton's contempora;'y9 Pqrms, p. 149. edit. 1651.

WJUb variolas trees vft fringe tli^ rivers brinke.
I would read na/h^yfringfd. In FJqtdter, ,w.e b^y>e ** n{^ ba^he.^*
ubi fupr. p, i9»i* Wartqk»

R 2

XI4 C O M U S.

Where grows the willow, and the ofier dank^
My iliding chariot ftays,

Spenfer Protbalam. ▼. is. haithe Thames' << nc^^««l." See
alfo Shakfpeare, Mids. N. Dream, A. ii. S. ii. **' By paved foun-
'^ tain, or by n^^ SanL*' Mr. Warton takes another oppprtuni^
of contending for '* riOh-yfringed^*^ and fays we have otherwife
two epithets inflead of one, with a weaker fenfe. 2d edit. p. 290.
Yet Milton ufes (imiUr combined epithets, without prefixing
the letter^ to the latter of them : as flowery^kirtUd v. 2(4. nfy^
hpfom^d V. 986. and, On the Death op a fair Inf. v. 15,
icy- pearled, £ p i t o r .

V. 891 Where grwos the willow^ and the ofier dank ] Milton's
perpetual and palpable imitations of the Faithful Shefhsr*
DEss will not permit us to doubt, that he had a retrofpeck to the
riling of the river god, who alfo affords other correfpondencieS|
in that drama. A iii. S. i. p. 153.

I am this fountains god, below
My waters to a river grow.
And *twixt two banks with ofier fet
That only profper in the wet.
Through the meadows do I glide^ &c. Warton.
V, 892. Myjliding chariot Jiays^

Thick fet with agat^ and the aisumjheen
Of tterkis bluCy and emrauld green^

That in the channel frays J\ Milton perhaps more
immediately borrowed the idea of giving Sabrina a rich chariot|
from Drayton*s Polyolbion, fo often quoted : and more efpe-
cially as he difcovers other references to Drayton's Sabrina. And
the celebrity of Drayton's poem at that time better authorifed fuch
a fiction. PoLYOLB. S. v. vol. ii. p. 752.

Now Sabrine, as a Queen miraculoufly fair,
Is abfolutely plac'd in her imperial Chair,
Of cryftal richly wrought, that glorioufly did fliine, &c.
Then comes a wafleful luxuriance of fancy. It is embofied with
the figures of all the Nymphs that had been woed by Neptune, all
his numerous progeny, all the nations over which he had ruled,
and the forms of all the fifh in the ocean. Milton is more tempe*
rate. But he rather unfuitably fuppofes all the gems, with which
he decorates her car, to be found in the bottom of her ftream.

As, in Milton, Sabrina is raifed to perform an office of folemnity,
fo, in Drayton, (he appears in a fort of judicial capacity, to decide
fome of the claims and privileges of the river Lundy, which fhe
does in a long and learned fpeech. See alfo S. viii. vol. iii. p. 795.
Where again fhe turns pedant, and gives a laboured hiflory of the
ancient Britifh kings. In Milton, ihe rifes *' attended by water*
'^ nymphs;'' and, in Drayton,.her car is furrounded by a group of
the deities of her neighbouring rivers. Warton*

k

C O M U S. ia5

Thick fet with agat, and the azurn (heen
Of turkis blue, and emrauld green.

That in the channel drays ; 8qC

Whilft from off the waters fleet
Thus I fet my printlcfs feet
0*er the cowflip's velvet head.

That bends not as I tread ;
Gentle Swain, at thy requeil poo

I am here,

V. 893. — — the a%urn ^eenA Sieen is alfo ufed as a fub-
ftantive, infr. v. 1003, in the Ode Nativ. v. 14c, and in the
£piT. ON THE March. Winchester,' v. 73. £ditor«
V. 896. Whlljifrom off the waters fleet

Thus I fet my printle/s feet."] So Profpcro to his elves,
but in a fiyleof much higher and wilder fi^ion. Temp. A. v. S»i.

And ye that on the fands with friutlefsfoot

Do chafe the ebbing Neptune, and do fly him

"When he comes back. Warton.

V, 898. O^er the cvmflipU velvet headJ\ In the Faithf. Srbp*
HERDEss, A. ii. S. i. ** The dew-drops hang on the velvei
" j5ftf//f" of flowers. Editor.

V, 899. That bends not as I tread,"} See England's Helicon,
ed 1614. by W. H.

■ where fhe doth walke,

X Scarfe (he doth the primerofe head

DepreiTe, or tender ilalke

Of blew-vein'd violets

Whereon her foot (he fets. Warton,
80 Camilla in Virgil, ^n. vii. 808.

Ilia vel inta6tae fegetis per fumma volaret

Gramina, nee teneras curfu laefiflet arifbis.
And Venus, in Shakfpeare's Ven. and Adonis,

The erafs (loops not, (he treads on it fo light.
Jonfon alfo, m his Mafque, The Vision of Delight, defcribes
the (ame Goddefs treading

As if the wind, not (he did walke,

Nor prefs'd a flow'r, nor bow'd a (lalke.
Compare Pope's Fairies, in his Jan. and May, v, 620.

So featly tripp*d the light-foot ladies round, ^

The knights lo nimbly o'er the greenfword bound, y

That (carce they Sent theflow*rs, or touch'd the ground, j
This is from Comus, and there are other phrafes in January
and May, which feem to be derived from the (ame Original*
Thus, at V. 353.

The dapper elves their moon-Iight fports purfue.

\

126 C O M U S.

Sp. Goddefs dear.

We implore tby powerful hand

To undo the charmed band

Of true Virgin here diftrcft, 505

Through the force, and through the wile.

Of unbleft inchanter vile.

Sabr. Shepherd, 'tis my office beft

To help infnared chaftity :

Brighteft Lady, look on me ; 910

Thus I fprincle on thy bread

Drops, that firom my fountain pure

I have kept, of precious curej

Thrice upon thy finger's tip.

See above, v. 1 18. Again, Jan. and May, v. J99.
Thus while fhe fpoke a fidelong glance ihe caA,
Where Damian kneeling, w$rjhifp'd asjhti paft.
See above, v. 302. Editor.

V. 907. — — inchanter vih.} So, in the Faery Q, iii. xH. 3i,

And her before the vile enchaunter fate. Editor.
V, 910. Brighteji Lady^ look on me*] In the manufcript, Flrniousm
^vi^Brighteft is an epithet thus applied in the Faithvui. Shkf-

BERDESS. WaRTON.

V. 912. Drops^ that from my fountain pure

I have kepty of precious cure J] Calton propofed to read
nrcy that is, ufe. The word, it mufl be owned, was not uncom-
mon. See many proofs in Observat. on Spenfer's F. Q. vol. ii,
241. But the rhymes of many couplets in the Faithful Shep-
herdess relating to the fame bufinefs, and ending ^«rf and cure^
fliew that cure was Milton's word. Thcfe drops are fprinkled
thrice. So Michael, purging Adam's eyes. Par. Lost, B. xi. 416.

And from the well of life three drops inftill'd.
All this ceremony, if we look higher, is from the ancient pra6ijce
of luftration by drops of water. Virg. ^n. xi. 230. " He tbric^
•* moiflened his companion with pure water,'*

Spargens rore levi.
And Ovid, Met. iv. 479.

Roratis luflravit aquis Thaumantias Iris* Warton«
V. 914. Thrice ufm thy finger's tip^ &c.] Compare Shakfpeare,
Mid. N. Dr. A. li. S. vi.

Upon thine eyes I throw

All the power this charm doth owe, &c.
But Milton, in moft of the circumftances of difiblving this charm,
is apparently to be traced in the following paflages in the Fajtv*
tuL Shefsrrdis8| which are thrown together at ooc view from

C O M U S. 127

Thrice upon thy rubied lip : 9^i

Next this marble venotn'd featy

varioixs part of the play* Amarillis fays of a (acred foimtain^
A.i. S.i. p. 135.

This holy well, my grandame that is dead^

Right wife in charms, hath often to me faid,

Hath power to change the form of any creature.

Being thrice dipt o'er the head, &c."

■ cafting them thrice afleep,

Before I trufted them* into this deep*
And the Old Shepherd fays, A. i. S. i. p. 109*
—As the prieft

With powerful hand fhall fprinkle on your brows

His pure and holy water, ye may be

From all hot flames of luft and loofe thoughts free.
Again, ibid*

I do waili you with this water,

Be you pure and fair hereafter*

From your livers and your vains.

Then I take away the ftains*

Never more let luftful heat, &c. *

The river god riiing, with Amoret in his arms, afleep, wounded,
and inchanted, thus fpeaks* A* iii. S* i* p. 150* 151*

If thou be'fl a virgin pure,

I can give a prefent cure :

Take a drop into thy wound.

From my watery locks, more round

Than orient pearl, and far more pure

Than unchaile flefli may endure.

From my banks I pluck this flower

With holy hand, whofe virtuous power

Is at once to heal and draw.

The blood returns. I never faw

A fairer mortal. Now doth break

Her deadly flumber. Virgin, fpeak.
Clorin the (hepherdefs heals the wounded fhepherd Alexis : but not
till he has for ever renounced all impure deiires. A. iv. S. i. p* 161.

Hold him gently, till I fling

Water of a virtuous fpring

On his temples : turn him twice

To the moon-beams : pinch him thrice, &:c; *

While Chloe's wound is healing, the Satyre fays, A*v* S.I. p. 179.

From this glafs I throw a drop

Of criflal water on the top

Of every grafs, of flowers, a pair, &c. War^-On.
v. 915* ■ ■ < tfy ruhied lipj\ So, in Browne's B&it. Past*
B. ii. S* Hi, p. 78.

taS C O M U S.

Smear'd with gumms of glotenous heat,
I touch with chafte palms moid and cold :-
Now the fpcll hath loft his hold ;

The meldnz ruiyes on her cherry tip.
And in one of thole beautiful fbnzas (as Dr. Percy juftlj calls
them in his Reiiques oi Ancient Poetry, vol. iii. 264. 3d edit.)
in Tbe MisTKfisi of Philarkts, by G. Witherj 1622, a poet
who has by fome been undefervedly defpifed :

Neither fhall that fnowy bred,
Wanton eye, or lip ifruhy^

Ever robb me of my reft.
And thus Pope, Elegy to the Memory of ak Unfo&tu-

MATE YOUNG LaDY, Y. 3I.

See on thefe ruby lips the trembling breath* Editor.

v. 9 1 8. / twch vaith chafte palms moift and aid : — -»

Now the f pell hath lofi his hold J] So the virgin Clorin ap-
pears with Alexis reviving. A. v. S. i. p. 1 77. i78»

Now your thoughts are almofl pure.

And your wound begins to cure.
^With fpotlefs hand, on fpotlefs bread,

I put thefe herbs, to give thee reft ;

Which, till it heal thee, wiU abide

If both be pure ; if not, oflT Aide.
Again, ftie fays, A. v. S. i. p. 187.

Shepherd, once more your blood is ftaid s

Take example by this. maid.

Who is heard ere you be pure,

So hard it is lewd luft to cure, &c*
1 muft add the difappearance of the river god, A. iii. S. i. p* 1 55*

Faireft virgin, now adieu !

I muft make ray waters fiy.

Left they leave their channels dry ;

And beafts that come unto the fpring

Mifs their morning's watering ;

Which I would not : for of late

All the neighbour people fate

On my banks, and from the fold

Two white lambs of three weeks old

Offered to my deity :

For which, this year they ftiall be free

From raging floods, that as they pals

Leave their gravel in the grafs :

Nor ftiall their meads be overflown

When their grafs is newly mown.

Here the riv^r god refembles Sabrina in that part of her charafier,
which conftftt in prote^ng the cattle and paftures. And for thefe

•^

And I mud hade ere mom&ig hour ' 920

To wait in Amphitrite's bow'n

. ■•

Sabrina defcends^ and the Lady rifes out of her feat 4

Spirit*

Virgin, daughter of Locrinc
Sprung of old Anchifes line,
May thy brimmed waves for thi^

fervices Ihe is alfo thanked by the fhepherds, v. 644* fupr*
Viflts the herds along the twilight meadows, &:c.
For which the fhepherds at their feflivals
Carrol her goodnefs loud in ruilic lays,
And throw fweet garland wreaths into her, ftream
Of pancies, pinks, and gaudy daffadils. Wartojt*

4^. 921. To wait in AmphitriuU hvti)*r.'\ Drayton's Sabrina is
arrayed in

—— a watchet weed, with many a curious wave,

Which as a princely gift great Ampkitrite gave.
PoLTOLB. S. V. vol. ii. p. 752. And we have " AmfUtrite'i
" Imvery^ ibid. S. xxviii. vol. lii. p* 1193. See alfo Spenfer, of
Cymoent, F. Q. iii. iv. 43,

Deepe in the bottom of the fea her bowre.
Again, iii. viii. 37. of Proteus.

His bowre is in the bottome of the maine« Wartow*
Compare Sophocles, Oed. Tyr. v* 203*

0AAAMON 'AM4>ITP1TA£,

So Thomfon, Summer, v. 1624. of the Stlm

As if his weary chariot fought the hwci'rs
Of Amfhitrite^ &c. Editor.

t;. 923. Sprung of old Anchifes Hut.] For Locrine was the foa
of Brutus, who was the fon o(f;,S[ilvius, Silvius of Afcanius, Af-
canius of iEneas, ^neas of Anchi&s. See Milton's Hiflory of
England B. i. Newton.

v. 924. Jlftfy tiy hrimmed waqes for this,'] Do6lor Warburton
propofes hrinedy and thinks that hrimmed^ for waves riiing to the
hrim or margin of the (hore, is a ftrange word. And in bifhop
Kurd's copy he has adde4t9 (ui note, ** hrined^ for the waters
** here fpoken of, being the tribute paid by Sabrina to the ocean,
*' mufl needs be brined or falted^ brforeftiey could be paid." But
he had not remarke4 4he ^quent a<id familiar ufe o| brim for

4SO C O M U S^

Their full tribute never miCi 925

From A thoufand petty rills.

That tumble down the fnowy hilk :

Summer drouth, or finged air.

Never fcorch thy treffes fair.

Nor wet Oftober's torrent flood 930

Thy molten cryftal fill with mudd ;

May thy billows rowl afliore

The beryl and the golden ore ;

6ani in our old poets. See above at v. 119. And ^ hrimmhg
•* flrcam" afcertains the old reading, P ar. L. iv. 366. Warton.
V. 925. Their full tribute never mifs
From a thoufand petty riUsy

That tumble down thefnoiwy hills.] The torrents from the

Welch mountains fometimes ndfe the Severn on a fudden to a

prodigious height. But at the fame time they fll her molten cryfial

with mud. Her dream, which of itfelf is clear, is then difcoloured

and muddy. The poet adverts to the known natural properties

of the river. Here is an echo to a couplet in Jonfon*s Maik at

Highgate, 1604. Works, edit. 1616. p. 882.

Of fweete and feuerall Aiding rills,

That ftreame from tops of thofe lefle hills, &c. Wa rton.

V, 926, » petty rills.} So in Shakfpeare, Rape op

LUCRECE.

The petty ftreamsy that pay a daily debt
To thei r fait fo vereign . Editor*
V. 928. ' or (inged air^

Never fcorch thy treffes fair.} Sure we (hould read,
'■ or fcorching air,

'Never fnge thy trefles fair. Warburton,
V. 932. May tny billows rowl ajhore

The beryl and the golden ore,] This is reafonable as ft
wifti. But jewels were fureiy out of place among the decora-
tions of Sabrina*s chariot, on the fuppofition that they were the
natural produ6lions of her ftream. The wifh is equally ideal and
imaginary, that her banks (hould be covered with groves of
myrrhe and cinnamon. A wifh, conformable to the real flate of
things, to Engliih feafons and Englifh fertility, would have been
more pleafing as lefs unnatural. Yet we muft not too fcverely
try poetry by truth and reality. Sec above, at v. 834.
The Water-Nymphs, that in the bottom played,
Held up their pearled wrifts— *
And V. 892.

My Aiding chariot ftays
Thick fct with agat^ &c. Warx^^k.

COM us. 131

May thy lofty head be crbwn*d

With many a tower and terrafs rounds 935

t;. 934. May thy lefty htad he cfwtm*d

With many a tower and terrqfs rwnd.^ So, of the imp<^
rial palace of Rome, Par ad. Rbg. B. iv. 54,
C onfpicuous far

Turrets and terra/es*
Milton was imprefTed with this idea from his vicinity to Wind**
for-caftle.

This votive addrefs of gratitude to Sabrina, was fuggeded to
our author by that of Amoret to the river-god in Fletcher's
Faithful Shepherdbss, A.iii. S.i. vol. iii. p. 147. fiut tho
form and fubje6t, rather than the imagery, is copied. Milton it
more fublime and learned, Fletclier more natural and eafyv

For thy kindnefs. to me ihown.

Never from thy banks be blown

Any tree, with windy force, '

Crofs thy ftreams, to flop thy courfe j

May no bead that comes to drink, .

With his horns call down thy brink ; .

May none that for thy fifh do look,

Cut thy banks to damm thy brook ;

Barefoot may no neighbour wade

In the coole dreams, wife nor maid.

When the fpawne on dones doth lye,

To wadi thir hempe, and fpoile the frve,. .
I know not which poet wrote fird : but in Browne'a Br it a n^
kia's Pastorals, certainly written not after.z6i J, and printed
in 161 6, J find a fimilar vow. B. i. S. i. p. 2^. Milton has fomc
circumdances which are in Browne and not in Fletcher.

——May fird,

Quoth Marine, fwaines give lambes to thee ;

May all thy floud have ^ignone

Of all flouds elfe, and to thy fame

Meete greater fpringes, yet keepe thy nabi^«

May neuer euet, nor the toade,

Within thy banker make their abode;

Taking thy journey to the fea,

Maid thou ne'er ]}appen in thy way

On nitre, or op brinmone myne,

To fpoyle thy tafte. This fpring of thyntf.

Be ever fredi ! Let no n^an dare

To fpoyle thy fi^, make lock or warjef;

9ut on thy margent dill let dwell

Thofe dowers which have the fweeted fipell ;

And let the dud upon thy drand

Become like Tagus' golden fan^,

s %

ijt C O M U S.

And here and there thy banks upon
With groves of myrrhe and cinnamon*

In this pafloral, a palTage immediately followt, fironglj rdtm*
Ming; the drcumfUnce or the river-god in Fletcher appfying drops
of pure water to the inchanted Arooret, or of Sabnna doing the
fame to the Lady in Com us. A rock is difcovcred tn a erove
o^ fycamores, from which a certain precious water difiiSs in
drops, p. ^.

The drops within a ceflerne fell of (lone,
Which rram'd by nature, art bad never none
Halfe part fo curious, &c.
Some of thefe drops, with the ceremony of many fpcUs, arc in«
Aifed by the Water*Nymphs into the lips of Marine, by which
ihe is cured of her love.

From a clofe parallelifm of thought and incident, it is clear
that either Browne's pailoral imitates Fletcher's play, or the play
the pailoral. Mod of 5. and Fletcher's pbiys appeared after 1610.
But there is unluckily no date to the firft edition of the Faith-
ful Shepherdess. It is, however, mentioned in -Davies's
Scourge of Foll-y, 1611.

As Milton is fuppofed to have taken fome hints in CoiA/s from
Peele's Old Wives Tale, I may perhaps more reafobably claim
an excufe for lengthening this note, by producing a poflage not
quite foreign to the text, from that writer's play, entitle The
Love of Kii^g Dauid and fairs Bbthsabe,&c. edit. 1599.
4to. 3ignat. B. B.ij.'

May th^t fweet plaine that beares her pleafant weight
Be ^l enamel- d with difcoloured flowers;
• The precious -fount beare fande of pureil gold^
And for the peble, let the filuer fh-eames.
That pierce earth's bowels to maintaine her force,
Play 4}pon mbies, faphires, chryfolites :
The brims let be embrac'd with golden curies

Of mofle. Wartoh. ^

V, 936. j^nd kere (^nd there thy banks upon

With groves of myrrhe and cinnamon, "] The conflru^ion
of thefe two lines is a little difficult ; to crown her head with
towers is true imagery ; but to crown her head upon her banks,
will fcarcely be allowed to be fo. I would therefore put a colon
inflead of a comma at v. 935, and then read
And here and there thy banks upoi]i
i?^ groves of myrrhe and cinnamoii. Seward*
In v^ 936. hanks is the nominative cafe, as head was in the lad
verfe but one. The fenfe and fyntax of the whole is, May thy
head be crowned round about with towers and terrafes, and here
and there [may] thy banks [be crvam^d^ ufen with groves, &c«
¥v»rifoirro o^\ »l ox^fu. The phrafc is Greekt Caltqv.

CO M U S, f^j

Come, Lady, while Heaven fends us grace^
Let us fly this curfcd place^

Left the forcerer us entice 940

With fome other new device.
Not a wafte or needlefs found^^
Till we come to holier ground j
I (hall be your faithful guide
Through this gloomy covert wide, 94^

And not many forlongs thence
Is your Father's refidence.
Where this night are met in fl:ate ,

Many a friend to gratulate

His wilh*t prefcnce, and beiide 95O

All the fwains, that there abide.
With jiggs and rural dailce refort ;
We fliall catch them at their fjport.
And our fudden coming there
Will double all their mirth and chere ; 955

Come^ let us hafte, the itars grow high.
But night fits monarch yet in the mid iky.

The Scene changes^ prefenting Ludlow town and the
Prejtdenfs cqfile, then come in country dancers^
after them the Attendant Spirit^ mtb the Two
Brothers, and the Ladyt

SONG,

Sp. Back, Shepherds, back j anough your play,

TUl next fun-fhine holiday :

/■ » ■

V. 951. -«-— M^ there ir^'dSr.] So, in Milton's owneditiont«
But, in the Cambridge and Afhridge manufqiipts, <' that ntar
• •* afbide :" which reading doAor Newton prefers, £01 tok^
^.956, '''^'^ m Jiars gr^w kigk^

But night Jits monarch jet in themidjfy.'] So, in Fletcher's
pbyj A.ii. Sfi. p; f45.

Now whije the moon doth rnU the fky,
And the (lars, whofe feeble light
Give a pale fliadow to the night,
Are lip.—
Compare Pt tf» B, i. 785. «* The moon//x ariitre/s.*' Warto*.

134 C O M U S.

Here be without duck or nod 060

Other trippings to be trod

Of lighter toes, and fuch court guife

As Mercury did firft devifc.

With the mincing Dryades,

On the lawns, and on the leas. ^Sc

«• 960. Here he withnut dad or nod. ] ^ Here mrt** Bj dmck or
mdy we are to iinderfland the affedation of obeiiaiice. So, in K»
Richard III. A. i. S.iii.

Duck with French nods and apifh conrtefy.
Again, in Lear, A. ii. S. ii.

Than twenty filly ducking obfervants,
That ilrctch their duties nicely*— »»
Compare Mids. N. Dr. A. iii. S. i.

Nod to him, elves, and do him courtefies, Wartok*
Ibid. Here be without duck or nod
Other trippings to he trod
Of lighter toes^ and fuch court guife
As Mercury didfirfl devife^

With the mincing Dfyades.'\ By ducks and nods oiir author
alludes to the country people's avkward way of dancings And^
the two Brothers and the Ladv being now to dance, he defcribes
their elegant way of moving by trippings^ lighter toes^ court guife^
&c. He follows Shakfpeare, who makes Ariel tell Profpero, th^t
bis Maikers,

Before you can fay, come and go^
And breathe twice, and cry fo, fo.
Each one, tripping on his toe^
Will be here with mop and mow.
And Oberon commands his Fairies,
Every elf, and fairy fprite.
Hop as light as bird from briar,
And this ditty after me .

Sing, and dance it trippingly.
The Dryads were Wood -Nymphs. But hete the Ladies, who
appeared on this occafion at the court of the lord prefident of
the marches, are very elegantly termed ** Dryades." Indeed the
prophet complains of the Jewiih women for mincing as they go,
Isaiah, iii. 16. But our author ufes that word, only to exprefs
the neatnefs of their gait. Prqk.

So Drayton, of the Lancafhire lalTe^. Poi:.yolb. S, x&viit
vol. iii. p. 1 183.

—Ye fo mincingly that tregd*
Again, ibid. p. 1 1 85.

Ye maids the hornpipe then fo mincingly that tread.
And in his £cLOGV£t| where the word may hpnce be under*

C Q^M us; f35

^his fecond Song prefenis them to their Father and

Mother^

Noble Lord, and Lady bright,
I have brought ye nevsr delight,
Here behold fo goodly grown
Three fair branches of your own ;
Heav'n hath timely try*d their youth, jry>

Their faith, their patience, and their truth.
And fent them here through hard affays
With a crown of deathlefs praife,

To triumph in vi<5torious dance
0*er fenfual Folly and Intemperance. 97^

^he dances \being\ ended^ the Spirit epiloguizes.

Sp. To the oceam now I fly.
And thofe happy climes that ly

ftood, vol. vii. p. 141 7.

Now Ihepherds lay their winter-weeds away,

And in neat jackets minfen on the plain.
And Jonfon, Cynth. Rev. A.iii. S.iv.
Some mincing marmofet

Made all of clothes and face. . ■ ■
And Shakfpeare, Merch. Yen. A. iii. S. iv.
Turn two mincing fteps

Into a manly ftride.

I prefume it is the fame word, applied to the fimpering dame ia
K. Lear, A. iv. S. iv.

That minces virtue, and does fliake the head

To hear of pleafure's name. ■ Warton.

V. 972. through hard affay5,'\ Milton is fond of this ex-

prelfion. See Par. Lost, B. iv. 932.

From hard ajfays and ill fuccefTes paft.
See alfo Par. Reg. B. i. 264. and B. iv. 478. It is a frequent
phrafe in Fairfax's tranflation of Taflb. Chaucer alfo lifes it,

ROMAUNT OF the RosE, V. 435O.

But Love is of fo hard ajffaie^
And Spenfer, F. Q. ii. iii. 12.

He is a great adventurer, faid he,

That hath his fword through hard ajfay forgone. Editor.
V. 976. To the ocean now I flyy &c.] This fpeech is evidently a
paraphrafe -On- Arki's^ng in the T»MPitT| A. v. S«L - -

13^

c o M u s;

Where day never (huts his eye.

Up in the broad fields of the &y :

There I fuck the liquid air 980

Where the heefuchy there fick /. W a k b vr to K,
Pindar in his fecond Olympic, and Homer in his fbarth OAjt*.
fey, defcribe a happy ifland at the extremity of the oceam, or
ra^er earth, where the fun has his abode, the (ky b perpetually
ferene and bright, the weft wind always blows, and the flowers
are of gold. This luxuriant^ imagery Milton has dnefled anew,
from the claifical gardens of antiquity, from Spenfcr's gardens of
Adonis *^ fraught with pleafures manifold," firom the fame gardens
in Marino's L^Adonb, Ariofto's garden of Paradife, Taflo's gar-
den of Armida, and Spenfer's fiowre of Blifle. The garden of
Eden is abfolutely Milton's own creation. Waetoh.

V, 978. fFhere dtxy never Jhuts his eye."} Compare Sonnet to
THE Nightingale, v. 5.

Thy liquid notes that clofe the eye rf day.
And fee various pailages from our elder poets, by whom this ex*
preflion is ufed, in Mr. Warton's Note on II Pens. v. 141. See
alfo Lycidas, v. 26.

Under the opening eye-Uds tf the mom.
Where Mr. Warton exhibits, from Middleton's Game at
Chess, 1625, the phrafe, *' the opening eye-lids of the mom.^*
The ^' eye-lids of the morning" is an expreifion, which Milton
might probably adopt from a fubiimer origin, and from more
congenial poetry. See Job, iii. 9. ** Neither let it fee the dawn-
** ing of the day," or, as in the margin, ** the eye-lids rfthe morn'-
*' ingJ^ Again, ch. xli. 18. " His eyes are Hke the eye-lids, of the
** morning,*^ And Sophocles, Antigon. v. 103.

Thus Dr. Henry More, in his Platonic all Song, P. I. ft. 24*
See Note fupr. at v. 349.

There you may lee the eyelids of the mom

With lofty filver arch difplaid i'th' Eaft.
And Crafbaw, in his translation of Marino's Sofpetto
d'Herode, ft. 64.

Night hangs. yet heavy on the lids rf day.
Again, in his Music's Duel, v. 8i. *^ the £v^-/r^ of a blufiiing
•♦ <^." Editor.

V, 979. Up in the broad fields if the Jky.^ It may be doubted
whether from Virgil, " Aeris in campis /^/w," JEn. vi. 888.
For at firft he had written plain fields, with another idea. A level
extent of verdure. Warton.

v. 980. There I fuch the liquid air,'] Thus Ubaldo in Fairfax's
Tasso, a good wiiajrd, wjy) ciwells in th< centre of the earthy

e O M U S. r37

All atnidH: the gardens hxr
Of Hefperps, and his daughters three
That fing about the golden tree :
Along the crifped (hades and bowres

but fometimes emerges, to breathe the purer air of motint Carmel*
C. xiv. 43.

And there in ligui J ajire tnyicU disport, Warton*
,v. (^%\. All' dmidji the gardens fair

Of Hefperus^ dnd his daughters three !\ The daughters of
Hefperus the brother of Atlas, firft mentioned in Milton^s manu*
fcript as their father, had gardens or orchards which produced
apples of gbld. Spenfer makes them the daughters of Atlas, F»
Q. ii. vii. 54! See Ovid, Metam. ix, 636. And Apollodor.
BiBL. L. ii. §. It. But what ancient fabler celebrates thefe
damfels for their (kill in finging? Apollonius Rhodius, an author
whom Milton taught to his fcholars, Arc ok. ^v. X396.

'EXtlEPlAES woUrnfqi, E<I)IMEPdN AEIACYSAL " r .
Hence Lucan's virgin-choir, over-looked by the commentators, is
to be explained, where he Q)eaks of this golden grove, ix. 360*

— fuit aurea lilva,

Pivitiifque graves et fqlvo genhine rami j . ' '

F'irgineufque chorus^ nitidi cuflodia luci,

£t nunquam forniio damnatus lumina ferpeha, &c.
Milton frequently alludes to thefe ladies, ot their gardens. Par.
Lost, B. iii. 568. lb. iv. 520. lb. viii. 631. Par; Reg. B. ii.
357. And in the Mafk before us, v. 392. Warjon.

Euripides, our author's favourite Tragic poet, celebrates the
daughters of Hefperus under the title , of 'yMNHAES KoPAl,
Herc. Fur. v, 393. Du'nster. ;

See alfo Hippolytus, v* 750,

EZIIEPIAnN ^ im fjLii^a^ofov eutlxf

Ain>Graii*.i ruv AOIAAN.

And compare Mr. Egerton's Note on v. 759, ibid. ed. Ox. 1796,
where Milton's, and many other beautiful references, to the
gardehs of the Hef per ides ^ are noticed. Editor.

V. 983. ■ the golden tree,"} Many fay that the apples of

Atlas's garden were of gold : Ovid is the only ancient writer that
fays the trees were of gold. Metam. iv. 636. Watrton.

V. 98^. Al<mg the crifped Jhades and howres,^ I fufpefl we have

here fomething of L'Architecture du JardinacxE, in the

Jpruce Springs the cedarn allies^ the crifped Jhades and bowns. But

Milton had changed his ideas of a garden, when he wrote the Pa r.

LosTy where the brooks, but not the Jhades^ are crifped. In the

xj8 c a Mf tr $i

Revels the fpruce and jocond Spring ; 985

The Graces, and the rofy-bofom'd HoufSy
Thither all their bounties bring ;
There eternal Summer dwelk,
And Weft-Winds with mulky wing

Tempest, we have the " crifp channels" of brooks, A. iv. S. i.
Perhaps in the fame fenfe as in Par.L. B, iv. 237. ** ThRcri/ped
^^ brooks," which are faid to run with mazy errar^ v. 239. So, in
the First Part of Hekry IV. A. i. S.iv, "The Severn hides
** his cri/fej head in the hollow bank." Yet I will not deny, that
the furface of water curled by the wind may be fif nified. In
TiMON op Athens, ^^ cri/p heaven" may either imply " the
•* curled clouds," or curve^ holUmj^ &c« A. iv. S. ilL Jonion (ays
of Zephyr in his Masques^ vol. vi. p.a6.

The rivers run 2&fimothed by nis hand,
Only Iheir heads are crifped oy his llroke.
In the prefent inftance, the meaning of crij^ed is plainly to be
feen by the context. WartoiJ.

V, 986. the roJy'bofom*d Hours. *\ Gray, Ode OK Spring :

Lo ! where the roJy-^hofonCd H&urs^^c,
See Mr. Wakefield's Note on the paffage, in which the higheft
tribute is paid t6 the merit of Comus. Gray's Poems, &c.
p. 4. printed for Kearfley, 1786. Editor.

V. 988. " That there eternal Summer dwells ^ The Errata of
Milton's own edition, 1673, dire6k That to be omitted. This is
not attended to by Tonfon,ed. 1695. That is Omitted by Tickell
and Fenton, arid filently re-adopted by do^r Newton. I retain
the poet's oWn laft correftioh. Warton.

Zitf/ is omitted in Tonfon's edition of 1713, but not in his
edition of 1705. Editor.

Ibid. There etefnat Summer dtvells.} So Fletcher, Fa ithfui.
Shep. a. iv, S. i. p. 163.

On this bower may ever dwell
Spring and Summer. *
Again, ibid, p* i34*

— ^— There the Month of May
Is ever dwellings all is young and green, &c. Warton.
Compare R. Niccols's defcription of the Bower of Bliflb, Th«
CucKow, 1607. p. 10.

For there eternal Spring doth ever dwells
Ne they of other fealon ought can tell. Editor.
V. 989. jind fTeft-VTinds with mujky wing UcJ\ So, in the ap-
proach to Armida's garden in Fairfax's Tasso. C. xv. 53.

The windes breath'd fpikenard, myrrhe, and balme around.
Again, C. xviii. 15.

The aire that balme and nardus breath'd vnfeene.

C; O M U S. 139

f

About the cedar'n alleys fling 990

Nard and Caflia's balmy fiueUs.

Iris there with humid biow •

Waters the odorous baxiJks, that blow

Flowers of more mingled hew

Than her purfled icarf can fhew ; 995

Milton often imitates Fairfex's verfion of Taflb, without any
reference to the original. See before, v. 605. 1 will add a remark*
able inftance. Farad. L. B.v. 2^5..

-^— Like Maia's fon he flood

And fhook his phimes^ that heav'nly fragrance fillM

The circuit wide.-— '•*-
So Fairfax, C, i. 14.

On Libanon at firft his foote he fet,

And fhooke his wings with rparie May-dewes wet*
There is not a fyllable of the laft beautiful image in Taflb, viz.
C. i. 14.

Fria ful Libano monte el fi ritenne,

E fi librd su 1' adeguate penne. Wartok.
Compare Sylvefter, Du Bart. ed. fupr. p» 171. of the climated
of £deny which " Zffkyr fils with mujk and amber fmels." And
p. 17a. " Zeffyr did fWcfet mujfy fighes afford." Editor.

V. 990. — -. all^s flings &c.j In a poem by H. Feacham, the
Period of Mouming\; in Memorie of Prince Henry, &c. Lond*
1613. NupT. Hymn. i. ft. 3. of the valUes.

And every where your odours fling.
So, in Far. L. viii. 517. " Ftung rbfe, jfe«^ odms.** Warton.
V. 991. Nard and Caffla*s Bahnyjmetts.\ Compare F. L. B. v. 299*
*— - through groves of -myrrhe,

And flouring odours, caflia, Hard, and balme,

A wildcmels of fwccts. — Wartoh.

V. 992, humid Sow.] So, in Far. Lost, B. iv. iJOt

•* Fair evening cloud, or humd how.** Editor.

V. 993. Bhw is here a^ively uTed, as in B. and Fletchers
Lover's Progress, A.ii. S. i. vol. v. p. 380.

The wind that blows the April-flowcrs not fofter.
That is, " makes the flowere blow." So, in Jonfon's Maik at
Highgate, 1604. Works, ut fupr. p. 8Sa. edit. 1616.

For thefe, Favonius here fhali kkw

New flowers, which you (hall fee to grow. Warton.
V. 995. Thau kerfmfted/catfeaHjhew.l Stttius drcfles Iris in a
fcarf^ or fimilar garment, Thrb. x. 81.

Orhibus ACCiNGiyo///w jubet Irin.—
Purfled 19 fnnged, or ^ embroidered. YuPrnJUe. Thus in Piers
VhoyrUAVf Pajpts/eeundus.

i was wtre of li woman woithlyich clothed

T %

4SO C O M U Si

Their full tribute neVer mife • 925

From jSL thoufand petty rills, . .

