Complete Poetry and Selected Prose of John Milton Read online

  In Effigiei Ejus Sculptorem (On the Engraver of His Likeness)

  Sonnet 11: “I did but prompt the age …”

  Sonnet 13: “Harry, whose tunefull …”

  Sonnet 14: “When Faith and Love …”

  Ad Joannem Roüsium (To John Rouse)

  The Fifth Ode of Horace. Book I.

  Sonnet 12: “A book was writt of late …”

  On the Forcers of Conscience

  Psalms 80-88

  Sonnet 15: “Fairfax, whose name in armes …”

  Verse from Pro Populo Anglicano defensio: “Who released to Salmasius …”

  Sonnet 16: “Cromwell, our cheif of men, …”

  Sonnet 17: “Vane, young in yeares, …”

  Psalms 1–8

  Verse from Defensio secunda: “Rejoice, mackerel, …”

  Sonnet 18: “Avenge O Lord …”

  Sonnet 19: “When I consider …”

  Sonnet 20: “Lawrence of vertuous Father …”

  Sonnet 21: “Cyriack, whose Grandsire …”

  Sonnet 22: “Cyriack, this three years day …”

  Sonnet 23: “Mee thought I saw …”

  4. THE MAJOR POEMS

  Paradise Lost

  Paradise Regain’d

  Samson Agonistes

  TEXTUAL NOTES

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  INDEX OF TITLES AND FIRST LINES

  PART 1

  Poems

  Written during School,

  College, and University Years

  (1624–32)

  A Paraphrase on Psalm 1141

  When the blest seed of Terah’s faithfull Son,2

  After long toil their liberty had won,

  And past from Pharian3 fields to Canaan Land,

  Led by the strength of the Almighties hand,

  5

  Jehovah’s wonders were in Israel shown,

  His praise and glory was in Israel known.

  That4 saw the troubl’d Sea, and shivering fled,

  And sought to hide his froth-becurled head

  Low in the earth, Jordans clear streams recoil,

  10

  As a faint host that hath receiv’d the foil.5

  The high, huge-bellied Mountains skip like Rams

  Amongst their Ews, the little Hills like Lambs.

  Why fled the Ocean? And why skipt the Mountains?

  Why turned Jordan toward his Crystall Fountains?

  15

  Shake earth, and at the presence be agast

  Of him that ever was, and ay shall last,

  That glassy flouds from rugged rocks can crush,

  And make soft rills from fiery flint-stones gush.

  (1624)

  * * *

  1 Harris Fletcher, analyzing the grammar school lesson of paraphrasing from one language to another, points out that “Milton’s effort was cast into eighteen lines, or two more than the original verse divisions called for, and was more or less done in this fashion: lines 2, 4, 8, 10 were really added lines; but in lines 13-14 Milton compressed the four lines of verses 5 and 6 …” (Intellectual Development, I, 191). Compare the translation of Milton’s rendition of this same psalm in Greek.

  2 Abraham; the original cites only Jacob, the blest seed of Abraham.

  3 Egyptian.

  4 “the strength of the Almighties hand,” object of “saw.”

  5 the sword; therefore, “hath been driven back.”

  Psalm 1361

  Let us with a gladsom mind

  Praise the Lord, for he is kind.

  For his mercies ay endure,

  Ever faithfull, ever sure.

  5

  Let us blaze his Name abroad,

  For of gods he is the God.

  For, .

  O let us his praises tell,

  10

  That doth the wrathfull tyrants quell.

  For, .

  That with his miracles doth make

  Amazed Heav’n and Earth to shake.

  15

  For, .

  That by his wisdom did create

  The painted Heav’ns so full of state.

  20

  For, .

  That did the solid Earth ordain

  To rise above the watry plain.

  For, .

  25

  That by his all-commanding might

  Did fill the new-made world with light.

  For, c.

  And caus’d the Golden-tressed Sun

  30

  All the day long his cours to run.

  For, .

