637. Hermes once, etc. Cf. Odyssey X, 281– 306. 338b 638. Hæmony, an ancient name for Thessaly, the land of magic; hence Milton's probable coinage of the word. 641. Furies' apparition. See note to Sackville's Induction, 1. 109. 646. lime-twigs of his spells, the precincts of his enchantment, referring to the practice of ensnaring birds by spreading birdlime on the boughs and twigs of trees. 649. necromancer's, sorcerer, dealer in the black art. 655. sons of Vulcan. Vulcan had his great forge in Mt. Etna. He was for a while the husband of Venus and later married one of the Graces. His children were mostly monsters, such as Cacus, Periphetes, and Cercyon. 661. as Daphne was, etc. Daphne, daughter of the river god Peneus, was sought by Apollo. In her flight she prayed for aid and was changed into a laurel tree, which since has been Apollo's symbol. 675. Nepenthes, a drink which had the power of dispelling sorrow. 675. the wife of Thone, Polydamna, whom Homer no further characterizes than as an Egyptian woman and the wife of Thone. 676. Jove-born Helena. Helen of Troy was the daughter of Zeus and Leda. 339a 689. wanted, lacked. 695. oughly, ugly. 700. lickerish, tempting to any of the appetites. 707. budge doctors of the Stoic fur, the pedantic disciples of the ancient Stoics, a school of philosophers who held the chief aim in life was to school oneself into indifference to all strokes of fortune. 708. Cynic tub. Diogenes, the greatest of the Cynic philosophers, lived in a tub in scorn of the conventions and common comforts of life. 719. hutched, stored up. 721. pulse, peas, beans, etc. 722. frieze, a coarse woolen cloth, originally 845. urchin blasts, mildew or other blight sent on grain or cattle by an elf that took the form of an urchin, or hedgehog. 341a 846. the shrewd meddling Elf, Robin Goodfellow or one of his kind. 868. Oceanus, god of the great Ocean Stream, which flowed around the earth. 869. Neptune's mace, the trident. 870. Tethys, wife of Oceanus. 872. Carpathian wizard, Proteus, a soothsayer who inhabited an island in the Carpathian Sea. He was able to change his shape at pleasure. 873. Triton, son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, and "herald of the Sea." 874. Glaucus, a Bœotian fisherman who was transformed into a sea beast from eating enchanted grass. He was endowed with the gift of prophecy. 875. Leucothea, the daughter of Cadmus, who plunged into the sea with her son to escape her demented husband, and was changed into a sea goddess. "Lovely hands" is by analogy with her "fair ankles." 879. Parthenope, a sea nymph whose body was washed ashore at Naples. A shrine was erected to her there. 880. Ligea, one of the Sirens. 891. osier, a species of willow. Dank, damp. 341b 921. Amphitrite's, a sea nymph espoused by Poseidon. 923. Anchises', aged father of Æneas. 342a 963. Mercury, a Roman divinity, identified with Hermes, the wing-footed messenger of the gods. 964. Dryades, wood nymphs. 981 f. Gardens fair of Hesperus. See note to 1. 393. 986. Hours. The Horæ or Seasons, three beautiful maidens, daughters of Zeus and Themis, who presided over the smaller divisions of time as well. Only three seasons were recognized, spring. summer, and autumn, nature being re garded as dead or asleep in winter, herce the joyous, beneficent character of these divinities. 342b 1002. Assyrian queen, Astoreth or Astarte, the Phoenician Venus. The Phonician Adonis is to be equated with Thammuz, also slain by a wild boar. 1005. Psyche, a beautiful princess espoused by Cupid, the god of Love, but under strict prohibition not to look upon him. Urged on by her sisters she beheld him asleep by the light of a taper but aroused him, whereupon he left her. She wandered disconsolate through the world suffering great hardships, including a journey to Hades, but at last reunited with him in heaven, to the glad acclaim of all the gods. was Lycidas is one of four famous laments in Edward King, contemporary of the poet at Cambridge, was drowned off the Welsh coast on August 10, 1637, at the age of twenty-five. 8. Lycidas. The name is from the seventh idyll of Theocritus, the father of pastoral poetry. It occurs frequently in pastoral literature. 