That tumble down the fnowy hills :

Summer drouth, or finged air,

Never fcorch thy treffes fair,

Nor wet Oftober's torrent flood 930

Thy molten cryftal fill with mudd ;

May thy billows rowl alhore

The beryl and the golden ore ;

J^ani in our old poets. See above at v. 119. And ** hrimmii^
" ftream" afcertains the old reading, Par. L. iv. 366. Warton,
V. 92 j. Their full tribute never mifs
From a thoufand petty rills^

That tumble down the fnowy hillsJ\ The torrents from the
Welch mountains fometimes raife the Severn on a fudden to a
prodigious height. But at the fame time they f II her molten cryftal
with mud. Her flream, which o{ itfelf is clear, is then difcoloured
and muddy. The poet adverts to the known natural properties
of the river. Here is an echo to a couplet in Jonfon's Maik at
Highgate, 1604. Works, edit. 1616. p. 882.
Of fweete and feuerall Hiding rills,
That llreame from tops of thofe lefle hills, &c. Warton.
V. 926. ■ fetty rills.] So in Shakfpeare, Rape op

Lucrece.

The petty ftreams^ that pay a daily debt
To their fait fovereign. Editor*
V. 928. or finged a/V,

'Never fcorch thy treffes fair ,] Sure we fhould read,
« or fcorching air,

'Never fnge thy treffes fair. Warburton.
V. 932. May thy billows rowl ajhore

The beryl and the golden ore."} This is reafonable as a
wifti. But jewels were furely out of place among the decora-
tions of Sabrina's chariot, on the fuppofition that they were the
natural produ6lions of her flream. The wifti is equally ideal and
imaginary, that her banks fhould be covered with groves of
myrrhe and cinnamon. A wifh, conformable to the real ftate of
things, to Englifli feafons and Englifti fertility, would have been
niore pleafing as lefs unnatural. Yet we muft not too fevcrcly
try poetry by truth and reality. See above, at v. 834.
The Water-Nymphs, that in the bottom' play'd,
Held up their pearled wrifts-^
And V. 892.

My Aiding chariot (lays
Thick fct with agat^ &c. Wart^k.

C O M U S. 131

May thy lofty head be crbwn'd

With many a tower and terrafs rounds 935

V. 934. May thy hfty hiad he crvwn^d

With many a tower and terrrfs rwnd^ S0| of the impc«
rial palace of Rome, Par ad. Rig. B. iv. 54,
C onfpicuous far

Turrets and terrafes*
Milton was imprelTed with this idea from his vicinity to Wind"*
for-caftle.

This votire addrefs of gratitude to Sabrina, was fuggefled to
our author by that of Amoret to the river-god in Fletcher's
Faithful Shepherdbss, A.iii. S.i, vol. iii. p. 147. fiut the
form and fubjedi, rather thkh the imagery, is copied. Milton ia
more fublime and learned, Fletcher more natural and e^fy «

For thy kindne£s. to me ihown.

Never from thy banks be blown

Any tree, with windy force, '.

Crofs thy ftreams, to ftop thy courfe j

May no beaft that comes to drink, .

With his horns caft down thy brink ; .

May none that for thy fiih do look,

Cut thy banks to damm thy brook :

Barefoot may no neighbour wade

In the coole flreams, wife nor maid,

When the fpawne on flones doth lye,

To waih thir hempe, and fpoile the frye,; .
I know not which poet wrote firft : but in Browt^e's Britak<«
kia's Pastoi^als, certainly written not after.z6i3, iand printed
in 16] 6, I, find a fimilar vow. B. i. S. ii p. 2B. Milton has fome
circumllances which are in Browne and not in Fletcher.

■ M May fir ft, .

Quoth Marine, fwaines give lambea to thee ;

May all thy floud have leignorie

Of all fiouds elfe, and to thy fame

Meete greater fpringes, yet keepe thy nabi^«

May neuer euet, nor the toade,
. Within thy banker make: their abode;

Taking thy journey to the fea,
. Maift thou ne'er {^appen in thy way

On nitre, or on brimuone myne,

To fpoyle thy tafte. This fpring of thyne.

Be ever frefh ! Let no n^an dare

To fpoyle thy fi^, make lock or warjef;

]^ut on thy margent ftiU let dwell

Thofe flowers which have the fweeteft fipcU ;
. • And let the duft upon thy ftrand

Become like Tagus' golden fan^l.

s 2,

ijt COMUl

And here and there thy banks upoii
With groves of myrrh& and cinnamon*

Jn this pafloral, a paflage immediatelT follows, firoi^Iy rcfem«
bling the circumftance or the river-god in Fletcher applying drops
of pure water to the inchanted Amoret, or of Sabrina doing the
fame to the Lady in Comus. A rock is difcovered tn ft grove
o^ fycamoresy from which a certain precious water diftills ia
dropS) p. tg.

The drops within a cefterne fell of (lone.
Which fram'd by nature, art had never none
Halfe part fo curious, &c.
Some of th^fe drops, with the ceremony of many fpdls, are in«
Aifed by the W$ter»Nymphs into the lips of Marine, by whkh
ihe is cured of her love.

From a clofe parallelifm of thought and incident, it is clear
that either Browne's pailoral imitates Fletcher's play, or the plav
the pailoral. Mod of B. and Fletcher's plays appeared after i6io.
But there is unluckily no date to the firft edition of the Faith*
fVL Shepherdess. It is, however, mentioned ia'Davles's
Scourge OF FoLL-Y, i6i I.

As Milton is fuppofed to have taken fome hints in CoWkjs from
Peele's Old Wives Tale, I may perhaps more reafohably claim
an excufe for lengthening- this note, by producing a pa&age not
quite foreign to the text) from that writer's play, entidfed The
Love of Kikg Dauid and fairs Bbth8Abe,&:c. etiit. i599«
4to. Signat, B. B.ij."

May rhAt fweet plaine that beares her pleafant weight
B6 (till eitamel'd with difcoloured flowers;
• The precious -fount beare fande ai pureil gold^
And for th^ peble, let the filuer fireames.
That pierce earth's bowels to maintaine her force,
Play upon mbies, faphires, chryfolites : ■

The brims let be embrac'd with golden curies

Of mofle. WARTOWr ^

V. 936, j^M€f here i^nd there thy ba$tks upon

JFith groves of myrrhe and cimamonJ] The conflru^ion
of thefe two lines is a little difficult ; to crown her head with
towers is true imagery ; but to (irown her head upon her banks,
will fcarcely be allowed to be fo, I would therefore put a colon
inflead of a comma at v, 935, and then read

And here and there thy banks upon ^^

Be groves of myrrhe and cinnamoii. Seward*
In V, 936. hanks is the nominative cafe, as had was in the lafl
verfe but one. The fenfe and fyhtax of the whole is, May thy
head be crown' d round about with towers and terrafes, and here
and there [may] thy banks [be ctvum^d} upon with groves, &c«
ffffrif otrro ao» qiX o^^pm* *Th^ phrafc is GreeK, Caltov*

COMUS^ i4j

Mortals, that would follow mc.
Love Virtue ; (he alone is free :
She can teach ye how to clime loao

Higher than the fphery chime ;
Or, if Virtue feeble were,
Heav*n itfelf would (loop to her.*

V. I02O. The/mr iafi verfes fiirniihcd Pope with the thought for
the conclufion of his Ode on St. Cecilia's dav. Warbu&ton^

A prior imitation may be traced in the clo& of Dryden's Ode«
And Cralhaw, in his Hymn. on th£ Nativity, ipeaking of
Christ, ihouki be noticed : Sac&ed Poems, ut fupr. p« 15.

■ " whofe all-embracing birth

Lifts e;ath to heav'jdi, floopes heav'n to earth* Editor,

V. 102^1. '■ t^ Jfiffy clame.] Chimey Ital. Cima. Yet

he ufes cUme in the common fSenfe, Oos Natiy. v. 198. He
may do fo here, but then the expreflion is licentious, I fuppofe
for the fake of the rhyme. Hur d.

The fphety eiime is the mu/Sc rf tit fplens. At in Machines
DuMBE Knight, 1608. Aeed's Old Plays, vohiv. 447.
It was as filver as t\it ekime. oifpheres.

See Parad. Lost, B. ix. 559. And Par. Rrgained, B. li*
363. In the fame fenfe, At a solrmm Music, v. 9. ^'Nature's
" chimej^* Nature's mufic. And Od^e Nativ. v. ia8. Milton is
fond of the word thime in this acceptation, and it has been hence
adopted by Dryden.

Spheiyxxicvtrs in Mids. N. Dream, A. ii. 8. vii. *< Hermia's
*^ fphery tynt.*^ Warton.

V. 1022. Tk\t Moral of this poem is very finely fummed up
in the 4xk concluding lines. The thought contained in the two
lofty Hught probably be fuggelled to our author by a pail^ge
in the Table op Cebes, where Patience and Perfeverance are
reprefented ftooping and ilretching out their hands to help up
thofe, who are endeavouring to climb thfr craggy hill of Virtue,
and yet are too feeble toafcend of .(hemf elves. ,Thyer«

** The paflage which Mr. Thyer fuppofes might probably have
'* fuggefled to Milton the thought contained in the two lail
** verfes of this poem, is to be found in the middle of the Table
** OF Cebes, beginning, IXeia & wTn i 0^ inf> i ft^c-et x^rJ^*
** and ending, i^v^Mf^wp oUnrqpioy, i'^.

** Had this learned and ingenious Critic duly refle6led on the
«* lofty mind of Milton *fmit with the love of facredfong,' and fo
«* often and fo fublimely employed on topicks of religion, he might
" readily have found a fubje6t, to which the Poet obviouily and
<^ divinely alludes in thefe concluding lines, without fetching the
" thought from the Table op Cebes..

144 C O M U S.

** Tn the preceding remark, I am conyinced Sfr. Thjef Bad
<* no ill intention : but, by overlooking fo clear and pointed an-
'< allufion to afubje^^, calculated to kindle that lively glow in the
" bofom of every Chriftian which the Poet intended to excite^
** and by referriog it to an image in a profane author, he maj^
<< befide fli fling the fubtime effe^, fo happily produced, afford a
*^ handle to fome, in thefe 'evil days,' who are willing to make
** the religion of Socrates and Cebes (or that of Nature) fuper-
•* fcde the religion of Chrifl.

** 1 wifh to fpeak with much refpeft of Mr. Thyer, yet I tmft
*^ I may be allowed to obferve, that here, in my humbie opinion^
*^ he injudicioufly went out of his way to difpiay his erudition :

<* For it may be doubted whether Cebes the difciple of So^
^^ crates, and cotemporary with Plato, was the author of' the
*< Table called by his name; and, upon a full inveftigation of the:
*^ evidences on both fides of the queftion, to me at leaft, it feemt
** mofl probable, that the Table was not written by Cebes, but
<^ that it is of a more recent date than the time in which Cebes
« lived.

'^ Moreover, I conceive it may reafonably be fuppofed, and
*^ it mufl be admitted to be poflible, that Socrates, and confe-
*' quently Cebes, and more efpecially Plato, as well as the Theiflic
*' phiiofophers, had either by oral communication obtained a
*< Knowledge of the principles of the Jewifh religion, or had
*^ otherwife become acquainted with fucn parts of the Old Tefla^
** ment as were already written in their time ; and that the moral
** doArines which they taught, (if any exifl in their books' beyond
*' the reach of human reafon, and which tend to place Morality on
** its only true foundation, the Will of God) were founded not
** upon the Light of Nature alone, but upon the Revelation too
** contained in the infpired writings of Mofes and the Prophets.

** The Moral of this poem is^ indeed, very Jinely fummed up in the fix
•* concluding lines \ in which, to wind up one of the moft elegant pro*
«* du(ftions of his genius, *the Poet*s eye, in a fine phreiizy rolhng,'
«• threw up its lafl glance to Heaven, in rapt contemplation of
•* that flupendous Myftery, whereby He, the lofty theme of
** Paradise Regained, {looping from above all height,^ bowed
«* the Heavens, and came down' on Earth, to atone as Man for
** the Sins of Men, to llrengthen feeble Virtue by the influence of
** his Grace, and to teach Her to afcend upon his throne."

For the preceding Note I am indebted to Mr. Egerton, whofe
various and important communications I have acknowledged in
the Preface. Editor.

* In the peculiar difpofition of the Story, the fweetnefs of
the Numbers, the juflnefs of the Exprelfion, and the Moral it
teaches, there is nothing extant in any language like the Mask

OF CoMUS. TOLAMD*

G O M U S. 145

Milton's Juvenile Peems are fo no otherwife, than as they were
Written in his younger years; for their Dignity and Excellence
they are fufficient to have fet him among the moft celebrated of
the Poets, even of the Ancients themlelves: his Mask and
Ltczdas are perhaps fuperior to all in their feveral kinds.

Richardson.

Coicus is written very much in imitation of Shakfpeare's
Tbmpbst, and the Faithful Shephbrdess of Fletcher; and
though one of the firft, is yet one of the moft beautiful of Milton's
compoiitions, Nbwton.

. Milton feems in this poem to Have imitated Shakfpeare's
manner more than in any other of his works ; and it was very
natural for a young author, preparing a piece for the ftage, to
TOopofe to himfelf for a pattern the moft celebrated mafter of
£ngli(h dramatic poetry. Tbybr.

Milton has here more profiefledly imitated the manner of Shak-
fpeare in his faery fcenes, than In any other of his works : and
his poem is much the better for it, not only for the beauty, variety,
and novelty of his images, but for a brighter vein Of poetry, and
an eafe and delicacy of expreffion ytry fuperior to his natural
manner. Warbv&toit.

If this Mask had been revifed by Milton^ when his ear and
judgment were perfectly formed, it had been the moft exquiiite
of all bis poems; As it is^ there are fome puerilities in it, and
many inaccuracies of expreffion and verfification. The two
editions of his Poems are of 164c and 1673. In 1645, ^^ ^^^»
as he would think^ better employed. In 1673, he would condemn
himfelf for having written fuch a thing as a Mt^^ efpecially
to a great lord, and a fort of vice-roy. Hu r d .

The greateft of Milton's juvenile performances is the Mask
bF CoMus, in which may very plainly be difcovered the dawn
or twilight of Par adi/e Lost. Milton appears to have formed
very am that fyfiem of diction, and mode or verfe, which his ma-
turer judgment approved, and from which he never endeavoured
nor defired to deviate.

Nor does Comus afford only a fpecimen of his language; it
exhibits likewife his power of delcriptionand his vigour of fentl-
ment, employed in the praife and defience of virtue. A work
more truly poetical is rarely found ; allufions, images, and de-
fcriptive epithets, embelUfh almoft every period with laviih de-
coration. As a leries of lines, therefore, it may be confidered
as worthy of all the admiration with which the votaries have re-
^dved it.

As a drama it is deficient. The afiion is not probable. A
Mafque, in thofe parts where fupernatural intervention is
admittfdy muft indeed be ^ven up to ail the freaks of imagination ;

u

1^6 C O M U S.

but, fo far as the a£):ion i$ mef ely human, it ought to be reafoiia-
jble, which can hardly be faid of the conduct of the tw^o Brothers ;
who, when their Sifter finks with fatigue in a pathlefs wildernefsi'
wander both away together in fearch of berries too for to find their '
way backj and leave a helplefs Lady to all the fadnefs and danger .*
of folitude. This however is a defed overbalanced by its con-
venience.

What deferves more reprehenfion b, that the prologue fpokeii
in the wild wood by the Attendant Spirit is addrefled to tkeau*--
dience ; a mode of communication fo contrary to the nature of
dramatick reprefentation, that no precedents can fupport it.

The difcourfe of the Spirit is too long; an obje£ti6n thitt'tliay
be made to almoft all the following fpeeches; they have not-thd
fprightlinefs of a dialogue animated by reciprocal contention, btit
leem rather declamations deliberately compofed, and fohnalljr
repeated, on a moral queflion. The auditor therefore liflens as
to a le6ture, without paifion, without anxiety.

The fong of Comus has airinefs and jollity ; but, what majF
recommend Milton's morals as well zs his poetry, the invitations
to pleafure are fo general, that they excite no cliftin^t images of
corrupt enjoyment, and take no dangerous hold on the fiancy..

The following foliloquies of Comus and the Lady are elegant^
but tedious. The fong muft owe much to the voice, if it ever
can delight. At laft the Brothers enter, with too miich tran-
quillity ; and when they have feared left their Sifter (hoUld bo in
danger, and hoped that ftie is not in danger, the Elder niiakes a
fpeech in prdife of Chaftity, and the Younger finds hoWfine it is
■to be a Philofopher.

Then deicends the Spirit in form of a Shepherd; and the
brother, inftead of being in hafte to afk his help, praifes hitf fing*
ing, and enquires his bufinefs in that place. It is renuUfkabl^
that at this interview the Brother is taken with a fhort fit of
rhyming. The Spirit relates that the Lady is in the power, of
Comus; the Brother moralifes again ; and the Spirit makes a long
narration, of no ufe becaufe it is falfe, and therefore unfuitable
to a good Being.

In all thefe parts the language is poetical, and the fentiments

are generous ; but there is lomething wanting to allure attention.

The difpute between the Lady and Comus is the moft animated

and aifeding fceneof the drama, and wants nothing but a briiker

reciprocation of objections and replies to invite atteiUion, and

. detain it.

The fongs are vigorous, and full of imagery ; but they are harfh
in their diaion, and not very muiical in their numbers*

Throughout the whole, the figures are too bold^ and the
language too luxuriant for dialogue. It is a Drama in the Epick
ftyle, inelegantly fplendid, and tediouily inftru&iye. John sow.

Milton's Comus is, I think,, one of. the fineft prodvAions of

C O M U S. 147

modern times, and I dpn't know whether to a^inire mod the poetrv
of it or, the philoibphy, which is of the nobleft kind. The (ubje^
of it I.iike better (ban that of tiie Par adise.Lost, which,! think,
is nQt .human enough to touch the comnion feelings of hui^anity,
as poetry ought to do ; the Divine Perfonages he has introduced
are of too high a kind to a6t any part in poetry, and the fcene of
the adion is, for the greater part, quite out of Nature. But thp
fubje6V of the Com us is a fine Mythological Talc, marvellous
enough, as all poetical fubje^ts (hould be, but at the fame time
human. He begins his piece in the m^ner of Euripides, and the
defcending Spirit that prologifes, makes the fineft and grandeft
opening ot any theatrical piece that I know, antient or modern.
The conduct of the piece is anfwerable to the beginning, and the
verfification of it is finely raried by (hort and long verfes, blank
and rhyming, and the fweeteft fongs that ever were compofed ;
nor do I know any thing in Engliih Poetry comparable to it in
this rcfpeift, except Dryden'srOde on St. Cecilia; which, for the

18 written at prefent, that I am inclined to make the fame dif-

tin6Hon in the Englifti Language, that Homer made of the Greek
m his time; and to fay, that Milton's language is the language of
the gods ; whereas we of this age fpeak and write the language of
mere mortal men.

^ If the CoMus was to be properly rcprefented, with ail the decora-
tions ivhich it requires, of machinery, fcenery, drefs, mufic, and
dancing, it would be the finefl exhibition that ever was feen upon
any modern ftagc But I am afraid, with all thefe, the principal
part would be ftill wanting ; I mean, playei-s that could wield the
lan^iuage of Milton, and pronounce thole fine periods of his, by
which he has contrived to give his poetry the beauty of the finell
profe compofition, and without which there can be nothing great
ornoble in compofition of any kind. Or if we could find players
who had breath and organs (for thefe, as well as other things,
begin to fail in this generation), and fenfe and tafte enough, pro-
perly to pronounce fuch periods, 1 doubt it would not be eafy
to find an audience that could relifli them, or perhaps they would
not have attention and comprehenfion fufficient to conned the
fenfe of them, being accuilomed to that trim, fpruce, fliort cut
of a %le, which Tacitus, and his modern imitators, French and
Ejigliib, have made fafhionable. LordMonboddo."

* I wiJl gmify the reader. with additional obfcrvaiions by the hme learned
p^n»..wi(b vhich 1 was honoured, on my intention of publiibing the Maik being
fOafJAknown to his Lordihip. They increi&fe the valiu: and importance of the
cjiKiciiiny vhich I have adduced above from the Preface to the third Volume of
J^Ufi Muapkjtficu ** The Com us is a moft plcafurable Poem, and at the
*\ ihPQe.time moft philoibphical and iaflru£iive. From the Com us, and other
^ Rhjmisg Poens which Milton has written^ I hold: him to be the bcft

u 2

ijs c o M tr $i

Revels the fpruce and jocond Spring ; 985

The Graces, and the rofy-bofom'd Hours*
Thither all their bounties bring ;
There eternal Summer dwells,
And Weft- Winds with mulky wing

Tempest, we have the ^' cri/p channels" of brooks, A. iv. S. i.
Perhaps in the fame fenfe as in P a e . L. B. iv. 237. ** Thterifped
^^ brooks," which are faid to run with mazy error^ v. 239. So, in
the First Part of Hekry IV. A. i. S.iv, "The Severn ludes
** his crtfped head in the hollow bank." Yet I will not deny, that
the furface of water curled by the wind may be fignified. In
TiMON OP Athens, ^^ cri/p heaven" may either imply "the
•* curled clouds," or curve^ hollmv^ ice. A. iv, S. ill. Jonion (ays
of Zephyr in his Masques^ vol. vi. p.a6.

The rivers run zs/moothed by nis hand,
Only Iheir heads are crifped oy his llroke.
In the prelent inftance, the meaning of crij^ed is plainly to be
feen by the context. WarToiJ.

V. 986 the roJy'bofom*dH(mrsV\ Gray, Ode ok Spring :

Lo ! where the roJy-^hofonCd Hours,'8cc.
See Mr. Wakefield's Note on the paffage, in which the higheft
tribute is paid td the merit of Com us. Gray's Poems, &;c.
p. 4. printed for Kearfley, 1786. Editor.

V. 988. " That there eternal Summer dtjells:* The Errata of
Milton's own edition, 1673, dire6k That to be omitted. This is
not attended to by Tonfon,ed. 1695. That is Omitted by Tickell
and Fenton, and filently re-adopted by dodor Newton. I retain
the poet's oWn laft correftioh. Warton.

Zitf/ is omitted in Tonfon's edition of 1713, but not in his
edition of 1705. Editor.

Ibid. There eternal Summer dtvells.} So Fletcher, Faitrfui.
Shep. a. iv. S. i. p. 163.

On this bower may ever dwell
Spring and Summer, *
Again, ibid. p. i^.

— :— There the Month of May
Is ever dwellings all is young and green, &c. Warton.
Compare R. Niccols's defcription of the Bower of BliiTe, Thc
CucKOw, 1607. p. 10.

For there eternal Spring doth ever dtoell^
Ne they of other fealon ought can tell. Editor.
V. 989. jind Weft-Winds with mujky wing &c.] So, in the ap-
proach to Armida's garden in Fairfax's Tasso. C. xv. 53.

The windes breath'd fpikenard, myrrhe, and balme around.
Again, C. xviii. 15.

The aire that balme and nardus breath'd vnfeene.

COM US; 13^-

About the cedar*n alleys fling 990

Nard and Caflia's balmy fiueUs.

Iris there with humid biow •

Waters the odorous banks,, that blow

Flowers of more mingled Jhew

Than her purfled icarf can fhew ; 995

Milton often imitates Fairfex's verfion of Taflb, without any
reference to the original. See before,, v. 605. 1 will add a remark*
able inftance, Pa'rad. L. B.v. 2^5..

-^— Like Malays Ton he flood

And fhook his'phimes^ that hea^'nly fragrance fillM

The circuit wide.

So Fairfax, C. i. 14.

On Libanon at ^rft his foote he fet,

And fhooke his wings with rqarie May-dewes wet.
There is not a fyllable of the laft beautiful image in Taflb, viz.
C.i. 14.

Fria ful Libano monte ei fi ritenne,

E fi librd sii 1' adeguate penne. Wartok-
Compare Sylveftcr, Du Bart. ^d. fupr. p» 171. of the climated
of Eden, which " Zfffyr fils with mujk and amber /mels.'* And
p. 172, " Zefkyr did fWcet mujty Aghes afford." Editor.

V. 990. — r- alleys flings &c. j In a poem by H. Peacham, the
Period of Moutningy in Memorie of Prince Henry, &c. Lbnd*
1613. NuPT. Hymn. i. ft. 3. of the valUes.

And every where your odours fling.
So, in Par. L. viii. 517. " Fhngro^t^fiung odms.** Warton,
V. 991. KardandCaffla*s BalmyJketbJ\ Compare P.L. B. y.a,^%*
*— - through groves -of-myrrhe, •

And flouring odours, caflia, Hard, and balme,

A wildcrnels offwccts; — Wartoh.
V. 992, — humid ^ow.] So, in Par. Lost, R iv. 2 Jo#
•* Fair evening cloud, or hvmd how.** Editor.

V. 993. Bhw is here aaivdy uTed, as in B. and Fletcher's
Lover's Progress, A. ii. S. i. vol. v. p. 380.

The wind that bhws the April-flowers not fofter.
That is, " makes the flowere blow." So, in Jonfon's Maik at
Highgate, 1604. Works, ut fupr. p. 8^2. edit. 1616.

For thefe, Favonius here Ihall hkp

New flowers, which you (hall fee to grow. Warton.
V. 995. Thau kerfurJiedfcaffeaHjhem.l Sutius drcfles Iris in a
fcarf^ or fimilar garment, Thrb. x. 8i.

Orbibus a c c I N g i folitis j ubet Irin.—
Pir^/fe^ is fringed, or, embroidered. YuFmfiU. Thus in Piers
VhOftUKV^ Pajfiis/eeundfis,

I wa» ware of li^oman woithlyich clothed

T %

\

APPENDIX. No.t

ORIGINAL VARIOUS REAQINGS,

VN the Library of Trinihr College Cambridge, w a fhili folio
A manufcriptj marked MrsdEtL. R. ii; 4^. It is fplendidly
bound, and to the infide of one of the covers is pafled a ptper
with this.infcriptiod, *<• Membra haec ertiditiffimi et pene divini
^' poetae olim mifere disje^ et paffim fparfa, pollea vero foi^tiito
** mventa, et in unum denuo colle6bi a Carolo Mason ejufdem
*' CoUcgii Socio, et inter Mifcellanea repofita, ea qua decuit re-
*' ligione confen^are voluit Thomas Clarke, nuperrimehu-
*' jufce Collegii nunc vero Medii Templi Londini SociuS,' i y$6,'*
Doctor Mafon, above-mentioned, who was alfo Woodwardian
profeflTor at Cambridge, found thefe papers among other old and
negle6led manufcripts belonging to Sir Henry Newton Pucker-
ing, a confiderable benefa6tor to the Library. Befide plans of
Paradise Lost, and /k^t<!hes and fubje6ts for poetry, all ifi
Milton's own hand, they contain entbe copies of many of our
author's fmaller poems, in the fanle hand, except in a few in-
fiances, exhibiting his fird thoughts and expreffiofts^ and' moft
commonly his own corre6tions of them according to the firefent
text. All thefe Variations, but imperfectly and incdrreftly printed
•by Birch, are given [by Mr. Warton,*] with other notices, from a
more minute and careful examination of the manufcript*

The whole of Comus^ with the corrtdions and additions, is In
Milton's own hand-writing.

\

CoM9S. fol, I ^.-^294

StAge-uirection. ^^ a guardtan fpirit br uLefnoH^* [enters.]

After vt 4, " In regions mild, &c." Thcfe'lines are infcrtcd, but
crofled.

^Amidji tk Se/pertaii gdrden^y oh wiojt iaHk>t
Bedew* d Hbith neildr and ceUfiiail'fmgs^
Etemall tofes gfi^^ and hyaiinthy
And fruits of golden rindyon luhofe faire tree
Thejcalie-harheji dragon tver heps
His uninchanted eye ; around the ^Oe^c '
And f acred limits of this blif^ul ifliy
The jealous ocean ^ that old river^ windei,
■ • • • ..■■.••■ ...

» See his firft ed. of Milton*s Poetlls, ji. 60S. and 2d ed. p. 5^.
: b Thf^ie. lioic^y I thiok^ may fenrc. as a fpecimea of the truik of what
Waller fays.

Poets lofe half the praife they ihpnld have got,

Coald it be known wliac tHey diibjrc^ly Uot. Ksi(rTOW.

154 APPENDIX. L

Hitfarre extetuUd armes^ tiU with Jleefe fall
Hjfe Ids w^fM the m^l4 ^tUmif^fUt^
And half e dstfino unfa^km'd'Jfygtan fiUt,
Butfdft^ I was mtfent tit comrtyour winder
IVith JTxftmn wetli^ andftramge rtmtfoed^ iUwus.
Yet thace I eome^ and rftfr^m thence hehdd*

v.t. TiJfeliiMalwatid&koftlufcKmMrTvv

Amt v^ 7^ ^ 9vA%^ to keep up, 4(c,^' this IMie was iofistodi-bfjt

Bejfm^d^mrittmfdaUffwmttudh.ehmg^^
jip. 14. ThalJhamt the paUce of astcraity.
«. i8. Bu( to myhuyiefirmDn Neptuae 'Ol^^iw^y^
^%u The rule and title ei ea^k (ea-fRt i^^
•V* a^. The gpeatcft aii4 the heft of ail hU em^re^
•V. 4 J. JSf old or aodera bsur^» i^ hsdi or bowre.
^ j9« Whoflft therdoce (he bn>Hgbt up aad mam'diim C^BWfc,
t^ t%, Afli4 in thick <MWr# of \>i^^Jhadc laloVH'^

£jKceUsi faas mother 9t her /«l««i art.
Qveu is wiitten ftri^^ t^tkjkdter.
t». ^;. F(>r moftdoe^^thirough7iwa^bt|»i^p^^
f^ 7ft. Aii other parts r4«fiaiaiagasi^#.
«. 90«. Neenefi a^.likelieft te^ fffite ffra^enfi aid^ -
9. 9a. Of «ii]gi» fteps^ I Bii^ be viewiefie iumifw
Fifgm is expuqg^ for hsu^ilk.

*^ 19^ ;^od suid glafe ^ iijKor^ with hi^ C<Mit ^ h^eadocl likf .^iitr

^ wild beai^; 4«r^ g^mf^tH ioi?^ ii^< •■^'s ^ ^iWiff ^^ ^VW-
^ #z<9|i% They- coioe m m a wild aiifd oameM ft^tjm^ bifrant

«. 97. In the deepe Tartarian ftreame.

•9. 99. Shoots againft the netrthent pofew

X^n^ ig a viMginal corredioQ.

4^« IO&* A^d ^ich Lma -atith k» f(ipupulou$-he9c)L,

V. X 14. Lead with fwift round the months and years. '

V. 117. And on thfyjelk^ faads aad, ftii5lxes»

Ydkw is altered to tavp^ -.'.'..

V. i2i. Night ib/ bftter fwfCt^ t^ proyc. ' . ■\

^ • • *-

■ ' ■ . V .

c SoihIl Pkws.t.78- wh(U9iiM:l;)b«i»o^/ , \

Some ft ill remaptd^Xi^ftiA fit« . '

Tkat isf rMM/«. Wartov*. , . . .

^ 0r. Warbuftoa thUULs'tbis luie occeflafy to tbe jufoeft a(di€ thoQght
til ▼. 7. Dr. Norton contends that it ts better •mitted. fhA'Writttn date^ as
Dodor WarburtonobfeiTes, means Scripture, in whick is recorded tl^e abcidgcd
4lat« of htnpMO iif<» l^i;ojiu .^ '

V. €3. ^ ?•<««» act*' are Shakipearc^i words, and beltfir tbai^- * niighfy
«art." WAaauRTOK. - .'

«« U7« $0 ii^ k)»t TiLif^yHT^ A.i« S< iv

Come nnlo tixeU yellow jakdi, Edxtok.

k.

APJ^NPIX.. J. 155

V. 133. Anim9k^a^tQittMi»r£.
Again,

And iiroTtfs a blot arc all the aire.
v« 134* Stay xkfi^fi/ht ebod chake

Wherein thou rid 'ft with HecafiCf

j4nd favour our clo/kjoGmdtifi4

Till all thy dues bee done> aB4 nkugb left out*
a;. 144. fTitA di )ight smi frolic romi*
Stage-direction. '^ The meaAurS| 4>i*^X^ nMAi^ AtA^tetq^

" ton ^iicii**
V. 145. fir^ke off, brcak« off| I hear the ^fferaM pM(t

Of fome chafte footing noero about tJM» i^onodS

Some virgin fure benighted ia th^ woo^

For fp I can diftiiigui£ by inya^ ^x%^

Run to y^our ibrouds witlHn tbeie l)fsik» and titts,

Our number may affrights— *-^
This difpofition is reduced to the preient .QOii^^t % 4i(?n follows »'
Stage-vikectiov, ^^ They all/caftcri** ,

V* 151. -«**Now to my /Ttf/ff^f

And to my mother* s charmeu
V. 153. i— Thus I hwrle

Of power to diieat the eye with^]^A/ iUuiiony

And give it falfe pradCentmcat&i c^c the place.
And 6lift4i h written fotjkighi,
V, J 64. Aw4 hiigge him into mas^ ( ■■ i* ■
V. 1 70. —If my ear be true*

V. 175. When for their teeming 6ockSy and gt^ncrs- ftilt.
V. 181. In the bliiKl ^/^i of Uu$ ^r^W wood.
V. 190. Rofe from the hindmoft wheeles of Phqet^Hs' cM^rc*
V, 193, They had engaged tbir^ j^uthly Q»ps too fari;^

To th€/ooH&-fartiuif light^ and ^vU^ 44ffh^fL

H^id^olne them frona rofi. ■ "
V, 199. With everlafiing oyle to gjtvj? li^ir^ %iitf«
v. 208. And ayrie toungs that lure nighh'i»>^ff4crcfs^
V, 214. Thou j^/ViATiW angiel girt wkh goldeot wki^ .

And thou uinj^fcd forme of ch^ftky^

I fee ye vifibly, and vjj^he I/ecj40f

This dufyc hoHtnti is a paradifi^

And heaven gt^s ore svy head k pow I beleeve.

V. 1 52. Rightly altered to wly trains } for the channs defcrlbed are not from
the claffical pharmacopoea, hot the Gothic. Waraurtom.

V. 175. Altered with judgment to granges. Two rurial fcene* otUMytitfMt
«atlud«i My the Spring foteihifig Jotik^J, and tlve Au«uiii» fg*'^*gfS' /»^0)ieep-
•flitaniigy Ml* hRinM§-«amr. But . thfe" tiflftC| n^hen ehe garm^^i airfr f al1> it i»
Winter* when the corn is thralhed. War bur ton.-

^g i%t. Sn iff I^ Fim^ ▼• 131^ t»here fee thio note^

To arckod w«Hft of ifwili^ gvoves. War «Wt«

fr. 195. The ed. of 1637, and Aihridge laiAttfilripV K)l^iU<l:/Mc»

V. 214. Tl^e cd. ol ii|y<WdEi > l »i i' IHfi

tS/S APPENDIX, I,

V. a 19. Would fend a gliftering ckemij if need were.

v. 231. Within thy ayric cffL

Cell is in the margin.

Before Comus fpeaks, at v. 244, Is this Stags* HI i(i;cTioif|i

** Coptus Ms in (^Jfeski,**

V. 252. Of darknefle till^;<? fmil'd.— ^

v, 257, — ^Scylla fwA/«»<y^, , •

aiding (ler barking waves into attentioa*
Vi £68. Liv*^ here with Pan and Sylvan.——
V, 1170. To touch \^t frofpertn^ growth of this tall wood,
V. 2 79. Cptild that divide you from thire ufhering kamh^
V. 280. They left me 'voesrkd on a graffie turf.
n). 304. To help you find them wu
V. 310. Without ixkTtfteerage of well pra6liz*d feet..
V. 3i2« Dingle or buuiie dell of this wide wood, ,
V. 316, Within thefe^rcff^/V Kmits ^ j
•p. 3>i. Till further queft ^ >w^i?.
nh 329. —Square Mw tryal.

After V, 330, SxAGE-piRECT^oir. ** Exetmi.' ' ' Tie two Br^
« tins Enter."

V. 340. With a long-levelPd rule of dreaming light.
V. 349. In this/ad dungeon of innumerous boughs.
V. 352. From the chili dew, in tiis dead/olitude ^

Perhaps fome cold banke is her bouiflernow,

Or 'gainfl the rugged barke of fome broad elme

Ske leanes her thoughtfuU head mufing at wr vnkindnejffe t

Or hft in wild amazement and aflFright,

Sofaresj as didfturfaken Prefer fine^ '

When the big wtiWowingj^aies of fitc^ie chtids

And darkneffe wound her in,

I Br. Peace, brother, feace. I do not think my fiiler, &c.
Deadjolitude is 2Xio Jurrwnding wild. Some of the additional lines
(v. 350.— 366.) are on a feparate (lip of paper,
V. 362. ——7'^f date of grief,
V, 365. Tiis felf-deluiion.

V. 371. Could ftirre \\\tfiahU mood of her calme thoughts,
t'. 384. Walks in black vapours^ though the noon^tide brand

Blaze in the/ummer/ol/lice,
V. 390. For who would rob a hermit of his beads^

His books, or his hairegownej or maple-difh ?
V, 400. Bid me think,

v» ^54. The ed, of 1 63711 and Afhrld^e manufcript rei^d ili6Jhc»

Vf 270. Altered with judgment to frofperouii for tall wood implies /u^
growftf to which f>roJperous agrees, b\it proj'fering implies it not to be ivSX
grown. Warburton.

