Bound with Gorgonian rigor not to move;
And with Asphaltic flime, broad as the gate,
Deep to the roots of Hell the gather'd beach
They faften'd, and the mole immense wrought on 300
Over the foaming deep high arch'd, a bridge

Of

flimy fubftances, and fixing them
(like the foil) for the foundation of
his bridge. To Gorgonian rigor the
Doctor objects that the rigor or hard-
nefs was not in the Gorgon's look,
but in the object turn'd into ftone,
And fo it may be understood here-
a rigor fuch as was caus'd by the
Milton has the
Gorgon's look.
authority of Claudian for expreffing
himself thus,

rigida cum Gorgone Perfeus.
In Ruffin. I. 279-

Again, the Doctor objects to Ari
with Afpbaltic flime, because then
the conftruction would be, his leak
bound it with flime. I agree with
him that this could not come from

Milton. But then I think the Doctor's change of And into As does for does it not leffen the thought to not fufficiently mend the paffage; fay, that it was bound with Gerge nian poru'r as with flime? even f phaltic flime had not that binding power, which fable fuppofes thr Gorgon's look to have had. Thus I can fee that neither the common reading nor the Doctor's are free from great exceptions. There is only one way (I think) in which all thefe difficulties are to be got over, and that is by changing two of the

Of length prodigious, joining to the wall
Immoveable of this now fenceless world

Forfeit to Death; from hence a paffage broad,
Smooth, eafy, inoffenfive down to Hell.
So, if great things to small may be compar'd,

points in the paffage, and reading hus;

the reft his look

Bound with Gorgonian rigor not
to move.

And with Asphaltic flime, broad
as the gate,
Deep to the roots of Hell, the ga-
ther'd beach
They faften'd,———

The first part of the paffage, end-
ing at move, I understand as re-
lating only to the hardening the
foft and flimy fubftances: and all the
reft feems to relate to the faft'ning
the foundation with Aphaltic flime
to the roots of Hell. I may be
mistaken in my conjecture; but this
reading (methinks) bids fairer for
the true one, than either of the
other two.
Pearce.

It appears that by the reft we are to understand the flimy parts, as di

305

Xerxes,

the reft his look

Bound with Gorgonian rigor not

to move;

And with Asphaltic flime, broad as the gate,

Deep to the roots of Hell &c. The fenfe is then the very fame as in the foregoing moft excellent remark of Dr. Pearce's, and we venture to print it accordingly. We generally follow carefully Milton's own punctuation; but though he was extremely accurate, yet he was not always infallible. A falfe pointing may now and then escape the moft correct writer and printer in the world.

304. - from bence a passage broad, Smooth, eafy, inoffenfive doren to Hell. Alluding perhaps to Virgil, Æn. VI. 126.

facilis defcenfus Averni:

Hefiod. Epy. I. 285.

Την μεν του κακοτητα και ιλαδον εσιν ελεθαί

fting ifh'd from the folid or foil: Or to the paths of wickedness, and it would be very abfurd to fay, that his look bound the flimy parts with Aphaltic flime or as with Af phaltic flime. It is much eafier to fuppofe with Mr. Richardfon that the comma after move and the femicolon after flime have changed places, and that the paffage fhould be read thus

Phidias oxign [en] μer of

parasiidi vare. Jortin. 306. So Xerxes &c.] This fimile is verv exact and beautiful. As Sin Q;

and

Xerxes, the liberty of Greece to yoke,

From Sufa his Memnonian palace high
Came to the fea, and over Hellefpont

Bridging his way, Europe with Asia join'd,

310

And scourg'd with many a stroke th' indignant waves, Now had they brought the work by wondrous art Pontifical, a ridge of pendent rock,

Over the vex'd abyfs, following the track

Of Satan to the self fame place where he
First lighted from his wing, and landed fafe

and Death built a bridge over Chaos to fubdue and inflave mankind: So if great things to fmall may be compar'd, Si parva licet componere magnis, as Virgil fays, Georg. IV. 176. Xerxes, the Perfian monarch, to bring the free ftates of Greece under his yoke, came from Sufa, the chief city of Sufiana a province of Perfia, the refidence of the Perfian Monarchs, called Memnonia by Herodotus, of Memnon who built it and reigned there; and over Hellefpont bridging his way, and building a bridge over Hellefpont, the narrow fea by Conftantinople, that divides Europe from Afia, to march his large army over it, Europe with Afia join'd, and feourg'd with many a firake th' indignant waves; alluding particularly to Xerxes his madnefs in ordering the fea to be whipt for the lois of fome of his fhips; indignant waves, fcorning and raging

315

From

by wondrous art Pontifical,] By the strange art of raifing bridges. Pontifex, the high prieft of the Romans, had the name from pans a bridge and fem to make: Quia fublicius pons a

From out of Chaos, to the outfide bare

Of this round world: with pins of adamant
And chains they made all faft, too faft they made
And durable; and now in little space

The confines met of empyréan Heaven

320

And of this World, and on the left hand Hell
With long reach interpos'd; three several ways
In fight, to each of these three places led.
And now their way to Earth they had descry'd, 325
To Paradise first tending, when behold

1

Satan

Pontificibus factus eft primum, et rather is not here another inftance reftitutus fæpe, according to Varro. of falfe pointing? and fhould not Hume. the comma after Satan be omitted, Art pontifical, this is a very bad ex- and be inferted after Chaos ? and is preffion to fignify the art of build- not this the conftruction of the ing bridges, and yet to fuppofe a whole paffage? Now bad they brought pun would be worse, as if the Ro- the work over the vex'd abyfsman priesthood were as ready to to the outfide bare of this round world, make the way easy to Hell, as Sin following the track of Satan to the and Death did. Warburton. Jelf fame place where he firft lighted from his wing, and landed fafe from out of Chaos. We venture to print it accordingly, not knowing well how to make fenfe and grammar of

317. From out of Chaos, to the out fide bare] In Milton's own editions the verses are thus,

Of Satan, to the felf fame place

where he

First lighted from his wing, and landed fafe

From out of Chaos to the outfide

bare &c.

Is not here a falfe print? and is it not properer to read landed fafe on the outfide bare of this round world than landed fafe to the outfide? Or

it otherwise.

Satan in likeness of an Angel bright

330

Betwixt the Centaur and the Scorpion steering
His zenith, while the fun in Aries rofe:
Difguis'd he came, but those his children dear
Their parent foon difcern'd, though in disguise.
He after Eve feduc'd, unminded flunk
Into the wood faft by, and changing shape
To' obferve the sequel, faw his guileful act
By Eve, though all unweeting, feconded
335
Upon her husband, faw their fhame that fought
Vain covertures; but when he saw defcend
The Son of God to judge them, terrify'd
He fled, not hoping to escape, but shun

The prefent, fearing guilty what his wrath

At læva malorum

340 Might

this round world, from whence he

Exercet pœnas, et ad impia tarta- had come down, ver. 317. Befides

ra mittit.

the Doctor instead of rose reads rad: but it was evening, when Meal came and pass'd the fentence on the tranfgreffors, ver. 92. and after that Sin and Death made the bridge; fo that the fun might be rifing in Aries, when they met Satan feering s zenith. And this is confirm'd by what follows here in ver. 341 &c. Peart. Satan to avoid being difcover'd (as he had been before, IV. 569. &i by Uriel regent of the fun, takes care to keep at as great a distance as poffible, and therefore while the