10 f. he knew Himself to sing, etc., he himself knew how to sing, etc. Some Latin verses by King have been preserved. 15. Sisters of the sacred well, the nine Muses, either of Aganippe well on Mount Helicon in Bootia or of the Pierian spring at the foot of Mount Olympus. 21. he, some poet, referred to as the Muse in l. 19. 23. the self-same hill, Cambridge. 343a 29. Battening, fattening. 34. Satyrs, rough, wild woodland spirits. 34. Fauns, a class of sportive deities of the Romans, somewhat like the satyrs of the Greeks. 36. Damotas, a conventional pastoral name. Possibly Milton's tutor Chappell at Christ Church is referred to. 45. canker, cankerworm. 52. the steep, probably Kerig y Druidion in Denbighshire, a reputed burial ground of the druids. 53. Druids, priests of the primitive Celtic religion or worship. They were poets as well. Anglesey off the 54. Mona, the island of Welsh coast. 55. Deva, the River Dee. Chester, the port from which King sailed, is on this stream. 58. the Muse herself. Calliope, chief of the nine, was the mother of Orpheus by Apollo. 62. His gory visage. Orpheus was slain by some Thracian women, in resentment at his indifference to them, and his head was thrown into the River Hebrus. 343b 68 f. Amaryllis ... Neæra, conventional names of women in pastoral writings. 75. the blind Fury, etc., Atropos, one of the Fates, who cut the thread of life. Blind, undiscriminating. 85. fountain Arethuse. Arethusa was a nymph of Elis loved by the river god Alpheus. In her flight from him she was changed by Diana into a fountain and led under the sea to reappear again near Syracuse in Sicily. 86. Mincius, a river emptying into the Po near Mantua, Virgil's birthplace. 89. Herald of the Sea, Triton. See note to Comus, 1. 873. 90. plea, defense. 96. Hippotades, Æolus, god of the Winds. 99. Panopé, a Nereid. The Nereides, fifty in number, were Mediterranean nymphs, the daughters of Nereus and Doris. 103. Camus, the spirit or divinity of the river Cam, on which Cambridge University is situated. 344a 106. that sanguine flower, the hyacinth, whose petals the Greeks imagined were marked with the word meaning alas! from Apollo's sorrow at the accidental death, of which he was the innocent cause, of his friend Hyacinthus. 109. Pilot of the Galilean Lake, St. Peter (see Matthew xiv, 25 ff.). The passage following is an attack on the corrupted clergy of the time. King was preparing for orders. 110. Two massy keys. Cf. Matthew xvi, 19. 112. mitered. The miter was the official papal headdress. 114. Anow, enough. 115. the fold, the Church. 122. What recks it them? What do they care? 124. scrannel, screechy. 128. the grim Wolf, the Roman Catholic Church. 130. two-handed engine. unknown.) (Specific meaning 132. Alpheus, a river in southern Greece. See note to l. 85. 133. Sicilian Muse, Theocritus. 138. the swart star, the dog star. 344b 142. rathe, early. 149. amaranthus, emblematic of immortality. 151. laureate, adorned with laurel. 156. Hebrides, a group of islands northwest of Scotland. 158. monstrous world, world of monsters. Milton from Bellerium, a name for 161. Vision of the guarded mount, St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall, where the angel Michael is said to have been seen. 162. Namancos and Bayona's hold, points on the Spanish coast, the one probably a tower and the other a castle. 173. Him that walked the waves. Cf. Matthew xiv, 22 ff. 345a 186. uncouth Swain, the unknown rustic, the poet Milton. 188. Doric lay, a simple song; here a simple elegy in the pastoral style. ON HIS BEING ARRIVED, etc. Written at Cambridge soon after Milton had taken his M.A. degree. 4. my late spring. Milton's literary powers appeared relatively late in life. He was first designed for the Church. 