V. 371* StabU gives the idea of refi^ when th^ poet was to give the idea of
sS'ton or motion^ which ^onftant does give. WAaBy.&TO.M..

V. 390. 80 in Ix. Pbn|. v. 169. . , :

Thei&airy^ow/iandffio^celL WAaToyr* . .

APPENDIX. I. IJ7

ff. 403, UninjurM in this vafi and ladews wild.

•; 409, Secure, without all doubt or que/iion : »«,

1 could be willing^ though tmv V th* darke^ to trie
A tough encounter with the Jitaggieft ruffian^
That lurks by hedge or lane oftkis dead circuity
To haw her by myfide^ though I werefure
She might be free from feriU where Jhe is^
But where ah equal poife of hope and fear.

For encounter he had firft written paffado^ and hopes zxi^fears^

V. 415. As you imagin, brother: ihe has a hidden ftrength.

V. 42 1 . She that has that, is clad in compleate fteele ;
And may on every needfull accident^
Be it not don in pride or wilfuil tempting^
PTalk through huge forrefts and unharbour'd heaths,
Infamous hills, and fandie perilous wilds;
Where, through the facred awe of chaftitie,
No favage fierce, bandite, or ipoqhcaneere^
Shall dare to foiie her virgin puritie.

V, 42S. Ye ev^n where very defolation dwells. ,

nf. 433. In fog, or fire, by lake, or moorie f^n.

Blue ivrinchled hag, or (lubborne unlaid ghoil,

Vi 448, That wife Minerva wore, atemal virgin.

Then, unvanquifli' d^ then, unconquer*d,

V, 452. With fuddaine adoration of her purenej/e.

Then, bright rayesy then, blank awe.

V. 454. That when itjmds a foul finccrely fo.

V. 46 5.* And mod by the lafiivitfus a^l of fin.

V, 471. Oft feene in charnel vaults, and monuments^
Hoveringy and fitting by a new^-made grave,

y. 481. Lifl, lilt, methought \ heard,

V. 485. Some curVd tnan rfthefword calling to bis. fellows.

v* 403. So the verfe was at firft. At prefent It ftands In the manufcrlpt,
Uninjur'd iu this widf fqrrounding wafVe.
And I know not whether wide Is not belter than vfild^ which feems to be
fufEcieptly implied iii wafie, 19iWTON»

V. 411. Perhaps from 3lukfpeare*s ** fiag^ear^dvillamJ'* Macbeth, A. iv.
S. iii« Editor.
<v»472. The ed. of 1637, and Aibridge mannfcript read alfo btveringm

tt* 485. This alluded to the fafhion of the Court Gallants at that time : and
what follows continues the allufion,

Had heft look to Yi\% forehead ; here be brambles.
Bat I fuppoTe he thought it might give offence s and he was not yet come to
^n. open defiance with the Court; Warbu a ton.

SyWefter, Du Baiit« ed. fol. ut. fupr. p. ^I^. charafterifes effeminate per-
fonsi as having

■ a maiden Toior, and mincing pafe,
Quaint looks, eurPd locks, perfumes, and painted face. ■
This f aihion hadt not long before Comas was written, occafioned the pub-
lication of that ftrange and Isinghable pamphlet by Prynne, entitled ** The Un-
f* looeliads of LouO'lockcsy Ice. Londoo^ i6a8/' in wliich he folemnly main-

fS8 APPENDIX. L

V, 490. HaJ he/l laoh io hufirekead: hgrt ^ kramUeSn.,

STAGE-DiR£CTioif. ** He MoiUws : ike guardian sUeimiB iaUmm

*' agaitt^ and enters in the habit tf ajkepherd **

v. 4()i. Come not too neere ; you fail on ftmttd ftakesdie.

V. 492. D^nti What vpice, &c.

V. 496. And fweetned'every muik-roic of the ^NiUej^M

V. 497. How cam'fl thou hstrt gw>^Jiepktrd f

V. 498. Leapt ore the pewte,

Then, " his fold." Then, " the fold."

V. 512. What fcares, good j^/<r/A«'</ ^-•<—

V. 513. ril ttWymt,

V, 523. Nurtured in all his mother's witcheries.

V. 531. Tending my flocks hard by i' \ki* fafiur^dlanmi,

V. 5/I.5. ^'ithffreading honey-fuckle.«

Or, blowing,

^- SS3* — Drowfy^/>^/f</ deeds.

V. 563. Too well I might perceive.

V. 574. The helpleffe innocent lady.«

V. 605. Harpy es and Hydra's, or all the moaflrous ^H!i'

'Twixt Africa and Tnde, Pie find him out,

And force him to releafe his new^g^pre^^

Or drag him. by the curies, and ckofn Us/calpf

Down to the hips,* '

tains, that utter ruin muft be the portion of liis eoonfnriMn, if fbcy do.Mt
infiantly leave off to noyrijb, dtckt^Jit out, amd €rifp tktir.Haitef aad Lw§4oeke9f
Ice, ice. fee p. 62. '

The Elder Brother t. 608. threatens *' to drag Comos h fbt curh^ &c :*' this
expreiBon mufl have been highly gratifying to Prynne* CDiToa.

«v. 513. The ed. of 16371 and Aihridge mai)ufcript read alfojron.
V, 60c. BugSy Monflers, Terrojrs. So in B. and Fletcher'fe PHiiTASTiVy
A, v. S. 1. tol.i. p. 165. edit. 1750.

My pretty prince of puppets, we do know,

And give vottr Greatnefs warnings that yo)& talk

No more luch Bug-words.
And in Shakfpeare's Cymbslxne, A. v, S. i^.

Thofe that would die or ere refift, are grown

The monal bugs o* th' field. ■
Where fee infiances colteaed by 'Mr. Steevens* And'HBira. VX. P*i»

For Warwick was a hug that fear'd us all.
That is, ^ a mon/ter tkat frigbtod os." Our^tbor's Rjivo«if at. ^* Whicb is,
" the^vf we fear." Prosr-works, 1. 25. See alfo Reed's Olo.Pl, iii 134.
See alio the Wintxr'sTali. And Spenfer^ F.C^ii. iii. ao. — xii. 25. jUtt
tranflates Virgil's ** Fariii agitatus OreAes," Ort^esiptyted was vfitb buggks.
JEn. iv 471. The word is in C)iia«cei, ** Or elhs that bladte kuggp wol bym
•< take." N.Pr.T. 1051. Urr, Warton.

So in i^ 5th Ti^rfe of the xci. ^falm, ** the ttrrour. by nii^hi" It rendered tn
the old Englifh verfion ** the bugge by night." Editor.'

V. 60S. The ed. of 1637, txA the Aihridgriaanaicriiit exhibit alfo this
reading.

' Jbid. He has preforvcd the fiine image. la Par. Lost, B..vi..9tii»:i{Maktng
of Moloch, ^ licmn cloven to thomtf*^^ JoofoiLiiaatiietet imafc t» ilMfiox^
-A.iii.S.iFiii. Ap4«uarffcy»»M4^»ET4if 4-faA.*u ator,M»wiAtoiid»

APPfiNDiX. t tii

«. 6 1 1. But here thyJUek can do thtc/0Mit avaUe.
V. 614, He w!th his bare wand can mi^ik thy jojnts,

And crumble t^>eiy fiimo.^ ■ ■ ■
9. 627. And (hew me fimples of a thoufand^/.
IP, 636. And yet more mccPctnsd than that anttentMoif

WJiid Mercury to wife Ulyfks gave.
V. 64S. As I win gire you «r we go, (or, «r the way] yon raay^

Boldly aflault ttre necromoMttk hall ;

Where if he be-, withys^^^i^Mr violmee

And brandifht itAr^^ rulh on liim, break hiaglairei

And fvwft^the hiihious potiou on the ground,

jiud fcyt* htarwand.— ^
^, 657, — — /follow thee.

And go$d heaven caft hrs Befi regard wpm us.
After V, 658, SrAGE-DTRECTiovr. " The fcene changes to a
*' (lately palace, fet out with afl manner of delicioufnefs : tables
*^ fpread with all dafnties. , Comus // Jijiirjered with his rabble':
*' and the Lady (et iu an q^chanted chaire. She tffen to rife«'*
V. 66i. And yotr a fKatue>»f^ as Daphne wa«.
«. 662. Fool, thou art wer-proud^ do notboaft*
This whole fpcech of the L a d t,. and the firft verfe of the next of
Caifus, were added' in the Aiargin: for before, Com us 'a £rft
fpeech was miintemiptedly contimied thus,

" Root-bound, that ffed Apollo; Why do you frow«i f *^
«. 669. Thsit youd audjaneje can beget,

. When the hr^i^ blood growes lively. ■■ ■ 1
9. 676V To Irfir (b friendly, ^nrrf'focoolb to thirlL

Piter ladklhaaih^jniitd'fif'fime rrfr^flnng*

Why (hould-ybuj &5c.-*i*-i
After V. 697, the hihe-nhes noirftanding were introduced infijead
of *' Powre iadie^ &c." as abovej
tf. 687, That ii^ becir tirM^alLdky.^
V, 689. ^^^Hetre feir Virgin.
V. 695* 0»g-.^headcd mon(bers.<

sn^ thofe inftaooes, I belleire^ every re«(fer will ligtee ttiat l^ltoo alter'^'rtie
paflVige much f»r the becter'inr tfaecMidon(of 1643$ ISHelTTOifi

Here fays Peck, *^ Curls upon a bald pate are * good^jokr." Bat he fSorM.
at leaft have remembered a paflage ia the Pialms, ** The baujjcslp^ of fuch 40a
** one as goeth on Hill in his wickednds." It is trae that wc have in Sh'ak-
ij>eai:e*s Two G^nt. or Vbrov. A. it* S».i« .
\ B)r-the Aixrry^ir// of Robin HoodV fat frier.

That is, frier Tuck's^&Mvev crown. And in K. R i c h. If. A. Ui. S. ii^ <^ kur^

" Aofd tte MiB#i«ni^8 G«de ijrt« TongtMSf.edj 1617; cc4i 644. Ti»ibtiiSt

«. 695. 09ighf^ or* atfpt^ is -tka^^M^ajfcx of wfitia^-«^^:}-<:a» epptan^ feam

'fiV9pni places in S^pPk BidAe^sAveadii) aiid' i«om 31kaiff(4arc'i^ Soacttr ed.

ft6o9 } and can muft be tiiken that the word be not: ■HflMkco, ai-d'4>m«^ ^are

i6o APPENDIX. 1.

V. 698. With yifor'd falfhood and hsSt forgeries.

V. 707. To thofe budge dof^ors of the Stoick jvwiu'.

V. 712. Covering the earth with odours and with fruite*^
Cramming the feas with Cpawne innumerable^ .
Thefeilds with catteU^ and the dire with/owle*

iy. 717. To adorn her fons. ■ ■

But deck is the iirfl reading, then adorn^ then deck again*

V. 721. Should in a pet of temperance feed on feicnes*

But pulfe was the firil reading. At lad, refumed.

V. 727. Living as Nature's baftards, not her fons.

V. 732. The lea orefraught would heave her waters tlf
Above thejiars^ and th' unfought diamonds
Would {o beftudde the center with thire light^
And fo imblaze the forehead of the deep,
Were they not taketi thetUCy that they below
Would grow enur'd to ^ay, and come at laft.

v. 737. Lift, lady, be not coy, nor be cofen'd.

V. 744. Ft withers on the ftalke and fades away.

V. 749. They had thire name thence ; coarfe heetn hrowi.

V. 751. Th^fample, '

V. 755. Think v/hdXi 2indL look upon this cordial jutep.

Then follow verfes from v. 672—705. From v. 779, to 806, the

lines are not in the manufcript, but were added afterwards*

V. 807. This is mere moral.^«j^ the very lees.
And fettlings of a melancholy blood:
But this, &c*

After V. 813, Stage-direction. " The Brothers rufh in,^/i/

'^ his glaffe down t the Jhapes make as though they would reffi^ but

" are all driven in. Damon enters with tnemJ**

V. 814. What, have you let the felfe inchanter/^s/f Z'

V. 816. —Without his ^ir/reverft.

V. 818. We cannot free the Lady that remainsi

Arid, here Jits,

V. 821. There is dnother wny that may be us'd*

V, 826. Sabrina is her name, a goddefs chajle.

Then a virgin chafiey then, a virgin pure.

V. 829. She, guiltldTe damfel, nying the mad perfuitej

V. 831. — To the^tftfwtf*

But firft, " the/W.'V ^ .

tniftakeh it, for owly-beadid^ Cotnai^s tnun being headed like fundry Joru tf
ivUdbeaftii Newton.

Mr. Wartpn fays, that Peck thought it a paftoral way of fpelUngthe word.
But wgly had been the u/ual fpelling, as might be inftanced alfo from Lord
Surry, Lord SackVille, Daniel, B.Jon fun, Fairfax, Sylvefter, and Fietcher. £9.

V. 707. This is better than Stoic fur ; for ffudge lignifies furred ^ but I fup-
pofe by Stvk fur Milton intended to explain the other obfolete word, though
^Iw'fell upon a very inaccurate way pf doing it. • Warburtom.
' w.-7^7« Milton leems to have fonaded c§y %% a di^yU^k 1 a^^Ub f««r^.at
.▼.749. infr. W^*.TONi. : .: .. ,.. -;._.:: 3-,.^ ,..,. .'^ ,.

AFP£M3)£K. 'I. t6t

«

^d bare her ftraite to aged Nereus hall.

That the fhrewd meddling eife delights to leave \
And often takes our catiet with grange finches.

^. ^. Oaorol iur gMMlncflb ioild ni /l^ laj^^

Aftd itfudyy itoih im!ef^^

1^.851. OfpanBeSf and^^^dhulelit&adais.

V. %3. j£^ thitfj^ dmtnA, midjfi»:neidMfnjr ^pdA;

V, 85 7. /« honoured wrtue^s cauje : this iviil I tne.

Before v. 867, is wiftl«n,>* To "btfidd^'

V, 8^5. That my rid wheeies iklayes,

f^. 910. Fertuoiis L,2id\Cf look mi mt*

v» 921. To waite onJUnfhknKkiiu hsriMnt^

V. 924. May th^ etjfiii lMit«b fa- tfkb.

1^. 927. That tumble do««)e^aftr&««fieiiilB«

«M94fi. WIbR«tfaitniglM^inc4«MfriiiihBre«

9.9151^ AHlte6mlrt4iBttt!rldralBMte«i

«. i9$6. OcuRi^ idt us hsfte, ite ^ftafi Sinr Ugli,

lilt jngkt iMjptfu^ iHOXMidi 7d^
Stage-directions. ^ £i9irAv«/.-^The fcene changes, and thei
^^ is pre/ented Ludlow town, and the Prefident's caille : then enter
*^ country dances and/uch like^ftrntUky &c. Jli the/e /ports the Da-
** i»0«, with the two Brothers and the Lady,^«r'i. The Damonfingt.^^
V. 962^ Of nimbler toes, and ctxkrtly guife,

Such as Hermes did devif6.
After V. 965. No StAge-directioh, only ** A SoHgJ*
1^. 971. Thire faith, thire ieMperaniej and truth.
But patience was firll written, and reftored.
V. 973. To a crowA^ of deathle0e htp^s.

After V. 975, STAGi£-DfR£cT<ON, " The Damon Jmgs otfays;*^
V. 979, Up in the plain fields of the fky.
<^. 982. Of Atlas and his nieces three.
V. 984. This verfe and the three foUowxng were added.
V. 990. About the myrtle alleys fling

. Bilm and csifUsi* s/ragrant fmells.-
V. 992. Iris there with garnet [or garifi"] bow.
ir. 995. Than her purfled fcarf can fhew.

Yellow^ watcheiy giriene^ and blew.

And drenches oft with manna [or $abaan\ dew

Beds of hyacinth and rofes,

Where mat^ a cherub foft repofes;

V. I17. ttta^ Mi»«««i. K.PftiAik', A.i<r. t.tt. Of aerae the hiintex',

V. 981. Tift ^^ im0m% J^mmr mt mofMtA tiii.|ai&ii's Mafque,
:^LtAtu&* at«MltUil» #• f 44tt«y «il|» ti» llMdk tlMV« (tfWD fcfcxrcd
theiewkr. llMtMt*

1 6s APPENDIX. L

What relates to Adonis, and to Copid and Pfychei was afterwards

added.

V. IOI2. Now]B7iM^^[orAK^i^] focdisdone. WASTOir.

In dodor Newton's collation of the manufcripc a few fli|;ht
variations may be obfenred, as alfo a few additions, moil of which
correfpond with the Afliridge manufcript; and are therefore
noticed in the following copy of that MS.

The fubfo^ent ranons readings, from dodor Newton's col^*
lation, muft l^ noticed here.
V. 258. ChUing. «< It was at firft," And ddJe.
V. 324. Atui (moaky rafters,
V, 376. Oft feeks to /olitaty fweet retire,
V, 480. ** Marginal diredion," haUomfar %ff.
V. 737. Lift, Ladv, be not coy, imt be jm# cofen'd.
V. i023.Heav'n itfelf would hvm to her.

** So it was at firft in ^ manufcript^ and we have befcn at the
<< trouble" iavs.do<ftor Newton '* of tranfcribtng thefe variations
« and alterations more for the fiitisfedion of ttie curious, than
** for any entertainment tiuit it afforded to ouffelves^" £DtToa.

APPENDIX.

No. II.

V

%

<.,

APPENDJX. No. li.

4a¥ll];iHq« MANUSCaiFT*

THE following popy of Comus is givej) from a manufcript
belonging to the Duke of Bridgewater*s Library at Afhridge.
With the ufe of this manufcript 1 have been favoured by Mr.
Egerton ; through whofe application alfo to his Grace I have ob-
tained permiffion to print it. And | fubmit the entire manu-
fcript, rather than its detached variations, tp public infpe&ion,
imder the hope of gratifying ^beral cqriofity,

It is a thin quarto bound in vellum, and gilt; and is^nuinbered,
P; i. 12. Jt confifts of twenty leaves, which are not paged. The
leaves are ruled, as the diilinjEtion of the fpeakers alfo is written,
with red ink. It may, poffibly, be one of the many copies written,
before the Mafk was publiflied, by Henry Lawes, who, on his
editing it in 1637, complained in his Dedication to Lord Brack-
ley, that ** ^tke often copying it ha(f tired his pen:** or, at lead, it
may be a tranfcript of his copy. The profeifionai alteration,

^' And hofild a counterpointe to all Heav'n's harmonies,**
made bv Lawes, in fetting to Mufic the Song *^ Sweet Echo,"
and oblerved by Mr.^ Warton, occurs alfo in this manufcript,

At the bottom of the title-page to this manufcript the fccond
£arl of Bridge water, who had performed the pstrt of the Elde^
Brother, has written " Author lo; Milton/* This, in my opinion,
|3iay be confidered as no flight teftimony, that the manufcript prer
fents the original form of this drama. The Ma(k was a6ted in
1634, and was firu publiflied by Lawes in 1637, at which time it
certainly had been corrected, although it was npt then ^ openly ac-
knowledged, by its author. The alterations and additions, there-
fore, which the printed poem exhibits, might not have been made
till long after the reprefentation ; perhaps, not till Lawes had ex-
prefl^ed his determination to pubiifli it. The coincidence of Lawes's
Original Muiic with certain peculiarities in this manufcript, which
I have** already ftated in the Account if Hei^ky Lawes, may alfo
favour this fuppofltion.

Several various readings in this manufcript agree with Milton'^,
priginal readings in the Cambridge manufcript, and feveral are

< See Lawes'S Dedicatloo to Lord Br^ickley, Part i. p. i.

b In his Noce on Comus. y. 243.

c Lawes's Pedication.

' See my addition to Mr. W«rton*s Account of Henry Lowes, in the T so.'

f^XMINART If LUSTRATIONS, Part. i. p.* 45.

i66 APPENDIX, ir.

peculiar to itfelf, I have printed thefe various readings in ItaKcs^
and I have noted its peculiarities, fome of which are evidently
the literal errors of tlie tranfcriber; in which cafes, I have ven*
tured to fubftitute the right word, and to give the manufcript
reading at the bottom of the page. By a few flight but neceflary
emendations the unintentional miftakes of the tranfcriber's *^ tirei
<^ pen" dre re6Hfied9 while the unqueitionable antiquity of th^
lipanufcript is csirefully preferved. Editor,

iSimetttim iiefote tfte tigtt

Lots prefiDent of WtAta mn tbe

bit
ti^tlfOi tibe Counteflb of

iBtiDgetoiatet.

At Ludlow Caftle the
29"* of -September 163 4<

The chlcfe perfons in the repre&ntacon were

The Lord Brackley^

The Lady Alice'

Egerton.
Mr. Thomas

Author lo: Milton^

9 yl^tlfniZ^

I .

I

The firft fccane difcoviers a wild wood,, then a
guardian fpiriti &r demon defcendes or enters^

From the hiMens nowe I flye,
and th'ofe happy clymes that ly^
Where daye never fliutts his ey^
vp in the hrotAJUd of the (kye*

There I fuck the liquid ayre 5

all amidil the gardens fayre
^ of Hefpenis, ind his daughtitfrs thxtt
that (inge about the gouldeti tree,
there etemall fummer dwells,

and weft wyndes, with mufkye wingtf^ 20

about the Cederne allyes flinse
Nard and Caffia'd balmte fmnls^
Iris there with humid bowe
waters the odorous bankes, that blow#
flowers of more mingled hew 15

then her purfled fcam can fhe^^
j^eilov>y waiehett^ gmtnej and bUw^
and drenches oft with Mama dew
Beds of Hyacinth and Rofes,
where mt»)^ a ^ur^fift repofes^ 20

Before the ftarrie threfhbld of JoVe*s c6iirt«
my Maniion is^ where thofe immortal! (hapes
of bright aereall fpiritts iiire infpheard
in regions mylde of caline and lerene ayre,
above the finoake and ftirr oi this dim ipott, 25

whioh men call ^th, fuid with lpw-tho|ightc^ icar€
oonfinde^ and pefiered in this pin/bld heerpi
ftrive to keep vp a faule and sevouriih beiogCj
vrnpindfiill of the crowns that vertue gives,
after this mortall change^ to her true fervants 30

aipotigft the enthroned gods on fainted feats i
yet fotne there be, that naitk due ftepps afpire
to laye their jufi hands on that goulden keye^

«. I, to lii Tl^dclinoB f(>nn.p«it o( the Spirit^s Epilogue in the tfther copies
of CoMU ty which have come to the iLoowledge of the publico

<r. 4. In the other copies jfinRt/r,

«. 8. The four lines which follow this verfe, in the fruited feem^ are. not i A
this manufcripc. See Com. r. 984.

V. 17. ^€4 See the Cambridge manuicript, p. t6i.

f . 3a la the other copies hy^

z

APPENDIX. II.

that opes the paUacc of ^ternitie :

To fuch my erraml j>,M)d but for fuch,

I would not foile thefe pure ambrofiaU weedet

vi'ith the ranke vapours of this fiiuworae moulde. .

but to my talke ; Neptune befidea the {Waye , .,

of everie fahe flood, and each cbbingE ftreaine,

tooke in by lott twint high and neatoer Jota ,

imperial rule of all the (oi-girt Ifles,

that like to rich and and vaiious gemi ioUye

the vnadorned bofom of the deepe }

which he, to pace bit tributarie God^

by courfe committs to ieverali government,

and gives them leave to wnrc their faphire crownes,

and weild their Uttle tridents ; but this Ifle,

the greatell and the befi of all the M^ine,

be quarters to his blew-haired deities ;

and alL this tra^ that fronts the falling funn

a noble Peere of micUe tn\& antJ power

has in his chardge, with tempered, awe to guyde .

an ould and haughty nacion proudc in anoes :

where his faire ol^pringe^ nurA in princely lorcj

are cominge to attead their Other's fiate,

and newe-entrufted fceptcr, but their wiyc

lies through the perpdext paths of this drearc wopd,

the noddinge horror of wbofe fbadie browct

threats the forloroe and wanderinge palfifl^ i

and heere their tender age might uiftcr penll,

but that by quick commande lirom fovenignc Jove

i was difpatch't for theu- defence and guard ;

and liflen why, for I will tell you now

what never yet was heard in tale or (bnge,

from old or moderne bard in ball or bowie.

Bacchus, that firft from out the purple ^ff/w
cruflit the fweete poyfon of mifrfed wyiie,
after the Tufcane 'mariners* transfiirm'd,
coaflinge the Tyrrhene Ihore, ai the wmdi Ufled,
on Circe^s Ifluid fell: (who knows not Circe
the daugliter of the Sunn, whoes charmed cup
whoe ever tafted, lod his upright Ihape,
and downeward fell into a grovelinge Swyne ?)
This nimphe that gazed vpon his clvtdiinge locki,
with Ivye berries wreath'd, and his bEth youth,
had by him, ere he parted thence, a fonne
much like his lather, but his mother more,
luiiei therefore flie brought up, and Comui tuun'd :

APPENDIX, n. 171

whoe ripe and A'olick of hisfiill growne age,

roavinge the Celtick and Iberian fields, 80

at lafl betakes him to this ominous wood,

and in thick (belter of black (hades imbowr'd

excel! s his mother at her mightie arte,

ofFringe to everie wearie traveiier

his orient liquor in a chriitall glafle, 85

to quench the drouth of Phebus, which as they tafte,

(formoft doe tafte through fond intemperate thirA)

foone as the potion workes, their humane countenaunce,

th' expre(re refemblance of the Gods, is chang'd

into fome bruti(h forme of Wolfe, or fieare, 90

or Ounce, or Tiger, Hogg, or bearded goate,

all other parts remayninge as they were ;

and they, foe perfe^ is roeir miferie,

not once perceive their fbwle disfigurement,

but boaft themfelves more comlv then before, 95

and all their freinds and native hone forgett,

to rowle with pleafute^ in a fenfuall (He.

Therefore, when any favoured of high Jove,

chaunces to jpafs through this advent'rous glade,

fwift as the Iparde of a glauncinge ftarre 100

I ihoote from heaven, to give him falfe convoy,

as now I doe 9 but firft I muft put off

thefe my fkye weSsj fpun out of Iris wooffe,

and take the weeds and likenefle of ^ Swayne,

that to the fervice of this houfe belongs^ ' 105

whoe with his foft pipe, and feiooth dittied fonge,

well knows to (liU the wild winds when they roare,

and hu(h the wavinge woods, nor of lefs iiiitb,

and in this office of his mountaine >watch,

likelieft and neereft to the prefent ayde no

of this occafion,-but I heare thetread

of hatefull (lepps, i mufi be viewles nowe* .•

■ ■■ ■ .':! • ■ . ... -.•.■ Exit.

Comus enters with a chartningc ro4 in one hand
and a glafs 0/ Uqiwr in the other f whh him a route
of monfters like men and women but headed like
wild beqfts^ their apparell glift'ringe, they come in
makinge a riotous and vnruely noile» with torches
in their hands.

Co. The ftarr that bids the (hepheard fold,

now the top of Heaven doth hold ;

^. 103. robet in the other copies. ^ . ..^ .

V, ixa. Tt^e jStaox-pi&ictxoit after this ▼erfe is not exa&ly the fame^ as
in the other eopiei* See Coin. p. i^. and A^ I^ i)b 154.

z a

11% APPENDIX. U.

and the ^Ided carr of daye ; i j;

his glowing axk doth alhiye

in the fteepc Atbmtique ftreame ;

and the dope fun his vpward beuno

fhoots againft the Nvrttemf Pole,

pacinge toward the other goale 120

of his chamber in the £aft.

inean^ while welcome^ Joy and feaft,

midnight ihoute» and revelry,

tipfie daunc^, and Joltitie ;

braide your locks with |t>fie twine^ laj

drpppinge odours droomage wine.

Rigor now is gone to bed,

and advice with (Snmpulous head,

flri£l age, and ibwre feveritie^

with tl^ grave iawes in flumber lyc« ' 150

Wee tha( are of purer fire

imitate the ihurrie quire^

whoe in their nightly watchfiiU fpbears

leade in fwift round the monthi and yean.

the founds and feasi with all thci^ .fioinie drorCi 135

nowe to ^e moone in wavering mopicc niova^

and on the tawny iandi and ihelves

trip the pert foines, and the dapper ealves.

by dimpled brooke^ and fbuntame brim,

the wood nimphs dede with daafies trim^ 140

their merry wakes and paitimes keepe i

what hath night to doe with flcepe ?

Night ias better fwe^s to prove,

Venus now wakes, and wuena love.

Come let us our rigitj hegyn, 145

tis only daylight that makes vn,

which thele min ihades will nere report

haile godd^ of nodqmall fport,

darkervayl'd Cotitto, < t' 'whopie the fecret flame

of midnight torches byrns ; mifterious dame, 150

that nere art pdl'd, but when the dragcti woombe

pf Stigian darknes, fpetts her thickeft gloome^

and makes Qne b)ot of all the aire,

flaye thy clpudie Ebon chaire,

wherdii tfapv rid'ft with Hecat', and befriend 155

vs thy vow'd prdft«^ tiU vtmoft end

of all thv dues be done, and none left but^

ere the olabbinge Eafterne fcoute,

9. 119. Nortberne* So the Camb. MS*

«. 143. bai. So the Camb. MSt

^. 145. MCi Wartoi^'s id edition oliibiis tkii aikjdit ttadiDg.

APPENDIX. IL 171

the nice morncj on the Indian fiespe^.

from her cabin'd k>ope hole peepe, - i6o

and to the tell tale A|n deforie

our concealed ibknnnitie*

come, knitt haads, andheate the ground

in a light ^taiHck mmdf .

The Meafure in a %vitJ^ ruJf, qnd wanton Antick.

Qq. Breake off, breake offy I feele th^ dilTer^nt pace i6 j
of fome chafle fod^dnge, ueere abput this groundN
run to your ihroyds within thefe brakes and trees.

f^ey alljcatter
our number ipav affright ; fome virgin fure
(for foe I can diflingullh by myne arte)
benighted iii thefe woodd. now to mv CharmS| z 70

and to my wilie.traynes \ I fhall ere fonge
be well ftoc^'t with as f^yre a heard as graz'd
about my mother Circe, thus Ihurle
my dazlinge fpeils into the fpunde aire,
of powre to cneate the eye with bleaf e iilufioh, 1 75

and give it falfe prefentments, leafl: the place
and my quainte habitts breede ailonifhrnent,
and put the damfell to fufpitious flight,
which muft not be; for tlmt's againft niy ceurfe,
I vnder feyre pretence of frdndiy end^ ' * 180

and w^li piBc't wbrdf isf ^ gtosing^ curttfie
bay ted with reafons not Vnplaunble,
winde me uito the eafie harted man '
^d hug him into (haresJ when onee hef eye
hath met the ver^ue of this magick duft 185

) fhall appeare fomfc harjnles villager '
whom thrifte keeps up about his -gountije geare.
))ut heere fhe comes^ J iayre^ flep afide
anfd hearken if I may lie^ liufineOe ^eere.

The lijdy enters. - -

La. Thia waye the poiie was, if.«9i«are be. true,. . . 190

my befl guyde nowe, me thought it was the found
of ridtt, and ill-managed meirimcnty . .
fuch as the jocond flute, or gamdome pipe,
ilirrs yp ashonge the iooie vnlettered hindrs,
when TOT their teeminge flocks, and granges fiiU, 195

ir. 164. The Stagi-Dixictioni after this Tcrfe, and yer. 267, are the
iame, as in the Camb. MS.
«r. i8i. Okmrngi ia^hc manuicrj^jt;.
«• 190. mn§ hx thfi49|i^ai^£^c8«

174 APPENDIX. 11.

in wanton dauacc, they, pnifethe boontens Paoi,

and tbanke the Gods amiile. . T ihould he loath

to meete the rudenes, and fwiU'd infolencc

of fuch late waflailers ; yet O, wbnre els

fhall I infonne my Tnacquainted hete 200

in the blinde mazes of this taagkd wood*

my brothers when they (awe me wearied out

with jthis longe waye^ refblvixwe heere to lodge

vnder the Ipreadinge fav'ouf of thefe pines,

ilept, as they s'ed, to the next thickett fide 20$ ,

to oringe me berries, or fUch coolinffb fruite,

as the kynde bofpitable woods provide.

but whsre they are, and whye they come not back,

is now the labour of my thoi^hts, 'tis likelieft

they had ingaged their wandfmge.ftebps too £urr, 210

and envious cuirkneflb, ere thcj covla r^rpe,

YaAJiohe them from me.

I cannot hollowe to my broUiers, biit

fuch noife as J can n^ULe to be hesird (airdeft

rie venture, for my new enliyVd fpiritts 215

prompt me, and tliey perhaps lu'enoit htrieMcc.

80NGE

Sweete Bcho,.fweetefi nymphe^ that liv'ft vnfe^^c
within thy ayrie ihell,
hy flowe Meander's margent greenc,
and in the violett imbroder'd vfue, 22a

where the love-lome nightingale
nightly to thee her fad fopg moum^th well.

Canil thou not tell me of a gentle payr^
that likeft thy NarcilTus are ^
O, if thou have 225

hid than in fome flowrie cave,
telt me but where,
Sweete Queene of parlie, daughter * of the fpheare !
foe may ft thou be tranflated to the ikyes.
And itadi a enmttrfmuti to all heav Vs hannomes. 230

«r. 107. The three beavtifol lincf which, in the ^her oepiei, fellow this
^ntt^ are not in this mannicripc . =

<r. 112. ^/aAmi So the Camh. MS. aniedl.1657. The hfiniftidl, and the
thirty following lincf, which the . ether c<^e« jV(hibit,< are sot in thi&
■umuftript.

«• S16. Uince* In the other copies <ff*

«. %!%• To in the mannfaipt.

V. 230. See p. 1659 and note on Com. t. 243. Th^ •TAeS'-oiiriCTXON,
>vbichfollowi this vcrfe, U the lame at in the C<ttib.'M5. - •

APPENDIX. U. 17$

Comus Jooks tM aiid flakes,

t

I

Co. Can any mortall nuxture of Earth's mould,
breath fuch divine enchaiintin^ ravilhment ^
Sure ibmethiage holyc lodges in Chat breft^
and with thefe raptures mo^es the.vocali ayre
to teflifie hit hidden r^dence: 23$

how fweetely did they floate vpon the wings
of filence, through the empty vaulted night|
at every feu fmoothinge the raven downe
ofdarkBefstilljAffmii'd! I have oft heard
my mother Circe with the Sirens three, 240

amidft the flowrie*kyrtled ^ Naiades,'
cullinge their potent herbs and balefiiU druggs,
whoe, wkaa they fung, would take the prifon'd foule,
and lap it in Elifium-: ScilUi H^ept,
and chid her barkinge waves into attention, 24;

and fell Charibdis murmurd foft a|X)laufe t
yet they in pleafinge flumber luUd the fence^
and in fweete madnes rob'd it of itfelfe ;
but fuch a facred and homefdlt delist,
fuch fober certentie of wakinge bliis, 2{*

I never heard till now :. Pie fpeake to her
and ihe ihalbe my Qurene. Halle fbrreigne wonder I
whome certaine thefe rough fhades did never breede,
vnlefs the goddefi, that in rurall fhrine
dwelft beere with Pan or Silvan, by bleft foog 25;

forbiddinse ever^ bleake vnkindly fogg
to touch ibtjfir/feringi ^^rowth of this tall wood.

La. Nay gentle Shepheard, ill is loft that, praife
that is addrcft to vnatteodinge eares :
not any boaft of iklU, but extreame- fliifte 260

how to regayne my feverd companye,
compeid me to awake the curteous Eccho
to give me anfwerirom her. moiTy coudu

Co. What chaunce, good Lady, hath bereft ]^ou thus ?

.La. dym darkaefle, uid this kavye laborinth. 26$

Co. could that devide you from neere vfheringe guydes ?

La. they Idft me weary on a graffie terfe,

Co. by falfehood, or difcurt^, or why ?

La. to feeke in the valley (bme coole fTeindly fpringe.

Co. and lefte your layer fide all vnguarded, Ladye } • 2 70

\»h. they were but twaine, and purpoPd quick returne.

Co. . perhaps foreftallinge night prevented them.

La. how tdSit my misrortune is to hit !

v. 239. ^«. So the Camb. MS. and ed. 1637.

<v. 141. Niadn in the MS.

«. 943. fFhem. In f he other copies as,

w. 257. freffthnge. So the Camb. MS.

176 APPEffDIX. tl.

Co. ' imports their lofle, befides the prefeat neede t

La. noe leffe thcQ if I fhould my brothers Lofe. ^jj

Co. were thev of manly prime, or youthAiU bloome ?

La. as fmqoche as Hebe's their vnmaorVl tipps;

Co« Two fucb I {awe, what t3rme the hbour'd oxt
in his ioofe traces from the fnrrowe camtf^
and the fwink't hedger at Us Aipper (ate, a8o

I faw<; em voder a greene maodrnge vyiM
that crawks alonge the fide of yon fmale 1^
pluckinge ripe ciuflers from the tender fluiotsr ^
their porte was more than humane as they fioed|
I tooke it ibr a fiserie vifion a8 j

of fome gaye creatures of the Element,
that in the < colours' of the raynebow live,
and play i'th plighted clouds; I was awo*ftrooke
and as I pafl I worfiiip't : if diofe you feeke,
it were a Jomey like the path to heav'n^ 290

to helpe you ^od them ; L a. gentle viU^r,
what readieft wave would brinee me to thtf place ?

