Now in loose garlands thick thrown off, the bright Pavement, that like a sea of jasper fhone, Impurpled with celestial roses fmil'd. 364 Then crown'd again, their golden harps they took, Harps ever tun'd, that glittering by their fide No voice exempt, no voice but well could join 370 Or perhaps thefe may more probably refer to Elyfian flow'rs mention'd in the verfe preceding. It is more natural and easy, and agrees better with what follows, with their being thrown off in loofe garlands, which it is better to understand of flow'rs than of crowns, which are themselves garlands: but then there must be no parenthefis, as there is none in Milton's own editions." 363.like a fea of jafper fhone,] Jafper is a precious tone of feveral colors, but the green is moft efteem'd, and bears fome fimilitude and refembl nce to the fea. Thee, Father, first they fung Omnipotent, Immutable, Immortal, Infinite, Eternal King; thee Author of all being, Fountain of light, thy felf invifible thyself 375 Amidst the glorious brightness where thou fitst 377. Thron'd inacceffible, but when thou fhad ft] The word but here is the fame as except, unless; inacceffible but when thou had ft, that is then only acceffible, when thou fhad'ft &c. Perhaps Milton had in view what Ovid fays of Phoebus when his fon Phaeton came to him, Met. II. 39. -circum caput omne micantes Depofuit radios, propiufque accedere juffit. Pearce. 380. Dark with exceffive bright thy fkirts appear,] Milton has the fame thought of darknefs occafion'd by glory, V. 599. Brightnefs bad made invifible. This alfo explains his meaning here; the excefs of brightnefs had the effect of darkness, invifibility. What an idea of glory! the fkirts only not to be look'd on by the beings nearest to God, but when doubly 380 Approach or trebly fhaded by a cloud and both wings. What then is the full blaze! Richardfon. In like manner Taffo describing the Almighty in Heaven, Cant. 9. St. 57. Quivi ei cofi nel fuo fplendor s'involve, Che v'abbaglian la vista anco i più degni. The fame thought in Spenfer's Hymn of heavenly Beauty, but more languidly exprefs'd, With the great glory of that wondrous light His throne is all incompaffed around, And hid in his own brightness from the fight Of all that look thereon &c. Thyer. 382. Approach Approach not, but with both wings veil their eyes. In whofe confpicuous count'nance, without cloud Whom else no creature can behold; on thee 386 391 He Heav'n of Heav'ns and all the Pow'rs therein Back from pursuit thy Pow'rs with loud acclame 399 Not fo on Man: Him through their malice fall'n, 405 Second to thee, offer'd himself to die For Man's offenfe. O unexampled love, 410 Love no where to be found lefs than Divine! Hail 398. Thee only' extoll'd,] We muft not understand it thus, Thy Powers returning from purfuit extoll'd, &c. but Thy Powers extoll'd thee returning from purfuit, and thee only; for he was the fale victor, all the reft food filent eye-witneffes of bis almighty acts, VI. 880. &c. So perfectly doth this hymn of the good Angels agree with the account given by Raphael in Book VI. and whenever mention is made of the good Angels joining in the purfuit, it is by the evil Angels, the reafon VOL. I. Hail Son of God, Saviour of Men, thy name Thus they in Heav'n, above the starry sphere, Of this round world, whose first convex divides 412. Hail Son of God,] So in the conclufion of the hymn to Hercules mention'd before. Æn. VIII. 301. Salve vera Jovis proles, decus ad 413. dite Divis. the copious matter of my Jong] Dr. Bentley reads here our fong; but why may not Milton take the liberty us'd in the ancient chorus, where fometimes the plural, and fometimes the fingular number is ufed? Or it may be faid that Milton speaks in his own perfon, or rather narrates than gives us the words as the words of the Angels. If we read it over, we shall fee this plainly; Thee firft they fung, ver. 372. and again, The next they fang, ver. 383; and this accounts for what Dr. Bentley objects to ver. 381. that Seraphim are mention'd. 415 420 Satan It is to be noted that the ending of this hymn is in imitation of the hymns of Homer and Callimachus, who always promise to return in future hymns. Richardfon. 418. Mean while upon the firm &c.] Satan's walk upon the outfide of the universe, which at a distance appeared to him of a globular form, but upon his nearer approach looked like an unbounded plain, is natural and noble: as his roaming upon the frontiers of the creation between that mass of matter,which was wrought into a world, and that fhapeless unformed heap of materials, which ftill lay in Chaos and confufion, ftrikes the imagination with fomething aftonifhingly great and wild. Addifen. 431. As when a vultur &c.] This fimile is very appofite and lively, and correfponds exactly in Pearce. all the particulars. Satan coming from |