Mercy will fit between,

Thron'd in celeftial fheen,

145

With radiant feet the tiffued clouds down fteering:

And Heav'n, as at some festival,

Will open wide the gates of her high palace hall.

But wifeft Fate fays no,

XVI.

This must not yet be so,

The babe lies yet in smiling infancy, That on the bitter cross

Muft redeem our lofs ;

So both himself and us to glorify :

Yet first to those ychain'd in fleep,

150

155

The wakeful trump of doom must thunder through

the deep,

XVII.

With fuch a horrid clang

As on mount Sinai rang,

Th' enamel'd arras of the rainbow wearing;

And Mercy fet between, &c.

The rich and variegated colours of tapestry were now familiar to the eye. The prefent reading appeared firft, in the fecond edition, 1673. 156. The wakeful trump of doom must thunder through the deep.] A line of great energy, elegant and fublime.

157. With fuch a horrid clang.] CLANG is clangour. So of a multitude of birds, PARAD. L. B. vii. 422.

Soaring the air fublime

With CLANG despised the ground.

But fee Steevens's Note, TAM. SHR. vol. iii. Johnf. Steev. SHAKESPEARE, P. 435.

While the red fire, and fmouldring clouds out brake:

The aged earth aghast,

With terror of that blast,

Shall from the furface to the center fhake;

When at the world's laft feffion,

160

The dreadful Judge in middle air shall spread his

throne.

XVIII.

And then at last our blifs

Full and perfect is,

But now begins; for from this happy day Th' old Dragon under ground

In ftraiter limits bound,

Not half fo far cafts his ufurped fway,

And wroth to see his kingdom fail,

Swindges the fcaly horrour of his folded tail.

165

170

159. Smouldring clouds out brake.] Add to Doctor Newton's inftances, F. Qi. vii. 13.

Through SMOULDRY cloud of duskish stinking smoke.

Again, iii. xi. 21.

A flaming fire ymixt with SMOULDRY smoke

And ftinking fulphure.

SMOULDRING, or SMOULDRY, hot, fweltring. Perhaps from the AngloSaxon Smolt, hot weather.

172. Swindges the fealy borrour of his folded tail.] This strong image. is copied from the defcriptions of ferpents and dragons in the old Romances and Ariofto. There is a fine picture by Guido, representing Michael the Arch- Angel, treading on Satan, who has such a tail as is here described. Dr. J. WARTON.

The old ferpent, finding his power confined and his dominion contracted, vents his indignation and revenge, in brandishing the horrid folds of his fcaly tail.

XIX. The

XIX.

The oracles are dumb,

No voice or hideous hum

Runs through the arched roof in words deceiving. Apollo from his shrine

Can no more divine,

176

With hollow shriek the steep of Delphos leaving. No nightly trance, or breathed spell

Infpires the pale-ey'd prieft from the prophetic cell.

XX.

The lonely mountains o'er,

And the refounding shore,

A voice of weeping heard and loud lament;

181

180. Infpires the pale-ey'd prieft.-] Milton was impreffed with reading Euripides's tragedy of IoN, which fuggefted these ideas. 181. The lonely mountains o'er,

And the refounding fore,

A voice of weeping beard and loud lament.] Although Milton was well acquainted with all the Greek writers in their original languages, and might have seen the ground-work of this tradition of a voice proclaiming the death of the great Pan, and ceffation of Oracles, in Plutarch on the DEFECT OF ORACLES, and the fifth book of Eufebius's PREPARATIO EVANGELICA, yet it is moft probable, that the whole allufion was fuggested to his imagination by a Note of the old commentator on Spenfer's Paftorals in MAY, who copied Lavaterus's treatise De LEMURIBUS, newly translated in English. "About the "time that our Lord fuffered his most bitter Paffion, certaine perfons "fayling from Italie to Cyprus, and paffing by certaine iles called "Paxa, heard a voyce calling aloud Thamus, Thamus, the pylot of "the fhip; who giuing eare to the cry, was bidden when he came "to Palodas to tell, that the great god Pan was dead: which he doubting to doe, yet for that when he came to Palodas, there fud"denly was fuch a calme of wind, that the fhip ftood ftill in the fea "vamooued, he was forced to cry aloud, that Pan was dead: Where

"withall,

From haunted spring, and dale

Edg'd with poplar pale,

The parting Genius is with fighing sent ; With flowr-inwoven treffes torn

185

The Nymphs in twilight fhade of tangled thickets

mourn.

"withall, there was heard fuch pitious outcries and dreadfull fhriek"ing, as hath not been the like. By which Pan, though of fome be "vnderstood the great Sathanas, whofe kingdom was at that time by "Chrift conquered, and the gates of hell broken vp, for at that time "all Oracles furceafed, and enchanted spirits that were wont to de"lude the people thenceforth held their peace, &c." Sandys has much the fame story; who adds, that on this report of Thamuz, "was "heard a great LAMENTATION, accompanied with many groans and "kreeches." At which time alfo, he says, the ORACLES of Apollo became filent. TRAVELS. p. 11. edit. 1627. Compare PARAD. REG. B. i. 456. If we connect these three lines with the general subject of the last stanza, undoubtedly Milton, in the voice of weeping and loud lament, referred to this story, from whatsoever fource it was drawn. But if, without fuch a retrospect, they belong only to the context and purport of their own ftanza, he implies the lamentations of the Nymphs and wood gods at leaving their haunts.

Doctor Newton obferves, that this allufion to the notion of the ceffation of Oracles at the coming of Chrift, was allowable enough in a young poet. Surely, nothing could have been more allowable in an old poet. And how poetically is it extended to the pagan divinities, and the oriental idolatries?

183. A voice of weeping beard and loud lament.] This is fcriptural, MATT. ii. 18. "In Rama was there a VOICE HEARD, LAMENTATION, "and WEEPING, and great mourning, &c."

187. With flower-inwoven trees torn.] See Note on INTERWOVE in COMUS, V. 548. INWOVE is alfo not uncommon in Milton. PARAD. L. B. iii. 352.

Their crowns INWOVE with amaranth and gold.

And B. iv. 693.

The roof

Of thickest covert was INWOVEN fhade

Laurel and myrtle.

Spenfer gives the firft inftance that I can at prefent recollect.

XXI. In

In urns, and altars round,

A drear and dying found

Affrights the Flamens at their service quaint;

And the chill marble feems to fweat,

i

195

While each peculiar Pow'r forgoes his wonted feat.

Peor and Baälim

XXII.

Forfake their temples dim,

With that twice batter'd God of Palestine;

And mooned Afhtaroth,

Heav'n's queen and mother both,

Now fits not girt with tapers holy shine;

The Lybic Hammon shrinks his horn,

200

In vain the Tyrian maids their wounded Tham→

muz mourn.

202. SHINE is a fubftantive in Harrington's ARIOSTO, C.xxxvii.15. The SHINE of armour bright.

And in Jonfon's PANEGYRE, 1603. WORKS, edit. 1616. p. 868.
When like an April-Iris flew her SHINE

About the streets.

And Drummond, Sonnets, Signat. B. edit. ut fupr. 1616.

Faire moone, who with thy cold and filuer SHINE.

And in other places. But fee OBSERVAT. on Spenfer's F. Q. ii. 181.