Co. due wefl it rifts m>m this ihruobie pointe.

La. to find out that^ goitd Shepheard, I fupppfe,

in fuch a fcant aUowance oi flarr light, ^95

would overtafke the beft land pilots arte,
without the (ure guelTe of weU nradHs^d feete }

Co. I knowe each lane, and e<v^ery alley greenei
dingle, or buihie dell, of this tmde wdfid,
and everie boftae bourne from fidetoddc^ ' * 30a
my day lie walks and antientnea^bourhood ;
and if your flraye attendance, ^f^ lodg'd
or ihroud within thefe Ivmitte, I mail know
ere morrowe wake, or the lowe * roiled' lark«
from her thatcht palat rowfe, if 6therwife 30 j

I can conduA you, Ladie, to' a lowe,
but loyall cottage, where you may be (afe
till fiirder queft; La. Shepheard, I take thy word,
and truil thy honeft ofTer'd curtefie,
which ofte is fooner found in lowly ihcds 3x0

with fmoakie rafters, then in tap-mie halls,
and courts of princes, where it firft was nam*df
and yet b moft pretended ; in a place
lefle warrented then this, or leHe fecure
1 cannot be, that I ihould feare to change-it. 31c

Eye ' me,' bleft providence, and A^uare my trtall
to my proportion^ ftreingth ; Shepheard, leade on.

«• %%4» So this line is pointed in the manufcript. Compare note on Com. y, 197.
«r. 287. toolenefs in the manufcript.
«r. 199. wide. 80 the Camb. MS.
«. 334. roofier in the manafcript.
V. 3x6. wrf in the manufcript.

'" The two brotbetSk

El. b. Vnmuffle yet feintc itarrsy And thou, fsdtt lAobnCf
that wonft to love the travailers beaiz99»
floope thy pale vliadge through aa amhtr ctoude^ 320
and difinherit C{h8iOA| that raignes hoer^
in double night of darlme& and of ihad^n \
or, if your iaflueage be quite damm'd vp
with black vfurpinge mifUf 6>me |;eot|e. t^DC^
though a ruflitf cancfle^JFrom the wicker bote 325

of fome clay habic?coiv vifite v9
with thy long levelL'd rule of ftreaouog ligbti
and thou fhalt be our iUrr of Arcadj^
or Tiriaa Cynofure x « bro* or, if our eye*
be barr'd that happiaes» might we but bear* 530

the folded flocks pea*!! in their watled cotea#
or found of paftorall reede with oaten iitopps,
or whiitle from the lodge, or villages cpck
count the nkrht watches to hia feuhei^ <Umet9
t' would be fome folace yet, fome little cheennge 33$
in this Itme dungeon.of inumerous bow$k
but, O that haples virgin! our loft $fter»
where may ihe wander nowe i whither betake her
from the chill diewe, among^ft nide burrs and thiiUes ?
perhaps fome could baake is her boulfter oowe» 340
or gainft the rugged barke of foim brofid £lme
I^nes her vnpiSow'd head, fraught wifch&d feares,
or els in wild amas«m;fnt and affirigbt)
foe farts as didfjorfilhn Prtfirpint^

when tie ^iW. romwfiahf ffpit^H* clmds 34 J

ami darhi€pww»dnir in ; £1., 9Be>/c«(tf^ tr9iher^ peace.
I doe not thinke my fifter foe tQ fe«ke»
or foe viipriaciplM in vertUcs bookci
and the fweete peace that goodoflft boToms evvv
as that. the iingle want of Gght and noife 350

(not beinge in danger, as ik^p9 ihe is not)
could ftirr the cooftant mood of her cakoe thoughts,
and put them into miibecom^ige plight*
vertue could fee to doe what vertue would
by her owne radiant light, though fua ftod moont 355
were in the flatt iea funke» ai^l wifdom9 lelfc
oft feeks to fweete retired folitude, ^
# where, with her.beft nurfe, contemplftcon,

fhe plumes her Others, and letts grow her wings,

that in the various buftle of reforte 360

were all to ruffl'd, and fometymes impayr'd.

V. 336. In the Camb, MS. Jkd dungeon. la the printed copies ehfe duageon.
V. 343, to 347/ Thit paflkge fgrceg with the Camb. MS.
v. 351. In the other-copies truj/i^

A a

17^ APPENDIX. U.

he, that has light within his owne deere brefti
may fit i'th* center, and enjoye bright daye :
but he, that hides a dark ibule and fowle thouehts,
walks in hhck vapwrs^ though the noon tyde brand 36$

hlaxe in the fummtr jolftice, % B&o. tis moft true,
that mufinge tneditacon raoft affe6b
the penfire fecrecie of defert cell,
farr from the cheerefiill haunte of men or beards,
and fitts as fafe as in a fenate houfe. 370

for whoe would robb an hermitt of his weedSf
his few bookes, or hi$ beads, or maple difhe,
or doe his graye haiers any violence ?
but bewtie, like the fayre hefperian tree
laden with bloominge gould, nad need the guard 37$
of dragon watch with vntnchaunted eye,
to fave her bloflbms, and defend her miite
from the raihe hand of bold Incontinence,
you may as well fpreade out the 'unfunn'd' heapes
of mifers 'treafure' by an outlawes den, 380

and tell me it is fafe, as bid me hope
dainger will winke at opportunitie,
and J^tf a iingle helples mayden pafle
vninjur'd in this wide furrounding waft«
of night, or lonelinefle, it reeks me not ; 38$

I feare the dread events that dog them both,
left fome ill greetinge touch attempt the perfon
of our vnowned fifter. £l. bro. 1 doe not, brother,
inferr, as if I thought my fillers ftate
fecure, without all doubt or qne/lion^ no; 390

/ could he wiiiingy though now Vm darie^ to trie
a tou^h encounter with thejfiagpefi ruffian
that lurhs hy hedge or lane of tms dead circuity
to have her by myjide^ though Iwere/ner
Jhe might he free from ferill where Jhe iSf 395

hutf where an equal poife of hope and feare
does arbitrate th' event, my nature is
that I encliAe to hope, rather then feare,
and gladly banifh iquint fufpition.
my fiuer is not foe defenceleflb left 400

as you immagine, brother ; (he has a hidden firength,
which you remonber not. 2 bro. what hidden itrength?

V. 365. ThUpailage agrees with tke Camb MS*

V, 369. cr. So ihe Camb. MS. accordiog to dodor Newton.

V, 379. unfum*d in the mapufcript.

«« 380. treafures in the MS. '

•v. 382. af. In the other copies 00,

V, 383. Jbe, In the other copies let.

V, 384. tvitU, See note 00 v. 403. Camb. MS.

V. 390, to V. 396. fBefihn, no ; ice, 4cc. So the Camb. MS.

V, 401. btitbtr. So the Camb. MS* - J

APPENDIX. IL 179

vnlefs the ftrength of lieav'n> if you meane that ?
£l. B. I meane that too : but yet a hidden ftrength,

which, if heav'n gave it, may be tearmM her owne ; 405
tis Chaftitie, my brother, Chaftitie :
ihe, that has that, is clad in compleate fteele,
and, like a quiver'd nimphe with arrowes keene,
may trace huge forrefts and vnharbour'd heaths,
infamous hills and fandie perrilous wildes, 410

where, through the facred rays of Chaftitie,
noe falvage, leirce bandite, or mountaneere,
will dare to foile her virgin ^puritie :
yea even^ where very defolacon dwells
by grots and caverns fliag'd with horrid ftiades, 415

amiyawningt demu^ where glaringe mtmjters hvufe^
ftie may pais on with vnbltoiht majeftie,
be it not done in pride^ or in prefumption.
naye mwvj noe evill thinge that walks by night,
in fogg, or fire, by lake, or moorifli fen, 420

blew meager hag, or ftubborne vnlayed ghoft
that breaks his ma^ck chaines at Curfew tyme,
noe goblingey or (wart fayrie of the mine,
has hurtefull power ore true virginitie.
doejwtt beleeve me yet, or ihall I call 425

antiquitie from the ould fchooles of Greece
to teftifie the armes of Chaftitie ?
hence had the huntrefs Dian her dread bow,
iaire filver * fliafted' Queene, for ever chaft,
wherewith flie tam'd the brinded lyonefTe ' 430

and fpotted mountaine pard, but iett at nought
the frivolous bolt of Cupid ; Gods and men
fear'd her fteme frowne, and flie was Queene o'th' woods,
what was that fnakie^headed Gorgon iheild,
tke wife Minerva wore, vnconquer'd virgin, 435

were with flie freez'd her foes to congealed ft one,
but rigid looks of chaft awfteritie,
and noble grace that^daftit brute violence
with fudden adoracqn and blanke.awe?
foe deere to heav*fl is faintly Chaftitie, 440

-■ ■ ■■.-.»

V. 41a* In tbe nanvfcript a comma is placec} both after fof^^g^ and feirei*
I would retain the fbrmer^ and fo apply fiirte to handHe» Compare Pope,
Essay on Mam^ Ep. !▼. r. 41.

Ao Bmtditftr€9t no Tyrant ma4 with pride,

V. 414. even. So the Camb. MS.

V. 416. This remarkable line is peculiar to thif manufcripU ' ■

v. 419. Myt mortf peculiar to this manuifcript*

V. 424. In the other copies bstb*

V. 425. In the other copies jrr*

V. 419. Jhajttr in the MS*

V. 435. In the other copies /iMl« Xn Mr* Warton'f fecond edition th€i^ in
the frectditii line, is tbt \ which reading is Dr. Dalton's*

A a 2

that when « fowle Is foqnd £AceerIv ioi

a thoufaad liveried Angells lackey oar,

driyiqge. hrx ofiF ^^h thiafi; of &a sviid.giilte|

and, in cleer dreame and foiea^ie vifiooi

tell her of tfaiii|^ that noe groiTe eare can hesvei 445

till oft ponv^de with heaveoi^ habitants

^r^fiitf to caft a beam on th' ovtward (h^pe^

the vnpolluted temple of the n\ynde,

and turnes it by degrees Co the io^hk eHenc^

till all be made in^mortall : but wheo luft| 4^0

by vnchail loplces, looie geftus^ aad foule ^kt^i

iptj moft by lewde hffiivif^s a^ of firv

letts in defilement to the inward partes,

the foule giiowes clot^ by conts|g$oiv -

imbocHes, and imbnits, till flie ^uite Jofe 455

the divine .i»:opertie-qf;her firft beeinge.

fuch are thofe thick land gloqipie ika^owe^ dampci

oft feene in charneU vauks and 4|)\ild|ecs

hovermgt^ and fittinge -by a new nwde ^F^tvA^

as Joaw to ]^ve the boxlye that it lovedt 4^

and linckt it ieU^ by carnall ^enfualitie

to a degenerate and degraded fla(e,^

a B R o . How charn^ii^ i$ diviae phUofqphie :|

not harflie ana crabbed, as duUiooJes £]pipoie,

but muiicaU as is Appollo^ lytCit 4^5

and [a] perpetuall leafl of Ne^td fweets,:

where ope cr^de furfeit raignes ; Ba^^ fi«L A*.4ift, lii^ I heare

fome farr off hoUowe breake the fUe^ a^re.

2 BRO.me thought foetoo; what ihould itl^i^f? &i..M* £cur:certaine
either fome one like ys night iounder'4 heere, 470

t>r els fome neyghbour woodaaoan, oim at worA,
fome jrovinge robber caUis^e to ^ «s)k>w^ .

2 B&o. heav'n keepe my $iier : agen, ^gea, and neece I

beil drawe,4nd Aaiid ypon pur.|;uard^ si.. 19. lie hallo we ;
if he be freindly, he ccunes well j^ if not 475

defence isa ^ood cauie, and hoav'^ii be ^or \is.

he hallowes ani is mfvo^ed^ i)aj^ guaxdiaa ijasmoa
comes iuj habited like a Ihepheard^

£1.. B. That hallowe I fhoyld knowe, w^t are you ? fpeak^,

come not too neere, you fall on Ixon flakes els*
DiE. What voice is that ? 'iny youne LcMrdi fpeake agen^
2 B&o. O brother, tis my fathers iheplheard, fure. 480

£l. b. Thiffis ? Whofe artfull fireynes have oft delays

«. 447. Id the printed copies hegM*

9. 452. This line differs both from the editioBt «nd the<}imbt<MS»

V. 459. hntmi. So Che Ctnib* MB. and ed« TAyi*

APPENDIX. II, lU

the hudlinge brooke to beere hk inadrigaU, -

and fwcetoed every mufte rc^ of the daje !

how camft [thou] heere, ffio^JhepieardT hatk «nj ram

flipt from the fbuid, or youji^ kyd loft hk dtutt 48 j

or flraglinge weather the peot flock ^orfooke j

how couldit thou £nde this darke (bqoefterd nooke ?

De. O my lov'd mailers heire, and his next JoyPi
I came not here on fuch a tiiviall fioye
as a flrayed EwCyor to purfiif tlie flealtb ■ 490

of pilferioge wotfe ; not all tipe-fleccie wealth
that doth enrich ti^efe downeSy is worlhia thought
to this my errandi and the care U -brought*
but, O my virgin iJ^yi where is (he ?
how chaufice Ihe is not in your companie ?. 49$

£l. p. To tell thee fadly^ Sthcpheanli without bkme^
or our negiedt wee loft iier as yte came. .

De. Ay me vnbap^ 1 then my feares are true.

Ei^ B. What feare% food Tiurfia^ jprithee briefly ftewe,

De. lie itMyou^ tis not vayne or mbulousi 500

(though foe eAaem'd hf IhaUowe ignoranoe}
what'ilbe iage poets, taught by th' heav'nly mufe,.
floried of old in high immortaii verfe,
of dire Chiaieras and eachauoted I0es,
and rifted rocks whofe eoOrance leads to hell; 50$

for fuch there be, but vnbdoife.is bliode.
Within the navill of this hidioHs woodt
wmiired ii) cipreis (hades a Ibrcerer dwjoMsy
of fiacchus and of Ciffct borne, greate Comustf.
de«>eikiid ia alibis aaothers wkcheries ; 5 10

and heerc to everie ihinflie wandener
by ilye enticement gives his bane^nll cup,
with many murmum mixtp wbto&t pkafiing poyfon
the vi&ge ouite tranaformes of him that drinke«».
and the fogUrious likened of a beaft - 515

fixes iofieed, vmaoiilding reafons mintage
charadred 10 the Ace : JThis have I learnt
tendinge my docks hasd by i'th hillie crofts,
that bmve this b^ttome gmudc^ whence night by night
he and his monstrous itoiate are keard to bowlc, 520

like (labled wolves, or tigers at their prey,
doeinge abhorred rites to tieccate
in their obfciired haimts of inmoft bowers,
yet have they many baites, and gu ylef uU fpelh^ *

to invegle and invrte tbe vnwarie fence {25

of thesa that pafle vnweetinge by the waye*
this eveninge late, by then -Sie chewinge flocks

^, ^^ fiepbeard. 80 the Cimb. MS.

V* 500. jom. So the Canb. MS. an^ ed« 1^37*

i8i APPENDIX. IL

had tane their Tapper on the favorie herbe

of knot grafle dew-befprent, and were in fold,

I fate me downe to watch npon a baniie 5 30

with Ivie cannopied, and interwove

with flauntinge hony fade, and began,

wrapt in a pkafinge fltt of raeiaacholy,

to meditate my rurall minftrelfie,

till fancie had her fill; but, ere a dofe, 535

the wonted roare was irp amidft the woods,

and fitld the aire with barbarous diffonance ;

at which I oeafi, and liftened them a while,

till an vnufuall ftop of fuddaine filence

gave refpite to the dmofiefri^ttd fteeds, 540

that drawe the litter of cloae*curtaia'd fleepe ;

at laft zjwe§t€ and folemne breatbinge found,

rofe like tkefrftt fteattie of diftill'd perfumes,

and flole vpon the aire, that even ^ileiice

was tooke ere fhe was ware, and wUht ibe might 545

denye her nature, and be never more,

ilill to be foe diplac't. I was all eare,

and took in ibreinet that might create a (bwle

vnder the ribbs of death : but O ! ere long

* too' well I mght perceive it was the voice

of my mod honor'd lady, your deere fiiier.

amaz'd I ftood, harrow'd with greifie and feare.

and, O poor haplefs nightingale, thought I, •

how fweete thou fingft, how neere the deadly fnm'e !

then downe the lawoes I ran with headlonge haft, 555

through paths and turning! often trod by £iye,

till guyded by myne eare 1 found the place,

where that damn*d wizard, hid in ilye difguiie,

(for foe by certaine fignes I ^knewe*) had met

alreadie, eare my beft fpeede could prevent, 560

the aideiefs innocent ladie his wiiht prey ;

whoe gently aikt if he had feene fuch two,

fuppofinge him fome neighbour villager

longer I durft not ftay, but ioowt I gueft

yee were the two fhe meant ; with tmt I fprung 565

into fwift flight, till I had found you hsnt^^

V. 540. See Note on CoimiS|V. 553.

V. 543. So the.Camb. MS. according to Pr* Kewtoo'f coDition, wbjch perhapt
Gray had noticed, for, in his pROpaiss of PoEsy, he calla |he j£olian lyre
Parent o^fweet »,nd foIemi'hruubiKg airs.

V, 544. The remarkable Tariations in this and the preceeding line prefent
this charming paflag/e, I think, with as ftrong efftA as the other copies*
In the Cambridge manufcript, according to doctor Newton's coUation, it is

Rofe like a fteam ofjkm diftiU*d perfumes.
In the printed copies *' rich diftill'd."

V. 550. two in the MS. and might, %% in the Camb. MS*

V, 559if k99Wf in the MS.

APPENDIX. IT. 185

but furder know I not ; & bro. O night and Ihades,

how ^rt you joyn'd with hell in triple knott,

againft the vnarmed weaknes of one virgin^

alone, and heipelefs ! Ii this the confidence 5 70

vou gave roe, brother? el. b&o. yes, and keepe it flill,

leane on it faHly ; not a period

ihalbe vniaid for me; againft tiie threats

of malice, or of forcerie, or that powre

which erringe men call cbaunce, this I faould firme, 57^

virtue may be aflail'd, but never hurte,

furpriz'd by vniuft force, but not enthrali'd ;.

vea even that which' mifchiefe meant moft harme*

fhall in the happie tmli prove mod glorie ;

but evill on it felfe (hail back recoyle,. 580

and mixe noe more with goodnefle, when at lad

^ather'd like fcum, and fettl'd to it felfe,

It fhalbe in eternall refUefs change

felfefed, and feIfeconfum[e]d ; if this fayle^

the pillard firmament is rotteniiefle, 585

and earth's bafe built on ftubble : but come, lets on ;

againft the oppofinge will and-anne of heav'n

may never this juft fword be lifted vp ;

but for that damn*d magitian,- let him be girt

with all the grifley legfons that troope 590

vnder the footy fiagg of Acheron,

Harpies and Hidraes, or all the monftrous ht^s

twixt Africa and Inde, Tie finde him out,

and force him to reftore his purchafe back,

or drag him by the curies, md cUave hisfcalpe 595

dvwm H tht hifpsy DsM. Alas ! good ventrous youth,

I love *thy' courage yet, and bold emprife,

but heere thy fword can do thee little deed ; '

farr other armes, and other weopons mud

be thofe that quell the might of heliiih charmes : 600

he with his bare wand can vnthred thy joynts,

and crumble ail thy finews. £l. b. why, prethee, Shepheard,

how durd thou then^[thyfelf] approach foe neerc,

as to make this relacon ? Dem. Care, and vtmod fhifts

how to fecure the lady from furprifalt, 605

brought to my mynd a certaine diepheard lad^

of fmale regard to fee to, yet well (kili'd

in every verteus plant and healinge herbe,

that fpreades her verdant leafe to the moi'ninge ray :

he iov'd me well, and od would begg me finge, . 610

which when I did, he on the tender graife

<r. 568* jrotf* In the other copies j^«. .

■V. 592. hmg^s. So the Oamb MS. "

V. 595, 6. So the Camb. MS- and ed. lB'%^• *

v. 597, tbt in the MS. ....

i84 APPENDIX. II*

would fit^ and hearken even to extafie^
and in requitall ^ope^ his letherne fcrip,
and iheiv me iimplea of a. thoufaod names^
tellinge their ftrange and. vigorous faculties : 6 [ J

amongft the reft a fmale.vnfi^htly roote^
but of divine effe6^, he cull'a me.out;
the leafe was darkifli^and had prickles on it,
he call'd it Hemony, and gave it me,
and bad me keepe it as of foveraigne vie 620

gdnfl all enchauntments, nuidew blaft, or dampe^
or gaitiie furies apparitioa.
I purfl it vp, but little reckoninge made,
till now, that this extremitie compelled :
but now I finde it true ; for by this meanes 625

I knetv the fowle £jacbaunter though difguis'dy
entered the, very lymetwiggs of his fpeUs,
and yet came off; if you have this about yoii,
(as I will give yoa when -wee goe) you may
boldly afTaulte th^. Negromancer's hall; .. . 630

where if he be, with dauntleifib hardy-faoody
and brandi(ht blade, rufhe on him, breake his glafie,
and ihed the luffious liquor on the ground,
but 'feife' his wand ; though he and his curft crew
fierce fign of battaile make, and menace high, 635

or like the fonna of ViUcan yomitt fmoakfi,
yet will they (bone retire, if he but-ihrmke.
Eit. B. Thirfis, lead on apace, /fbllpwe thee,

and fome good Angeli beare a ihield before vs.

The Sceane changes to a ftately {^lace fet ojut
with all manner of deiitioufneis, tables fpred with
all dainties. Comus appears with bis rabble, and
the Lady fet In an inchaunted chayre, to whome
he ofiers his glafle, which (he puts by, and goes
about to rife.

Co* Nay, ladye, fit; if I but wave this waiid, 640

your nerves ar^ all chained vp in ^alabaficr/ .
and you a ilatue, or, as daphne was,
roote bound, that fled Apollo^ i*a. foole^ doe not boafl,

V. 6.1 1. ^1^ in the MS* f ■ ^

V. 6i8. The fix following lineft in the other. copies, are BOt in this MS.
V, 621. So this line is pointed in the MS. See Kote on Com. >• 640.
V. 634. cei^e in the. MS.
V, 638. J. So the Camb. MS.

V. 639. Neither in the following STAOx^-DiftiCTloifj nor In that of the
Camb. MS. is Soft MuJSe, See p.9j«.
V. 641 . tdablajitr in the M^. ' • . . .

APPENDIX. 11. i8s

thou canfl not touch the freedome of my mvndtf

with ail thy chartnes, although this cprpondl rind 645

thou hail immanacrd^ while heav'n fees good.

Co, Whye are you vext, Ladie ? why doe vou frowne?

heere dwell noe firownes, nor anger ; from tbefe gates

forrowe flies farr : fee, heere be all the pleafures^

that iancie can begett on youthfiiU thoughts, 650

when the firefh blood grows lively, and feturnes

briflce as the Aprill budds in primrofe feafon.

i^nd firft, behould this cordiall Julep heere,

that flames and daunces in his chrinall bounds,

with fpiritts of baulme and fragrant firrops mixt; 65$

Not that Nepenthes, which the wife of Thone

in Egipt gave to Jove*borne Hellena,

18 of fuch power to ilirre vp Joye as this^

to life foe friendly, or foe coole *to* thirft ;

pwre ladie^ thou haft netdt offome rrfr^inge^ 660

that haft been tired aldaye without repaft,

tf- timely reft h€ift wanted, hcere^ iayre Virgin,

this will reflore all foone ; la. t'wiU not, falfe traytor,

twill not rellore the trueth and honeflie,

that thou haft baniiht from thy toungue with lies. 665

was this the Cottage, and the iafe aboade

thou toldft me of? what grim afpe^s are thefe )

thefe ougley headed Monfters ? Mercie guard me !

hence with thy brewd enchauntments, rowle deceaver !

were it a drafte for Juno when flie banquetts, 6;o

1 would not tafte thy treafonous offer; none

but fuch as are good men can give good things,

and that which li^ not good, is not delitious

to a well-govern'd and wife appetite \

C^. O foolifhnes of men ! that lend their eares 675

to thofe budge dodors of the Stoick furr,
and fetch their precepts from the Cinick tub,
praifinge the leane and * fallow' Abftinence«

V. 659. t(M in the MS.

V. 660| 66i. See v. 6^8, 9. in the Camb. MS.

V. 669. The four lines, which follow this Id the tthef copies, are not in
this MS.

V. ^jZ, Jhalltno in the MS. The faine corrupt reading accidentally occurs in
a modern duodecimo edition of Milton's Poetical Works, which I have fern.

The genuine reading prrfents the reader with a pidure, which pcrhapi be
will prefer to the more elaborate defcriptioi of Abftinence by Chancer, Rojc.
or TBS Rots, T. 7389.

Of faire Ibape I devifed her The,
But pale of lace fometiine was (be, •
That false traitourtfle untrewe
Was like that ialowis hbrfe of hewe^ . . .

That in the' Apocalypb is ihewed, ■
That fignifieth tho f«lke beihrcwei^
That ben all full of trechcrie,
Bb

Whwt!brc flld hrtUHfc ptti^risr 'bttr T>tf uwrfes fiirth,
with Hidh it fifll afrid ^n vitfh<lfa#«kig(e tUitid» 680

coverih^ the -eaVth >«*^h odoufs, frttks, and locts,
i!hf 6fi^e7nrg liie f«as \nth Ifatwne inhtnttttMt^
*biit SKI to pletife and fatb the'ttirimili taft<?
and fet t6 trot^e -mniiofts -ti (f^tii ttge wbrtfM,
that in thlril-jBYec!n6^(hopp8 weaf^t^he ^ifniaiiatb^MMfdfiike,
to deck 4ier H>kfns^ ^d, thieft nbfc t6i*fi«rtf<ii^
be vacaht -df her pleMti«, in her ^9M^ loivnes
ihe hutoh'^t'th' all *woVflM|>t 'Obre vtf4 pkkiom gMfis,
to ftoye ^her dhAdten i«>ith *: if ^1 «he weM
fliddld in St ^a ^ tfetnpefaiK^! ^fbede 6h piA^ 690

drinlce Yh6 eleere ^ii»rme, ami t}b<^bia|;e'weaii<e !»tK freize,
th' allgiver wotAd be vvithMrk% nrould tie *viifp|taife^d,
not halfe his Hchies IdnbWife, atid'yttft ^MpitVi ;
and wee Ihonld ferire hhn a3 agrudgeifig ^MsCfter,
as a pehvtk)U5 ti^^d of his ilreoUh^ 695

and live Ifke natufes bdhrdis, iKflft <ber t^|»iil)i^
whoe wodd be quite furchai^M ^h tiei* (M*4ie ^i^ite,
atid ftratiglM with het waft fertillkte ;
th' earth cnmb^rdyahtlthe win^d'afk^'AirkM with'plumes,
the heards would bvevmiAtitud&^Mlir Lbrds^ 700

the fea orc^might Wbuid At)^li,'s<iid(th' v<iil'<tfUgfaft -diamonds
woixltl foe eti/blaxe ^iMihitifm^ 'that ^(^ 4s«k^
would gk'owe'emlft-'d fo %ht. aMdcMiie^at Oflft
^d ^fe vpon Yht tom wifh flmfiK^e^ %i%w«s.
XA. I had udt ifhmi^t tb -tete viilockt liif lipids 70 j

in this'vhhallGrwed vftt^ iMlt that this Jugl«r •
would thihketo dbamie*(ity JttdgeAtieiit, as^^e^s,
obtrudhige Mferule^ prauk't m tetfibns ^6<be.
I hate when Vice -can bodlt her 'argtmiems^
and vertue has no tbtigue to dhedL iter fypide. 710

Jmpoilor, doe'nbt charge moft innocebt uatsfe,^
as if ihe wofiM'her dhildreniihouk] be ridtotft
with her -abundaihce ; fiii^ good ^ oftei^JJe/

And paU» thofXMigh l^ypocrific;
F^r on that horfe 00 colour is,
"^lit onelf (dedde iltid pile i wis,
Of^foche a colour coIaBgoured
^as Abftinence'iwis dolouiredy
Of her eflate fhe her repenteid^
lR.i^t <as-her rifagereprefeiited.

«. 6S5. /Mof< in the M$. > ^.. . .

V. 70a. The traafcrihtfr^s -^gf^ ^IfMw ip4)rliapt kaftily pafied froin aAlamef to
«riri jS^nrriy which, in ^he«f rioted <9l^i«f0 the >r«i€oeeding lineprefents« See

Com. V. 733. 734* /■ -'-^

V. 704. The next Hoiiiacen 4ia« •io'lhe.frimnl^iopieSf viz, nom ▼• 736. to

T. 756. are not in this toannlcripf.

V. 707. nnne in tlfe-«ihc)r<€bpiM»

w. 713* (battrejk in thedlS*

AJPP5NWX. U. ^I7

DQcaAS^ her protyifiQa ox^y ta Ihi?' gpod,^

tb^t Uvq accordi^e. to hje^ Cbber l»wq$», 7 < S

and holy dictate, of fpare texp^cr.^ace ;

If every J^ vMn^ tm nqw Kin^^ wixh w^flifc

had but a (p.oderate apd Wi^oupge {hai;e.

of thf^ whv;b kydly pamper'd Luxqiiie

now heaps voQq. i;Qa>e ft \xe wilth Maft e^ci^e^V 7^^

Ia vofu^r^iipiii^ eveo, propoitiom

and flw xiQf^ wW)t, ^cpflabc^d with" h/?r ftpj^e ;

and then tl^e gine;: wQniJd bci Ijfitter thwH't,

his praife due; mycA \ f<m (wwfli gl^ttjcu(iie 725

ne'er ]poks to be^^^'a angjdft hi^ a^rgqoMS^^^/t

but with ljefi(Qjl;te4 hafc iAjwti.W?

crams, and, feWjphcawc^. W^ fc^^er, Co, Conie, we more,

thi%.i5, weere n|.pn:?m hiabbt?^ 4»d difeA .

againft the C^iU^A twe? of our foundi^qq^ \ 730

I muft nQt fuffer tbi$i yqt tjs^ but tb^ Ue&

^nd/aJiflg^ of 4 ip^hcbQly Uowd :

But this wiU cure aUt (^veite ; o^e fioi of this

will bath the djioopinge. (pirUt?^ ia delight,.

beyond thiE( bUilb of drcaip^s, bi? V(ife^ 9i^4 taft. 73 <;

The brothers cu.(b« ift witU fwQffcte djuwoe, wreft his
glafle 0/ li^ifT out of his hand, and breake it
againft the ^ound ; his rowtc make figjH^ of re-
fiftance, bqt sure aU driven ia, the POTOOA /^ ^0
cQm^ m with ih^ hotbtru

De. What, havejNir let tbe felfe inehauiitev f^sape ?

O yee miftookc^ yoe fiiould bav^ fAitcht his wand,
and bound hlim fail ; without hi^ yod reverft,
and backward, auit^fs of diibv«riiig^ pow^r^

wee cannot free the Lady that fitts heere 740

in ilonie fetters fixt, and motionlefTe :

Yet flaye ; be not difturb'd, nowe \ j^thiPike aie

fome other ip^anw I, hav^ thqji p^y. \^ vftd,

which QO.ce of MiHebgeus pld t-terot,

the footheft ^phem'd th^t %it^ pip't ^ p^ynes. 74$

V. 721. hkjpngi^ in the oth^r copies.

V, 726. ftaji^ in the other copies. Corgtout feajh, is i corabinationy how-
cveryin PAA.RxcAiMiOy.B. iv. 114. •

. Their fumptnoQs glattj>9ic$ a^4 fo^^ifW^ fi^fi**

V, 728. The following lines in the printed copies^ viz. from t. 779. toT. 806.
are not in this manufcript* So the Camb. MS.

V. 732. fettttngs in the other copies.

V. 736. you in the other c<^ies.

V. 743. v)b\cb in the other cppies.

B b 2

iS8 APPENDIX, n.

There is « gentle Nimphe not fair from hencCy
that with moiftcurberwayesthc*fm6othe'Scaverncftreamc,

Ssibrina is her name, a virgin pure ;

whilome (he was the daughter of Locrint,

whoe had the fcepter from his father Brute. ^ 750

She, g\]iltlefs damfel, flyinge the mad purfuite

of her enraged i^epdame, uwendoleoi

commended her h\xt innocence to the flovidy

that ftayed her flight witl^ his crofle floweinee courfe,

the water nimphs, that in the bottom played, . 755

held vp their * pearled' wriftSf and tooke her in,

bearinge her ftraite to aged N^reus hall,

whoe, piteous of her woes, rear'd her lank head

and gave her tQ his daughters to imbatl^

\n ne6tar'd lavers, ftrewd with Afphodiil, 760

and through the portch and inlet of each fence

dropt in a[m]brofiall oyles, till ihe reviv'd,

and vnderwent a quicli immortall change,

made goddefs of the River; ftiil ihe retaines

her maiden gentlenefs, and ofte at £vc 7^5

vifitts the heards alonge the twilight meadowes,

helpinge all vrchin blafts, and ill luck fignes

that the fhrewd medling £alfe delights to make,

for which the (hepheards at their feftivalls

Carroll her goodpcs Ipqd in ruiUck layes, 77q

^nd throwe fwept garland wreaths into her ftreame

of pancies, pjnkes, and gaudy daffadils,

and, as the owld fwaynenfaid, ihe can vnlock

the clafpinge charme, and thawe the numminge fpell,

if (he be right invoked in warbled fonee ; 775

for maydenhood ihe loves, and wilbe Iwifte

to avde a Virgin, fuch as was herfelfe,

(in hard befetting neede ;) this will I trie,

and ^dd the power of fome adjuringe verfe.

SONGE

Sabrina faire, ^ 7^^

Liflen where thou art fittinge
vnder the glaffie, coole, tranfelucent wave,

in twilled braides of lillies knitting
the loofe traine of thy Amber-droppinge baire;

Liften for dttrt honors fake, 78 j

Goddeis of the filver lake,
Liften and fave.

V. 747. Jmete in the MS.

v, 750. that in t^e other copiei.

V, 756. ptfirUtd in the MS.

«• 768, The Yerfe, which follows this in the other copies, is not in thisM&

APPENDIX. II. 189

The verje to Jinge or not,

Liflen and appear to vs,

in name of greate OceanuSy

by th* earth-lhakingc Neptune's mace, 790

and Tethis grave majeflick pace,
El, b. by hoarie Nereus wrincled looke,

and the Carpathian wizards hooke,
2 BR o. by fcalie Tritons windinge ihell,

and ould footh-faying Glaucus fpell» 79J

£l. b. by Lewcotheas lovely hands,

and her fonne that rules the ilrands,
2 BR o. by Thetis tinfel-ilipper'd feete,

and the Songs of Sirens fweete,
£l* b. by dead Parthenopes deare tombe, Soo

and fayer Ligeas goldei) combe,

wherewith fhe iitts on diamond rocks,

fleekinge her foft allueringe locks,
Dfi. By all the Nimphes ofni^tfy damce^

vpon thyjireames with wilie glaunce, 805

rife, rife, and heave thv rolie head,

from thy corall paven oed,

and bridle in thy headlonge, wave,

till thou our fummons aniwered have.

liiften and &ve« 810^

Sabrina rifes, attended by the water nimphes^ and

finges.

liy the ruihie fringed banke,

where growes the willow, and the ofier danke,
my flydinge charriott flayes,
thick fett with Agate, and the Jizur*d fheene
of Turkis blew, and Emerald greene, 815

that in the channell Urayes ;
whilfl from ^off* the waters fleete,
thus I reft my printles feete
ore the couflips bead,

V. 788. The dirc^on prefixed to tbii paflage in the Cambridge mannicripc,

V. 792. The invocations given to the Brothers iu this maoaferiptj are uttered
by the Spirit only, in the other copies.
V* 804. that tiigbtly danct in the other copies,
V. 805. ftream in the other copies.
nf, 814. awtrn in the other copies*
v^ 8x7. e^in the MS«
V. 818. Jet in the other copies.
f^« 819. vehet is not in this line*

199 Ar?EVT>}X. a

that beodf oot a3 I tread ; 820

gentle fwayne, at thy requefl
I am heere,
Di. Goddefs deere.

Wee ymplore thy powerfoB hand

to vndoe the charmed band 82 c

of true virgin heere dHirefty

through the force, and through the. wile^,

of vnblefl inchaunters vile.
Sam, Shepheard, tis my office beft

to helpe enfnared chaftitie : 8 lo

brighteft Lady, looke on me i

thus I fprincle on this breft

drops that from my fountayne pure

I have kept of pretious cure^

thrice vpon thy fingers tip, 8jj

thrice vpon thy rubied Hp:

next this marble venomM feate,

fmearM with gums of ghtteoous heate„

I touch with chaft palme» mpift and cold :—

now the fjpeU hath Ibd his hold ; 840

and I muft haft ere morning howre

to waite in Amphitrites bower.

