CHAPTER VII. John Milton. 1608-1674. (History, pp. 114-122.) 91. From the HYMN ON THE NATIVITY. The remarkable passage, from which this is an extract, is a poetical expansion of the well-known Christian tradition, that the prophetic virtues-devil-inspired, it was believed—of the various Pagan oracles ceased at once upon the birth of Christ. The oracles are dumb, No voice or hideous hum Runs through the arched roof in words deceiving. 5 Can no more divine, With hollow shriek the steep of Delphos leaving. Inspires the pale-eyed priest from the prophetic cell. The lonely mountains o'er 10 And the resounding shore, A voice of weeping heard and loud lament; From haunted spring and dale, Edged with poplar pale, The parting Genius is with sighing sent; 15 With flower-inwoven tresses torn, The Nymphs, in twilight shade of tangled thickets, mourn. 4. Shrine: O. E. scrín, Lat. scrinium, meant a chest or casket for keeping precious relics in. 7. Trance, Sp. trance, It. transito, Lat. transitus, the state that one is in when passing from life to death. 8. Priest: 0. E. preost, is a shortened form of presbyter, Gk. TрeσßуTEρos. In another poem Milton says "New presbyter is but old priest writ large." In consecrated earth, And on the holy hearth, The Lars and Lemures moan with midnight plaint; 20 In urns and altars round, A drear and dying sound Affrights the Flamens at their service quaint; While each peculiar Power foregoes his wonted seat. 30 Hath laid her Babe to rest; Time is, our tedious song should here have ending: Hath fix'd her polish'd car, Her sleeping Lord with handmaid lamp attending; Bright-harness'd angels sit in order serviceable. 19. Lars and Lemures: the Lemures were the departed souls of men, of whom the good were worshipped under the name of Lares. 22. Flamens: these, strictly speaking, were priests devoted to the service of one particular god; but our poet seems to use it here of priests in general. in Shakespeare's "my quaint Ariel." 28. Youngest-teemed, youngest (latest) born. To teem fr. O. E. team, progeny, line, means to bring forth, as in King Lear, iv. 1 "If she must teem, create her child of spleen." 32. Bright-harnessed, in radiant armour. Serviceable, whereby they might promptly render services as they are Quaint, curiously ordered, fr. Fr. coint, Lat. comptus, or, according to Diez. Lat. cognitus. It means also neat, pretty, as required. 5 92. From COMUS. Sweet Echo, sweetest nymph, that livest unseen By slow Meander's margent green, And in the violet-embroider'd vale, Where the love-lorn nightingale Nightly to thee her sad song mourneth well; 3. Margent, an older form of margin. 5. Love-lorn, that hath lost her love. Lorn is an old part. of lose, seen still in forlorn, s and being interchangeable letters. 6. Sad song mourneth: pours forth ber sad song mournfully-a classical idiom. Sweet queen of parley, daughter of the sphere ! 93. From LYCIDAS. Alas! what boots it with incessant care 5 To sport with Amaryllis in the shade, Fame is the spur that the clear spirit doth raise, To scorn delights, and live laborious days; Comes the blind Fury with the abhorred shears, 1. What boots it, of what advantage is it? Boot, O. E. bót, meant remedy, advantage, profit; and in this sense is still found in bootless. "There is no boot" in Richard II. is equivalent to "there is no help for it." 2. Shepherd's trade: see preliminary note to extract 75. 3. Meditate, practise, Lat. meditor. 4. Use, are wont; only employed at present with this sense in the pret. used. 7. Clear, stainless, innocent, or, perhaps, intelligent. 10. Guerdon, reward. The O. Fr. guerredon, It. guiderdone, comes from L. L. widerdonum, which is a corruption (caused by an attempt to connect the word with Lat. donum) of 0. H. G. widarlôn, O. E. widherlean, from widher, back, and lean, loan (Diez). 14. To remind him that an important consideration yet remained. The lobe of the ear was once believed to be the seat of the memory. 16. Glistering foil: the foil was the leaf (Lat. folium) of metal in which jewels were set to show off their lustre. Set off to the world, nor in broad rumour lies; Of so much fame in Heaven expect thy meed." 94. From IL PENSEROSO. Come, pensive nun, devout and pure, All in a robe of darkest grain, With a sad leaden downward cast Thou fix them on the earth as fast: 15 And join with thee calm Peace and Quiet, Aye round about Jove's altar sing: 2. Demure: this word, which is generally derived from de mœurs, formerly suggested nothing of the affectation of modesty, but was invariably used in a good sense. Mr. Wedgwood takes it from meure (Lat. maturus), in the sense of discreet, in which case it would be a remnant of some such phrase as "de mure conduite." 3. Darkest grain: grain, fr. Lat. granum (the coccus insect having been so called from the shape of its body), from being a particular expression for a bright scarlet, came eventually to be And add to these retired Leisure, 20 That in trim gardens takes his pleasure. 25 And the mute Silence hist along, 30 Gently o'er the accustom'd oak: Sweet bird, that shunn'st the noise of folly, Most musical, most melancholy! I woo, to hear thy even song; 35 And, missing thee, I walk unseen 33. Noon: the fifth division of the ecclesiastical day was called none (fr. Lat. nona, the ninth hour after six in the morning). Noon should then mean three o'clock, P.M.; but for some imper fectly ascertained reason, it was transferred to mid-day. Milton's use of the word in this passage seems peculiar to himself. From PARADISE LOST. (Book I. 50.) Nine times the space that measures day and night |