  The horned Moon to shine by night

  Amongst her spangled sisters bright.

  35

  For, .

  He with his thunder-clasping hand

  Smote the first-born of Egypt Land.

  40

  For, .

  And in despight of Pharao fell,

  He brought from thence his Israel.

  For, .

  45

  The ruddy waves he cleft in twain,

  Of the Erythræan main.2

  For, .

  The floods stood still like Walls of Glass,

  50

  While the Hebrew Bands did pass.

  For, .

  But full soon they did devour

  The Tawny3 King with all his power.

  55

  For, .

  His chosen people he did bless

  In the wastfull Wildernes.

  60

  For, .

  In bloody battail he brought down

  Kings of prowess and renown.

  For, .

  65

  He foild bold Seon and his host,

  That rul’d the Amorrean coast.

  For, .

  And large-limb’d Og he did subdue,

  70

  With all his over-hardy crew.

  For, .

  And to his servant Israel

  He gave their Land therin to dwell.

  75

  For, .

  He hath with a piteous eye

  Beheld us in our misery.

  80

  For, .

  And freed us from the slavery

  Of the invading enemy.

  For, .

  85

  All living creatures he doth feed,

  And with full hand supplies their need.

  For, .

  Let us therfore warble forth

  90

  His mighty Majesty and worth.

  For, .

  That his mansion hath on high

  Above the reach of mortall eye.

  95

  For his mercies ay endure,

  Ever faithfull, ever sure.

  (1624)

  * * *

  1 Though this paraphrase elaborates upon the Hebrew, its result, unlike that in Ps. 114, is relative simplicity of language and image. Phrases have been traced to George Buchanan (in his Latin paraphrases of the psalms) and to Joshua Sylvester (in his translation of DuBartas’ Divine Weeks and Works). Milton omitted verses 12, 18, and 22 of the original.

  2 the Red Sea.

  3 dark-complexioned.

  Apologus de Rustico et Hero1

  Rusticus ex Malo sapidissima poma quotannis

  Legit, et urbano lecta dedit Domino:

  Hic incredibili fructûs dulcedine Captus

  Malum ipsam in proprias transtulit areolas.

  5

  Hactenus illa ferax, sed longo debilis ævo,

  Mota solo assueto, protinùs aret iners.

  Quod tandem ut patuit Domino, spe lusus inani,

  Damnavit celeres in sua damna manus.

  Atque ait, Heu quantò satius fuit illa Coloni

  10

  (Parva licet) grato dona tulisse animo!

  Possem Ego avaritiam frœnare, gulamque voracem:

  Nunc periere mihi et fœtus et ipsa parens.

  The Fable of the Peasant and the Overlord1

  Every year a peasant gathered from an appletree
the most savory fruit / and gave the choice apples to his overlord who lived in the city. / He, pleased with the unbelievable sweetness of the fruit, / transferred the apple tree itself to his own gardens. / The tree, fruitful up to this time but weak from old age, [5] / when moved from its accustomed soil, instantly withered to inactivity. / When at last it was evident to the overlord that he had been deceived / by a vain hope, he cursed the hands so swift in bringing loss. / And he cried, “Alas, how much more satisfactory it was to receive / with a grateful heart these gifts, although small, from my tenant. [10] / Would I could curb my greed and my voracious gullet: / now both the fruit and its parent are lost to me.”

  (1624–25)

  * * *

  1 A version of a popular fable by Aesop, Milton’s twelve elegiac lines were derived from ten by Mantuan (Sylvarum, Bk. 4).

  Carmina Elegiaca1

  Surge, age, surge, leves, iam convenit, excute somnos,

  Lux oritur; tepidi fulcra relinque tori.

  Iam canit excubitor gallus, prænuncius ales

  Solis, et invigilans ad sua quemque vocat;

  5

  Flammiger Eois Titan2 caput exerit undis,

  Et spargit nitidum læta per arva iubar.

