The glaring picture of Paradife is not, in my opinion, fo ftrong an evidence of Milton's force of imagination, as his reprefentation of Adam and Eve when they left it, and of the paffions with which they were agitated on that event. Against his battle of the angels, I have the fame objections as against his garden of Eden. He has endeavoured to elevate his combatants, by giving them enormous ftature of giants in romances, books of which he was known to be fond; and the prowess and behaviour of Michael, as much resemble the feats of Ariofto's Knight, as his two handed fword does the weapons of chivalry: I think the fublimity of his genius much more vifible in the first appearance of the fallen angels; the debates of the infernal. peers; the paffage of Satan through the dominions of Chaos, and his adventure with Sin and Death; the miffion of Raphael to Adam; the converfations between Adam and his wife; the creation; the account which Adam gives of his first sensations, and of the approach of Eve from the hand of her CREATOR; the whole behaviour of Adam and Eve after the firft tranfgreffion; and the profpect of the various ftates of the world, and history of man exhibited in a vifion to Adam. In this vifion, Milton judiciously reprefents Adam, as ignorant of what disaster had befallen Abel, when he was murdered by his brother; but during his converfation with Raphael, the poet feems to have forgotten this neceffary and natural ignorance of the first man. How was it poffible for Adam to discern what the Angel meant by "cubic phalanxes, by planets of "afpect malign, by encamping on the foughten field, by van and rear, by ftandards, and gonfalons, and "glittering tiffues, by the girding fword, by embat"tled fquadrons, chariots, and flaming arms, and fiery ❝fteeds?" And although Adam poffeffed a fuperior degree of knowledge, yet doubtlefs he had not skill enough in chemistry to understand Raphael, who informed him, that -Sulphurous and nitrous foam They found, they mingled, and with subtle art, To blackest grain, and into store convey'd. And, furely, the nature of cannon was not much explained to Adam, who neither knew, or wanted the ufe of iron tools, by telling him, that they resembled the hollow bodies of oak or fir, With branches lopt, in wood or mountain fell'd. He that never beheld the brute creation but in its paftimes and sports, must have greatly wondered, when the Angel expreffed the flight of the Satanic host, by faying, that they fled -As a herd Of goats, or Timorous flock, together throng'd. But as there are many exuberances in this poem, there appears to be also fome defects. As the ferpent was the inftrument of the temptation, Milton minute. ly defcribes its beauty and alurements and I have frequently wondered, that he did not, for the same reafon, give a more elaborate defcription of the tree of P life; efpecially as he was remarkable for his knowledge and imitation of the Sacred Writings, and as the following paffage in the Revelations, afforded him a hint, from which his creative fancy might have worked up a ftriking picture: "In the midft of the treet of it, and "of either fide of the river, was there the tree of life; "which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her "fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were "for the healing of the nations." At the end of the fourth book, fufpence and attention are excited to the utmoft; a combat between Satan and the guardians of Eden is eagerly expected, and curiofity is impatient for the action and the cataf trophe: but this horrid fray is prevented, expectation is cut off, and curiofity disappointed, by an expedient, which, though applauded by Addifon and Pope, and imitated from Homer and Virgil, will be deemed fri gid and inartificial, by all who judge from their own fenfations, and are not content to echo the decifions of others. The golden balances are held forth, "which," fays the poet, are yet feen between Aftrea and the Scorpion ;" Satan looks up, and perceiving that his scale mounted aloft, departs with the fhades of night. To make fuch a use, at fo critical a time, of Libra, a mere imaginary fign of the Zodiac, is fcarcely juftifiable in a poem founded on religious truth. Among innumerable beauties in the Paradife Loft, I think the most transcendent is the speech of Satan at the beginning of the ninth book: in which his unextinguishable pride, and fierce indignation against God, and his envy towards Man, are fo blended with an involuntary approbation of goodness, and disdain of the meannefs and bafeness of his prefent undertaking, as to render K 3 render it on account of the propriety of its fentiments and its turns of paffion, the most natural, most spirited, and truly dramatic fpeech, that is, perhaps, to be found in any writer, whether ancient or modern: and yet Mr. Addifon has paffed it over, unpraised and unnoticed. If any apology fhould be deemed neceffary for the freedom here used with our inimitable bard, let me conclude in the words of Longinus: "Whoever was "carefully to collect the blemishes of Homer, Demof"thenes, Plato, and of other celebrated writers of the "fame rank, would find they bore not the least pro"portion to the fublimities and excellencies with " which their works abound." No. CII. Saturday, October 27. 1753. Quid tam dextro pede concipis, ut te Conatus non pæniteat votique peracti? What in the conduct of our life appears Juv. But when we have our wish, we wish undone. To the ADVEnturer. DRYDEN, I SIR, HAVE been for many years a trader in London. My beginning was narrow, and my stock fmall; I was, therefore, a long time brow-beaten and defpifed by those who, having more money, thought they had more merit than myfelf. I did not, however, suffer my refentment to instigate me to any mean arts of fupplantation, nor my eagerness of riches to betray me to any indirect methods of gain; I purfued my business K 4 with |