Oriental term for council. Page 216, lines 524-528. Amphisbæna dire, etc. The Amphisbena is a snake which, as the name implies, was believed to go either tail-first or head-first, at will; hydrus = water-snake; dipsas, a snake whose bite produced raging thirst. The drops of blood falling from the severed head of Gorgon upon the soil of Lybia engendered multitudes of serpents; Ophiusa, meaning isle of snakes, of doubtful situation. Page 217, line 560. Megara. One of the Furies. Ophion and Eurynome (the latter word means wide - encroaching), according to an obscure myth, held the sovereignty of Olympus until driven out by Saturn. Milton supposes that the myth refers to Satan and Eve, and was propagated by the fallen angels, in their characters as heathen gods. Dictean Jove; so called from the mountain of Dicte in Crete. Page 218, line 656. Blanc moon. Page 218, lines 659, 661. Sextile, square, and trine. Milton here uses the language of astrology, mentioning the five aspects or relations of the planets to each other which determined their good or evil influence. The first aspect, called here Synod (more commonly called "conjunction"), was presented by two planets in a line and in proximity on the same side of the sun; the second, third, and fourth aspects, sextile, square, and trine, by two planets separated respectively by one sixth, one fourth, and one third of the Zodiac; the fifth aspect, "opposition," was presented by two planets on opposite sides of the sun, and separated from each other by half the zodiacal signs. Of these aspects, those of square and opposition were commonly held malign, that of synod indifferent, and those of sextile and trine, benignant. Milton seems to consider them all capable of "noxious efficacy." It would be interesting to know how far he shared the popular belief of his day in astrology. Page 218, lines 669-678. Milton supposes that before the fall of Adam the plane of the ecliptic coincided with the plane of the equator, but that after that event, God, in order to bring in change of season, either tipped the earth to its present angle of 23 degrees with the ecliptic, or caused the sphere, the fourth sphere, to revolve in such a way as to make the sun journey now north of the equatorial plane, from Aries up through Taurus (of which the Pleiades, called Atlantic, because daughters of Atlas, formed a part), thence through Gemini (the Spartan twins Castor and Pollux), till he reached his farthest point north in Cancer (the Tropic Crab), then again southward till he reached his lowest point in Capricorn, 23 degrees south of the equatorial plane. Page 219, lines 681-687. To them day, etc. The meaning is: If the axis of the earth had not been inclined, the days and nights would have been equal over the whole globe, except in the polar circle, where day would have been perpetual; there the sun to make up for his greater distance (greater by half the diameter of the earth) would have rolled perpetually just above the horizon. Also Greenland (Estotiland) and the corresponding southern portion of earth below the Straits of Magellan would not be afflicted with the severe winter which they now experience. Page 219, line 688. The sun, as from Thyestean banquet. The sun is represented as turning from the sight of man's sin as, according to fable, it turned from its course on beholding the flesh of Thyestes's sons served up to their father by Atreus. Page 219, lines 695-706. Norumbega. An old name for a portion of North America, corresponding roughly to New England; Samoed shore, the northeast shore of Russia. The four north winds named, rushing south, encounter the two south winds from the Sierra Leone mountains of Africa; at the storm-centre meet also the two west winds Zephyr and Tibecchio, and the east winds, Eurus and Sirocco. The names are introduced for their sonorous effect. Page 219, line 720. Miserable of happy. From being happy. O such misery after such happiness! would come near expressing the idea. Page 221, line 834. So might the wrath! I. e. would that the wrath might light on me, as does the blame. Page 221, lines 898-908. This seems a kind of cynical rewording of the well-known passage in the Midsummer Night's Dream, beginning, The course of true love never did run smooth. Perhaps the words "his happiest choice too late shall meet" refer to his own meeting with Miss Davis, as Keightley suggests. In the lines below beginning with 909, Milton is believed to have had in mind his own reconciliation with Mary Powell. Page 224, line 1075. Tine. Page 227, lines 216-220. On the flaming mount in Dothan. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha."