There he shall first lay down the rudiments
Of his great warfare, ere I fend him forth

To conquer Sin and Death, the two grand foes,
By humiliation and strong sufferance :

160

His weakness shall o'ercome Satanic strength,
And all the world, and mafs of finful flesh;
That all the Angels and ethereal Powers,
They now, and men hereafter may difcern,
From what confummate virtue I have chofe
This perfect man, by merit call'd my Son,
To earn falvation for the fons of men.

Again the words confummate virtue are ambiguous, and may be referred to the divine nature of Chrift as well as the human. Their prefent connexion applies them directly to the human nature but they had a fecret reference, I conceive, in the poet's meaning to the majefty of that heavenly part of him, which denominates Chrift in the holy Scriptures the wisdom of God and the power (or virtue) of God, E duvaμ, Dei virtutem, Lat. Vulg. 1 Cor. I. 24. Hunc tamen folum primogenitum divini nominis appellatione dignatus eft, patria fcilicet virtute, ac majeftate pollentem. Effe autem fummi Dei filium, qui fit poteftate maxima præditus, non tantùm voces prophetarum, fed etiam Sibyllarum vaticinia deVOL. I.

monftrant.

165

So

Lactantius. Div. Inft.
Lib. IV. 6. Cum igitur a prophetis
idem manus Dei, & virtus, & fer-
mo dicatur. ibid. 29. Paradife Loft.
VI. 713.

-Into thee fuch virtue and
grace

Immenfe I have transfus'd.
Chrift fhow'd his heavenly wif
dom upon every trial: but his
divine virtue broke out, to the
amazement of the tempter, in the
laft. Note that the præpofition
from,

From what confummate virtueis ufed here as To and præ, to fignify for or because of.

C

Calton.

168. Se

1

170

So fpake th' eternal Father, and all Heaven
Admiring stood a space, then into hymns.
Burst forth, and in celestial measures mov'd,
Circling the throne and finging, while the hand
Sung with the voice, and this the argument.
Victory and triumph to the Son of God
Now entring his great duel, not of arms,

168. So spake th' eternal Father,

and all Heaven Admiring food a space,] We cannot but take notice of the great art of the poet in fetting forth the dignity and importance of his fubject. He reprefents all beings as interested one way or other in the event. A council of Devils is fummon'd; an affembly of Angels is held upon the occafion. Satan is the speaker in the one, the Almighty in the other. Satan expreffes his diffidence, but ftill refolves to make trial of this Son of God; the Father declares his purpofe of proving and illuftrating his Son. The infernal crew are diftracted and furpriz'd with deep difmay; all Heaven stands a while in admiration. The fiends are filent thro' fear and grief; the Angels burst forth into finging with joy and the affured hopes of fuccefs. And their attention is thus engaged, the better to engage the attention of the reader.

But to vanquish by wisdom hellish wiles.
The Father knows the Son; therefore fecure
Ventures his filial virtue, though untry'd,
Against whate'er may tempt, whate'er feduce,
Allure, or terrify, or undermine.

Be fruftrate all ye ftratagems of Hell,

And devilish machinations come to nought.

-while the harp

Sung with the voice ;but the few authorities alledged put the prefent reading out of question. Calton.

174. Now entring his great duel,] There is, I think, a meannefs in the customary fenfe of this term, that makes it unworthy of these fpeakers and this occafion; and yet it is obfervable, that Milton in his Paradife Loft makes Michael ufe the very fame word where he is speaking to Adam of the fame thing, XII. 386.

To whom thus Michael. not of their fight, As of a duel, &c. The Italian duello, if I am not mistaken, bears a ftronger fenfe, and this, I fuppofe, Milton had in view.

175

180

So

exprefs it by the metaphor of a duel, Now entring his great duel.

He lays the accent on the laft 175. But to vanquish by wisdom fyllable in vanquish, as elsewhere in triumph; and in many places, in my opinion, he imitates the Latin and Greek profody, and makes a vowel long before two confonants.

Fortin. 176. The Father knows the Son; therefore fecure Ventures his filial virtue, though faid by the Angels, if they also had untry'd,] Could this have been

known this Son to be the eternal Dream Word, who created all things; and who had before driven this Tempter, and all his powers out of Heaven? The incarnation was generally believed by the Fathers to have been a fecret to Angels, till they learned it from the Church. See Huetii Origeniana. Lib. 2. Cap. 2. Quæft. 5. 18. As to the time and means of their information, Milton feems to be particular.

Thyer.

If it be not a contradiction, it is inaccurate at least in Milton, to make an Angel fay in one place, Dream not of their fight as of a duel; and afterwards to make the Angels

C 2

Calton.

182. Se

So they in Heav'n their odes and vigils tun'd:
Mean while the Son of God, who yet fome days
Lodg'd in Bethabara where John baptiz'd,
Mufing and much revolving in his breast,
How best the mighty work he might begin
Of Saviour to mankind, and which way first
Publish his God-like office now mature,
One day forth walk'd alone, the Spirit leading,
And his deep thoughts, the better to converse
With folitude, till far from track of men,

185

190

Thought

called mattins. Mr. Sympfon proposes a flight alteration,

——their odes in vigils tun'd,

who yet fome days

that is, each watch when reliev'd
fung fo and fo: but as we have
explain'd the word, there feems to
be no occafion for any alteration.
183.
Lodg'd in Bethabara where John
baptiz'd,] The poet, I prefume,
faid this upon the authority of the
firft chapter of St. John's Gofpel,
where feveral particulars, which
happened feveral days together, are
related concerning the Son of God,
and it is faid ver. 28. These things
were done in Bethabara beyond For-
dan, where John was baptizing.

189. One day forth walk'd alone,

the Spirit leading,

And his deep thoughts,] This is wrong pointed in all the editions thus,

One

Thought following thought, and step by step led on,
He enter'd now the bord'ring defert wild,

And with dark fhades and rocks environ'd round,
His holy meditations thus purfu'd.

O what a multitude of thoughts at once
Awaken'd in me fwarm, while I confider
What from within I feel myself, and hear
What from without comes often to my ears,
Ill forting with my present state compar'd!
When I was yet a child, no childish play

One day forth walk'd alone, the
Spirit leading;

And his deep thoughts, &c.

But at moft there fhould be only a comma after leading, for the conftruction is, his deep thoughts leading as well as the Spirit. And as Mr. Thyer obferves, what a fine light does Milton here place that text of Scripture in, where it is faid, that Jefus was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, and how excellently adapted to embellish his poem! He adheres ftrictly to the infpir'd hiftorian, and yet without any fort of profanation gives it a turn which is vaftly poetical.

191.- till far from track of men, Thought following thought, &c.] I hope it won't be thought too light to obferve, that our author might probably in these lines have in view

195

200