5. Perhaps my semblance. See the biographical sketch for Milton's reputation at the university. TO THE LORD GENERAL Fourteen members of the Rump Parlia- 7. Darwen stream. Preston in Lancashire, on the Darwen, was the scene of Cromwell's victory over the Scots, August 17, 1648. 8. Dunbar field, in Haddingtonshire, Scotland, the scene of another defeat of the Scots, September 3, 1650. 9. Worcester, the scene of Cornwell's decisive victory over Charles II and his Scottish allies, September 3, 1651. 345b ON THE LATE MASSACRE IN PIEDMONT In 1655 the Protestants of northwest Italy were subjected to a bloody persecution by the court of Turin because they refused to accept Catholicism. The English government took cognizance in a solemn protest to the Duke of Savoy, under whose rule the territory lay. 4. When all our fathers, etc. Before the Reformation when England was a Catholic country. 12. The triple Tyrant, the Pope, from his triple crown, signifying his threefold power in heaven, earth, and hell. 14. Babylonian woe. The Puritan identified Rome with the Babylon of Scriptural imprecation. See Revelation xviii. ON HIS BLINDNESS Milton was totally blind by 1653. 3. that one Talent. Cf. Matthew xxv, 14 ff. 346a 10. conscience, consciousness. 10. lost them over-plied. Milton at least hastened his blindness by his severe application to his duties as Latin Secretary. TO CYRIACK SKINNER ON HIS DECEASED WIFE The poet's second wife, Catherine Woodcock, died in childbirth in 1658 — a little more than a year after their marriage. 2. Alcestis, the beautiful wife of Admetus, king of Phere in Thessaly. By the favor of Apollo immortality was granted to the king on condition that some member of his family should take his place when death summoned. His parents failing him at this crisis, Alcestis secretly gave herself to the sacrifice and expired in his arms. As she was being committed to the tomb, Hercules appeared and compelled death to release her. 6. the Old Law. Cf. Leviticus xii. 10. Her face was veiled. Milton probably never had had sight of her. PARADISE LOST I 346b 1. Man's first disobedience, etc. Genesis iii. Cf. 4. one greater Man, the Messiah. 6. Heavenly Muse, the Spirit, Jehovah. 7. Oreb, or of Sinai, the mountain range of Horeb with Mt. Sinai where the law was given to Moses. See Exodus xix-xxxiv. 8. That Shepherd, Moses. 8. the chosen seed, the Israelites. 10. Sion hill, one of the hills on which Jerusalem was built. 11. Siloa's brook, the pool of Siloam at the foot of the hill on which the temple in Jerusalem stood. 15. Aonian mount, Mt. Helicon. See note to Lycidas, 1. 15. 21. Dove-like. Cf. Luke iii, 22. 29. grand Parents, Adam and Eve. 29. that happy state, in Eden, generally believed to have been in Mesopotamia. 32. For one restraint. Cf. Genesis ii, 12. 347a 34. The infernal Serpent, Satan in the form of a serpent. 36. what time his pride, etc. Cf. Revelation xii, 7 ff. 59. ken, know, have powers of sight. 70. Such place, etc. In his conception of the universe, Milton reverts to the Ptolemaic system with Christian adaptations 74. from the center thrice to the utmost pole. Three times the distance from the center of the earth to the Primum Mobile ot tenth circle. 347b 81. Beelzebub, sun god of the Philistines. 82. thence in Heaven called Satan. Satan before his fall was an archangel; his name was blotted out from the Book of Life after his fall and the new name given for his new state. Cf. 1. 361 ff. 93. He with his thunder, Jehovah. The poet mixes freely pagan and Christian conceptions. Thunder was the special weapon of punishment of Zeus or Jupiter. 348b 197 ff. whom the fables name, etc. From the union of Uranus and Gæa (Earth) sprang two races of earth-born beings: three Giants, each with fifty heads and a hundred hands, possessing powerful brute strength, and able to shake the universe; and twelve Titans, who had great intellectual as well as physical powers. Both at one time or another rebelled against the gods. Titanian is a general name for the Titans. Briareus was a Giant. Typhon was the youngest born of Tartarus and Gæa He had a hundred heads and eyes that could strike terror to the beholder. He threatened gods and men, but was overcome by Zeus. The gods fled him and assumed animal shapes in Egypt. Accounts of the whole are mixed. 