-2 Kings vi. 17. The army sent by the king of Syria to apprehend Elisha was smitten with blindness. Page 228, lines 242, 243. Melibaan. From Meliboa, in Thessaly, where a fish was caught from which a famous purple dye was extracted. Sarra is the "Latinized form of Tsor, or Tyre; "the famous Tyrian purple is meant. For the word grain, see note on Book V. line 285. Page 229, line 383. Our second Adam. Page 229, lines 385-411. This is the most extended of the many passages in which Milton shows his delight in the sonority and dim but gorgeous suggestiveness of proper names. The less familiar of these are: Temir, better known as Tamurlaine, king of what is now Tartary; Paquin, Pekin, seat of the Chinese (Sinæan) kings; Agra and Lahor, in India; the golden Chersonese, i. e. the peninsula of Malacca; Ercoco, the northernmost port of Abyssinia, whose ruler has still the title of Negus; Mombaza, Quiloa, and Melind, on the east coast of Africa, seats of the less (i. e. lesser) maritime kings; Sofala, farther south, once thought to be the Ophir mentioned in the Bible, whence Solomon obtained his gold; Almansor, Susa (Tunis), and Tremisen, all in the Barbary States of North Africa. The Sultan is called "Turchestan-born" because the Turks, or Tartars, came from Turkestan. "Geryon's sons are the Spaniards, so called from the monster Geryon, a mythic king of Spain. Page 230, line 414. Purged with euphrasy and rue. Euphrasy, "eye-bright," and rue were both believed to have the power of strengthening and spiritualizing the vision. Page 230, line 433. Sord. An old form of sward. Page 231, line 487. Marasmus. Page 232, line 573. Fusil. Cast in a mould. Page 232, line 574. On the hither side a differ ent sort. The sons of Seth are nearer Paradise than the sons of Cain. Page 233, line 626. Erelong to swim at large. I. e. in the Deluge. Page 233, line 665. Of middle age one rising. The patriarch Enoch, 365 years old. Page 234, lines 694,695. And for glory done, etc. Masson interprets these difficult lines by supplying words from preceding clauses: "To be styled great conquerors shall be held the highest pitch of triumph for glory achieved." Page 235, line 773. Which neither his foreknowing. Neither, without the following nor, a difficult construction in English, Milton imitates from the Latin. Page 235, line 831. Hornéd flood. A translation of the classic "tauriformis;" the sweeping of the water to either side as it meets an obstacle gave rise to the epithet. Page 236, line 866. Listed. Striped. Page 237. BOOK XII. Page 237, lines 1-5. by Pompey had as son Herod, whose kingship of Judea barred the Messiah of his right." Page 242, line 401. Appaid. Appeased, satisfied. Page 242, line 452. It is not necessary to emphasize the second syllable of "triumphing." The reversal of accent in the third foot by which a trochee is substituted for an iambus, breaks and accelerates the movement of the line consonantly with the sense. Page 244, lines 539, 540. The day of respiration. Relief, as at the drawing of a deep breath after some constraint. Page 244, lines 588, 589. Top of speculation. In a double sense. Page 245, line 635. Adust. Parched, from Lat. adurere, to scorch. Page 245, line 640. Subjected. Of course literal, lying beneath." Page 247. PARADISE REGAINED. Page 252. BOOK I. Page 252, line 8. Thou spirit. The same "Heavenly Muse" invoked at the beginning of Paradise Lost. Page 252, line 14. Wing full summed. Full-plumaged; cf. "summed their pens," Par. Lost, vii. 421. Page 252, line 18. The great Proclaimer. Page 252, line 43. Sad. In the old sense, "sober, serious." Page 253, lines 60-64. If... by the head broken, be not intended, etc. : The meaning is if the prophecy that the seed of Eve shall bruise the serpent's head, does not mean that our power over the earth and the air shall be entirely reft from us. Page 253, line 87. Obtains. Holds. Page 257, lines 371-375. And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And there came forth a spirit. . . and he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also. 1 Kings xxii. 21, 22. Page 257, line 428. A liar in four hundred mouths. I. e. the four hundred false prophets who counselled Ahab to give battle at Ramothgilead. Page 259. BOOK II. Page 259, line 16. The great Thisbite. Elijah, native of the town of Thisbe in Gilead. Page 259, lines 87-91. Trouble, as old Simeon foretold. An incident of the Presentation in the Temple. Luke ii. 34, 35. Page 260, line 125. So may we hold. "So" merely enforces the exclamatory wish; not to be taken adverbially. Page 260, line 131. Tasted him. Tried him; cf. French tâter," to touch. "The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose." Gen. vi. 2. Milton calls them "false titled on the ground that they were the followers of Satan, roaming the earth as heathen deities. The names which follow mark some amours famous in the classical mythologies. Page 261, line 196. Pellean conqueror. Alexander the Great, born at Pella in Macedonia. Page 261, line 199. He surnamed of Africa. Scipio Africanus, who restored a Spanish girl, who had fallen into his hands, to her family. Page 261, line 217. Seated as on the top of Virtue's Hill. "Seated" refers grammatically to the noun (or pronoun) latent in the possessive "his" in the preceding line. Page 262, lines 266-276. See the seventeenth and nineteenth chapters of Kings. Page 262, lines 306–311. Others of some note, etc. The desert where Hagar wandered with Ishmael (Nebaioth, Ishmael's son, is named apparently by oversight), and to which Elijah the Thisbite (Thebez for Thisbe) retired, is here confused with the great desert farther south. Exactness of geography is unimportant for the poet's purpose. Page 263, line 344. Grisamber-steamed. Ambergris was formerly used as a flavoring in sumptuous cookery. Page 263, line 347. Lucrine bay. Lake Lucrinus, near Baiæ in Italy, famous for its shell-fish. Page 263, line 353. Hylas. A youthful follower of Herakles. Endowed by Jupiter, whom Amalthea had nursed in infancy, with the power to pour out fruits and flowers in inexhaustible abundance. Page 263, lines 360, 361. Knights of the Round Table. Familiar to