  Daulias3 argutum modulatur ab ilice carmen

  Edit et excultos mitis alauda modos;

  Iam rosa fragrantes spirat silvestris odores;

  10

  Iam redolent violæ luxuriatque seges.

  Ecce novo campos Zephyritis4 gramine vestit

  Fertilis, et vitreo rore madescit humus.

  Segnes invenias molli vix talia lecto,

  Cum premat imbellis lumina fessa sopor;

  15

  Illic languentes abrumpunt somnia somnos,

  Et turbant animum tristia multa tuum.

  Illic tabifici generantur semina morbi.

  Qui pote torpentem posse valere virum?

  Surge, age, surge, leves, iam convenit, excute somnos,

  20

  Lux oritur; tepidi fulcra relinque tori.

  Elegiac Verses1

  Arise, up, arise. Now that it is time, shake off slumbers; / light is appearing; leave the props of your languid bed. / Now sings the sentinel cock, the harbinger bird / of the sun, and, watchful, calls everyone to his own affairs. / The flaming Titan2 thrusts his head from the Eastern waves [5] / and scatters his glittering splendor through the joyful fields. / The Daulian3 modulates her melodious song from the oak / and the gentle lark pours forth her perfect notes. / Now the wild rose breathes forth its fragrant perfumes; / now the violets diffuse their scent and the grain grows rapidly. [10] / Behold, the fruitful consort of Zephyr4 clothes the fields with new growth, / and the soil becomes moist with glassy dew. / Lazy one, you are not likely to find such things in your soft bed, / when tranquil sleep weighs down your wearied eyes. / There dreams interrupt dull slumbers [15] / and many griefs disturb your mind. / There the seeds of a wasting malady are generated. / What strength can a listless man be capable of? / Arise, up, arise. Now that it is time, shake off slumbers; / light is appearing; leave the props of your languid bed. [20]

  (1624-25)

  * * *

  1 These and the following verses were written on a loose sheet found in Milton’s Commonplace Book with only this title given for the first. Grammar school exercises, they versify a prose theme on early rising found on the reverse of the sheet: “Mane citus lectum fuge” (“Quick, hasten from your bed in the morning”).

  2 Hyperion, here identified with the Sun.

  3 the swallow.

  4 Chloris, wife of the West Wind.

  “Ignavus satrapam dedecet …”1

  Ignavus satrapam dedecet inclytum

  Somnus qui populo multifido præest.

  Dum Dauni veteris filius armiger2

  Stratus purpureo procubuit thoro,

  5

  Audax Eurialus, Nisus et impiger

  Invasere cati nocte sub horrida

  Torpentes Rutilos castraque Volscia:

  Hinc cædes oritur clamor et absonus.…

  “Slothful sleep …”1

  Slothful sleep is unbecoming to a famous governor / who presides over people divided into many sections of the land. / While the warlike son of old Daunas2 / lay prone on his purple couch, / bold Euryalus and quick Nisus [5] / cunningly attacked in the frightening night / the sleeping Rutilians and the Volscian camp: / hence slaughter arose and discordant shout.…

  (Incomplete; 1624–25)

  * * *

  1 The meter is the lesser Aesclepiad (an irregular verse form used by Horace) with a spondee for the first foot.

  2 Turnus, king of the Rutili and leader of the Volscians and other Italian tribes who resisted Aeneas’ invasion. When in a drunken sleep, his army was attacked by Euryalus and Nisus (Aen., IX, 314-66).

  Elegia prima

  AD CAROLUM DIODATUM1

  Tandem, chare, tuæ mihi pervenere tabellæ,

  Pertulit et voces nuntia charta tuas,

  Pertulit occiduâ Devæ Cestrensis ab orâ

  Vergivium prono quà petit amne salum.

  5

  Multùm crede juvat terras aluisse remotas

  Pectus amans nostri, tamque fidele caput,

  Quòdque mihi lepidum tellus longinqua sodalem

  Debet, at unde brevi reddere jussa velit.

  Me tenet urbs refluâ quam Thamesis alluit undâ,

  10

  Meque nec invitum patria dulcis habet.