200. ancient Tarsus, capital of Cilicia in Asia Minor. 201. Leviathan, a sea monster of the Bible, identified with the whale. 349a 232. Pelorus, a promontory at the northeast corner of Sicily. 233. thundering Etna, the volcano in Sicily by that name. 349b 254 f. The mind is its own place, etc. The medieval notion of hell was of a fixed place or abode, within which alone the inmate suffered. Milton's theology is progressive in that the mind is made its own torment from which there can be no escape. 258 f. Here at least We shall be free. Liberty, specifically of conscience, was the great end sought by the Puritans in their struggle. 282. such a pernicious highth! See note to 1. 74. 288. Tuscan artist, in reference to Galileo, whom Milton saw while in Italy in 1638-1639. 289. Fesolè, a hill near Florence. 290. Valdarno, valley of the Arno River, which flows by Florence. 350a 294. Ammiral, commander's flagship. 303. Vallombrosa, literally, the valley of shades, a few miles east of Florence in Tuscany or ancient Etruria. 305. Orion, constellation of the Huntsman, whose rising and setting brought bad weather. 307. Busiris, an early king of Egypt, here made the pharaoh of the Israelitish exodus (cf. Exodus xiv, 5 ff.). 307. Memphian. Memphis was the ancient capital of Egypt. 309. Goshen, the portion of Egypt near the eastern frontier occupied by the Hebrews before their exodus. Cf. Genesis xlvii, 27 f. 350b 339. Amram's son, Aaron. Cf. Exodus vi, 20. 351. the populous North, etc., the Gothic and Vandal invasions of southern Europe and northern Africa in the third century and later. 353. Rhene or the Danaw, the Rhine or Danube. 351a 392. Moloch, the Canaanitish sun god in his fiercer aspects. His worship included human sacrifice. 397. Rabba, the capital city of the Ammonites, who dwelt on the eastern border of Palestine. 398. Argob. . . Basan, districts east of Pal 407 ff. From Aroar, etc. These places mark pretty definitely the limits of Moab. 411. Asphaltick Pool, the Dead Sea. 413. Israel in Sittim, etc. See Numbers xxv. 418. good Josiah. See 2 Kings xxiii. 420. brook that parts, the River Besor. 422. Baalim and Ashtaroth. Both words are plural, including in general the Phoenician" heavenly host," who were represented in licentious forms of worship. 351b 438. Astoreth, the Phoenician Venus. 441. Sidonian. Sidon was the oldest city of Phoenicia, a seaport. 444. that uxorious king, Solomon. 446. Thammuz, the Phoenician god of Love. See note to Comus, l. 1002. 447. Lebanon, a mountainous district in southern Syria. 450. Adonis, a river running from the heights of Lebanon into the Mediterranean Sea. in high-water seasons reddened with mud, by interpretation the blood of Thammuz. 455. Ezekiel saw. Cf. Ezekiel viii, 14. 460. grunsel, threshold. 462. Dagon, a sea god, national deity of the Philistines along the seacoast. 464 ff. Azotus. Gaza, the five chief cities of the Philistines. 467. Rimmon, a gluttonous divinity whose seat of worship was Damascus. 468. Damascus, an historical city of Syria. long celebrated for its beauty and prosperity. 352a 471. A leper once, Naaman. Kings v. Cf. 2 472. Ahaz. Cf. 2 Kings xvi. 478. Osiris, Isis, Orus, Egyptian deities worshiped in the forms of the bull, the cow, and the sun, respectively. 484. The calf in Oreb. Cf. Exodus xxxii. 487. in one night, etc. Cf. Exodus xii. 29. 508. Javan, the grandson of Noah by Japhet. 510. Titan, perhaps to be equated with Uranus, father of the Titans. Urams was dethroned by his youngest son Cronos, or Saturn, and Saturn in turn was deposed by Zeus, or Jove. 514. in Crete. Mt. Ida in Crete was the birthplace of Zeus. 352b 517. Delphian cliff, the oracle of Apo on Mt. Parnassus. 518. Dodona, the oracle of Zeus in Epirus. |