Milton from the Morte d'Arthur of Sir Thomas Malory. Logres, a vague name for Britain; Lyones, Cornwall. Page 264, line 423. Antipater the Edomite. Father of Herod, appointed governor of the Jews by Pompey. Page 264, line 458. Yet not for that a crown, etc. "For that "because. The meaning is: I do not reject your offer because of the cares of kingship, since they constitute the duty and the glory of such an office; but he who rules himself is more a king than he who rules others. Page 265. BOOK III. Page 265, line 14. Urim and Thummim. Gems worn in the breast-plate of the High Priest, and consulted on important occasions as oracles, somewhat as the beryl-stone of mediaval superstition. Page 267, lines 165-170. So did not Machabeus, etc. Judas Maccabæus, who with his father and brothers led the revolt of the Jews against the king of Syria, and made himself ruler of Judæa. Page 267, line 213. Whatever, for itself condemned. I. e. Whatever my crime may have been, it was condemned, etc. Page 268, line 234. And once a year Jerusalem. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.' Page 268, lines 270-309. To arouse Christ's ambition Satan points out to him the cities and lands held by successive dynasties, Assyrian, Persian, and Macedonian, and now included in the great Parthian empire, founded by Arsaces. The power of this empire, made more tangible by the spectacle of the army issuing to battle, he offers to put in Christ's hand; or, as an alternative, the power of the Roman Empire, sovereign in the West as the Parthian in the East. The reader should not allow the erudition of the passage to interfere with his enjoyment of the gorgeousness and pomp of the marshalled names. Salmanassar, who carried the Ten Tribes to captivity in Assyria. Him who twice led captive, etc., Nebuchadnezzar. Page 269, lines 316-321. The places named range from the northern limit of the empire, Iberia, between the Euxine Page 269, lines 366, 367. Hyrcanus II., of the dynasty of the Maccabees, was deposed and taken captive by the Parthians while Palestine was under Roman protection. Antigonus, his nephew, was not taken captive, as Milton supposes, but succeeded to his uncle's throne with the aid of the Parthians. Page 270, lines 409-12. Satan having ** provoked David " to take the census of Israel, the Lord gave David his choice of punishment, three years' famine, three months of defeat in battle, or three days' pestilence. 1 Chron. 1-14. Page 270. BOOK IV. Page 271, line 40. Parallar. Not used in the strict astronomical sense, but as a synonym for refraction. Rome, being below the horizon, could be seen only by some deflection of the light rays from a straight line. Page 271, line 66. Turms. Lat. turma, a body of about thirty horse. The survey is first southward, to Eyene, in southern Egypt, marking the limit of Roman rule; and to Meroë, still further south, below the tropic of Cancer; thence westward to the states of northern Africa ruled over by Bocchus, father of Jugurtha, to Mauritania and the Moorish Sea, southeast across Asia to Malacca (Golden Chersoness) and Ceylon (Taprobane'; then westward to Spain (Gades = Cadiz), and thence in a wide circle north and east to the Sea of Azof in Russia (Tauric pool). Page 272, line 115. Atlantic stone. Page 272, line 142. Scene. Theatrical presentation; Latin scena, stage. Page 274, lines 251-253. The schools of ancient sages, etc. The Lyceum was a gymnasium at Athens where Aristotle taught his followers the Peri patetics; the Stoa was a public portico, adorned with pictures of the battle at Marathon; it was frequented by Zeno, founder of the Stoic school of philosophers. Page 274, line 270. Shook the arsenal. A phrase still unexplained by commentators. Page 276, line 411. Abortive. This clause is best construed with ascended," and as correlative with "from off the altar." Page 294, line 38. Lower than bondslave. A contracted expression, due perhaps to the fact that the intervention of the concrete word beast" has obscured the speaker's recollection of the abstract word "strength." Page 295, line 144. Foreskins. Uncircumcised Philistines. Page 295, line 147. Azza. An alternative form of Gaza. Page 295, line 148. Hebron, seat of giants. I. e. of the descendants of Anak. Page 295, line 150. Whom the Gentiles feign. I. e. Atlas, the mythical supporter of the world. Page 296, line 181. Eshtaol and Zora. Places on the sea-coast between Joppa and Gaza. The camp of Dan," where Samson grew up, was between Zorah and Eshtaol." Page 297, lines 278-289. Judges viii. 4-9; xii. 1-6. Page 297, lines 321-325. Unclean, unchaste, etc. Dalila, being a heathen woman, is unclean, under the Mosaic law, and is to be held so in spite of reason, which sees no moral force in the judgment; her unchastity, which was subsequent to her marriage, Samson could not foresee, hence that forms no part of his venal stain in marrying her. Page 308, lines 1120-21. Brigandine, shirt of mail; habergeon, neck and shoulder piece; vant brass (vant brace), arm-piece; greves, leg-pieces. Of Goliath it is said," The staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron." Page 309, line 1242. Astaroth. The Phoenician goddess of the moon. Greek Karappákтo, protected, a term applied to cavalry when both horse and rider were heavily armed. Page 316, line 1713. Caphtor. The island of Crete, from which the Philistines were supposed to have come. |