A thousand demigods on golden seats, Frequent and full. After short silence then, And summons read, the great consult began. | BOOK V. Now Morn her rosy steps in the eastern clime 5 And temperate vapours, bland, which the only sound Lightly dispersed, and the shrill matin song thus asserted, Mr. Todd refers to a passage "Till to the bottom of Hell's palace diving, They enter Dis' deepe conclave, &c." From which Milton may have borrowed the reference to a conclave. 797. Frequent and full-Frequent, in the sense of the Latin frequentes, means full. See Note on Cowper, Task, i. 684. 1. Rosy steps.-In close imitation of Homer's "rosy fingered morn" (ροδοδάκ TUλos ús). Milton elsewhere (vi. 3) attributes a rosy hand to Morn. In speaking here of her rosy steps, he does not describe the person, for steps are not parts of the body, but he dwells on the effects of the advance of the Morning. 2. Orient, originally eastern, is equivalent to bright. 3. So customed, very concise and vigorous expression, equivalent to accustomed to awake early in the morning. 4. Pure, ie., perfect. 5. Vapours, i.e., the food in the stomach undergoing digestion. It is thus used, v. 420. After vapours must be a comma, and bland inust be referred to sleep. 5. The only sound.-Only as an Adj. in this sense, is quite unusual; it frequently occurs in Spenser, as Faerie Queen, v. 11, 30. 6. Fuming rills; the vapour arising from water cannot be properly called fume, i.e., smoke but the confusion of smoke and steam is very common. 6. Aurora's fan.-This simile is not happy; for though leaves may be like a fan, rills certainly are not; nor does it seem that Aurora is so much troubled with heat, as to require a fan. Bentley proposes to improve the passage by reading "With the early sound Of leaves, Aurora's fan and murmuring rills" 7. The leading idea is, that Adam's sleep is light and easily dispersed. This idea suffers from the addition of the words shrill and every; for light sleep is dispelled by sounds neither shrill nor numerous. 10 With tresses discomposed, and glowing cheek, 20 Awake; the morning shines, and the fresh field What drops the myrrh, and what the balmy reed,-] Such whispering waked her, but with startled eye ["O sole] in whom my thoughts find all repose, | 30 Thy face, and morn returned; | for I this night, 21. The prime here, as r. 170, is the morning hour. 28. O sole. The English adjective being entirely destitute of terminations, cannot be used without a substantive, except in a few well-defined cases. From these restricting rules Poetry emancipates herself. It is poetical license, when Milton, v. 18, says, my latest found, and here, O sole, 33. Works, scil. of; morrow's, scil. of the Full-orbed the Moon, and with more pleasing light : If none regard | Heaven wakes with all his eyes, I rose, as at thy call, | but found thee not ;] Of interdicted knowledge: | fair it seemed,-| And,) as I wondering looked, beside it stood. 55 One shaped and winged like one of those from Heaven By us oft seen ;) his dewy locks distilled Ambrosia on that tree he also gazed :| And,) O fair plant,') said he,) with fruit surcharged ! Deigns none to ease thy load, and taste thy sweet, 60 Nor God, nor Man ?) is knowledge so despised?| Or envy, or what reserve, forbids to taste ?| Forbid who will, | none shall from me withhold Longer thy offered good; why else set here ?'| This said, he paused not, | but with venturous arm 65 He plucked, |—he tasted;| me damp horror chilled At such bold words vouched with a deed so bold:[ But he thus, overjoyed :] [O fruit divine! 42. More pleasing, viz., than the sun by day. 44. All his eyes, i.e., the stars. 46. Joy, as a verb, is found in the English Bible, Habak. iii. “I will joy in the God of my salvation." 46. With ravishment belongs to gaze, to which the object may be easily supplied. 59. None here is Singular; it is generally used in the Plural. 59. To ease thy load; properly the load is not eased; but the tree is eased of the load. 60 Nor God, nor Man.-The word God is 9 frequently used by Milton to designate a spiritual being, superior to man; it is not restricted to the Deity alone. See v. 70, 71, 81. In this sense Milton employs even the word goddess, 1. 78. 61. Either envy or reserve-but what reserve ?-forbids to taste. 66. Vouched confirmed. 67 to 73. With exception of the parenthetical sentence it seems, there is no principal verb in all these lines. It is simply an invocation with adjective and participial clauses joined on to it, strongly expressive of emotion in the mind of the speaker. Sweet of thyself, but much more sweet thus cropt ! 70 For gods, yet able to make gods of men : And why not gods of men,] since good, the more The author not impaired, but honoured more? | Happier thou mayst be, worthier canst not be: But sometimes in the air,) as we,] sometimes Even to my mouth,—of that same fruit held part Which he had plucked: the pleasant savoury smell 85 So quickened appetite, that I, [methought,] Could not but taste. Forthwith up to the clouds The earth outstretched immense,- —a prospect wide And various, wondering at my flight and change 90 To this high exaltation: suddenly 95 My guide was gone; and I, methought, sunk down, To find this but a dream !" Thus Eve her night "Best image of myself, and dearer half! This uncouth dream,-of evil sprung, [I fear :] Yet evil whence in thee can harbour none, 100 Created pure. But know,] that in the soul | Are many lesser faculties, EO. Thine, i.e., which is thine. 89. Wondering, to be connected with the Subj. I. that serve 96. This night in sleep must be connected with thoughts, thus: "Thy thoughts during this night in sleep." Reason as chief; | among these Fancy next Which Reason joining, or disjoining, frames To imitate her; but, misjoining shapes, 115 Of our last evening's talk in this thy dream, May come and go, so unapproved; and leave Be not disheartened then ;] nor cloud those looks,] Than when fair Morning first smiles on the world: | 125 And let us to our fresh employments rise Among the groves, the fountains, and the flowers, 106. Frames and retires (108) are the Predicates of Principal Clauses, of which Reason is the Subject. The use of the Relat. Pron. which instead of the Demonstrative, for the purpose of connecting Principal Sentences, is borrowed from the Latin. 113. Ill matching, &c.-Participle used as adjunct of manner to produces. 114. Such, i.e., produced by ill-matched words and misjoined shapes, therefore imperfect, fallacious. 117. God, see note, v. 60. 118. So, i.e., if. 123. Wont is here the Imperf. tense of the antiquated verb, of which only the particip. wont is now in use; comp. vi. 93, "Who wont to meet," and Spenser, "A yearly solemn feast she wont to make." See i. 764, note. 124. The meaning is, "Than fair morning when it first smiles on the world." |