Sabrina defcends, and tb€ kdy rifm out of her feate»

De. Virgin, dftughfeer of Locnnc, .
Sprung of owld Ancb^t line,
may thy brimmed waves for this
their full tribute never miflfe
from a tbouiand pettie rills,
that tumble downe the Caowie bills :
Summer drouth,^ or fin^ aire

never fcortch thy treflies faiysr,^ 850

nor wett 06lobers torrent flo\)d
thy molten Chriftall fill with mild ;
may thy billowes rowle aihoare
the beryll, and the goulden Oare ;
may thy loftie head be crownd 855

with many a towre and terrace rgund,
and heere and there thy banks vpon
with groves of mirhe and Cynampo*

w. SiS. Inehanttr in the other copies.
V. 832* thy in the other copies.

V. 858. Songe ends. The fame direftion is ia. thjS QsnOtti^gc maou|cTi|>t^ ao«
cwrdiog to dodor Newtoa't colUtion.

AFPENmx. n. tfi

El. b. Come, Sijlery wMe tair^ lends vs grace,

let vs fly this curfiod piaoe, 860

leaft the Sorcerer rs iMtice

with fome cttber asw lolcrice,

not a waft, •r oeediMiaFiind^

till wee come to kt&er gniand ;
i>«. I ihalbe your faith^U ^dle 665

through this gtoomie Covten wide,

and not many furlongs thence

is y^urllithers refidence,

where' this night are met in ftate

many a freind to gratabttfc 870

bis wiflit prefence, and beAde

all the fwaynes thtit netre nbU^

with Jiggs and rurall daunce reibt%e ^

wee fhalT catch them at ^^ %ott^y

and our fedd^ne tx>tm n g c <there 875

will double all tfa^nf mirth and dtnttvt j •
£«.. B. come let vs haft, the ffekm tire tdgls

but night fttts JVfotiaitrh yetin ttie mid Aye.

The Sceane changes, then Is preheated Ludlow towne,
and the Preiidents Caftle $ chea come in Countrie
daunces and the 4ite tec Pownrds the end vf tbefe
fports the demon with the 2 brothers and the ladye

■ XQttl£ itL.

^tjphitt finges.

Baclc, fliepticards, faa<5k, cncni^ yowptaye,
,Xlll qcjU fttuihijie holy ds^ye^ ^O

heere be without duck or nod
other trippings to be troifl
of lighter tow, iftid fi!<:k ccwrt guWe
as Mercurie did firft devife„

with the mindnge driade^ 1S8 j

on €ke iaiiwMy .«Md on <the loaf.

2 Songe preTents them to tbeh* £ithef atjril mother.

t ' . •*

Noble Lord, and Lady bright,
I have brought ye ne w ^i ttig ht,

«. S59. It is /Itfi/^* in the other copies. The Spirit again is (he fi>k fpeaktr
of this and the ninecceD following lines in the other copies*
«• 87a. netrt. So the Camb. MS.
V* 874. In the thcr copies tbeir,
«i 877. are» So the Caoib. MS. ^

«. 887. The title to this Song, in the Cambridge MS. according to doAor

'9» APPENDIX. IL

heere bchould foe goodly grow^ne

three fayer branches of your owne ; 899

Heav'n hath timely tri'd their youths

their faith, their patience, and their truths

and fent them here through hard aflaies .

with a crowne of deathlefle praife,

to triumphe in vidorious daunce 895*

ore fenfuali folly and Intemperauncje.

iT^ey daunccy the daunces all ended, the Damon Jinges

orfayes.

Now my tafke is. fxnoothly done,
I can flye, or I can run
quickly to the earth's greene end,

where the bow'd welkin flow doeth bend, 900

and from thence can foare as foone
to the corners of the Moone.

Mortalb, that would follow me,
love vertue ; (he alone is free :

file can teach j'oiy how to clyme 905

(igher then the fphearie chime :
or, if vertue feeble were,
Heven it fclfe would floope. to her*

♦ ■■ ■ . ■ \ ■

Kewton*s collation^ is only " 2 Songe"

V, 897. The Epilogue, in tbii manulcript* has not the thirty^fix pTMeding
llnesy which are in the printed copits. Twenty- of them, however, as we have
feeD) open the drama. Like the Cambridge manufcript, this manufcript does
Bot exhibit what, in the printed copies, relates to Adonis, and to Cupid and
Pfyche.

tr. 899. In the other copies, green earth's. The reader may here compare
pARAD. Lost, B* viii. 630.

the parting Sao

Beyond the Eartb*s green Cape and verdant IHes
Hefperian fets.

«. 905* In the printed copies, ye. The fame variation Ihould have been
aoted above, at V. 63. <M will tell jFM now."

It Ihould alfo have been remarked in the Notei on v. 58, 190, and 229, that
•* v>b\cb^*'* and ** «y," and " benee^^ agree with the Cambridge manufcript,
according to doAor Newton's collation.

In V. 2o8t of this niariufcript (om« is alfo a various reading*

k

SOilE ACCOiTNT OF

EDITIONS OF COMUSj

IXTHXft atrAKATlLT, Oft WITH

MILTON'S OTHER POETICAL WORKS,

1. " A MASKE prcfentcd at Ludlow Caftle, 1634, on Mi-
** chaelmafle night, before the Right Honorable, John Earle of
*V Bridge water, vicount Brackly, Xord Praefident of Wales, and
** one of his Majeftie's moft honorable Privie Counfell. etc.
** London, Printed for Hvoiphrey Robinfon at the figne of the
** three Pideeons in Pauls church-yard, 1637." See Parti, pp. 1,5.
Lawes*s edition, confifting of thirty pages, in quarto. The names
of the principal actors. Lord Brackley, Mr. Thomas Egerton,
and the Lady Alice Egerton, appear at the end of this edition*
Lawes, who compofed the mufic, perfonned the part of the
AttenJant Spirit. It is not now known who the perfon was
that played the part of Comus ; a chara^er, which required no
common talents to prefent it juiUy. On the modern uage, the
late Mr. Heudcrfw is faid to have excelled in this chara<$er. I
am alfo unable to difcover who it was that performed, at the
ori^al reprefentation, the part of Sabrina,

n. In <* Poems of Mr. John Milton, Both English and
"Latin, compofed at'feveral times. Printed fy his true copies.
** The SoN&s were fet in mufick by Mr. Henry Lawes, gen-
" tieman of the King's Chappel, and one of his Majesties
'* private mufick,

" ' Baccare frmtem

*' CingitCy ne vati noceat mala lingua/uturo.

" Virgil, Eclog, 7.
'* Printed and publi/hed according to order, London, Printed by Ruth
*< Ra worth for Humphrey Mofeley, and are to be fold at the fi^ne
•* of the Princes Arms in Pauls Church yard. 164;;." Then foU
lows this addrefs from the Stationer to the Reader. ** It is not
•* any private refpe£l of gain, gentle reader, for the flighteft
'* pamphlet is now adayes more vendible then the works of
^ learnedeft men ; but it is the love I have to our language that
'^ hath made me diligent to colled, and fet forth fuch peeces both
** in profe and vers, as may renew the wonted honour and efteem
** of our Engliih tongue : and it's the worth of thefe both Engliih
** and Latin Poems, not the fiouriih of any prefixed encomions
** that can invite thee to buy them, though thefe are not without
*^ thehigheft commendations and applaule of the learnedd Acade-

G c

t94 EDITIONS.

^* micks, bdth domeftick and forrein : And amongil thofe of our
'** own countrey, the unparelleled atteftation ' of that renowned
" provoft of Eaton, Sir Henry Woottok. I know not thy
*^ palat how it relifhes fuch dainties, nor how harmonious thy
*^ foul is \ perhaps more trivial airs mity )7leafe thee better. But
*' howfoever thy opinion is fpent upon thefe ; that encouragement
*^ I have already received from the moft ingenious men in their
" clear and courteous entertainment of Mr. Waller's late choice
" •'peeces, hath once more made me adventure into the world,
" prefenting it with thefe ever-green, and not to be blafted Lau-
•* rels. The Authors more peculiar excellency in thefe ftudies,
^' was too well known to conceal his papers, or to keep me from
*^ attempting to foUicit them from him. Let the event guide it,
** felf which way it will, I fliall deferve of the age, by bringing
** into the light as true a birth, as the Mufes have brought forth
*' jdnce our famous Spencer wrote; whofe poems in thefe
** £ngli(h onea are as rarely imitated, as fweetly excelled. Rea-
*' der, if thoii art eagle-eied to cenfure their worth, I ani not fear-
*< fill to expofe them to thy exadefl perufal. Thine to command,
*^ Humph. Moseley,"

The feparate title prefijced to Com us, is '< A Mask prefented
<^ at Ludlow- Caille, 1634. Before the Earl .of Bridge water, then
** Prefidcnt of Wales." No motto. See Part i. p; t.

III. In the fame, " Printed for Tho, I>ririg, etc. in Fleet-
^^ ilreet, 1673.'* In duodecimo*. This and the laft are the only au-
thentic editions. They were publiftied while Milton wa^ UyiAg.

I v. In the fame, Printed for Jacob Tonfon, 169$. In folio.
After Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and SaMsok
Agonistes, with the following tjtle, ** Poems upon feveral oc«
** cafions. Compofed at feveral times. By Mr. John Milton.
" The third edition. London, Printed for Jacob Tonfon, at the
*' Judge*s Head near the Inner Temple gate,m Fleet-ftreet, 1695.*',
This is the only folio edition, in which the S>f aller Po^ms
appear.

V. In the fame, Printed for Tonfon, 1705. In o^lavo. With
the fame Title-page as before, even " T^itf ihrJ EMtion,*' except
that Tonfon's fliop was now " at Gray's-Inn Gate next Gray's-
« Inn Lane."

VI. In the fame, Printed for Tonfon, 1707. In o6tava. Af
before.

a This referi particularly to Coicut. It Is Sic Henry's Letter, whidi ftn4t
in p . 71. of the volume.

b « Poems,' tec. written by Mr. Bd. Wal l br of Beckonsfield, Eiqnire |
'< lately a Member of the Honourable H6ufe of Commons. And printed by'S
<( copy of his own hand^writinf. All the Lyrick Poems in this Booke wert'
** fet by Mr. Hsmey LAWts, Gent, of the Kings Chappcll^ and one of his
<< Majefties private Mufick. Pfinted and publi/hed according to or der , London^
*< Printed by J. N. for fi«. Mo/icy , at (he Princes Annct in Pauls church-
<* yard| 1645." la duodecimo.

EDITIONS. 19J

VI r. In the fame, Printed for Tonfon, 1713. In duodecimo.
Adorned with cuts. This it a neat and a very good edition : It
rectifies fome remarkable errors in the text, which appear in the
preceding handfome, but incorre^, editions of 1705 and 1707. It
IS entitled ^' TJI^ fifth Edition^ with Additions.** This edition ap-
peared with another bookfeller's name in lYit general Title-page to
the volume^ viz, *• London : Printed, and are to be fold by W.
♦* Taylor, at the Ship and Black Swan, in Pater-Nofter Row,
" 1721.'' But in the^/tfr/i/« titles of Samson Agoniste^, and
the Poems on feveral occafions, the true date, 171 3, remains. It
is unaueiHonably the edition of 1713 with a new Title-page.

VIII. In the fame, Pii:ited for Tonfon, 1720. In quarto. A
part of all Milton*s Poetical Works, in two volumes, of which
Tickell was the editor. Addifon's Notes on the Paradise Lost
are fubjoined to this edition. It is very finely printed.. Both vo«
lumes are accompanied with head and tail-pieces, engraved by
Gribelin, Vandergucht, etc. This edition was reprinted in two
duodecimo volumes, with Addifon's Notes, in 1721.

IX. In the fame. Printed for Tonfon, 1725. In duodecimo.
After Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson
Agonistes, in two volumes, of which Fenton was th^editor*
This edition was reprinted in 1727, and again in 1730.

X. ^*CoMus, aMASK: (Now adapted to the Stage) As altered
*^ from Milton's Mask at Ludlow Caille, which was never
*' reprefented but on Michaelmas-day, 1634; The principal per*
** formers were the Lord Brack iy, Mr. Tho, Egerton, the Lady
** Alice Egerton, The Muiick was compofed by Mr. Henry
*^ Lawes, who alfo reprefented the Attendant Spirit,

— ** QuidvQcif tnodulamen inane juvabit
** Verhwrum fenfufqt^e vacans^ numerique loquacis f

** Milton, ad Patrem.

** London, Printed for Dodfley, 1738." In o£^avo. This is Df.
Dalton's ingenious alteration of the Maik, which was prefented
on the ftage ^t Drury Lane, in 1 738, with the greatefl applaufe.
Many additional Songs were introduced from Milton's own
Poems ; and feveral from the ecjitqr's pen, written with much
elegance and tafle. 'Ji\t drama opens, and clofes, e^^adly as the
original does. It is divided into tfiree A€ts^ as t^ie original Mafk
ihould feem to be : the firfl, ending with the hadfs acceptance
of Comus*s offer to conduct her (o l^is cottage ; the fecond com*
pnencing with the entrance of the /«v ffrot^s^ and ending with
their determination, under t|ie Sp frit's guidance, to attack the
necromancer, Comus\ the laft, opening with fimilar fcenery and
conduct to that which follows in the original, but with Comus firfl
bani(hing istelanehofj^y in the initial ftrains of L'Allegro, and
with the additional wiles of Evphrojyne to feduce the captive Ladv.
In this adaptation of the Malk, Euphrojyne is a new charafter ; and
there are alfo /wo Attendant Spirits^ ^moug the fpeakers, The

c c 2

19^ EDITIONS,

mufic was compofed by Dr. Arne ; and, like all the comppfidons
of that celebrated mailer, gave unbounded (atisfadion. The Soqg
^^ Sweet Echoy^^ fliii maintains ail the charms of novelty, and the
Bacchanalian Ballad, '* The wanttm Gad^*^ prefents a fpecimea of
charaderiilic diilin6tion, not eaii(y to be equalled.

The favourable reception, which this edition ejcperienced, is
obvious from its having been reprinted in the fame year, The
modefly, with which the alterations are noticed in the editor's
prologue, is not lefs obfervable than the ikill, with which they
are made. An epilogue isaifo added, which is fpoHen by Eupkr^^
fyne ; a character, in which the late celebrated Mifs Catl^ pecur
liarly excelled.

Com us, thus altered, has often been reprinted, and prefented
on the Stage. It may be proper here to relate, that in April, 1750,
it was afted for the benefit of Milton's grand -daughter, £lizabetb«
the wife of Thomas Fofter, a weaver in Spital-fields, She*= kept
a petty grocer's or chandler's {hop, firft at lower Holloway, aad
afterwards in Cock-Lane near Shoreditch church. An occafionat
prologue was written by Dr. Johnfon, and fpoken by Mr, Gar-
rick : It was alfo** publiihed tor her benefit. Dr. Johnfon* iaya,
that ihe had fo little acquaintance with diverfion or gaiety, that
ihe did not know what was intended when a benefit was oflFere4
her. Dr. Johnfon in the prologue calls the attention of the au-
dience to tlie venerable name of Milton, and, reconimending his
defcendant to their notice only as " the patient fufferer, and ^hc
*' faithful wife," fpiritedly concludes,

** Yours is the charge, ye fair, ye wife, ye brave !
" 'Tis yours to^crown defert — beyond the .grave!"
Yet the profits of the night were only one hundred and thirty
pounds, though Dr. Newton, who in the preceding year had
pubiifhed the Paradise Lost with Notes, contributed largely;
and twenty pounds weregiven.by Tonfon, the bookfeller, "a man
** who is to be praifed as often as he is named." *^ On this trifling
augmentation to their fmall (lock, (he and her hufband removed
to Iflington, where they both foon died^ Mr. Warton adds, with
true fenfibility, that " fo much greater is our tafte, our charity,
** apd general national liberality, at the diftance of forty years,
*' that I will venture to pronounce, that, in the prefent day, a
** benefit at one of our, theatres for the relief of a poor arid infirm
" grand-daughter of the author of Comus and Paradise Lost,
** would have been much more amply and worthily fupported.*"

XL In Milton's Poetical Works, Printed for Tonfon, in four
volumes, i8mo. 1746. Again, in 1751.

c Mr. Warton's Milton's Smaller Poems, 2cl edit. p. xll.
<1 General Evening Pod. No. 2582 • From Thurfday April 5. to Satarday
April 7. 1750.
e Life of Milton. f Ibid

% Mr. Warton's 2d edit, p.xlii.

EDITIONS/ 197

XII. In the fame, Printed for Tonfoh and Draper, i7$2,:]n
one quarto volume, under the care of do6tor Newton, with Note^
of various authors : a fecniel to hb excellent edition of Pajl adise
Lost, in two quarto volumes, 1749* This edition of Paradise
Regained, Samson Agonistes, and the Smaller Poems,
was reprinted in two odavo volumes, 1753; and alfo in a neat
pocket edition, without the Notes, for Tonfon and Draper. The
edition, with the Notes, has been often reprinted in two o6iavo
volumes: in 1763, in 1773, and in 1790. The quarto editioa
has alfo been reprinted.

XIII. In the uime. Printed at Edinburgh, 1752. In two odavo
volumes, with a Gloifary. A part of all Milton's Poetical Works^
And, in the fame year, at Dublin, in octavo. Again,, at £din«
burgh, with a Gloffary, in two duodecimo volumes, 1 772. Again^
in four volumes, 1773*

XV. In the fame, Printed at Birmingham, by Balkerville, in
1758. After the greater Poems, in two large o£hivo volumes^
now become fcarce. The edition is profefledly a copy of doAor
Newton's, without the Notes* Ag^n by Baikerville, in two
quarto volumes, I7$9* Again, in two o^vo volumes, 1760. It
is almoft fuperfluous to fay of Baikerviile's editions, that they ar^
beautifully printed.

XVI. *^ CoMus % a MASQUE. Altered from Milton. As per-^
*^ formed at the Theatre-Royal in Covent-Garden. The mufick
" compofcd by Dr, Arne, London; 1772." In odavo. Again
in 1774, and afterwards. This is an abridgement of the Mafk
by the accomplilhed George Colman £fq. It is reduced into
two Ads. It commences with the entrance of Comus, who at-
tended by his crew, firft recites, and then lings, part of the ori^.
gindi L,ync»-^^^ Jlu ^^ar that bids the Jhepherd fold^^' etc, and
clofes with the twelve concluding line^ of the original drama.
This is the Comus, which now preferves its Aation on the Stage.
" In this abridgement," it is alleged, " that no circumftance of
** the drama, contained in the original mafque, is omitted. The
^* divine atmiments on temperance and chaflity, together with
** many defcriptive paflages, are indeed expunged or contraded :
*< But, divine as they are, the mod accomplifhed declaimers have
^ been embarralTed in the recitation of them. The fpeaker vainly
*' laboured to prevent a coldnefs and languor in the audience;
^ and \% cannot be diifembled that the Mafque of Comus, with
^' ail its poetical beauties, not only maintained its place on the
** theatre, chiefly by the affiflance of mufick, but the mufick it-
•' felf, as if overwhelmed by the weight of the drama, almofi funk
** with it, and became in a manner loft to the flage. That
** mufick, formerly heard and applauded with rapture, is now
^^ reflored \ and the Mafque on the above confiderations is cur-
« tailed.'*"

k AdTertifement prefixed to the edition.

ig% EDITIONS.

XVII. In Bell's edition of Milton's Poetical Works, 4 rols.
1.776, and 1788.
XVIfl. In Dt. Johnfon's Britiih Poets, crown-oAavo. 1779.

XIX. In Wenman's edition of Milton's Poetical Worl^ 3 vo^.
iSmo. 1 781.

XX. " Poems upon fevcral occafions, Englifh, Italian, and
«< Latin, with Tranflations, by John Milton. Viz. Lycidas,
^ L'Allegro, II Penseroso, Arcades, COMUS, Oobs,
« Sonnets, Miscellanies, Ekglish Psalms, Elegiarvm
<« Liber, Epigrammatum Liber, Sylvarum Liber. With
<• Notes Critical and Explanatory, and other llluftrations. By
*« Thomas Warton, Fellow of Trinity College and late Pnofeflbi'
*« of Poetry at Oxford. London, Printed for J. Dodfley. i785.*»
In octavo.

A fecond edition was publifhed, " w//^ many alterations and
^^ large additims^** for Robinfons, Pater-Nofter Row, in 1791,
foon after the lamented death of Mr. Warton : In whom Poetry
and Antiquity loft one of their moft zealous votaries, Criticifm
one of its ableft aflertors. Society one of its moft agreeable mem-
bers, and the Univerfity of Oxford one of her moft valuable and
moft refpe6ted fons.

XXI. In a very elegant, but not very correct edition of Mil-
ton's Poedcal Works, jn two volumes, i8mo. 1790.

XXil. In Wilkin's edition of Milton's Poetical Works, in two
vohunes, lamo. 1793.

XXIII. In Dr. Anderfon's Britifh Poets, royal o^vo, 1795.

XXIV. In Cooke's Select Britifli Poets, lamo. 1796.

XXV. In Benfley's elegant edition of Milton's Poetical Works,
with fine engravings, in two crown-o6hvo volumes. 1 796.

XXVI. In the edition of Paradise Regained, Sam$ok
Agonistes, Poems etc. (with Notes on the Paradi/e Regained^
fele£ted from Dr. Newton's edition, and from Mr. Dunfter's late
valuable edition of Paradise Regained in quarto 1795) ^^
one o£tavo volume. 1797.

XXVII. In the Poetical Works, with an excellent Life of the
Author by William Hayley Efq. In three folio volumes. Boydell
and Nicol. 1794— 1797. Comus is in the laft volume. This
magnificent edition does honour to the tafte and abilities of thofe
who were engaged in the production of it. It difplays every
elegance of typographical execution ; and is accompanied with
moft beautiful engravings from the defigns of the nrft matters.
It is a monument indeed worthy of Him, whofe works entitle
him to that fupereminence among the poets of his country, which
he has fo happily afligned to his own glorious " Isle*' amone the
** fea-girt" domains of Neptune ;

" The Greatest and the best of all the main."

Comus f V. 28.
This lift pretends not to include all the editions of Milton's

EDITIONS. 199

Poetical Works : for, no doubt, many more exift. The moft im-
portant, it is prefumed, have been mentioned. The curious
and intelligent reader, while he can make additions to the pre-
ceding account, will candidly excufe omiffions. Editor.

FINIS.

1

CRITICAL DISSERTATION

ON T H E

CHARACTER AND WRITINGS

o F

PINDAR AND HORACE,

IN A LETTER TO

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

THE EARL OF B

B Y

RALPH SCHOMBERG, M. D.

WILLOW OF THE SOCIETY OF A2f TIC^AP lEs!

9ifJLAt Moi^O'^ CcTz/tf^ft.

T. O N B 9 N :

PRtl^'TEp FOR T. BECKET ANI> P. /It, DE HCVDTj • '

ZN THE STRAND.

M DCC tXiX.

henewyo .1

TILD6N FOUNDATlOwa
1900.

•1 .

\.:

. .. i «^ * ^' ■■•

' V -> C €"- -

laV^^y

\-- ■ I- , < * - II • 1 I ' . t , ,

I I !■ — — — — 11^— — — — — , 11 ■> ; ■

ADVERTISEMENT

JL H E foll6wing pages were written lA
confcquence of a converfation which pafTed
between the noble Lord to whom they

arc addreflcd, and the Author, they

were iritended as an amufing recolleftion of
the beautiful paflages which have fo defer-
vedly crowned our two lyric poets with im*
mortality^

If the author has fucceeded in his endea-
vours, to render them equally pleafing to his
candid readers^ the l^ours he has fpent in
colleding all that is faid upon the fubjed,

will not have been mifemployed, more

happy in their approbation, than anxious
about the rerfedtions of the ill-natured and
the illiberal, whofe praife or cenfure is alike

indifferent to him i to them, he would

beg leave to recommend the following very
fenfiblc and humane paflage in the 145th
Numb, of the Rambler^ '* As every writer
** has his ufe, every writer ought to have
•* his patrons 5 and fince no man, however
«* high he may now ftand, can be certain,
*• that he (hall not be foon thrown down from
** his elevation, by criticifm or caprice, the
3 <* commou

ADVERTISEMENT, V .

'* common intereft of learning requires, that
^^ her fons fhould ceafe from inteftane hoftiv
*^ litics, and intlead of facrificing each othcF
'' to malice and contempt, cQdeavoar to
*• avert perfecution from the meaneft of
'* their fraternity."

I have attempted to tranflate fuch paiTages
of Pindar^ Sep, as I found not done to mv
hands ; if they ^re not poetically executec^.
I hope, however, that I have been faithful
to my text, and given th^fenfet though not
thcjpirif^ of %\it ^qetf

PIN PAR

^

PINDAR AND HORACE

COMPARED,

MY LORD,

T.

O draw a parallel between the two greatcfl:
lyric poets of antiquity, Pindar and Horace,
is a talk of fo difficult a nature, as 1 fhould fcarce
have undertaken, had not the very writings of
thcfe celebrated poets themfelves, and the perufal
of fome ancient and modern authors, abundantly
furnilhed me with materials.

Various have been the conjedures of learned
men, concerning the time of Pindar's birth:
Gyraldus fays, " floruit vero, ut fcribit Eufebius^
' PiNDARus Lxxvi Olymp. Alii quidem lxv
' Olympiade eum vixifle fcribunt, quos inter Sni-
' das {yiyove^^ kclta rmv |e oWfjLTnetS'et) : fed i?oc tem-
* \)ore natum putarim, illo vero claruifle. Quo
' codcm tempore Xerxes in Graeciam ingentes illas
' copias terra marique du6tabat; Pindarus tucn
XL annum agebat.'* Pindar, if we may cre-»

B die

[ * ]

dit Eufehius^ flourifhed in the fevcnty-fixth 01ym«
piad ; Suidas and others place him in the fixty- fifth ;
I am of opinion, that tie was born in the former^
and becanrie eminent in the latter. He was about
forty, when Xerxes made his incurfions into
Greece, with a large, though unfuccefsful, land
and naval armament. — This expedition happened
four hundred and fourfcore years, or thereabout^
before the birth of Christ.

His father, as fome will have it, was ScopeUnus^
a player and teacher of the flute ; others, with more
probability, declare him to have been the fon of
Diapbantus^ and that his mother's name was
Myrtis or Myrlo.

The ancients, when their heroes, poets, orators,
and other eminent men became the fubjeft of their
converfations or of their writings, were fo fond of
the marvellous, that it frequently betrayed them
into the fabulous — they were either defcended from
the gods, or fome very furprizing event muft ufher
them into the world.

yE/r'^w ttlls us, that Pindar being expofed ia
his infancy in the highway, was nurfed by a fwarm
of bees, and that their honey ferved him inltead of

milk, " K^/ TltpJ^ci§Gf 7W^ TATgaAC OtKtAf tK7^d'iPri
^' yLihlTTAl 7fO(pOt iyiVOVIO^ VTT^f T» yA/iAK70( 'TTA^AT^
*^ ^itTAt yLzht ,

Philojlratus fays, '^ cli cTg . utra /usA/TTce/ m^n^ya,^

^^ ^QVTAi TO "PTAlJ^lCVj i^lCetKK^OrAl TO yUKl^ KAl Tcu KiV^

* Tfflt AViKHaa'Al., cTgSi TH iy^il^tJfJ(. AT Of KAi yA^

** T»TO Oi[JLAt elVTAf iV^A^Al Il/f/afiy."

It is differently reprelented in Paufantas — ri/rcTct-

pV cTe mhlKlAV OVTA ViAl'lO'HOVy KAt 40V7a £( Oia-TTlAi 'd-i^OVC
eO^A K(JLVp.ATQi 'TTt^l (Ai^OV(TAV ^JLAKI^A W^gfflty^ KOTrOi KAt
VTTVOi et'TAVTiS KATiKAfJiCAViy, O fJLiV J^W, G>i UX^^ ItflCTflUtAl-

ysTflt/ i?ffifc;^y i/Trsf TWf oJ^ov, ^jLihttrfTAt A <tt;Ta> KA'^tvJ^ovTi

3

PiNDARj

t 3 1

Pindar, whilft a youth, taking a journey from
Thebes to * ^befpia in very fultry weather, and find-
ing himfelf fatigued, retired out of the high road
to repofe himfelf in the (hade : during his fleep, a
clufter of bees depofi ted their honey upcjn his lips,
—a fure indication, that he would become an un-
common genius, and a moft excellent poet : this is
alfo pretended to have happened to Plato^ *' nx*-

*' rmos <fg [jLtKiTTAf m ro to^a Ktiftov tiya^€(r9ai^^' lays
jElian : by thefe fiftions however, nothing more is
meant, than that thofe perfons poflefled talents and
abilities far fuperior to the reft of mankind.

We meet with an epigram of Antipater^ in the
Anthologia^ pretty nearly to the fame purpofe,

OViPl [JLATflP ATAKOf ^H^Of Tip/ '/ithiffiV g^/LtOf

'ErrKAS'i KtifOif'iTov TlipJ^Af% cruo.iJLiKi.

Fixed on bis lips tbe bees not vainly bung^

But dropp* d their flowery fweets ^;z Pin d a r 's tongue.

I Horace alfo was of obfcure birth : his father
was a fiftimonger, or as Gyraldus obferves, " patre
** pr^cone libertina conditionis ;" he was rallied upon
this by fome of the Romans,

Quem rodunt omncs libertino patre natum.

jlsfor my/elf^ a freeman^ s fon ccnfeftj

A freeman' s fouy the publick f corn and j eft. Francis.

* Oc£rqri(« t;wo to o^o? toi> EXtKtfva UM.iqei%* Thf/pia built at th#
bottom of mount Helicon. Paufan. Boeot. chap. 26.

avm Kut E\iK6)» ; fituatcd to the fouthward of Helicoo, as it
were hanging over the Gulph of Criffaeus (now the Golfo di Sa-
lona) as does Helicon itfelf.

Strabo. B. 9. p 282, Vid.
Cellar. Geogr, Antiq, vol. 1. p. 1 147-

B 2 The

)

I 4 1

The word Jihertinus admits of two cortftruftiohs,
cither that his father was the fon of a manumitted
flaw, or that he himfelf had been enfranchifed.

He pretends in his infancy to have met with ^
fimilar adventure as PiiIdar and his bees, .in hist'
very fine ode,

Defcende coelo, &c.

which is chiefly in imitation of this Greek lyric
poet, — -they are both very happily imagined, and
chieHy intended to imprefs a veneration for their
inimitable productions.

Me fabulofse. Vulture in Appulo,
(Altricis extra lumen Apuliae,)
Ludo fatigatumque fomno,
Fronde nova puerum palumbes
Texere : mirum quod foret omnibus.

Fatigued with fleep, and youthful toil of ptay^
When on a mouptain brow reclined I l<(y.
Near to my natal foil, around my head,
,The fabled woodland doves a verdant foliage fpreac]^'

Francis.

Pindar was born at Thebes^ the metropolis-of
Bccotia: his countrymen were held in fuch high
contempt by the other nations of Greece for their
ftupidity and brutality, that they were nick-nanHed
the Swine of Bceotia : this he himfelf confefles in
his fixth olympiad, where addreffing himfelf to
u^mas^ who led the band of mufick, he exhorts
\i\m to take care his verfes may be well performed.

•QT^vvoy vvv ircttf>f<^

AtHct^ 'TT^OToy [ji^y H-

*— fay TAf^iytAv KihcLtfna'Ai.

yvofyat Ti-^ren^A^^eLtoy ayitJ^o^ ctKtt^

AncJ

t 5 1

And you, JEneas^ drive your ready choir.
Let their firft march be into 7«w's pfaife.
And fliew the wond'ring world, if e*cr my lays.
Betray my country's weaker fire.
If not with juftice I decline
The vulgar rude reproach — a dull Baetian Jwine.

Kenrtet*3 life of Pindar. .

Horace was born zt^VenuJium^ an obfcure
city of Apulia \ the inhabitants were efteemed to
be remarkably treacherous, and notorious thieves
and robbers. The Brutiiy from whom they de-
fcended, were, according to Diodorus Siculus^ origi-
nally a band of wretched flaves and banditti, who
after having bafely aflaflinated their mafters, and
pillaged the neighbouring country, halted, and
took up their abode in the mountains, where they
kept their ground and long maintained themfelves,
favoured by the inacceffible fituation of their re-
treats, as well as by the force of their arms.

The provinces of both our lyric poets were in-
volved in dangerous wars ; and they both of them
were equally engaged on the wrong fide : Pindar^
* feized with a pannic, fhamefully fled at the firft
approach of Xerxesy and with the reft of his coun-
trymen, contrary to the general opinion of all
Greece^ meanly fubmitted to the Ptrftans ; fo that
when thofe barbarians were afterwards fotalLy
routed, the Tbebans were deemed defertersf, and
ftigmatized with the odious appellation of traitors,
becaufe they had meanly betrayed the common
Caufe.
/ Horace commanded a legion under Brutus,

• Now called Venofa^ a town of the bafilicatc, in the king-
dom of Naples^ and is the fee of a biihop.

iQuod

Quod mihi pareret legio Romano tribun(
That once a Roman legion own'd my power.

Fronds^

but he was fo far from behaving with courage and
intrepidity, that he fled with .precipitation, and
quitted the field of battle, on which he even pufil-
animoufly left his fliield,

Sed me per hoftes Mercurius celer
Denfo paventer fufhilit aere

-& celerem fugam
Senii, relida, non bene, parmula.

But me, when dying with my fear.
Through warring hofts, enwrapp'd in air.
Swift did the God of wit convey

; And dropped alas I th* inglorious ftiield.'

Francisl

this among the ancients was held in the higeft ab-
horrence {JEpaminondas, after having been mortally
wounded, exprefled the utmoft fatisfaftion as he
expired, when he was told his (hicld lay near him.
The matrons of Sparta^ at taking leave of their
fons, before they went upon any warlike expedition,
ftriftly charged them to return with their (hields,
or upon them, that is with glory, or with lofs of
life. Plutarch in his Spartan apothegms fays,

Mvyiovn^ racvovy e^w, m 7ap^ m st/ ta^ — fltAAw Tfo'iiovTt r»

Via €T/ ^KOKi^lOV^ AVA^ii^OVaA TVW AVTCiIa^ TfltVTWI' C^M
^*TMf 0*0/ fta'a>^S, TLAl CV OVV Ttfl/Tfltr tf"®^«, H /U» gtf-g ■

yiriftophanes in many parts of his writings tells us,
that to call a man f/4<«fl"jr/J^€, a thrower away of his
Ihicld, was the gr^ateft infult you cogld put upon,
him.

If

C 7 ]

If the principles of thefe two poets be confidered,'
we fhall find them very different, both in religious
as well as moral points : from many paifages in
Pindar, we are certain, he held the Gods in high
veneration, he ftrongly enforces piety. — It is our
duty, fays he, to fpeak well of the • Gods :—
Many of the poets of thofe days were not fo fenti-
mental in this refpedt, and Ariftopbanes efpecially,
who in various parts of his comedies treats the
Deities with great difrefped, and Hercules in parti-
cular ; charging them with the vices and debau-
chery of mortals, with gluttony, fcnfuality, &c«
Pindar, on the contrary, fays.

But fhall I the blefl abufe ?
With fuch tales to flain her fong.

Far, far be it from my mufe :
Vengeance waits th* unhallow'd tongue^ ,

G. mji:

Plato in his dialogue entitled Meno^ calls Pindar^
divine, becaufe he flrongly maintained the immor-
tality of the fouL htyt /£ XAi TliyJ^afQf Ktti dLKhoi 'jroh^

Tny 4^X'^^ *^^ AV^fOTOV ilVAt Ad'AVATOP^ &C.

The following pafTage in his fccond olympick,'
wherein he treats of the pjeafures allotted for his
heroes, and the punifhments inflicted on the wicked,
IS a (Iriking teilimony of his piety and religioui
regard for the Gods

• So Sopbocfes in his Ajax,

•T/

[ 8 ]

The happy mortal, who thcfe treafores ihare^
Well knows what £ate attends his geh'rous cares^
Knows, that beyond the verge of life and ligbc^
In the fad regions of infernal night.
The fierce, impracticable, ctkirliih n^ind,
^ A^nglng Gods, and penal woes fliall find i
"Where ftrifl: inquiring juftice fhall hewray
The crimes committed in the realms of day;
Th* impartial judge the rigid law declares.
No more to be reversed by peiwtwce pr prayers*

G.fFeft.

