vi. Thamar Cuophornfa. Where Juda is found to have been Tamar Tamar excus'd in what the attempted. vii. The golden Calfe, or The Maffacre in Hareb. ix. The Murmurers. Num. xiv. x. Corah, Dathan, &c. Num. xvi, xvii. xi. Moabitides. Num. xxv. [See No. Iv. below.] xiii. Jofuah in Gibeon. Joh. x. xvi. Abimelech the Ufurper. Judg. ix. xvii. SAMSON MARRIING, or in Ramach Lechi. Judg. xv. xix. Comazontes, or The Benjaminites, or The Rioters. Judg. xx. Theriftria, a Paftoral, out of Ruth. xxi. Eliade, Hophni and Phinchas. I Sam. i, ii, iii, iv. Be. liftines; interlac't with Samuel's vifion concerning xxii. Jonathan refcued. I Sam. xiv. xxiii. Doeg flandering. I Sam. xxii. xxiv. The Sheep-fhearers in Carmel, a Paftoral. I Sam. xxv. XXV. Saul in Gilboa. I Sam. xxviii, xxxi. xxvi. David revolted. I Sam. from the xxvii chap. to the xxxi. xxvii. David adulterous. II Sam. c. xi, xii. xxviii. Tamar. II Sam. xiii. xxix. Achitophel. II Sam. xv, xvi, xvii, xviii. xxx. Adoniah. I Reg. ii. xxxi. Solomon Gynæcocratumenus, or Idolomargus, aut Thyfiazufa. I Reg. xi. xxxii. Rehoboam. I Reg. xii. Wher is difputed of a politick xxxiii. Abias Therfæus. I Reg. xiv. The queen, after much difpute, as the laft refuge, fent to the profet Ahias of Shilo; receavs the meffage. The Epitafis, in that fhee, hearing the child shall die, as she comes home, refuses to return, thinking thereby to elude the oracle. The former part is spent in bringing the fick prince forth as it were defirous to fhift his chamber and couch, as dying men use; his father telling him what facrifize he had fent for his health to Bethel and Dan; his fearlefneffe of death, and putting his father in mind to fet [fend] to Ahiah. The Chorus of the Elders of Ifrael bemoning his virtues bereft them, and at another time wondring why Jeroboam, being bad himself, fhould fo grieve for his fon that was good, &c. xxxiv. Imbres, or The Showers. I Reg. xviii, xix. xxxv. Naboth ovnoparтÝμeros. I Reg. xxi. xxxvi. Ahab. I Reg. xxii. Beginning at the fynod of fals profets Ending with relation of Ahab's death: His bodie brought. Zedechiah flain by Ahab's friends for his feducing. (See Lavater, II Chron. xviii.) xxxvii. Elias in the mount. II Reg. i. 'Opaßárns. Or, better, Elias Polemiftes. xxxviii. Elijaus Hudrochoos. II Reg. iii. Hudrophantes. Aquator. xxxix. Elifeus Adorodocétas. xl. Elijaus Menutes, five in Dothaimis. II Reg. vi. xlii. Achabai Cunoborwmeni. II Reg. ix. The Scene, Jefrael. Beginning, from the watchman's discovery of Jehu, till he go out. In the mean while, meffage of things paffing brought to Jefebel, &c. Laftly, the 70 heads of Ahab's fons brought in, and meffage brought of Ahaziah's brethren flain on the way. Chap. x. xliii. Jebu Belicola. II Reg. x. xliv. Athaliah. II Reg. xi. xlv. Amaziah Doryalatus. II Reg. xiv. II Chron. xxv. xlvi. Hezechias оogμros. II Reg. xviii, xix. Hefechia befeiged. The wicked hypocrify of Shebna, (fpoken of in the xi. or thereabout of Isaiah,) and the commendation of Eliakim, will afford agóguas óys, to. gether with a faction that fought help from Egypt. xlvii. Jofiah Aalomenos. II Reg. xxiii. xlviii. Zedechiab norigiwr. II Reg. But the story is larger in Jeremiah. xlix. Salymar Halofis. Which may begin from a meffage brought to the city, of the judgement upon Zedechiah and his children in Ribla; and fo feconded with the burning and deftruction of city and temple by Nebuzaradan; lamented by Jeremiah. 