  Jam nec arundiferum mihi cura revisere Camum,

  Nec dudum vetiti me laris angit amor.2

  Nuda nec arva placent, umbrasque negantia molles,

  Quàm male Phœbicolis convenit ille locus!

  15

  Nec duri libet usque minas perferre magistri

  Cæteraque ingenio non subeunda meo.

  Si sit hoc exilium patrios adiisse penates,

  Et vacuum curis otia grata sequi,

  Non ego vel profugi nomen, sortemve recuso,

  20

  Lætus et exilii conditione fruor.

  O utinam vates nunquam graviora tulisset

  Ille3 Tomitano flebilis exul agro;

  Non tunc Jonio quicquam cessisset Homero

  Neve foret victo laus tibi prima, Maro.4

  25

  Tempora nam licet hîc placidis dare libera Musis,

  Et totum rapiunt me mea vita libri.

  Excipit hinc fessum sinuosi pompa theatri,

  Et vocat ad plausus garrula scena suos.5

  Seu catus auditur senior, seu prodigus hæres,

  30

  Seu procus, aut positâ casside miles adest,

  Sive decennali fœcundus lite patronus

  Detonat inculto barbara verba foro,

  Sæpe vafer gnato succurrit servus amanti,

  Et nasum rigidi fallit ubique Patris;

  35

  Sæpe novos illic virgo mirata calores

  Quid sit amor nescit, dum quoque nescit, amat.

  Sive cruentatum furiosa Tragœdia sceptrum

  Quassat, et effusis crinibus ora rotat,

  Et dolet, et specto, juvat et spectasse dolendo,

  40

  Interdum et lacrymis dulcis amaror inest:

  Seu puer infelix indelibata reliquit

  Gaudia, et abrupto flendus amore cadit,

  Seu ferus è tenebris iterat Styga criminis ultor

  Conscia funereo pectora torre movens,

  45

  Seu mæret Pelopeia domus, seu nobilis Ili,

  Aut luit incestos aula Creontis avos.

  Sed neque sub tecto semper nec in urbe latemus,

  Irrita nec nobis tempora veris eunt.

  Nos quoque lucus habet vicinâ consitus ulmo

  50

  Atque suburbani nobilis umbra loci.

  Sæpius hic blandas spirantia sydera flammas

  Virgineos videas præteriisse choros.

  Ah quoties dignæ stupui miracula formæ

  Quæ posset senium vel reparare Iovis;

>   55

  Ah quoties vidi superantia lumina gemmas,

  Atque faces quotquot volvit uterque polus;

  Collaque bis vivi Pelopis6 quæ brachia vincant,

  Quæque fluit puro nectare tincta via,

  Et decus eximium frontis, tremulosque capillos,

  60

  Aurea quæ fallax retia tendit Amor;

  Pellacesque genas, ad quas hyacinthina sordet

  Purpura, et ipse tui floris, Adoni, rubor.7

  Cedite laudatæ toties Heroides8 olim,

  Et quæcunque vagum cepit arnica Jovem.

  65

  Cedite Achaemeniæ9 turritâ fronte puellæ,

  Et quot Susa colunt, Memnoniamque Ninon.10

  Vos etiam Danaæ fasces submittite Nymphæ,

  Et vos Iliacæ, Romuleæque nurus.

  Nec Pompeianas Tarpëia Musa columnas11

  70

  Jactet, et Ausoniis plena theatra stolis.

  Gloria Virginibus debetur prima Britannis,

  Extera, sat tibi sit, fœmina, posse sequi.

  Tuque urbs Dardaniis Londium structa colonis12

  Turrigerum latè conspicienda caput,

  75

  Tu nimium felix intra tua mœnia claudis

  Quicquid formosi pendulus orbis habet.

  Non tibi tot cælo scintillant astra sereno

  Endymioneæ turba ministra deæ,13

  Quot tibi conspicuæ formáque auróque puellæ