His hymns, dithyrambicks, pseans, and many
more of his compofitions, whicii have been un-
' fortunately loft, were undouhtely written in praife
of the Gods, and to celebrate his heroes : his houfe
at Thebes was near the temple of Rhea^ to whom
he paid a more than common adoration *, his fcho-
4iafts fay, he greatly reverenced this divinityj for f^
^as remarkably good and pious. CalamiSy a ftatuary of
the firft eminence, executed a ftatue of Jupiter
Ammon at the expence of Pindar, which waji
|>laced in a chapel, built and dedicated by him to
that deity. He was fo great a favourite with
Apollo^ that of the firft fruits which were off^ered
•at his fhrine, one half was given to this his be-
loved poet : he had a chair alfo allotted to him ip
the temple of that God, in which he fat whihT: he
fang his hymns in praife of Apcllo : this cl^air
Paufanias faw, and it was eftcemed as a moft valu-
able relique of antiquity, and well worthy of fo holy
and magnificent an edifice. Avakutch /e ou woffo rnt

4C

[93

«A<^orto /§> fays Pbslqftratus^ xat «/ irt/f/9<e/ x^^-^^^' ^^

%dLt Aftt^MftHVAi row 'STAfU^ ^7i cTft AVTOf, OTft TliV<f'a.fOf
%f TO TOKtP «^f)C€7«^ tf/XfAMtf-ttFTA t^ CKi^TAf y 0t<^f If 7« 7V

tl/r/tfftf. ^* Ptf;f, it is faid; danced and jumped
about attended by the Nymphs, for joy at the
birth of this prince of lyric poets — with whofe
compofltions he was fo infinitely deh'ghted, that
he fung his odes in the very prcfence of Pindar
himfelf J** the greateft compliment furely that
could have been paid him. Pindar, fays Pauja^
fuaSj towards the decline of life faw Proferpine^ who
heavily complained of his negleft in not having
once compofed an hymn in honour to her^ though
he had paid that refpeftful duty to every other Deity \
and that Ihe therefore expeded he wrould write one
in compliment to her, as foon as he fhould arrive
in her dominions; and he adually died a' very
Ihort time after (ten days) and appeared to an old
female relatiotiy to whom he fung an ode in ho-
nour of Proferpinej which the good old wvman^ as
foon as (he awoke, faithfully tranfcribed word for *
■word as (he had heard it repeated. xs^Jr^t/ /g ko^

^HffATof O'^tv etu7e» yififf^Ai cr^oajtoyti if yy.^etf. iTtfAO'dt,

If Tffd'S^Orn Ot KOL^tvJ^OVTt OVK ipH^KiV VfJLPH^m'Ai fJLOiili

Biav i/To IT/r/tffv. riwwd'iir ^liv toi xai u ttvmv ^ff^et
TltvS'Afov iK^ovTA af AVjinv — ttai 7or iiiV avtska to p^ftd^r

rJFiKdLyi£AVii^ T^IV i^nMi9 n^JLi^AV J'iKATflU ATO TOV ^VUfA^

70^. Hf /i iv QnCAif y^9ti nr^iaCarif yivcuf iu'Wa Tfarw*

XOt/0'a ri/r/ftffll, KAt TA TOhKA lJii[L%Ki TUKViA aJ^HV 7fi»F
Aff^TOf. TtfUtW UiPJ'A^Cf tVVTPtOV 7» ^fi^CvTtJ^i ftT/fCtf,

t/firr v/ir u 'Jrif^tpovnv. n /if ctt/T/xtf, off A^jriKi'jriv Avr§p

VTTPOf^ iy^A'^t 7CIV7«^ O^Otf-tf 701/ OyU^ATOf moVClV Aj'oyTf.

Notwith-

[ lo 3 .

Notwkhftanding the carmen feculare and many
odes of Horace feem to contain paflages much
in commendation of the Gods, and though he de-
clares in his fixth fatire

Affifto divinis &Cj

It is neverthelefs agreed on all hands, that he was
by no means a very pious man; but on the con-
trary, that he had a very indifferent opinion of the
eftablifhcd religion of his times, and gave himfelf
very little trouble concerning the exiftence or
power of the divinity •, nay he himfelf confefTes, /

Parcus Deorum cultor & infrequent &c.

A fugitive from Heaven and pray'r

I mocked at all religious fear, Francis.

And although he afterwards fays.

Nunc retrorfum
Vela dare, atque iterare curfus
Cogor reliftos.

But now
Hoift fail, and back my voyage plow
To that bleft harbour which I left before.

Francis.

he treats the manner of his converfion in fo ludi-'
crous a manner, that we. may eafily believe he does
not fpeak as he thinks ; and indeed he is far from
diguifing his principles, in the third fatire of the
fccond book,

Jupiter, ingentes qui das, adimifque dolores.
Mater ait pueri menfes jam quinque cubantis,
Frigida fi puerum quartana reliquerit, illo
Mane die, quo tu indicis jejunia, nudus
In Tiberi ftabit, cafus mcdicufqe levaric

JEgrum

t " ]

^grum ex praecipiti ; mater dclira necabit
In gelida fixum ripa, febrimque reducer.
Quone malo mencem concufTa ? timorp deorum.

Her child beneath a quartan ague lies,

For full five months, when the fond mother cries,

• Sicknefs^nd health are thine, all-powerful Jove;

• Then from my fon this dire difeafe remove,

• And when your priefts this folem n feaft proclaim,

• Naked the boy (hall ftand in Tiber^s ftream*.
Should chance or the phyfician's art upraife
Her infant from this defperate difeafe.

The frantic dame fhall plunge her haplefs boy.
Bring back the fever^ and the child deftroy.
Tell me, what horrors thus have turn'd her head ?
Of the good Gods a fuperflitious dread — •

Francis.

I In his fifth fatire of the firfl book, where he is
giving a defcription of his voyage to Brundijiim^
in company with his friend and patron Macenas^
he very pleafantly rallies the priefts of Egnacia*,
who were endeavouring to perfuade him that in
their temple the incenfe diflTolved fpontaneoufly,
^nd without the affiftance of fire frpm the altar.

Dehinc Gnatia lymphis
Iratis exftrufta dedit rifufque jocofque,
Dum, flamma fine, thura liquefcere limine facro

Perfuadcre cupit credat Judaccs Apella ;

Non ego. Namque Deos didici fecurum agere

sevum ;
Nee, fiquid miri faciat natura, deos id
Triftes ex alto coeli demittere tedto.

Then water curs'd Egnatia gave in joke,

And laughter great, to hear the moon-flruck folk

• Egnatia a town of Naples between Brindi/i ^ndi Bari, now

called "ferra di Jn^zxo, —

C 2 AfTert,

I

[ " ]

Aflcrt, if inccnfc on their altar lay, ^
Without the help of fire it melts away, ^" ..
The fons of circumcifion may repcivc
The wondefous tale which I (hall ne'er believe
For Tve been better learn'd, in blifsful eafc
That the good Gods enjoy immortal days
Nor anxioufly their native Ikics forfake.

When miracles the lawa of pature break.

- Francis^

This perfcftly agrees with the ingenuous con-
fefTion he makes his friend Tibullus^ in his letter to
that very agreable poet.

Me pinguem & nitidum bene curata cute vifcs
Cum ridere voles Epicur'i dc gregc porcum.

And here in fleet and Joyous cafe
You'll nnd, for laughter fitly bred
A hog by Epicurus fed. Francis.

We have no fatisfadlory accounts of the^uca-
tion of Pindar ; it is faid indeed, that his father
ScQpelinus taught him the flut?, intending it as a
profeQion for him ; but finding his genius adapted
to undertakings of a far fuperior nature, he placed
him with Lafus a lyric poet, whom he foon ex-
celled : Suidas fays he was the difciple of Myrtis^
fjta.^ii7H( iTi MufTz/oj yvvatneOi » Others again afiert
that he ftudied a long time with the celebra«-ed
Corinna^ who upon account of her moft furprizing
abilities was called the Divine^ and the tenth Mufe.
We may however very reafonably fuppofe, that,
confidering the obfcurity of his birth, and the
narrownefs of his finances, he could have re-
ceived but very little advantages from education
-—he was more indebted to nature, and to his ge-
nius ; of this he was himfclf fenfible, and he very
gratcfulljr ^t the fame tim? acknowlegcs his inf^-

[ 13 ]

nite obligation to Providence who had fo liberal)/
provided for him : he knew what a great d)iFe-
rence there was between him and his rival poets ;
be was the favourite child of nature^ they were the

drudges of art he compares them to bafe crows,

bifnfdf to the tow'ring eagle,

■ ■■Afl6 ui'ti^ ^VA0

Yet in my well-ftor'd bread remain

Materialsto fupply
With copious argument my moral (train,
Whofe myftic fcnfe the wife alone decry*
Still to the vulgar founding harlh and vain.

He only, in whofe ample bread:
Nature hath true inherent genius pourM,
The praife of wifdom may contcft— —
Not they who with loquacious learning ftor'd.
Like crows and chattVing jays, with clamorous cries,
Purfue the bird of Jove, that fails along the ikies.

G. Weft.

The education of Horace was quite different :
let us attend to what he fays himfeli about it—

/

Atqui fi vitiismediocribus, ac mea paucis

Mendofa eft natura
Caufa fuic pater his, qui macro pauper agella
Noluit in Flavi ludum me mittere, magni
Quo pueri magnis e centurionibus orti- ' '
Sed puerum eft aufus Romam portare, docendum
A^tes quas doceat quivis eques atque Senator
Semct progenitos
Xpfe mihi cuftos jncorruptiflTimus amores

^ Qrcum

[ H ]

Circum doftores aderat— — quid multa ?-

. -ob hoc nunc

•

Laus illi debetur, & a me gratia major-
Nil me psniceac fanum pacris hujus

Nam fi nacura juberet
A certis annis :cvum rcmeare peradlum,
Atque alios legere ad faftum quofcumque pa«

rentes
Optaret fibi quifque, meis contcntus"

If feme few trivial faults deform my foul —
— My father was the caufe, who tho* maintain'd
By a clear farm but poorly, yet difdain*d
The country fchool-mafter, to whofe low care
The mighty Captain fent his high-born heir.—
— To Rome by this bold father was I broughty
To learn the arts which well-born youth are

taught
— Himfelf my guardian, of unblemiflied truth
Among my tutors would attend my youth.
And thus prcferv'd my chaftity of mind

•tor this my heart, far from complaining pays,
A larger debt of gratitude and praife.
Nor while my fenfes hold fhall I repent
Of fuch a father, nor with pride refent -

> For if nature (hould decree

That we from any ftated point might live
Our former years, and to our choice (hould give
The Sires to whom we wilhed to be allied.
Let others chufe to gratify their pride ;
While I contented with my own, refign
The titled honours of an ancient line, Francis^

We may upon the whole very reafonably con-
clude that Pindar and Horace, the manners
and morals of the age they lived in confidered,
were both of them men of honeft principles ; tho*
in many particulars we may trace an intermixture
of good and bad qualities in them-^-— *they were

both

[ 15 ]

both of an amorous complexion, and highly jea-
lous of their fame ; xhtitfelffufficiency was a vanity
by no means mifbecoming, nay was very allowable
to Poets of their diftingui(hed Charaftcrs. — They
were admired by the beft and the politeft judges of
good writing; and yet fometimes met with ill
treatment from the ignorant and the illiterate,
who envied them their deferved and well-merited
honours.'

We cannot be fo thoroughly acquainted with
Pindar in his private life, as to give any circum-
ftantial account of his perfonal difpofkions ; we
c^n only form our judgment of them by the high
reputation in which he was held when living, and
from the noble fentiments we meet with in the
diflferent parts of his writings, in which he paints
Virtue in the mod amiable colours, and Vice in
her moft detefted deformity ; he every where
breaths fuch a fpirit of honour and morality, that
it is impoflible but that he muft have had fenti-
ments infpiring virtue and generofity, and a foul
happily confticuted for the utmoft exertion of every
thing that was good, juft, and honourable.

Some of his compofitions are fo moral, fo full
of religious fqntimcnt, fo exalted, that many are,
of opinion that he drew jthem from the fountain
head, or rather, that he borrowed them from the

holy Scriptures this is the judgment of Clemens

Alexandrinus^ who in his third book and tenth chap-
ter of his Pedagogue, fays t"hat Pindar in the
following paffage,

9

The ftolen joys of love how fvvect !

had an eye to the following fentence in the pro-
verbs, ** for (he fitteth at the door of her houre,
** on a feat in the high places of the city ; to call
f * paflengcrs who go right on their ways ; whofo is,

4 '* fimple

*

1

^

[ i6 J

^^ fimple, let him turn in hither, and as for him

*^ that wanteth underftanding, flie faith to him,
*' Jiolen maters arefweet^ and bread taten in fecret is
t* pleafant*\

fioietrtof UifJ^afofy &C«

It is very extraordinary that thid fame writer
fhould pafs over another fentiment of Pindar^
which he evidently had taken from the books of

Solomon. . ^

ffKlAf oyctf AP^§u*TO$ ■

the antiflrophe which he fo frequently ufes, is the
only part which differs from that wife and Roval
Author's expreifion, calling it the dream of ajba-
dowy inftead of the Jhadow of a dream : Sophocles
has very happily imitated this in his Ajax^ where
Ufyjffes {zysy

Oftf yAf tlfMLf tf/f fr 097A< <(AAe TKnf

Frail mortals are no more
Than a vain image, and an empty (hade.

FrankRn*

How emphatically does Pindar recommend
Juftice ? which he calls the very bulwark of a
commonwealth.

How nobly does he inculcate valour ;uid intre-
pidity !

• yiiyet^ eTf KiVuht •

Ti Ki 7if tf'PeowyLQV yn^A? iv ^*or«»

KaK»P AjJ^l^e^Qf.

til the paths of dangerous fame

TrcmbUng cowards never tread %
Yet fincc all of mortal frame

Muft be niimber*d with the dead.
Who in dark inglorious fhade

Wou*d his uwieft life confume.
And with deedlefs years decayM,

Sink unhoHOiii^d to the tomb ? G. U^eft.

lYhat a beautiful leflbn to monarchs is this I .

Let drift juftice ftetff
With equitable hand the helm of ftate.
And arm thjr tongue with truth — O! king bd-

wafe
Of evVy ftep ! a prince can never lightly err.

G. fFeft.

How ilrongly does he check the pride of man
in thefe very expreflive and elegant lines !

KAi TO ^eUlTOP /l/AJt^, CCTff/Et/tf|r Tf &Vyy9fSP — *
tPTAi^KOlO'lf Afi ■■ •

But hail Arccfilus ! all hail
To thee ! blefs'd father of a fon fo great I

Thou, whom on fortune's higheft fcale
The favourable hand of heaven bath fet.
Thy manly form with beauty hath refin'd.
And match'd that beauty with a heavenly mind*

D Yet

C '8 ]

Yet let not man too much prefomef'
Tho* grac'd with beauty's faireft bloomf
Tho* for fuperior ftrength renown'c],
Tho' with triumphal chaplets crown*d :
Let him remember, that in flefh array'd.
Soon (hall he fee that mortal veftment ftde.
Till loft imprifon'd in the mouldVing urn.
To earth, the end of all things, he return.

He exprefTes himfelf in the following manner^
when fpeaking of ingratitude,

tlaya, pa,v7i rttvret

Toy €u^fiTctr ttydvcttf AyLOi^Aii

In Pluto\ dark and dreary plain,'
To his winged wheel Mon bound
Which moves in one eternal rounds

Groaning with anguifh and defpair.

He calls aloud (but calls in vain).

Of bafe ingratitude beware !

By my example taught in time,

O ! Ihun that moft abhorred crime.

Virgil has imitated this paflagc. in his fixth
JEneid, where Thefeus fays,

Difcite juftitiam moniti & non temnere Divos.

Be juft ye mortals! by thefe torments aw'd,
Thefc dreadful torments, not to fcorn your God.

P/V/.

The man of truth and fincerity, he fays, has
many and infinite advantages in all ftates, whether
they be monarchical, popular, or ariflocraticalr

it

C 19 ]

Wc reid in Aibetiseus a prayer Pindar addrcfles
to Jupiter^ by which we may judge of the fweet-
nefs of his temper and manners, as well as the fin-
cere defire he had of living without reproach and
untainted.—^ —

Father of Gods and Men,
Satqrnian Jove direft my pen.
Ye Mufcs teach my flowing verfe
His, and your praifes to rehearfe 5
To do what's pleafing be my ca,re
Attend, and liften to my pra^y'r.

Thus HoRAos,

Nee turpem feneSam
Degerej^ ncc cithara carentem.

From age and all its weaknefs free
O ! fon of Jove preferv'd by thee,,
Give me to ftrike the tuneful lyre.
And thou my lateft fong infpire. Francis.

It would be endlefs, was I to endeavour to give
a detail of every paflage in which Pindar de-
ftribes his ftrong love of, and his unfeigned at-
tachment to virtue-^certainly, he could not but
think as he writ — he would no doubt elfe have
been found tripping, and contradiding his owa
opinions in fome part or other of his writings —
for his obfervation is very juft, when he remarks,

P 2 fTe

[ to ]

We cannot always cQnceaf 9ur inclinatm$ \ kons an4
foxes never quit their ferocity or cutmin^.

To yctf

Naturam expellas furci, tamen ufqae recurrett

Tho' ftatUf6*s driven out with prdud difdaih.
The powerful goddefs will returh again. jPrancis.

The honeft integrity of Pindar appears every
where confpicuoufly difplayed through im whole of
his worlds -, this gave occafion to the fine difcourfe
made by Agias in the Sympojia of Plutarch^ Ta fecr
Mv Ofinfov S'^tTvet X^'f^'^ layiiv. xnratyLesj^n y^ w xam

^iletv^etyLd^ TO KotVOfvUv ATdLvray ctAXuXtfff^. fjifurt ^f tllf
oiov Avetui^K A^^m^ai Xflti ffyyK^ifif, t»7o /g /ici/ff^/< xam

vuv J^vvA^jLive^v. Valeant ergo Homeric^ co6na?, a fa*
me & fiii non ufquequaque I'iberSe, & quibus prae-
fint regcs Italicis cauponibus ad rem attentioi^s, qui
in ipfis prgeliis praecife commemoredt, quantum in
ccena apud ipfos qutvis biberit. Pindarics rnmi-
rum incHores, in quibos Heroes vcnerandam jux-
ta menfatn permilcentur ; ea enim vera eft per-
mixtio, cum omnia omnibus funt communia : ficut
contra diyulfio eft, quae crimen difcordiae amicif?
fimrs ingerit, cum in bbfonium quidem communt-
care po(fe vidcntur.

That HoRACx was a man of pleafure aiid gal-
lantry, is moft certain •, his eafy addrefe and pome-
nefs of converfation, no. doubt, introduced him IQ
(he ladies, whofe favourite h? W4s.

1 Qyem

i

\

[ 21 1

Quern iemuis dectiere togas nicidique t^Ljp^li ;
Qqem fcis immunem Cynarae placui(fe rapach

In youth perhaps with t\6t ungrateful pride,
I wore a filkcn robe, perfumed rhy hair.
And without prefcnts charm'd the Venal fair.

He was fo fond of hU liberty and eafe, that ht
could brook no reftfaint, oor fubmit to any con-
finement, and even refufed the honourable, as well
ias lucrative poft of fecretary^ offered him by jfu*
gujlu^ : and though he loved M^cenas with all the
warmth of the moft cordial friendfhip, ^fid though
he was perfectly fenfible of hit great obl^ations to
t\i2X minijlsr^ yet cannot he help remonftrating to
his patron,

Quod fi mt noles ufquam difcedere ; reddas
Forte latus^ tvigros augufta fronte capillos ;
Reddas dulce loqui ; reddas ridere decorum, ec
Inter vina fugam Cynarae moererc protcrvas.

And yet, if I muft never fcavd you irtore.
Give me my former vigourj and reftorc
The hair, that on the youthful forehead plays.
Give me to prate with joy, to laugh with cafe.
And o*ei* the flowing bowl^ in fighing ftrain
To talk of wanton Gynara^^ difdain. FtMcis.

and after having in a few words recounted the fa-
ble of the young fox who got into the granary,
and had filled his paunch in iuch a manner, as not
to be able to repafs through the hole he had crept
in at — he proceeds,

Hac ego fi compellar imagine, cunfta refigno^

If in in this tale th* unlucky picture's miiie,
Cbearful, the gifts of fortune I refign, FfOfcis.

an4

.4^

I

I

■£

C " 3

and now, fays he, put me to the triil^ and fee whe^
ther I could not Tery readily and chearfuUy give
up every pofleflion your bounty bellowed on me— »

Infpicc, fi poflum donata reponere Isetus.

His moral charaAer, and the high fenfe he had
,of honour, may be feen in every part of his writ-,
'ipgs ; and this he himfelf feems much to boaft of^

Non patre pFSclaro, fed vit4 & pedore puro.

and again, in the eighteenth ode of the fecond
book.

At fides & ingeni
Benigna vena eft » n

Yet with with a firm and honeft heart.
Unknowing or of fraud or art, Brands.

His odes are full of noble and elevated feati-
mencs : virtue is every where diftinguifhed and in-
culcated : vice, upon all occafions, he explodes and
abhors — the very ingenuous and fclf-confcflions
we meet with in his fatires, concerning his own
foibles and infirmities, are truly great, and the
juftnefs of his way of thinking appears through
the whole tenor of his compofitions, which we
cannot too much admire— no man was cyer fo
delicate in his notions of friendfhip

•Amatorcm quod amic«

Turpia decipiunt caecum vitia, aut etiam ipfa hajc

Delefltant : -.

Vellem in amicitia fie erraremus, & ifti
Errori nomen virtus pofuiffet honeftum.

And yet a (horter method we may find.
As lovers to their fair are fondly blind.
Even on her uglinefs with tranf^ort gaze

i^i^

o\\

t as 3

Oh 1 were our weaknefs to our friends the &m€i
And ftamp'd by virtue with feme honed name«

Francis.

Speaking of thofe who atr too morofe, and too
fevere in their ccnfure of others, how agreeably;
|;ood-natured is his remark !

» ■ eheu !

Quam temere in nofmet legem landmus iniquam I
Nam vitiis nemo fine nafcitur^i—
Alas ! what laws, of how fevere a ftrain
Againfl ourfelves we thoughtleOy ordain !
For wc have all our vices—— Francis.

Obferve with what propriety he confeiTes his
own imperfections, which he means by his beft en-
deavours to get rid of^

Mediocribus, & quels

Ignofcas^ vitiis teneor ; fortaflis & iftinc
Largiter abftulerit longa aetas, libfi' amicus,
Confilium proprium s neque enim cum le&ulusj|

aut me
Porticus cxccpit, dcfum mihi ' ■ ■ ■

Some venial frailties you may well forgive.
For fuch I own I have ; and yet even thcle
Or length of time, altho^ by (low degrees,
A friend fincerc, who can with candour love.
Or my own reafon, fhall perhaps remove.
For in my bed, ot in the colonade
Sauntering, I call jefledtion to my aid. Francis.

How finely doth he defcribe frugality in his Ic-
<^ond fatire, book the firft ? With what juftnefs has
he painted avarice in the firft fatire of the firft:
book ? How humoroufly does he lafli the pride
and vanity of the Roman nobility in the fixth fatire
of the fame book ? How ftrongly does he expofe

adultery

tdoltery In the fecood fficire, bock the firft ? HovO"
wktiljr he ridicuks rure \n nil ibapcsin the thiixl fa-^
tire, book the fecond ? In (hort, his obfervations and
reflexions tbrowghout all bU worfes^ are j«ft« fcufi-
ble, ppegcal, and tryjy mQral-rT—af>d indeed, ali
be fays is fo ftrikingly ixDDjreffiivrj thw it is inj-
poflible not to feel it—his manner is fo engag-
ing, and he treats the mod grave and ferious fpb-
jeds with ftich beconiing wit and delicacy^ tbaC
we are more readily perdtaded and inftrujfted by
them, than by the mott philofopfiieal difipurfe ; for
as he himfelf very fe hfibly and very juftly obfcrves^

— — — ridiculum acri
Fortius & melius magnas plerun^que (ecat vg%

For ri^ifiuje OiaII fre^juently pr*vml»

And cut the knot^ when graver rcaibns fail*

Francis.

We QaaH have occafipn for no /^rtber proofe in
confirmattpp of this f^bje(5): : the friefidlh^ oi (he
greatefl: wics, c^ the cnolt learned men> of %h^ iQoft
refpedable charafters in Rome, and of the very
belt poets, »ill fufficiently atteft it : VirgU (irft in-
troduced him to the acquaintance of M^ecenaSj who
could never afterwards 'Jive without him; even the
great Augujius was fo charmed with his converfa-
tion, that he diftinguifhed him by the name of
kpidijjimum homuncionem^ and would willingly have
engaged him to accept of the poft of private cabi-*
net fecretary.

Pindar in no part of his writings appears in-<
clined to fpeak with malignity againft any perfon,
no, not even againft his enemies, who upon all
occafions took opportunities to do him ill offices ^
he plcafes himfelf with this comfortable reflection.

It is better tc be envied than fitted,

and

C 25 ]

and he much extols thofe who never lend an ear to
fuch calumniators, who, fays he, are not only dis-
agreeable to others, but arc even fo to themfelves,
full of chicanery, falfehood, and fox-like cunning j

€tfji^o7ifoif^ J^ittCoKiay vro^ctr^tf

he laughs with indignation at their weak efforts to
injure him, compearing himfelf to a cork, which
can never be made to fink, in fpite of all endea-
vours.

he is now and then indqed betrayed into an ill-
natured declaration, but it is very rare 1 will

be a friend to my friends, but I openly declare
myfelf a bitter foe to my enemies, and I fhall take
every occafion, and employ every method to throw
myfelf upon them as a wolf, to bring about their
deftru€lion.

(piKov sin

however, he foon recovers his temper, and ob-
ferves, that the example of * Archilocbus is a fuffi-
cient warning — not too eafily to encourage a pro-
penfiry to cenfure, or to invidious altercation.

• He was a poet of the ifland of Paroi (one of the Cyclad
Iflands). He wnt fo fmart a fatire againft Lycambes, who after
having promifed him his daughter, married hctr to another,
that he made him to hang hiinielf.

E HOR AC E

[ .6 ]

Horace has imitated this,

Archilochum proprlo rabies armavit lambo;

i\rchi]ochus, with fierce refentment warm'd.
Was with his own fevere iambicks arm'd.

Francis.

No man, on the contrary, could be, or was
more fcvcrc and fatirical than Horace ; he never
omitted an opportunity of difplaying his talent for
raillery— even in his odes he could not lay afidc the
bitternefs of his refleftions, unable to refill thai
acrimony which fliarpened his fatirical genius —

Tarcius jundlas quatiunt feneftras-

. Auuivere, Lyce, Di mea vota—

Beatus ille qui procul negotiis-*—

In his cdes.

At o Deorum

Jamjam cfiicaci

his fat ire is extremely keen \ fo is that againft

Ciijfitis Severus^

Quid immerentes— — — —
and that againft Mena the freedman of Pompeyy

Lupis & agnis— — — — ^

in fhort, in many others of which we may very
well fay.

Hie nigrjc fuccus loHginis, haec eft

-ffiru^o mera

Horace, however, knew perfeftly well how to
pay a compliment, whenever he was in a humour
to do ic— and he did it with inimitable grace and
e-legance ; this is a truth evident in many of his
odes : it is certain indeed, that the Roman nobi-
lity in the Augujtan age were very delicate in this
i point.

k

t ^7 ]

point, and that it was therefore very neceflary, that
the incenfe (hould not be fo ftrong as to become
rather ofFenQvc than acceptable,

Aptus acutis
Naribus horum hominum

Augujlus, in particular, was very remarkably nicd
upon this head 5 the panegyric muft be perfedly
well rounded that could be grateful to him \ he de*
fpifed the common*place, grofs and fulfome adu-
lations of an impudent flatterer. >

Cui male (i palpere, recalcitrat undique tutus. *

rioRACE was very fparing of it; and when he
does pay Augujlus a compliment, it appears as if it
were undefigned, and as if it arofe from the very
nature of the fubjeft, eafy and carclefs— — and yet
notwithftanding all this feeming indifference, is fo
admirably and energetically exprcflcd, that nothing
can be more finely imagined.

Cum tot fuftineas, &c.

How beautiful is that compliment to the Emperor
in his letter to ^inSlius !

Si quis bella tibi terra pugnata marique
Dicat ; & his verbis vacuas pcrmulceat aures,
Tenc magis falvum populus velit, an popuJum

tuo,
Servet in ambiguo, qui confulit & tibi & Urbi,
Jupiter J Augufti laudes agnofcere poflls.

If fome bold flatterer footh your lillening ears.
The conq'fing world, dread Sir, thy name re-
veres.
And Jove, our guardian God, with power divine,
"Who watches o*er Rome*s happinefs and thine.
Yet holds it doubtful whether Rome or you.
With greater warmth each other's good purfue— ;
This-praife, you own, is facred defar's fame —

Francis*
E a and

I

and that which he puts into the mouth of TirefioM
is mod charmingly turned, ,

Tempore quo juvenis Parthis horrendus ab alto
DemifTum genus ^nea, tellure marique
Magnus erit ■

What time a youth who (hall fublimely trace
From fam'd ^neas his heroic Tace,
The Parthian's dread, triumphant (hall maintain
His boundlefs empire over land and main.

Francis.

In the firft fatire of the fecond book, he intro-
duces Treiatius^ faying to him,

Aude
Csefaris invidi res dicere ; rpulta laborum
Praemia laturus— -

To immortal Caefar turn your lays.
Indulge your genius, and your fortune raife.

Francis.

with no other intention, than to have a fine oppor-
tunity of returning his friend this admirable an-
fwer, in which he, as it were, uninrendingly pays
jiugujlus the following noble compliment,

^— -Cupidum, pater optime, vires
Deficiunt, neque enim quivis horrentia pilis
Agmina, nee frafta pereuntes cufpide Gallos,
Aut labentis equo defcribat vulnera Parthi.

Oh ! were I equal to the glorious theme.
Bridled with fpears his iron war fhould gleam,
A thoufand darts Ihould pierce the hardy Gaul,
And from his horfe the wounded Parrthian fall.

Francis.

it is worthy of obfervation in this place, to fee how
cafily he runs into heroic verfe, when the greatnefs
of his fubjedl demands it—-; can any thing be more

fublimely

^

[ a9 ]

Sublimely expreflcd tbaq the followiog moft adttil*
rable lines, cfpecially when we conGdcr the morca-
lity of the perfon for whom they were written ;

Coelo tonantem credidimus Jovem
Pegnare-, pr^efcns divus habebitur
Auguftus

Dread Jove in thunder fpeaks his joft domain.
On earth a prcfent God (hall Ca:far reign.

Francis.

How very obligingly and elegantly does he fpeak;
of his friend and patron M^ecenas^ in anfwer to the
impertinence of the idle coxcomb, who would in-
trude himfelf into the houfe of that able and fa-
vourite minifter, by bribery and intrigue!

Domus hac nee purior ulla eft.
Nee magis his aliena malls.

No family was ever purer.

From fuch infeftions none fecurer. Francis. '

' We meet with a variety of paflages of equally in-
trinfic and fterling value in every part of his com-
politions.

Horace was open, generous and difinterefted :
Pindar was clofe, penurious and felfifh't but thea
we are to obferve, that our Gracian poet was born
of parents whole circumftances were very indifftf^

rent Horaci inherited a genteel patrimony,

which he forfeited at the battle in which Brutus loft;
his life.

•Unde fimul primum me dimifere Philippi
Decifis humilem pennis*, inopemque paterni
£t laris & fundi : paupertas impulit audax
Ut verfus facerem——

The rapid tide of civil .war amain.
Swept into arms, unequal to fufiaia

Tbt

£ 30 ]

The might of Caefar. Dread Philippi's field
Firft dipt my wings, and taught my pride to

yield.
My fortune ruin*d, blaftcd all my views.
Bold hunger cdg'd, and want infpir*d my mule.

Francis.

Both our lyric Poets^ however, found ways to .
procure comfortable fortunes, though by diffi^rent
methods — Horace was by no means covetous,
but PiKDAR certainly lov'd money, which he calls
tffi^or, the mod dcfirable of all things :

A ftar fuperlatively bright.

To man a joyous and all-guiding light*

and he therefore employed his utmoft fkill to ac-
quire it 5 he fold his verfcs at a pretty advanced
price ; hear what he fays^ addreffing the mufe.

To J^*€7f or i/ ^li^ct
ftifttf i/TAfyu^or*

Indeed, determined to fubmit

To fcU for gold — your fongs of wit.

he is far from being afliamed to confefi his vena-
lity : it was a cuftom eftabliflied long before his

time by Simonides ^nd others this he feems to .

hint at, in the beginning of his fccond Ifthmian
ede.

Ol ^iV TetKAt* ■ ■

U J^ipfOV llOt^A¥ tCAi """ •

"yoy

PIJL^A ^TAiJ^ursf <7ofw ■

•r, fx,%?iiyAfVAi v^y»^~— •

[ 31 ]

They who in ancient days*

Tuning their harps to foft and tender lays.
— As yet the mufe defpifing fordid gain.

Strung not for gold her mercenary lyre. .
^But now ihe fufFers all her tuneful train.
Far other principles to hold ;
And with the * Spartan fage maintain.
That, Man is wartblefs without gold.

G. Weft.

Pindar may neverthelefs be vindicated, if we
confider, that he did no more than what was war-
ranted by the cufloms, and by the manners of the
times I\e lived in— the very ingenious and ]earn<«
cd Mr. Gilbert Weft^ in his note upon this paffage,
to which I refer the reader, has mod admirably
and copioufly cleared him of this imputation.

There is not a line in Horace- but breathes a
fpirit of generofity : he lafhes the mifer ; and fpeaks \
highly in commendation of frugality and temjpe-
ranee; he appears at all times perfeftly fatisned
with his circumftances, and ever ready to refign to
fortune, what fhe had fo liberally bellowed upoq
him.

Laudo manentem ; fi celeres quatit
Pennas, refigno quas dedit, &: mea
Virtute me involvo, probamque
Pauperiem fine dote qusero.

I can applaud her while (he ftays,

But if (he (hake her rapid wings,
I can refign with carelefs eafe.

The richeft gifts her favour brings.

* Ariftodexnos,

Theri

C 32 1

Then folded lie in virtue's arms, • -
And honed poverty's undower'd cbarin«# /

FrofiCiS,

- Whenever he means to addrefi his friend and
patron M^cenas in order to obtalin a favour, he
does ir with fuch adroitnefs, with -fuch cafe, arrd:
with fo much wit, that he fcarce ft^AiS to aik i€«

Pauperemque dives

Me petit ; nihil fupra
Deos laceflb ; ntc potentem amicum
Largiom flagito,
» Saici$ heAtum unfdis Sabinis.

. " • *

I'm by the rich and great careft ;

My. |)atron's gift^ my Sabiiic field

Shall all its rural pSIenty yield ;^ „ .

But happy^if that rural ftore, -

Of heaven and him 1 aflc no ofiore, Francis.

and this lelTon he recommends to his friend Sc^eva^
when he kiftrufls him bow to condudk bimfelf tor
wardi a great perfonage, to Whofe protcdion^ pa-
tron^^ and ferviee he is about to attach himfelf.

Coram rege fua de paupertate tacentes
Plus pofcente fcrent — ?—

la filence, who their poverty conceal.
More than th' importunate, with kings prevail.

Francis.

He frequently entertained his friends Macenasj
Torquatus, and others of the prime nobiiity, and
was even elegant and fuperb in his bofpitality.

Men of merit and learning, ever fure of his
friendfhip, were fecure alfo in their pretenfions to
his warmeft recommendations ; his whole time,
when at Rome, was employed in rendering them
every fer\^ice in his power. The letters he writes
upon thofe occafions, are nervous and. perfuafivc.

He

[ 33 ] :

Hc^ad a very ekgant tafte for building, and even
engageid in it far beyond his abilities, as he himfelf
allows in his third fatire of the 6rft book, where
he. introduces Damafippus fairly rallying him for
this folly.

^ ■ p rimum

i^dificas, hoc eft, longos imitaris, ab imo

Ad fummum tocus moduli bipedalis— — —

Firft, that you build, and, fcarce two foot of

height.
Mimic the mighty ftature of the great. Francis.

and here, by the bye, we have reafon to imagine
that HoR AC d was low in ftature, a circumftance
he does Bot difown when fpeakidg of himfelf.

Corporis exigui, &c.

jfuguftus^ as has been already taken notice of,
nailed him, Lepidiffimum bomuncionem.

It is impoflible to determine any thing con-
cerning the ftature of Pindar •, but if we may
conjefturc from the compliments he pays little
men, we may reafonably fuppofe he was one him-r
felf.

He cannot boaft Oriotf^ height.

So terrible to human light,

Yet when he fprings upon his foes.

They feel the deadly force of all his blows.

F Tho^

m

I

C 24 J
Tho' of no large unwieldy fize
With fierce Anficus to difpute the prize, /
, By noble refolutipn fir'd,
Alcmena^s warlike fon from Tbeba retir'd.

Horace was of an hafty, and of a cholerif
difpondon, but at the Tame time very eafily brought
into good temper again.

Non dico horrendam rabiem— -

;|nd again,

Irafci celerem, tamen ut placabilis eflem,

To paffion quickly rais-d.
Yet not iU-natur'd, and with eafe appeas'd.

Francis.
the charaAeriftic, this, of a good mind, fince thofe
who fooneft take fire, are the looneft reconcileable,
and have not the leaft ill-will or malignity in their
compofition.

