Embowell'd with outrageous noife the air,.
And all her entrails tore, difgorging foul
Their devilish glut, chain'd thunderbolts and hail
Of iron globes; which, on the victor hoft 590
Levell'd, with fuch impetuous fury fmote,
That, whom they hit, none on their feet might
ftand,

Though standing elfe as rocks, but down they fell
By thousands, Angel on Arch-Angel roll'd; 594
The fooner for their arms; unarm'd, they might
Have cafily, as Spirits, evaded fwift

By quick contraction or remove; but now
Foul diffipation follow'd, and forc'd rout;

jected, that it is as much as to fay, the roar filled the air with roar. Neither do I fee how the matter is much mended, by faying, with Dr. Pearce, that "The roar of cannon, embowell'd with roar, tore the air &c." The cannon, I think, cannot themselves be properly faid to be embowell'd with noife, though they might embowel with noife the air.

I would therefore endeavour to justify this by other fimilar paffages. It is ufual with the poets to put the property of a thing for the thing itfelf: And as in B. ii. 654 we have "a cry of Hell-bounds" for the Hell-hounds themselves; fo here we have "the roar of cannon" for the cannon themfelves; and the roar of cannon may as properly be faid to embowel the air with out rageous noife, as a cry of Hell-hounds to bark. NEWTON.

Ver. 592 That, whom they hit, &c.] This paffage is as much fuperiour to Taffo's, as the Angels' are in their nature to man. Fairfax, B. xi. ft. 60.

"With good fortune fo their blowes they give,
"That whom they hit, in fpite of helme or targe,
"They deeply wounde, or elfe of life deprive."

BOWLE.

Nor ferv'd it to relax their ferried files.

What should they do? if on they rush'd, repulse Repeated, and indecent overthrow

601

Doubled, would render them yet more defpis'd,
And to their foes a laughter; for in view
Stood rank'd of Seraphim another row,
In posture to difplode their fecond tire
Of thunder: Back defeated to return
They worse abhorr'd. Satan beheld their plight,
And to his mates thus in derifion call'd.

605

O Friends! why come not on these victors

proud?

611

Ere while they fierce were coming; and when we,
To entertain them fair with front
open
And breaft, (what could we more?) propounded

terms

Of compofition, ftraight they chang'd their minds, Flew off, and into ftrange vagaries fell,

As they would dance; yet for a dance they

615

feem'd Somewhat extravagant and wild; perhaps For joy of offer'd peace: But I fuppose, If our propofals once again were heard, We should compel them to a quick result. To whom thus Belial, in like gamefome mood.

Ver. 599.

619

their ferried files.] The Italian

word ferrato, clofe, compact. THYER.

Ver. 620. To whom thus Belial] Whoever remembers the character of Belial in the firft and fecond books, and Addifon's remarks upon it, will eafily fee the propriety of making Belial

Leader! the terms we fent were terms of weight,
Of hard contents, and full of force urg'd home;
Such as we might perceive amus'd them all,
And stumbled many: Who receives them right,
Had need from head to foot well understand
; 625
Not understood, this gift they have besides,
They show us when our foes walk not upright.
So they among themselves in pleasant vein
Stood fcoffing, highten'd in their thoughts beyond
All doubt of victory: Eternal Might
To match with their inventions they prefum'd
So eafy, and of his thunder made a scorn,
And all his hoft derided, while they stood
A while in trouble: But they ftood not long;
Rage prompted them at length, and found them

arms

630

635

Against fuch hellish mischief fit to oppose.
Forthwith (behold the excellence, the power,
Which God hath in his mighty Angels plac'd!)
Their arms away they threw, and to the hills
(For Earth hath this variety from Heaven
Of pleasure fituate in hill and dale,)

640

reply to Satan upon this occafion, and in this fportive manner, rather than Beel-zebub, or Moloch, or any of the evil Angels.

NEWTON.

Ver. 625. Had need from head to foot well understand; Not understood, this gift they have &c.] This miferable equivocation has been adopted from Shakspeare, Twe Gent, Verona, A. ii. S. v.

"My ftaff understands me, &c."

found them arms] Virgil, En. i,

JOHNSON.
Æn. i.

"Furor arma miniftrat." NEWTON.

Ver. 635. Rage

150.

Light as the lightning glimpse they ran, they flew;
From their foundations loofening to and fro,
They pluck'd the feated hills, with all their load,
Rocks, waters, woods, and by the shaggy tops 645
Up-lifting bore them in their hands: Amaze,
Be fure, and terrour, feis'd the rebel hoft,
When coming towards them fo dread they faw
The bottom of the mountains upward turn'd;
Till on those curfed engines' triple-row
They faw them whelm'd, and all their confidence
Under the weight of mountains buried deep;
Themfelves invaded next, and on their heads
Main promontories flung, which in the air
Came fhadowing, and opprefs'd whole legions
arm'd;

650

655

"In fhady forefts from their baggy top.””

And thus, in Lycidas, v. 54.

"Nor on the baggy top of Mona high.”

Glover has copied the expreffion, Leonidas, B. ii. 165.

Or thofe tall cliffs erect their shaggy tops."

Ver. 646. Uplifting bore them in their hands:] Hefiod, Theog. v.673.

Οἱ τότε Τιτήνεσσι κατέσαθεν ἐν δαὶ λυγρῇ,

Πέτρας ηλιβάτες σιβαρῆς ἐν χερσὶν ἔχοντες.

Ver. 656. Their armour help'd their harm,] Somewhat like that in Spenfer, Faer. Qu. i. xi. 27.

"That erft him goodly arm'd, now most of all him barm'd.”

NEWTON.

Into their substance pent, which wrought them

pain

Implacable, and many a dolorous groan ;
Long ftruggling underneath, ere they could wind
Out of fuch prifon, though Spirits of pureft light,
Pureft at first, now grofs by finning grown. 661
The reft, in imitation, to like arms.
Betook them, and the neighbouring hills
So hills amid the air encounter'd hills,
Hurl'd to and fro with jaculation dire;
That under ground they fought in dismal shade;

uptore:

665

Ver. 661. now grofs by finning grown.] What a fine moral does Milton here inculcate, and indeed quite through this book, by fhowing that all the weakness and pain of the rebel Angels was the natural confequence of their finning! And, I believe, one may obferve in general of our author, that he is fcarcely ever fo far hurried on by the fire of his Mufe, as to forget the main end of all good writing, the recommendation of virtue and religion. THYER.

Ver. 666. That under ground they fought in difmal shade ;] It was a memorable faying of one of the Spartans at Thermopyla, who being told that the multitude of Perfian arrows would obfcure the fun; why then, fays he, we shall fight in the fade. I fuppofe that Statius alluded to this story in the following bold lines, Thebaid, viii. 412.

"Exclufere diem telis, ftant ferrea cœlo

"Nubila, nec jaculis arctatus fufficit aër.”

But what was a fhade of arrows to à fhade of mountains hurled to and fro, and encountering in mid air! This was infernal noife indeed, and making almost a Hell of Heaven. Such was the uproar in Hell, B. ii. 539.

"Others with vaft Typhoan rage more fell

"Rend up both rocks and hills, and ride the air
"In whirlwind; Hell fcarce holds the wild uproar."
NEWTON.