It is very evident, that both Pindar and Ho-
race were extremely amorous; Atberueus^ fpeak*
ing of the former, fays, he was » fitrfs&f ff 07iJtof— :
, amorous to an excefs — and he repeats a fong of
I^jndar's, in which he thus exprefles himfetf.

X«l KATtt KOJfOy [JLH Vfi76v7%§0f

Love, love alone poffefs my foul.

And in my heart know no controul |

Let others toil — whilft I employ

My hours and thoughts— in love and joy^ .

?nd another upon ^ecxenes^ a youth. Pindar wa^
^Xceffively enamoured with.

^Kt^J't GiO^iVCV AKTiVeLf TTfWir^'TQIf
fJLAlJLAfi^OtffAf J'feUUfj Of (JLH
WO^a KVyLAiVtlAl, t^ ctcTtfptFTff
}ft ClJ^AfiV Xfp^«A.I(€t/7dei fliKAiVAP

KAfJ'tAV 4v;^f« f^oyi'm ^ .. > » V

WhQ

t H J

yjjio cio linmov'd, Theoxenes^ behold

Without aftonilhing furprize,

The^beauties darting from thy eyes.

And not their killing influence feel—

Muft have a heart of ftone, or cas*d in ftcel—

And be— Or impotent — ©r old.

' It is greatly to be r^retted^ that we have loft fo
large a part of his works, fince by thefe little frag-
.'fnents which are handed down to us, we may fee,
that be introduced the Loves and Graces into his
odes, as well as Sappho and Anacrem ; and fome-
times laid afide that folemn majefty and pomp of
vcrfe, as evidently appears in the writings which
arc happily, preferved.

Horace abounds in the tender paflion i

Kec, (i quid olim lufit Anacreon,
Delevit aetas. Spirat adhuc amor
Vivuntque commifli calores
M6&a^ fidibus puellae.

Whatever old Anacreon fting.

However tender WM his lay.
In fpite of time is ever young, ^

■ Nor Sappho*s am'rous flames decay ;
'Her living fongs preferve their charming art,
'Her love ftill Ixeathes the paffions of her heart.

V FrancU.

Oi his odesi

Donee gratus eram -

Quam multa gracilis—^ — -
(^um tu, Lydia, Telephi ■

and many more, it may well be faid, that,

Venus
Quinti parte fui neftaris imbuit.

The love of boys, however deteftable and (hock-
ing to ns^ was by no means thought fo in the days

F % ^ of

[ $6 1

of ourP^Af. Pindar died in the arms of. hit
beloved fheo)cems\ and we are cold, that Hd|[ACs«
even at the hour of his approaching difl^aution,
orderedf kx)king-g)afl[es to be fixed in every corner
of his chamber; that he might at once behold th^
lafcivious images which were placed around ; and
in this fenfual manner entertained his wanton iina*
gination, ei^en to the very lad moment of his ex-
iltence.

They both of thfcm met with many crdflcs and
difappointments before they reached that degree of
reputation to which they at laft arrived-^ jEliau

fays UtvS'aJiH '*«/JPT*if— rtfcA-Stb"! 'Tnit'nvav cexfoetTce^,

»TTiid« itof iKm ir^v^Mti ; Corinna of Thebes, in her
contention with Pjndar for the prize in lyric
poetry, Carritd it five times from him fucceffivcly
— quare autem Find a rum vicerit (fays Gjral^
dus) duplicem caufam affert Paufamas\ & quod
Corinna ^olica lingua ufa eflet, non autem Do-
rica, qua Pindarus; & quod cum formoia eflet
foemina, facile judicum animps in fe converdt*
The reafon given by Paufanias why Corinna had the
advantage of Pindar in this poetical contefti is,
firft, becaufc (he employed the ^oiic dialefl:, Pin-
dar the Doric ; and (econdly, becaufe (he was
very remarkably handfome ; a prevailing argument
wiih her Judges to give a decree in her favour*
^lian calls them ctfut^to-i a%^ulta(^ unlearned au-
ditors This partiality in behalf of beauty, has

often prevailed, even in more modern days ; judges
having frequently decided on the (ide of the la-
dies, attrat^td by the power of their alluring
charms.

Pindar, if we may depend upon the authoriiy
of Atben^us^ drew upon himfelf the ill will and
jfaloufy of his contemporary brethren, for haying
compofcd an ode, wherein the ciy[t.A was entirely
omitted, Laudem magnam tulerat Pindarus ck
4 ' afigmo

[ 37 1

afigmo illo catKico, fecuca eft comes invidia, multia
r#r ctfTiTfXi'«»i^ ^on adco felicis ingenii idem po-
nacitibus noa pari fucceiTu, fays Caufabon^ in his
animadverfions upon this paliage— — We have a
few lines from his dithyrambics, in which Pindar
laughs at thefe cavillers^

juti TO ^Af KiCS'mKof «r^f*To/, *to
/i3^0feept^<»v— (vel A'JTd (Toiutrttf),

Olim quidem exulabat e carminibus cxilitas, &
fignum reprobum, O ! homines e Dithyrambis.

CafauboH.

Diotrjfius Halicarnajfeus fays, tvJ^^ fA%\oroiiA XlifJ'A*
fK «(^</^f 'T^tty^iA At^x^Koi — Pindar excels in lyric
poetry, jEfchylus in tragedy.

Horace had many enemies, and was obliged
to wade through many difficulties, before he could
arrive to that Hate of fuperiority, when he could
fay,

et jam dente minus mordeor invido,

of thefe fecret and concealed malignant fpirits wha
are ever bufily inftilHng their poifon into the car$
of the great, where, as Lucian fays, nothing is to
be met with but fufpicions, envy, falfehood and
double dealing, jealoufy and hatred, and that con-
tinual affiduity of -deftroying each other in the
opinion of their patrons orw yot^ ah f/s/^«f f^-

Ti/ov frxctu^^ XAi oi p^ofoi yuKiTTutri^oii kas ta yjs'n

Tiffw/r 1/ Tovti yviJLVv^iv gjn^ot ^iA^Atyro ris cafAATQ;.
Ke^s *7rf€n9^ at/ro< fxct^of Hv dsKofiivo^ *n'Af%v^iirAiy ha9
TAfAyKe$fi^%TAi Tor 'Trhus^toy^ kas rot Tfltf ctwrw, «/ J^vvoV'

TO^ • f VITf^flT* KAi VTOffKiKt^U* tV^A OfJL^V X?*^^''^ *'''%^^^
tV^Vi AVATtTfATTTAiy KAi 'JFAfA^i^V^TAt, KAt TO TiKVTAlO

AllU-Ofi

mrifAmi i^ctfw.r— — for they were too thucti afi^ij tit
bim to avow their rancour, but concealed theit
malevolence, and were therefore the more dan-
gerous :

. Foenum babet in cornu, long^ fuge.

Yonder he drives — avoid that furious beaft.

FranaSk

Cave, cave, namque in malos alperrimus

Parata toUo cornua :
Qualis Lycambse fpretus infido gener

Aut acer hoftis Bupalo.
An li quis atro dente me petiverit^

Inuhus ut flebo puer i

Beware, beware, for fharp as fpurs^

I lift my horns to butt at curs i

Fierce as Archilochus I glow.

Like Hipponax, a deadly foe.

]f any mungrel (hall aflail

My charaAer with tooth and nail |

What! like a truant boy (hall I

Do nothing in revenge — but cry ? Ftancis*

. Notwithftanding the malignity of the envious
part of mankind, our Poets had this heart-fcit con-
folation ; they were loved, honoured and rewarded
by men of real genius, and careflcd by perfons of
the mod exalted ftacions ;

tamen me

Cum magnis vixiile invita fatebitur ufque
Invidia ■

Spite of herfelf, e'en envy muft confefs*
That I the friendlhip of the great poficfs.

FrMCis^

With what dxultarion, and how emphatically
doth he pride himfelf with.

Quod

\t

» 1:

Quod monftror digito prastereuntkiai
P.oman« fidiccp lyrae

Thy gift it is, that all with eafe.

Me prince of Roman lyrics own. Fronds^

land thence very naturally prediif^s the itnniort^ity
pf his worlds*

Non ufitata, nee tenui ferar
Penna, biformis per liquidum aether
Vates 5 neque in terris morabor
Longius^— -invidiaque major
TJrbes relinquam.

With ftrong unwonted wing I rife

A twofold poet to the fkies.

JFor abovjB envy will I foar.

And tread this worthlefs earth no more. Francis.

Pindar, (peaking of his owa verfes, declares.

Neftarean fweets the mufe beftows.
For this, my verfe, delicious flows.

}p another place.

From you, my prefent praife I claim,
yp you, (hall owe my future fame.

then again he pronounces, that be and his verfci
ftall never (ink into oblivion :

Tor KTf ;^fif(iif/o( ofxff^^ fTTtfxro^ lA-ftarr

Not the bleak winter's rapid (bower.
Nor ftorm-portending clouds that fly
i^ike battling fqqadrons thro' the iky,

Nor

C 40 ]

Nor the loud wind's tremenduous foandp-^
Which threatens dire deftrudion round.
Me, or my works (hall e'er devour.

This, Horace has very happily imitated :

Exegi monumentum acre perennius,
Regjsilique fitu pyramidum aitiuj.
Quod non imber edax, nop Aquilo impoteo;
Poffit diruere, aut innumerabili3
Annorum feries & fuga temporum.

More durable than brafs, the frame
.Which here I dedicate to fame.
Higher than pyramids that rife.
With royal pride to brave the (kies.
Nor years, tho* numbcrlefs the train.
Nor flight of feafons, wafting rain,
Nor winds that loud in tempefts break.
Shall e'er its firm foundation (hake. Francis.

They both of them were perfeAly acquainted

with their own merit Pindar very wittily an-

fwered a perfon, who, meaning to compliment
him, faid, wherever I am, and in whofe company
ivhatever, I am always enlarging in commend^on
of you and your writings— —Sir, replied the Poet^
you may very fafely do fo, for they will never con-
tradict your recommendations : ^fxei ^^f (o/jt^^i fays
Plutarch) to t» U^vJ^Afv, Tfo< rov Myopret irttvTAXoft

Xdt CffOf 'jrAVTA< fTTAlVUV AVTOVy WJOVTQf KAyfO ffOt X*^"

itiroJ^iJ'»lJLi. voi» ydf ff% AKni^tvuv. His Only ambition
was to live long in the full enjoyment of the repu-
tation he had acquired, and in the efteem of the
great ; and indeed, in fuch high veneration was he
held after his death, that the Lacedaemonians, and
a confiderable time after, Alexander the Great, hav-
ing takeq 7hehes, faved the defendants of Pindar
from flavery, and his houfe from being pulled

dowi)

C 41 1

do^ and deftroyed, ^by fixing the fQllowing in^
icription over the front* of bis door.

Do not bum the houfeof Pindar the poet

I had almoft forgot a circcmftance greatly re^^'
dounding to his honour — having been to fee Athens^
and being fo well pleafed with it, as to compliment
that city with the pompous title of the magnificent
Athens^ the mighty fuppari of Greece^ fAiyiayoirt^n^
A^npAi, %KKAJ\oi %f%i^\uL^ his countrymen laid a heavy
fine upon him, which the Athenians publicity and
generoufly repaid him,— — Thefe 'two Common-
wealths, in the time of their profperity, had an in-
veterate averfion to each other, and yet upon any
public emergency or calamity, gave their mutual
affiftance with a warmth, which would have done
'honour to, and as could fcarce have been expefled
from dates in the ilrideft and moft: clofe alliance.

Pindar flourilhed at a time, when honour, vir-
tue, riches^ and all the arts and fciences were ia
the higheft glory and eftimation--— — he frequently
ufed to attend the Olympic games ; upon all thoic
Gccafions, he was received with the fame univerfal
applaufe, 2c^ Ludan x.t\\% us, Herodotus was, xeei »x;

^AfTU if OKVfATUt ; 01 /• €l& TttV THf ^AKHyt/ff OK Hn,9VT»f
Wtf9^dL90(AiP0U HAS ilTOU yi^AVtm ll9V9fy %J^tlKVV7$ Af Tm

fffiKAf Um avyytyfApai, o tas rnutf nyum nyLvn^Ai. rot'*
ttVT tfi&ff/ro? A'snKAVTt rav ifoftay^ iv /uia ffvfoJ'a wAVtN^
fioy rtPA tuivnv '\'^9tv rit^ ZKh^^fHf ?^»v, kai AfAKfifvjQ*
^iii^ «» vp'tyof (AA J^$A npnfUMf tfAAtr a^Atrti toai/, o^tr
%KA(o^ 99 rmr *Ayjiyyfiw-—— There was not One pcr-
fon, but who knew the name of Herodotu s ■
whenever he appeared in public, he was pointed aC
—this, they cried, is the celebrated hiftorian Hero-^
dotus^ who wrote of the Pcrfian war in the Ionic

G • dialed;^

t\4t ^

di&IfA, tnd who fe excellently ^nd elegtntly.>de*
fcribed our viftorieft ; this applauie was not only
given him by the reprefentatives of one fingle city,.
but by the united and general confent of all the
deputies that were fent thither from every city of
Greece.

HoRACB lived in the Auguftan age,, and was
the admiration of the Roman people :

RomsB principts urbium
Dignatur fbboles inter amabilea
Votum ponere me charos :
£t jam vehte minus mordeor invido.

The fens of Rome, majeftic Rome,
Have plac'd me in the poets choir.

And envy now, or dead or dumb.
Forbears to blame, what they admire.

Francis

HoR ACE had greatly the advantage of Pindar
with refpeft to the choice of his fubjeifls, and had,
for that reafon^ a finer opportunity of dtfplaying
bis talents : Pindar, on the contrary, was under
the difagreeable neccffity of writing panegyrics*.
and fometimes to perfbns who were little entitled
to them — but write he muft— or ftarve — and yet,.
notwithRanding all thefe difficulties, we cannot
help admiring his incrfimablc, nay altnoft divinely
infpn-ed writings-, we read them with a pteafure
which feldom ktends panegyrical compofitions, for
the moft part fo unmeaningly infipid.— Satire ia
ever univerfally agreeable, arifing from that invi-
dious difpofition in mankind— *we arc too apt to*
triumph over the faults of others, and to negletft
looking into ourfelves.

The works of Pindar, If we may credit Afie-
n^etis, were almoft forgotten in the time of Eupolis.
the comic poet, who did not live abort* an nun-
'3 dr^d

C 43 3

«

drcd years after him — this Eupolis was drowned m t
naval expedition^ during the Peloponefian war,

ww%9^¥% pttvayn^'Af (fays Slddas) %€ta rnv %KK9fTr^9i%¥

-§¥ r» 'T^oi AAxceTcci/xayiiff 9raA.£/A(r— *and for this reafon^
proceeds the fame author, a law was eoaded, by
which poets were exempted from military duty —
itfiti fx T»r» %itttKv^n frfATSuc^^flU ^wifTJiF— this Eufolis
laments the corrupted tafte of the wits of his age,
who, in the words "oF Caufahon^ preferred the effe-
minate and lafcivious trifles of oth^ poets, to the
manly jand chafte compofuions of Pindar, that
n. the dirty fcoria of lead, to the nioft pure and
refined gold— -^uod mollia & lafciva aliorum
poetarum erotopaeghia Pindaricae mufe, hoc eft
fcedam plumbt fcoriam puro puto auro antepo*
nerent

AriJiopbaneSy who lived about the fame time, in
many parts of his comedies, throws his farcaflical
fquibs at Pindar, as for example, where he puts
Che following fenteace io the mouth of Socratesy

OvJ^p J^fttrrtt^fj 09a'K\t!ff^a,fyi$i on t«vt«« fi»^« Totufftf

Such as feed ilbphifts, conjurers, divines.

The doftor fprucei bis fingers decked with rings.

The gallant youth, and dithyran^bic bard.

He frequently takes opportuniries of collefling
fcraps of lyric poetry together, and jumbling them
into the dithyrambic meafure, by way of ridicule.

The dark moift clouds impetuous and dreadful.

^fAyiidtm0fr% tuu [AAX»f

Free from the warlike, turbulent, and rafh.

G 2 Here

[ 44 ] . /

Here I Ihould have given in account orthe
games and exerctfes of the Grecians, their original
Inftitution, and the advanta'^ arifing from them,
bad not Lucian very largely treated of thele matters
in his Anacbarfis. I might alfo have expatiated
upon the Olympic games, &c. but Mr. Gilbert
fVeJl has fo judicioufly, and fo excellently done it
to our hanck, that he has in a manner exhaufted
the fubjed.

PiNTDAR ufed the doric djaleA In his cofnpofi-
tions, and Plato (as we re^d in Plutarch^ in his
book on muQck) adrnitted this dialeA into his
commonwealth, as more vigorous and infpiring,
than ^ny other meafure ; and becapfe the dignity
jbe fo much admires in PiKdar upon that very
necount, kept the young men in great order,
^nd under proper difcipline ; who were rather ren-
dered e^eminate and too loofe, by the fongs which
were written in the Lydian or Phrygian meafyre.

After haying carried Ttmr JLordfinf thus far, ic
will beftime to fay fomething .concerning the writ-
ings of our two tgric Poets.

Pindar, befides his OlympicSy Pythian^ IJibmian^
and Nemaan Odes, which are ftill extant, and
which were jdiftinguilhed by the- ancients^ with the
appellation of the Four Books -ef the Period^ which
was the cycle of four compleat years, wrot6 fcve-
^al other pieces, which are loft ; we have a few,
and but a rew fragments of them here and there
difpeffcd gmong the writings qf Eujiatbiusy Atbe-
vaus^ Strahoy Pbilo^ the Jew, Paufanias^ Dionifius
HalicarnaJfeuSi Plutarcb, Stob^us^ SuidaSj &c. .
This l^ft writer, fays Pindar, compofed feventeea
T)ook^ in the Doric ftyle, 6y> g4« J^« PiCMOi^ i(. </^»-
ffJ'f J'takiJCT&, TAPT A ' all which he mentions : it
is remarkable however, that he makes no mention
q( the IJlmian or Nem^ean^ and that inftead of Qlym-
fia and Pytbia^ as it is ufually written in all the

editions

[ 45 ]

editions of Pindar, Suidas (hould call tlicm 0^j».
fiomcaj Vytbomca. Caufabcn upon this article fays,^
quas egp voces cenieo efle reponendas in frontem
fingulorum Pindari librorum, pro eo quod nunc
legimus Ofympiay Pythea^ male opinor^ non cnim
ludos laudare poeta^ eft, ut loquantur intento, fed
ipfos viftores.

Thefe four games were called Periods^ by way
of pre-eminence ; for the moft of the confiderabfe
cities of Greece held their own a^emblies, for ihe
celebration of particular games, and invited a vafl:
number of fpedators and athletics from difierent
parts of the country ; there were four not with-,
(landing of more confiderable note than the reft,
and they were diftinguifhed for that reafon, an4
called iht facred games : fuch were the Olympic^ htld
at Pi/a in jE/tj, in honour of Jupiter : the PyiAioM,
at Cyrrba^ a city of Phocis near De^^ facred €o
ApoUo: the Iftbmian^ on the Peloponefian Ifthnnis,
near Corinth and Sicyon^ confecrated to Neptum:
and the Nenutan^ in a valley of the fame name
near jirgos^ alfo dedicated to Jupiter. The pcr-
. fon who came off victorious at all thefe four
games, which was called the Conqueft of the Pe-
riod, cr€fio<^r ptiutr, received fuch great honours as
made Pindar frequently compare him to the veiy
Gods themfelves : Gcero (ays, that it was equal to
a Roman triumph.

The Profodia^ according to Suidas^ were little
lyric poems, fung at the folemn feftival of the

Gods-«^<rfO0'«/i« T£t m TetynyVfUi &i»p 'iroinfutrA ^intfA

r»v \vfiK»v My9[jiiPA — and CaufaboHy explaining a
paflage in Atberueus^ fays, errant qui confunduot
modos profodiacos & apoftolicos ; divert enicn
funt : Tf jo/iop five Tf o^eJ^/or carmen eft ab iis can-
tari folitum qui ad ApoUinem accedebant. Apofto-
. licus modus quod ex ipfo nomine licet conjicere*
is ^ft^ qui convenit ro/f cfa^oioKos^ vel «;roroAii/cr/ -, qua:

erant

[ 46 3

ir-ant apud Grsecos prsefcdluras nauticse vocabdia :
They are greatly miftaken, who confound the fro^
fodiac and apoJloKc fongs, for they differ widely 5
the profediac was fung by thofe who approached the
temple of Apollo — the afofioUc^ as the very name
imports, was meant as a compliment to the great
officers of their naval armaments.

I conjeAure that the profodion was fung during
their procefllon towards the temple of the Delphic
God ; and the apoftoUc by the failors, at their em*
barkation on board the galties.

Smdas tells us^'thac the TAf^i^nif were fongs
Compoied in honour of the young maidens> as in-
deed the very name implies. He calls the Pagans,
««(y^vf wptifiMf^ huzzas, acclamations df joy, &c.— -
he farther obferves, there are two kinds of them,
the one was fung in praife of M?r^, before they
engaged in battle — the other after a yidory was
obtained. The ancients never virottP^ans^ but to
pay their worfhip to the Gods ; and one of the
principal articles pf impeachment brought by
Bemapbilus againft ArifiotU^ at Athens, charged
him with impiety towards the Gods, for having
written that fine ode, which we find of his in
Athen^eus^ and in 'Diogenes Laeriius^ as a compli-
ment to a certain perfon named Hermas^ the tyrant
of Atarnea^ which Dmopbiks pretended to be a
P^ean^ although Arifiotle, in hb defence, produced
many reafons, and thofe very forcible ones, to
prove the contrary, and among the reft, this, tbat
he had not once made u(e of the words, m mgjAv^'
which were the very charafteriftic of thefe fort pf
compofitions. At length however, the Athenians
became lefs fcrupulous in thefe points, and in pro-
ccfs of time, they wrote paans in compliment to
their great men and heroes ; Demetrius was honored
with one, and after him, Ptokmeus^ king of iEgypt.

MacrcMus

[ 47 1

Macrohius gives us a very curious reafon for the
original cuftom of calling out, /« ^«/dtr — it was,
becaufe yl^olh was named iirm, from his power of
healing ; or chat, /trcu jSfAo^ iX^nKu^ he darted hit
arrows-^and, criura ora tk ^A/tiy T«f ^ntf^ he re-
lieved pain.

We meet with a very droll ftory in Atbefueus^
concerning the origin of this acclamation r KAwf-

ftHif'S'iFT*? flry-^FOj 0-TnAa/or* »rti ^«f«it£fi'tf t» ^t/'9'«rof i»*
avrw^y 9 A)i»T» T»K ^AtJ^vv Tor trefor tr ta/^ ^jma^uc

^oS^i THC ')(ftKiiun9 §ifyAfffjLtpn< \nruf o tm^ to n T^dtfymt

f •/;, f ITfF, f Trt/, Tt;X«" <^ TO^* /*«rA %fiT«^ iXOTTA
TDV A<TOA.A«P«, TOUT* J^*Cf/r «( ttf C/^«i T/^tff /§ TA|t| j6«A«

Af f*/, &c. LaUma conveying her children from

Chalcis (the Negropont) in Eubaa to Delphi^ and
flopping to repofe herfelf at the cave of the lerpent
Python^ the hideous monfter came out with great
fury, and attempted to devour her ; being much
affrighted, fhe took Diana into her arms, and flew
away, and got upon a large ftone, which now.
ferves as a pedeftal to the ftatue of that Goddefs^
and upon which tl^e whole of this account is en-
graven : Apollo having luckily his bow and ar-
rows, fhe called to him repeatedly, if cr*i^ it ^Atvr^
draw my fon, ftrike hrm my fon ■ -This cir-

cumftance gave rife to that acclamation, which faat
ever fince been in ufe, when perfons are in danger.
Plutarch^ in his book on mufic, fays, there is a
very great difference between the Paan and the ^-
forcbemaSj as we may fee in Pindar, who com-
pofed both — MX^^TAi <r« T« y^vu rmf ntHti7%»^ tavtw
itii ri/r^rtfof • J^ 'jroiiAf on //«f ofAK •%€/ Tfo^ t* i/T§f-

"X^i^^TA^ TA TtfJ^AfW TCiUffdATA i^nKWlt. yiyfAp% >*f

KAt ^AiAPAf KAt v^TQ^/jn^ATA* Thc HyfOTcbtma were

fongs

[ 4» 1

(bogs accompanied with dancing, ir /ifX* (fays Ui-
dan) /f yi, »/i tu dwia^ wfV/ ofj^jnffim^ oxxa cvp rdxtrttf

MAS [JLtTA fJDtffiJUlf tyiPOfTO, 'Jtddi'af X^f^^ 9Vf%>A^rTW /•

m ap/^w— yTOfxw^ATA fiutXf/ro — No ikcrcd rites were
performed at Delos^ without muGck and dancing ;
the young men ufed to come with their flutes
and lyre, ptaying and dancing at the fame time ;
they were called, for that reafon^ Hyparcbema.
Qudahon is of opinion, that the Ranees were com*
po&d for the fongs ; fahationes voci fubfervientes*
We may very eafily reconcile thefe differences, for
Aihenaus fays, the Hyporcbema was a kind of dance,
ia which both men and women^ who made up the
troop, danced whilft they were fmging ; and that of
■ thefe, the Profodia^ the Apojlolos^ and the Partbenia^
were the mofk confiderable ; but as for the hymns,
and thofe more efpccially, which were compoied
in honour of Venus and Bacchus \ and the Paans^
they were indifferently executed, cither with or
without dancing — ii/« ttrofyjnfjLdnKn tuvj tr « «<r«r •
Xofv^ ofx«'T«t/. &c. Thefe were the fame as the
Carmen Jaliare of the Romans, which et faltantibus
accinebatur.

There were, according to Athen^us^ three fort of
dances pertinent to the ftage ; the tragic^ the coniie^
and the fatirical •, thofe adapted to lyric poetry
were the fame in number ; the Pyrrhic ^ the Gym--
nopodic^ and the Hypocbermatic -, the Pyrrhic muc&
jrefembled the Satiric^ becaufe they were both per-
formed with the like fpirit and quicknefs ; it was a
military dance; the Gymnopodic was ferious, and
upon that account called i^yLiKUitv^ and there is a
certain folemn majcfty in both •, the Hypocherraattc
was a comic dance, and was diilinguifhed by the
appellation of Cordax^ becaufe it was fpirited and .

lively — rf»i< <^'6/^/ r»i ^mviKm TOiiKrtai. ofp^H^-i/^, rfor

[ 49 ]

%af ^fiOiA » flip . «vf fpw r9 fftrvftxM. Ay4^r%fa4 ytif fsm
mxovt in^tfjunn J^ J^okih %ipai n ^tiffixir, tfvrXu y^f «v«
Tirr T€tJ^i of}^nw^9 J^ yvfuvttiai'iiim vAfifi^t^m §<#
rt TfdLyinm ofXlv^u li r/c tftfitAtiA lutktlrtu f r f x»Tf fee cTt

OfATOi TO ffti^y KAt €%lAfV. II y^'o^fX*^/^*^'^^'' '^ KVf^tKn
•MfltfTAI If 7I( KtUiUTcfl MfJ^9i^m

It is much to be feg^tted, that we are deprived
of the greateft part of Pindar's bjsll compoficions ;
we might then have (een the difference i3ecween his
D(^bnepborics^ PaanSy and ProfodiaSy written in
compliment to ApoHoy and thofe he compofed in
honour of Bacchus, called Dithyrambii.

ro ttvo ^vfAi fivfdth TUP Ti jn

He was called DitbyramMs^ becaufe he entered into
the world by the womb of his mother Semele^ and
by the thigh of Jupiter.

They differtd probably m cadence, meafure, and
eitp^reflibn \ the dithyrambics at leaft appear to
have been turgid, full of metaphorical figures, and
abounding with conipound words^ and fo com-
|ilex as hot to be eafily underftood, and as Suidas
fe^S, T«f/ rm (lirwfmr nun rap p%^%Km Kiy^^i nroAAct,

AHfiopbanes called thefe men f£€7t«fctfcv4t;c«<, wri-
ters of bombaft, or florid nonfenfe ; thence alfo
^nfie the proverb, J^i^^tty£»p povp tx^n «x«tTTOKA.—
This k as unintelligible as a dithyrambic verfe.

The dithyrambic verfe was at firft held in high
e^imation, as long as the poets knew their bounds
of expreflion \ bxit in procefs of time it became the
dbje£t of ridicule for the above-mentioned reafons,
and Were hy no means allowed as good poetry ; they
were therefore fcldom admitted, but in drinking

H fongs.

t 50 1.

fbrtgs. — PbilocbcruSj in Atbetueus^ cxprcfly declaraC

u otvd) %Ai jwf^«— the ancients never ufed ditbyrani<^
bics, but when they drank and got intQxicatec). jftr

chilochusy in the fame author, fays,

^i\of 6//« ^t^vfAfiC^y 'tif» ^vyn^ifAVP^i'Uf WPa4»

In dithyrambic fong TU join,
XVarm'd 'with the juice <Jf purple wine.

We find the following line of Epicbarmus^ iii

Athenaus alio.

No dithyrambic fong fhall grace

The tables of the water-drinking race?/

There was yet another kind of writing am&()g
th? cornpoptipn? of Find -^r, which were poly
fung ix. the mefry meetings ; thefe were called y?^^
//'/?, by the ancients, and by Suidas^ TAf^ift^ui ui'a^^
' — One Tberpander was the original inventor ; they
were generally fung at weddings.-^— -The ancienc
Creeks, at their entertainments, lay upon fmalt
couches, which were placed round the table, for.
the conveniency of the guefts, as many as there
happened to be invitee) *, towards the conclufioi^or
the featt, a branch of myrtle W4S delivered to thq
perfon who fat at the bottom of the (able, in con-
fequence of which, he fuqg a Ipve-ibng, and when
he had done, delivered fhe branch tq his nexc
neighbour ; who continued the fanrie ceretpony till
it came bp to the maftef of the feaft.

This they called the crefio/o^ ^KohtAVj hccaufe i(
went round'. Thefe fcbolia frequently contained
moral reflections, and panegyrical conipljments, in
commendation of fuch perfons as had behaved va-
liantly,- — veriffimum eft fcoUarum argumenta

' ' fuifli

fttifle Aa^x^ & vit± prsece^ta (fays Cafauhon) (Qnt^
ique pleraque illprum fada ex diftis fapientum quas
uJ'Qjt.tm olim di&a fuht, quia moris erat ea cantare
in conviviis ; and in Jofepbus Ldurmtius^ de convi^
viis vetcrufn, we meet with the following paffage^
>— In conviviis poft ccenam lyra circtimferri folita^
ad quam fidibus cahebatUr. Lyr^ ilia obliquo &:
finuofo cir(Maitu in tnenla ambulahs pe£tinatitn
quodahfimodo & non feriatim, & per ordinem ac»
cubitus conviviis craditaj ^tque inde carmina illa^
tquas ad lyram canebantur fcoiiarum appellationem
meruere. Qlii cancbant, myrtum vfel laurum manu
tenebant, qui verfus Mfch^i caneret myrteum ra-
mulum mans teneret — qui vero Homrkos laureut^
tramitenia His fcoliis carminibus aut iiluftrium
Virorum & fortium laudes canebantui', aiit praecla*-
Tas fenterttias continebant, aut mixtim utrumquey
Sc6lii inventionem Terpdndro attribuit Plutarehtis.

«i /€ lut^tt cr€f UivJ^d^oi ^tiji Kctf rap d-xoA/cvK ftik^ifv Ti^

'grA9J^f(f^ %vjf%fn( nv—Suidas and Ariftophan^s both of
chem afiirm Pericles to have written the Atheniaa
laws in fhort fongs, in imitation of the fcolia^ in
jorder that they might be fungj and by ttiat rnc^n^
the more readily remembered.

Athenaus informs us, that there were three diffe-
rent ways of figging at table ; the firft, when all
the compaiiy fung together in chorus ; the fecond,
in which they ftrng in rotation ; and laft^y, where
the fine fingers only perfomed, fingly and in turn,
. There ^e^e two lort^ offeoUa^ the one was .caiiled
0VLuiniiiL<t or fatirical, written to expofe and to ridi-
cule vice; the other f'T»J>«««, in praife of virtue^
there were alfo wihat they called the ^fitt^ocTw, the
difmal or mjelancholy, becaufe they were celebrated
at funerals. I have fomewhere in Atheriaus met
V^ith a paffage which inclines me to believe they?^-
iia were fomething like the Italian canzcnette^ or
the French chanfons a boire.

, H 2 ^uinlilian^

! 5» 1

SluifUi&an^ fpeaking of Pindar, fiiyB, tmvtm rtto
lyricorum longe Find A r us princeps, fpiritus mag*
nificentia, fententiis, figuris^ bfiatiffima rerum ver«
borumque copia, & veluc quodam eloquentias flu^
mine ^ propter quas Hor atius eum mcrico credn
die nemioi imitabilem ; Ofie wpuid almoft fufpe£l
this great v/riter had copied his opinion of Pin*
DAR from Dionysus Halicarnaffeus^ whofe words
are, Ztt^arof J^tKctt n/y<r«f«f oyo^7»p koj 9oniiAT9f U9U>

TA^MVII',^ KAi JVm/ulttff, KAi TUftAf. lliTA^nJ^oyUiy tU^
fWVKVOTnrof KAS tfffCroTMT*;, ILAi yrQffMKcytAij KdU fFif^ff/*
Afy KAi erX^lAA7tff(^»f^ XAI n^O *VOiiA(^ XAl AV^VOUff ItAi

J^%iv»^i60fy fiAAirce /§ rm %i( ffopfc^ynp XAi %Vff%CuAP KU
fiiyAktnr^t^uAp n^€»p. And indeed, this great wri-
ter perfedly underttpod the charader of PiNDAit,
for he has comn^itted nothing throughout the whole
of his works, in which the true fublime of hof^^
nus is not flrongly marked even in its fuUeit luftre^
Statius^ a very unequal poet, though^ io Ibcne
parts of his veriiHcation, not inferior even to Virgil
himfelf, thus invokes Pj nd ar,.

Tuque regnator Lyricae cohortis.
Da novi paulum mihi jura plediri.
Si tuas cantu Latio facravi,
PiNDARE, Thebas.

Great chief of all the lyric throng
If I, perchance, in Latian fong

Thy favoured Thebes have grac'd
Pin D AIL, in kind return, reward
And new attune my flacken*d chord-

My name, next thine, be plac'd.<

I muft ingenuoufly confefs, «jy Lord^ that how-
ever prolix I may appear, I cannot help pointing
out a few paflagcs to your Lordjhip of this divine
poet^ which I never read but with the greateft plea-

furc

C 5? 1

fure and emotion. How finely does he eitprefs the
joy old JEfm fieels on difcovering hk fon 74^
whom he had ^iven up as loft.

> T0» ftfr f/flA

yovev ij'^f x«AA/ior ^v^fmf.

The tender (ire his J^on knew.
As near the beach the veffid drew.
Tears from his aged eyelids ran.
To fee the beft of fons, and lovdiefl: of men.

How nobly docs he defcribe the pious and fpf-
rited behaviour of Antikcbus ; how tenderly and
afFedionately does he paint th^t adion, with what
life, with what vigour, with what colouring ! and
as Dionyfius Halicarnafleus has it, 09% ^A^^tv w/Leir

J^iA^ifUv yivofAtfA TA ir^tiyyLttiA h Atyafctrtf of«r,— — —
It does not appear as a recital, but we are almoft
tempted to believe we fee the a£i:ion before pur eyes,
i *i- who can, without fear and trembling, behold
poor Nejlor entangled in his chariot wheels, one of
his horfes being wounded, attacked by MemnM^

after he had dropped his lance ! What joy, and

yet what forrow and pity do we not feel at the
fame time, when we fee his fon jintilochus intrepidly
oppofing himfelf in combat, loling his life, in or-
der to defend and preferve that of his father I

|Afly*K /f • •&€/0f cCKIff, 'JTflATO fliP ^AVA
TO/O koi^iJ^Af 'STATfO^j f /o
Xtlff^P 7»V TAhAt yiV%A OTfX7ffO|^/y
<f7C^^ ^€Ai»f|fr TtMfAlf

Behold

i: 5^ j

iSehold the brave intrepid Ton,
Mmftonj his father's foe, oppofe i
His breaft with pious duty glows-
Hi? courfe of life how nobly run !
By fuch immortal deeds, his name
Shall live recorded in the book of Fame.

What can be more happily imagined, than what
he fays upon the birth of jirijtius f

Belov'd and cherifli'd by each fav'ring mufe»
The foftVing hours, with tender care.
For him ambrofial fweets prepare,
' And the rich neflar on his lips diffufe.

The compliment he pays theRhodians upo'fl their
excellency in fculpture is mod elegant i

7€ ffOi d- VfJLOIA KiKiUOt ^ffOF*

The wheels fo exquifitely wrought,

Turn'd round and mov'd to the beholder**

thought.

How bold and expreffive is his dcfcripiion of
the racking of a town !

KAi fJLiV

^IVATTA^Ai^ i'lriiav ^A^iKlVi QTVibif

' Soon, as a mark of wrath divine,
EpaiaSy falfe, perfidious lord.
Severely felt the hoftile fword ;
The cities, towns, fo lately thine,

Thy

W.--V ■•

i 55 ]

Thy palaces and lofty fpires
Fell victims to devouring fires,
Thy riches loft — thy all confum'd.
To univerfal ruin doom'd.

The joy of an old man at the birth of a fon,^ if
very agreeably expreffed,

esre/ irktmAi 9kA

No offspring to inherit ! damps our joy^
*Tis then our large pofTeflions cloy-
When thofe, who by no blood ally'd.
Shall all our treafur'd wealth divide.

He pair\t8 the fhame and grief of the gladiators,
conquered at the JPythic games in the ftrongcft
colours ;

t'jA?i'7rPo^ %y 'wv^i

<r«t^ fJLATi^ A[Apt ythOi '
yhVKQi n^^lVi Xtf7«( hAV^Af
<^ tJC^P^F AntA^fQi TTOO'O'OVTt
ffVlJLpOfA J^iJ'dLiyiAiVOi ■ ■ ■

Stung with a confcious fenfe of (hame^
Homeward from the Pythian game, -
In fullen filence they retreat.
Greatly abafh'd by their defeat :
No friends, with joyous dance and long.
In fprightly troops around them throng ;
Onward they move, with flow unwilling pace.
And feek, in folitude, to hide difgrace.

How lively und ftrikingly bold is his defcriptton
of mount jElnay which is the more pleafing too,
»s he is the firft poet wh^ attempted it !— -Mr.
I^^f fr.Qjn, whom I hayc t^n this obfcrvation,

remarks

1

1 -T

C 5« 3

remarks farther, 'that as Homer has taken no notke
of this very extraordinary Pb^nomenon^ we are to
prefume it did not emit its flames in his day s ■■

i« ftvx^r TAytu' 'ir^r^^i

/* tffi€f «i0>i ^cr erf op^iorr/^ foor Mrrt*

«/d»y* AAA.* cr 0f^r<ti0'/ TfTfct^

Forth from whofe nitrous caverns ifluing rife

Pure liquid fountains of tempeftuous fife^ *
And veil in ruddy mills the noon-tide fkies.
While Wrapt in fmoke the eddying flamea
afpire,
Or gleaming thro' the night with hideoils roaf.
Far o'er the redd'ning main huge rocky fragments
pour. G. fTeft.

This has been imitated by Virgil*^

p— Sed horrificis juxta tonat iEtna ruinb,
Interdumque atram prorumpit ad afethera nubem»
Turbine fumantem piceo & candente favilla,
Attollitque gioboa flammarum^ & fidera lambit;
Interdum fcopulos avulfaque vifcel-a montis
Erigit erudtans, liquefadaque faxa fub auras
Cum gemitu glomerate fundoque exaeftuat inflo«

' •

Is to the foot of thund'rine j£tna join'd*
By turns, a pitchy cloud Ihe rowls on high^
By turns, hot embers from her entrails fly.
And flakes of mounting flames, that lick the

fky.
Oft from her bowels mafly rocks are thrown.
And fliiver'd by the forces come piece- meal down.

4 Oft

t 5M

t^fc liquid lakes of burning fulphur (idi^
JFed from tht Rtry fprings chat boil below.

This iiTlitatiort, however^ h by far inferior to th*
Greek defcription^ and as Favonius fays, ejufmodi
fententias & verba molitus eft, uc Pikdaro quo«
que ipfo, qui ninnis opima pinguique efle/acun-
dia exiftimatus eft, iofolejluor, hoc quidem in loco^
tuoiidaque fit.

I beg leave in this place to introduce a defcrip*
tlon ofMount Vefwuim^ from a poem inticled Pn^
txiftencCy publifhed fome years fince ;

-as whiin ViJMus (hakes

With inward torments, and difgofges ddme^^
0*er the vaft mountain's ridge the burning wavel
Drive their refulgent turls^ ^nd on they rowl.
Sweeping the glowing plains down to the fea ;
Th* affrighted fea leaps back with hideous roarj^
To give the fire its courfe— — — •

which I attempted to tranflate thus^

■ Ut quando liquefada labOfat
Vifceira convulfus, celerefque Vefievius igtiei
EruAat ) Vafti fummo de vertice montis
Flammantes undant fulgenti gurgite flu6his \
Seque per ardentes violento turbine campos
In mare prsecipitant : mare fa&vo horrore tre-^]

tuifcens
Attonitis recidit undis^ reboatque fragore
Plufquam fulmineo -— - :

Pindar's defqription of Fortune is truly beau^
liful :

I Fortune^;

i s9 I •;

Fortune the anxious pilot guides,' -^
While o'er the rude and furly dccp<
Along the lofty vcflels fwcep :—

In war, and in the fenate (he prefides.
Of what is great and good below.
It is to Fortune, all we owe.

Virgil, diTiA HoRACt have enriched many parts
of their writings with a variety of thoughts bor-
rowed from our Greek lyric poet ; they were in a
manner ravi(hed and tranfported with his enthu-
fiafm, Juft as the prieftefs of the Delphic God,
when irom her tripod fhe is explaining the myftic
oracles of the far-darting Jpllo.

It would take up too much of ycur LordJhip^%
and my time, was I to enter into a minute detail
of all the beauties of Pindar-— liis didtionis
chafte, his fentiments juil and noble, his figures,
and more efpecially his metaphors, allegories and
hyperboles, are natural, ftrong and energetic ; his
thoughts are rich and happy ; in his choice of
words, he is corred and exprcffive j his rapidity is?
aftonifhing.

^ntiHan^ fpeaking of the hyperboles, has this
paflage -, cxquifitam vero figuram hujus rei depre-
hendifle apud principem lyricorum Pindarum vi-
deor in libro, quem infcripfit t//2w. Is namque
Herculis impetum adverfus Meropas qui in infula
Co dicuntur habitafle, non igni, nee vcntis, nee
mari, fed fulmini dicit (imilem fuifle, ut ilia minora, .
hoc par eflcnt.

JOioniJius HalicarnaJfeuSj in his book concerning
the proper difpofition of words, gives Pindar
this chara£ler, IIo/mt^k ijliv ow UivJ^a^o^ nfmvu 'x-tu-

JCaj T¥T» sTi^VfAfACcf T/< TAXVUU T« aKVTAf KAt

. criXfA/;«/ Trtf AK%Ai iXiTfia^y &C. PiNDAR, among

the

C S9 3

the poets, and Thucidides, of all the hiftorianSy
were certainly the greateft, for that happinefs and
harmony of exprelfion, with which we are enter-
tained throughout all their works-*— begin we
with the dithy rambles of Pindar^ and here Dion
repeats fcveral lines, and then goes on— every body
muft allow the force of thefc nervous, bold, grave
and fententious verfes, which by no means tire or
grate the ear.

Thefe great beauties of Pindar furnifhed the
epigrammatifts with a fine opportunity of paying
their court to him ; ^this we meef in feveral places
of the antbokgia^ where he is fometimes called,

The minifter of the fweetly finging Mules.
At other times,

The Mufes» trumpet,, and the compofcr of dn
vine fongs.

Hence it was faid^

So far Hx)ve other lyres, furpafsM his own.
As does the trump the flute's melodious toae„

Horace, in imitation of this pafiage, faySi^

Monte decurrens, velut amnis, imbres
Quem fuper netas aluere ripas,
Fervet, immenfufque ruit profunda
Pindarus ore.

I % Aa

[ 6o ]

^s when a river, fwoln with fudden fhowVs,
O'er its known banks from fome i^eep mountaia

pours,
$o in profound, unmeafurable fong.
The deeprmouth'd Pin par. foaming pours along«

. Francis.

Pindar and Sophclch fays Jjntginus^ feem to
carry every thing before them, though fometimes^
^ds the fame very elegant critic, they fink with-
out any vifible caufe, and lofe their brilliancy ■

f/c JlipJ^<tfof K(U So^ffxM; ort fJLir oiop t^^fta fT/^As^vo-^
Tif pof(t9 ffCtfvv7A$ J^*axvy&( To^^^oxti %ai ^/'^TTK^/r arw-

v«r*T«— that is to fay. That there are many
faults here and there, to be met with amongft all
his beauties, and which the critics have, and I wiU
pow take fome notice of.

And firft \ he has been charged with bombafti-
cal expreffion, and the almpft continual pomp of
words, bloated ^nd inflated with hyperbole; an4
indeed there are fome bold, and very unufual modes
of fpeech to \xt met with in Pindar, which we
cannot well juftify, nor confider in any other but ^
ridiculous light— for example, after having laid
it on pretty thick on on^ of his gladiators, and
fufpefting he plight perhaps be cri?i<:i:?:ed ifor hav-
ing faid fo much, he obferves,

Mir fciA«7» y,l Afftoi T%it'Xlt ^^WtU^

At me difpleafedt fl^all envy throw the ftone^
Speaking of a viftorious gladiator, he fays.

Enriched with conqueft, finks upon his knee;

?nd qiany parallel paflageSj which arc a fort of fub-r
lime with which we arc not at all acquainted, an4
Vfc can only cxcufc them, as being the then f^fhion-

abk

r «i 1

able mode of writing— *- we are not therefore to
condemn it entirely, fincc it would be as unreafon-
able, as to laugh at the drefs of a foreigner, how-
ever uncouth and aukward it may appear to us.

Another fault in Pinda&, is his prepofterous di*
grefiion, which has fo little conneflion with the
principal deHgn of the ode, that it appears as a
very fine patch of rich brocade upon a piece of
coarfe ftufF.

We muft however do him this juftice, that he
is the more excufable upon thefe accounts, becaufc
he was obliged to pay compliments, where they
frequently were not at all merited ; and as he was
paid for what he did, he was under the difagree-
able neceffity of faying more or left, in proportioa
to the reward he had received— —and in this very
particular he fucceeded, as he fays of himfclf.

Of trifling things to make the fubjcfl: fwell.

And this, he farther obferves, is the efFefl: of an
extraordinary genius, a%oa ^opoK' * «He may pof-
fibly, at his leifu're, have written a variety of odes
in praife of the Gods and Heroes— fo that when
he wa* applied to for one of them, he had no-
thing elfe to do, but to feledl one, applicable to
the occafion, and adapted to the perfon, the place
of his birth, and the vidory he had obtained, as
as well to his age, or any other perfonal accomplifli-

ments but this is merely a conjedture of mine.

I have heard fuch a ftory related of a certain poet
of our own country, though I will not pretend to

vouch for its authenticity •

And yet Pindar, in his tranfaftions, is fo very
juft and exquifitely nice, that we fcarcely perceive
*hjs artifice^ and this he takes potice of himfelf,

llAKfA

[ 6z ]

fe«Xf4 fA0l Hit At XtfT* tf/LCtf^/TOF*
fee ^Ctp ^VfAimi* iUU Ti9A

ToAAo/^i ^TdynfiAi ffopsAf f 76f#/r«

Not like the traveller I roam.

Who dreads to walk afide,
I know the neareft path to home-

A fure unerring guide.
To wifdom and invention gay,
I will inftruft the ready way,

and In another part of his works, he fays^

^oAAA [JLOt vr'ayKti' ■ ■ ■■
•— yof «xg aCiyn

yjtTt{ti.

Lo ! my quiver full of darts.

Which are felt by men of parts ;

But the vulgar and obfcure.

Can my writings not endure 5

To them*- — my works not underftood.

Are neither witty, keen, or good.

He is fometimes very far from exaft in his
chronology, as when giving a defcription of the
rape of Pelops by Neptune^

Inftead of tv^A Tf«T€f « Xfova y for Gafymede was
older than Pelops^ if we may depend upon D/o-
idorus Siculus^ who obfcrves, Paris was the fon of
Priam^ and grandfon of Laomedon^ and grcat-
grandfon of IluSy the brother of Gatrftnede * \
Menclaus was the fon of Aireus^ and grandfon of

Pclofs ^

c €3 i

Pd^s : Paris jind Menelaus were nearly of an age^'
and as between the latter and Pekps there were but
two generations^ and three from Paris to Gany*
mede^ it is obvious, that Gotrjfmede preceded Pelaps^
and inafmuch as Neptune ftole away Pelops^ long
after Jupiter had carried off Ganymede upon ac-
count of his beauty, and made him immortal ac
the interceillon of Venus.

ATAVdU

Paufanias relates another apachronifm of Pih-
DAR in his Acbaics^ or general hiftory of Greece j
he was certainly miftaken, when he aflerted, that
the Amazons built the temple of Diana of Epbe*
fus^ at the time when they were engaged in a war
againft the Athenians and I'hefeus ; for it was built
even long before the lonians pafled into AJia. It is
true indeed, that they offered facrifices in this
temple, before they attacked ^hefeusj and when
they had difcngaged themfelves from being em-
broiled with Hercuksy &c. this does not there-
fore imply that they built it~-— ^^ ^«AAa cTn Tff^-

CtfTifA tn fl KATA laVAi^ T«6 €f TMF AfTtfJLllf TUV Z^tffiAf
lUfJ^A^Of^ 0^ AfJLA^OVAf TO H^OV tpTH TOVTO iJifVVA^^Al

iTfATivefjiePAf iTi A^nvAf rft xct/ Ovic-tA. A/ J^€ aTO 0ff-
fjt,aJ^09T0( yvfoJ^U e^v^AV yt.iv kas ron rn Bpefftet 0£<y»

ATB tTiTAfJiiVAl Te iK 'JTAKAIQV TO /§fOr^ KAi tlVIKA UpA^
XAgfifc i^VyoV^ At<^i KAi AtOVVCOV T«6 ST/ *f;^flt/3T6f*, /K£«-
T/A? €l'Tltt;.9'rt iK^OVffAi. OV IM\V VTO AfJLA^OVWP yi tJ^p'JvBflm

If we were in poffefiion of Pindar's poems called
•^fwrw, or the Lamentations, we (hould be better, able ^
to judge of the truth of Dionyjius Halicarnajfeus* %
obfervation, where he fays, ^s.iyimiS'^ tN TAfamfu

Tiir iKKoyntt T»F oyofjLATtoy rw? ^vf^ificH rtiv AKfi"

CltAf.

r ^4 J

tfi^. #fO< ttftMf, «dA*o 0$kTim Wfi^ltiTMi iUti itil^ft

»mf : Sifoonides is more happy in his mournful de*.
icription than Pindar, becaufe his plaintive verfe
is not expreflcd with fo much pomp and bombaft^
but pathetically, and with great tendert)e(b and
fiseling. Some learned cotlimentators have found
fault with the firft ode of Puvdar, cfirtr (h^ vJ^mf^
becaufe they fay, it carries too mean and too com-
mon an idea ; • cTt X'i^^^^^ ^c* ^^ much better, as
Pindar was known to have loved mpncy; but
if they will pleafe to recollecft that tl\e p9€t fent
this ode into Sicily^ and to a tyrant of Syracufci
where they held with Empedocks^ that water was
the firft principle in nature, they will eaflly recon-
cile thcmfelvcs to the expreffion i this phiiofopher
had rendered himfelf extremely refpedable by hia
works, as well as famous for his having volunta-^
rily thrown himfelf into the burning cavities of
mount ^tna ; f-r*/ /* y^Ai^i lyivir^^ funrmf tff#4€i^

fays Suidas, Pindar, therefore, was very happy
in the turn of this comparifon, meaning thereby
lo pay the greater compliment to the Sicilians^ who
were great advocates for the doftrine laid down by
this their favourite Philofopher* Thefe arc, in gc-*
neral, the faults with which Pindar is charged \
they are like fmall blemilhes upon a beautiful
bjdy,

velut ii
Egregio infperfos deprendas corpore ns&vos.

Thefe faults howevefj in my opinion, rirf Lord^
are but like the (hades in fine painting, they heigh->>
ten the colouring, and as it were throw the piflure
out of the canvafs— — or like difcords, which are
now and then permitted, that we may the bcttef
rclifti the harmony ; »f yjif w ii>i9iy.n //* . rmv ^<*p*^

t 6^ 1

fays Ldnginus^ and in another place, cu yttfrAvf

^6< d^iofrAPA ; %ya j^^oiS^A /x«r, €^ At vti^ynyt^ta pvffnf
HiKfTA itA^AfAi' tVift roi^ ix^yid-iffir av'ti^ iv roi^
«y*r *A»To/f, uvAi Ti x^^ ^*' TafoA/yfi)eK|Lt«rdr,—
for ^ in mufic, an important word is rendered
mofe fw^et by thc^^divifions which are run moft

hafmonioufly-upoh it, fo, &c. 1 readily allow,

that writers of a lofty and towering genius arc by
ho means pure and correft, finee whatever is juft
And accurate throughout, muft be exceedingly lia-
ble to flatnefs — — In the fublime, as in great afflu-
ence of fdrtuhe, fome minute articles will unavoid-
ibiy efcape obfervation.

Horace obferves fomcthing like this,

Exilis domus eft, ubi non & multa fuperfunt^
Et dominum fallunt, & profunt furibus

Poor houfe, where no Tuperfluous wealth's un-
known

To its rich lord, that thieves may make their
own. Francis.

iThefe faults I confider as the cfFefts of a careleft

indifference they will never prevent his pretcn-

fions to the laurel,

Laurea donandus ApoUinari,

«nd of being eftcemcd the firft of all lyric poets •^
. there are feme of them have written in a more
equal and lefs defeftive ftilc than Pimdar, but
have fallen (hort of his noble, bold and majellic
impctuofity : L^^i««J, in recommending the -/fr-
gonautics of Apolknius as a perfcft perfomance, ne*
verthelc& puts thi* queftion > $t«/t«# yt i^a$ «wrTiw^#f

C 66 ]

OimfQi Av iiAKKMVy^ n ATo/iWftoi i^fKoii ytf^^3'Ml it
J^\f fjLi^s^i (jLtOiXofAp upAi haKyjfhtfnf eAoio, w IIirAu
fo< ; XAi %p T^AychTitt i&f X*^^ * ^^ ^^^ S«9««MKS

f7f//» 0/ ftir AftAVTaTOi, KAi %P Tfi» ^XA^CIfflT 4-«97«

MKAhJiiy^A^nyAVot. o /s UnJ^A^oi xam o SofsatAiic m

*roKKAKi(y KAt TiTT^ffip ATyx*^*'"'^ ^^at is, wbo^

though Jpolhnius have no fauks, would not rather
chufe to be Homer than Jpollonius ? what ? would
you, in lyric poetry, rather be Bacchylides than Pra-
D AR ? or can you imagine lo of Chios to be a better
dramatic writer than Sof becks ? it is true, theie poets
are elegant and corred : Pindar and Sophocles fee
every thing in a blaze, but then they fometimci
(ink unhappily and without reafon, and appear
lifelefs and unanimated — this arifes from the im*
petuofity of their imagination, which they will not
or cannot reftrain. No one, proceeds Longinus^ m
his fenfes, would cfteem all Id's plays put together,
equal to the OEdipus alone of Scphocks.

I cannot help obferving with what judgment
and propriety, Longinus introduces thefe three
chiefs of Greek poetry, Horner^ Pindar, and 5^-
phocles\ they chofe the moft elevated fubjefts, and
have executed them with an adequate fpirit and
fublimity.

It is high time, my Lord^ we (hould turn our
thoughts to Horace : his works confift of four
books of Odes ; his Epodes in one book ; two
books containing his Satires ; two his Epiftles ; and

bis Art of Poetry in one book, He calls his-

Odes Carminumjihros^ the word carmen correfpond*
ing to the Greek yuKoi^ — the lyric poets being cal-
led (jnhoTotaf or (jLvao-JTCi^if, Some grammarians were
of opinion, that the Epode, which they alfo call
claufula, took its appellation from the inequal mea-
fijrc of the. verfificiition which is obferved in that

- . . - . book.

[ 6; ]

book, the Greeks calling the (hort verfes preced-
ing thofe of a longer meafure by that name. O^
thers again derive the name from €T«<^af, incanta-
tion, becaufe his very fine Ode againft Canidia
treats of that fubjeft, and poffibly gave the title
to the whole book : it is the opinion of other Com-
mentators, that he called it fo, becaufe he wrote ic
after his odes €t/ tk ©/©v.

Time has happily preferved more of his works
than of Pindar's : and if we confider Horacu
Jn every light we can place him, we (hall very
cafily fee how greatly he had the advantage of our
Greek lyric poet : His knowledge of books, his
converfation with the world, the eafy accefs he had
to the great, his familiarity with the firft geniufes
of the Auguftan age, all concurred to compleat

him as a writer. Nature trade both of them

poets, but an improved ftudy, a thorough acquain-
tance with the humours and pafliuns of mankind,
an independant fortune, gave our Roman bard
this defirable fuperiority, that he was not under
that conftraint of writing, which he never did,
but when he found himklf in a difpofition ; and
he had another additional advantage, he chofe his
own fubjedls, Pindar's neceflities, on the con-^
trary, obliged him to a conftant dependancy, and
his heroes would have an Ode, whether he was in
the humour to write one or not, — and if they
were rich enough to pay a good price, would have
their full pennyworth^ — this muft undoubtedly be a
check ro the nobleft genius.

His Satires were, by ^intilian^ whofe authori-
ty is moft indifputably of infinite weight in thefe
matters, preferred to i\iok oi Lucilius : multo eft
fcrfior }L.uc51io, ac purus magis Horatius, & ad
norandos mores praecipuus,— Of his Epor^es,
the fame author fays, Iambus non fane a Romaois
fclcJDratus eft ut proprium opus, a quibufdam in-

K z terpoi^

[ 68 ]

tcrpofitus, cujus acerbitas in CatuHo,^ Bibaoilo,
HcR.ATro-, quanquam illi tpodos intervenirc re-
, per\atur. Talking of his Odes, ^intilian gives
him this diftinguiftied charafttr, ac JyricQrum idem
HoRATius fere folus legi dignus; nani & infurgic
aliquando, & plenus eft jucundicatjs ^ gr^ti^, &
variis figuris & verbis feliciffime audax* -

And certainly, en fubliine fubjeds, he rifes with
a dignity equal tQ ^indai^s and even fupports
himfelf better in his flight, is more (le4dy, and in
lefs danger of falling,—. — how very fiae are his
Odes !

Defcende coelo & die, age, tibia^^
Ccelo tojiantem credidimus Jovem
Odi profanum vulgus & arceo —

mimm

In the middle ftile, he is inimitable, as in hU Odes,

Quen) tu Melpomene femel

J^on i^fitata pec tenui feran - ■ . ■

Some are more fevcrc, fuch as,
Jntadis opulentior

II III*

Tyrrhenae regum progenies

Delifta majorum immericus lues-

JHow full of fire and poetic rapture, and, as Longi^
9fus calls it, Kta,y ^oiCctuKAf, are his

Quo me, Bacche, rapis ?
Quo, fcelefti, ruitis ?

The Graces feem to have diftated his Odes,

Ulla fi juris tibi pejerati ^— -

Nox crat, & coelo fulgebat luna fereno—

In the melancholy and tender ftile, can any thing
excel his Ode to Macenas^

Cur me querclis exanimas tuis !

And

t ^ ]

Afld that t9 Virgil on the death of StuinHifhii t^armi

Quls defidcrio fit pudof m)t piodwp ' ■

And in truth, we can fcarce dip into any part of
this Roman lyric ppet's writings* Iw( we Ihall aL
ways find new pleafures and ftem beauie^ in th^m
»i«~-the fublimity and feeundity of his invention^
die richnefs and brilliancy of his expreffion, thQ

Eurity, boldnefs and elegance of his diftign, which|
y the by, is mqre chafte and correft than Pin-
dar's, demand our utmoft admiration,—- «*-it muQ;
however be obferved, that Horace lived at a
time, when fuch metaphorical and turgid figures
would not have been admifliblp, and as I^tial
faid, a long time after Horace,

Nobis non licet e0e tarn difertis
Qui mufas coUmus feveriores*

His fentin^^ents are fb ftrpng and nervou$, and ex-
prefled with fo much dignity, that wie cannot help
being affe^ed by them ; we plainly feei they are
the happy profuHons pf a man, who has long and

Eerfe&ly been acquainte^i with the moft chofen
ooks which had been written, and who had po-
liihed himfelf by the converfation pf the beft com-
pany, — opportunities which ^^r Piijdaji wanted*

His Satires and Epiftles, though no( executed
with the fublimity of his Odes, are nevertheleft
plainly the compofitions of an accompli(hed poet ;
they are mafterly performances, though hi, ia.
them, defignedly affefts fimpUcity^ ■

Extenuantis eas CQoiulto.

and again.

Sine nervis altera, quidquid
Compofui.

And

C 7Q ]

And in this he has (hewn a great deal i>f judgment
and good fenfe, fince it is not the luxuriancy of
flile, but the juftnefs of feiitiment which mod af«
feAs, and as Perfius obferves^

Adnniflus circum prascordia ludit.

I am furprized Scaliger prefers Jwuenal to ouc

Toety when fpcaking of the former's verfes ;

longe meliores quam-^^Horatiam^ fententias acrio-
Tts^ phrafis apertipr.

Though* if we confider the difpoGcion of this
learned critic, we fhall h^ve lefs reafon tp won«
der; he was of a mprpfe, ill*natured, fnuSfcious^
end fullen temper, glad upon all occaGons to

find fault : Does he not even quarfel with

jircbimedes and Euclid^ whom he pretends to con-
via of paralogifm or falfe reafoning ? however,
in fome other part of his writings, he owns, that,
Juvenalis zxAtt^ P^ryfor jugulat, Hqratius irridet»
- Some old commentator of Horace (but whofe
name I do not at prefent recollefb, though I do the
pafTage) fays, afpericatem habet qualem iMcilius^
& fuavitatem qualem Juvenalis.

1 am very forry Scaliger^s authority fhould have
fo far mifled LipJtuSy (although he confcffes, that
many of the learned are difpleafed with the prefer-
ence) as to write the following paflage, — At ille,
me judice, inter multa certi & eleganiis judicii,

nihil verius protulit, though he afterwards, by

way of palliative, fays,— — placidus, lenis, quie*
tus, monet fsepius quam caftigat, fed ita prasclar^
tamen hoe ipfum, ut in ea parte & arte, nihil pof-
fit fupra eum,

HoRAXE, in his Satires, difplays all that he had
read of the beft philofophy of his times ; he does
not inceflantly put himfelf into a paffion as Juve^
Wdoes, but he difcovers truth in a jocofe^ free,
and unaffe(^ed manner*

Ridentern

[ 7« 1

Ridcnttm dicerc veruni
Quid vctat ?———-.

Yet may not truth in laughing guifc be dreft ?

Fsancis.

He draws aGde the mafic of deceit and hypocrify^ 9(nd
exprcfles them by the force of reafoning, in which
he is ever unerringly right ; his judgment is clear,
his underftanding is difembarr^ffed, and his remarks
found, unprejudiced, and ftrikingly applicable. '

His ftories are wonderfully entertaining, and his
defcriptions fine, pidturefque and delicate, I fre-
quently read his ninth Satire of the firft book, witli
infinite fatisfaAion and pleafure, in which he in-
troduces his converfation with the impertinent cox-^
comb, who would intrude himfelf upon him ; hii
defcription of the lover deliberating with himfelf,
whether be (hould return to his miftrefs who had
difcardcd him, is not the lefsr diverting, becaufe he
has almoft taken it verbatim from Terence ; bis ac-
count of the foldier of Lucullus, and of Vulteius
Mana^ and the incantations of Canidiay in his eightli
Satire of (he firft book, are admirable : the little
tales he has confefledly borrowed from Mfop^ are
neverthelefs To happily and fo charmingly retailed,
that it is impoffible to read them without being

moft fenfibly diverted, in (hort, to recount all

his beauties, would be to tranfcribe almoft the
whole of his works.

He had, neverthelefs, his. faults, and fell into
that Ttffgf^^yftroy, as Longinus calls it, or untimely
phrenzy, as is very evident in the following pafl^age.
Debentur morti nos noftraque ; five receptus
Terra Ncptunus clafles aquilonibus arcet.
Regis opus, fterilifve diu palus, aptaque remis
Vi( inas ^rbes alit, & grave fentit aratrum •,
Seu curium mutavit iniquum frugibus amnis,.
Doftus iter melius ; mortalia faAa peribuBt.

We

f "7« ]

We and our noblcft works to firtc ijitfl: yield.
Even Csfar's moles wbkk Fegd^l pidd might

build^
Where Neptune for into fhe land extends.
And from the raging North our fleets defends 5
That barren mann, whole cfalehraK^ plain
Now^ give^ the nelghbotlrltlg t&v/m ks varioni

grain ^
Tiber, who, taught a better ctrf rent, f^ddi
To Caefar's power, nor dfeluges duf Sdldsf
Alt f his muft periih ■ ■ Prancts.

Thefe lines are extremely fine^ and thfe fubjcft no-
ble^, viz, the conflruition of harbcmfs, the drains
ingof marfliesi the turning the courftf of riVcrs^
which he very properly calls the Regis opUs.* ^ rr n«>
Now would not one nacurally eXpe& HoiiACi'
Was going to apply this to fomelthmg fuitabiy rfe^
markable, and worthy of fo beaiftiftil a dcfcrip^
tion ? and. yet after all this rhighty iritroduAICK^^
. Ae finjks into this poor obfervation,

Caderitque
Quae nunc funt in honofe vocabula ■

Many ftiall rife that now forgotten lie.
Others, in prefent credit^ foon fhall die \
If cuftom will, whofe arbitrary fway.
Words and the forms of language moft obef .

Francis.

I cannot omit mentioning with what fury fbiiie
of the learned commentators of the laft century
have attacked Horace, for having, in his letter ta
his friends the Pijos^ treated the verfes arid- falfc wit
of Plauttis in the manner he does ;

At noftri proavi Plautinos & nunieros et
Laudavere fales ^nSmium patiehter utrurtique,
Ne dieam liulte, mirati ; ft modo ego avbs •

Scimus

[ 73 ]

Sclmus inurbanum lepido fepOnerc dlfto;
Legicimumque fonum digitis callemus, Sc aure.

And yet our fires with joy could Plautus hear.
Gay were his jefts, his numbers charmed the ear ;
Let me not fay too lavilhly they prais*d.
But fure their judgment was full cheaply pleafi'd i
If you or I with tafte are haply blefl.
To know a clownilh from a courtly jeft.
If fkilful to difcern, when formed with eafe.
The modulated founds are taught to pleafe.

•Francis.

Upon this, Scaliger^ with his ufual paQlon and
acrimony, cries out, quis adeo eft adverfus a Mufis,
ut lepore ac falibus Plauti & Laberii non tanga-
.tur ? HoR ATii ]ufXiC\}jim fine judicio eft. And Lip^
^«J,— neque prater rem amarc fe dicit elegantes &
urbanos Plauii fales, nee Venus in i illius aliter
cenfentis verfus unquam fine indignatiuncula le-
gerc.

^ . What Turnebta fays, is yet more fevere : In hu-
]n^ Plauti falibus seftimandis, accedo potius fen-
tcntiae ycterum ingenuorum Romanorum, quam
Flacci Vemusini hominis, libertino patrk

NATI.

The learned Heinfius is entirely of a different
way of thinking— -ejus vernae, melius de Plautoyn*
dicabant quam qui nunc familiam literis tueri hac
aetate creduntur ; & qui nee fseculi quo vixit a
quo, cum poefis tum Latina lingua ad fupremumi
culmen ac fafligium ereda fuit, ignorare potuic
judicium; vir tantus, & quod rei caput arbitror,
principibus qui inter fe quotidie de iis judicabant,
intinr.r familiaris & amicus. Janus Parrhafius fays,
Horace fpeaks of Plautus invidioufly; ingenio
Plautus fuit pcrurbano, & maxime feftivo, quod
non abfque fufpicione livoris eleratur ab Horatio.

L What

[ 74 ]

What could have induced Horacb to write fo
difrefpe^fuUy of one who was an author much in
vogue among the antients for his drollery and hu-
mour? I cannot fubfcribe to the fentiment of Peter
Vi0tfrinus^ Proficifcine id potucrit a judicio depra-
vato quod amifTus magna ex parte tunc foret lepos

•laYini fermonis& puricas ilia vetuftafque inquiriata,
»— becaufe it would be paying a bad compliment to
that particular a?ra, which was the moft gallant,
the mod polifhed, and the moft enlightened of any
that went before, or has happened fince.

Neither could it be owing to their diBerence of
difpofitions as Famianus Sirada obferves, — Sed cx-
iftimo referendam eflc^cauram, turn in naturas dif-
(idium imer Plautum atquc Horatium, cum alter
garri\Ids & facetus, alter iracundus foret ac taci-
turpus; turn in temporum morumque varietacem,
decorum enim Horatiani fecuh a liberiori ac
populari genere jocandi abhorrebar, — for certainly
HoRACB may, with great juftice and propriety, be
faid to be the father of wit, leporum omnium pa-
renlem'\ vtnA we obferVcd before, that'Auguftus
ever ufed to call him Icpidijfimum homuncionem.

Horace would not have been fo free of his
opinion, had he not been well aflured, it would be
ftrongly fupported by all the beaux efprits of Rome :
he was too fenfible a man to rifquc his reputation,

' by declaring fuch fentiments in contradiftion to the
public tafte.

Neither is it mattet* of much furprize, = that the
delicate ears ofthofe, who had been.fo long ulcd to
the fofc and pleafing cadence of the Greek lyric
poetry, fo happily introiuccd into the Roman, by
Horace:, fhould be hurt' by the rough and un«
couth vtv^t-^ oi Plaut-us: his buffooneries might
plcafe the populace of thole days, for they knew
no bettt-r, but they could never be relifbed in fo
polilhcd an age as that of Augufius. But there cer-
tainly

C 75 1

tainly is no reafon for To long a digreffion, to de-
fend a reputation which has been fo well eftal>-
lilhed, and was fo indeed during his own lifc-time».
when even the mod ignorant of the Roman peo-
ple knew more of him and his works, than the
moft learned and laborious modern critic can pof-
fibly do.'f "^

Horace had this pleafing fatisfadlion whiifl: he
lived, that as Famanus Slrada fays of Alexander
Farnefij Plane ut frui poflet fama fui & po(lhun:ia
de fe judicia praclibare — he enjoyed that reputation
living, which is fo frequently denied others rill
they arc in their graves, Yrom a malevolent and
envious difpofition.

Clarus pod genitis, quatehus heu nefas !
Virtutem imcolumem odimus,
Sublatum ex oculis quaerimus invidi.

—Live to lateft times an honoured man,
Tho* livinjg virtues we defpife.
We follow her when dead with envious eyes.

Francis^

And this reputation of his will laft, npt as he fays^

Ufque ego pofterJ^
Crefcam laude rcccns, dutn capitolium
Scahdet cum tacita. virginc pontifcx.

—That nobler part fhall bloom,

• And with unfading youth improve,

• While to th* inf>mortal fane of Jovcj^
The Veftal maids in filent ftate

^ Afcending on the pontif wait. Francis.

But as long as the Roman language,, and a true
taile for polite literature will be known in the
world

L 4 PlNDAH

[ 76 )
Pindar was the child of nature, unadorned by
art ; his works are the emanations of a flrong and
powerful genius, and as be bimfelf expre0es it.

How happy is the man who knows.
That all he has of knowledge, to himfelf he
owes.

Speaking of thofe who are under the inftruftion of
others—

0lKfAVTA yAfOV^Qf

They who purfue the arts they love.
Are like the crows about the bird of Jove,
In vain they hover round, they ne'er will fly
With fuch bold pinions to the azufe (ky.

We may truly fay, that the fublirpe was born

with him, yivvArm ta iJLiyAkofvn kas v J^i/axt« 'Xa^

fAytViTAt " ■ ■

But Horace had a greater knowledge of men
and books— —he was therefore more uniform :
he had more fweetnefs, was more gay and fpright-
ly, and lefs faulty than Pindar ; his fentiments
are noble, and his di(ftion is undoubtedly more re*
fined and correA. He is equally as fublime as
Pindar, and frequently more happy in the turn
of his expreffion ; he is felicijftme audax^ or as Pe^
tronius calls it, the Ho rath curiofa fselicitas.

And indeed this happy boldnefs of expreffion
is a very eflential qualification in a poet or an
orator, without which their writings would be in-
fipid, taftelefs, and^unanimated; it is this which
laviflics and enchants the reader, and is the very

cflcncc

cffence and foul of compofition ; but it is the gift;

of nature only.-; This, my Lordy no one knows

better than your Lordjhip^ who are fo well acquaint)^
with claffical, as well as with every other branC^ '
of polite and critical literature.

I ^ould not avoid giving your Lordjhip this pubi .
lie teftimony of my refpcft ; adulation is not my
province : If the ftriftures I have thrown together,
in purfuance to your Lordjhif s requeft, meet with
your approbation, I fhall efteem .the time I be-
llowed upon them, not to have been difagreeably
employed.

I am,*
MY LORD.

Your Lordfliip's moft faithful.

and obedient fenrant,

Sath, Utembtr
9», 1767.

R. S.

FINIS.

1

, *

i

\

I

.Ai^MaM^

I

* . I

5^-

I '

H

%

■%

4

(

r
I

'