1. Afa, or Ethiopes. II Chron. xiv. with the depofing his mother, and burning her idol. li. The three children. Dan. iii. lii. Abram from Morea, or Ifaac redeem'd. The oiconomie may be thus. The fift or fixt day after Abraham's departure, Eleazar (Abram's fteward) firft alone, and then with the Chorus, difcourfe of Abraham's ftrange voiage, thire miftreffe forrow and perplexity, accompanied with frightfull dreams; and tell the manner of his rifing by night, taking his fervants and his fon with him. Next may come forth Sarah herself. After the Chorus, or Ifmael, or Agar. Next fome fhepheard or companie of merchants, paffing through the mount in the time that Abram was in the mid-work, relate to Sarah what they faw. Hence Jamentations, fears, wonders. The matter in the mean while divulg'd, Aner, or Efchol, or Mamre, Abram's confederats, come to the house of Abram to be more certaine, or to bring news; in the mean while difcourfing, as the world would, of fuch an action, divers ways; bewayling the fate of fo noble a man faln from his reputation, either through divin juftice or fuperftition, or coveting to doe fome notable act through zeal. At length a fervant, fent from Abram, relates the truth; and laft he himfelfe comes in with a great traine of Melchizedec's, whofe thepheards, beeing fecretlye witneffes of all paffages, had related to their mafter, and he conducted his friend Abraham home with joy. liii. Baptiftes. The Scene, the Court. Beginning, From the morning of Herod's birth-day. c In the margin of the MS. Or els the queen may plot, under prætenfe of begging for his li berty, to feek to draw him into a fnare by his free. dom of fpeech. Herod, by fome counfeler perfuaded on his birth-day to release John Baptist, purpofes it; caufes him to be fent for to Court from prifon. The queen hears of it; takes occafion to paffe wher he is, on purpose, that, under prætenfe of reconfiling to him, or feeking to draw a kind retractation from him of the cenfure on the marriage; to which end the fends a courtier before, to found whether he might be perfuaded to mitigate his fentence; which not finding, the herfelf craftily affays; and, on his conftancie, founds an accufation to Herod of a contumacious affront, on fuch a day, before many peers; præpares the king to fome paffion, and at laft, by her daughter's dancing, effects it. There may prologize the Spirit of Philip, Herod's brother. It may alfo be thought that Herod had well bedew'd himself with wine, which made him grant the easier to his wive's daughter. Some of his difciples alfo, as to congratulate his liberty, may be brought in; with whom, after certain command of his death, many compaffionating words of his difciples, bewayling his youth cut off in his glorious cours; he telling them his work is don, and wishing them to follow Chrift his maifter. liv. Sodom. The title, Cupid's funeral pile : Sodom burning. The Scene before Lot's gate. The Chorus, confifting of Lot's fhepherds come to the citty about fome affairs, await in the evening thire maister's return from his evening walk toward the citty gates. He brings with him two young men, or youths, of noble form. After likely difcourfes, præpares for thire entertainment. By then fupper is ended, the gallantry of the towne paffe by in proceffion, with mufick and fong, to the temple of Venus Urania or Peor; and, understanding of tow noble strangers arriv'd, they fend 2 of thire choy feft youth, with the prieft, to invite them to thire citty folemnities; it beeing an honour that thire citty had decreed to all fair perfonages, as beeing facred to their goddefs. The angels, being ak't by the priest whence they are, fay they are of Salem; the prieft inveighs against the ftrict reign of Melchifedec. Lot, that knows thire drift, anfwers thwartly at laft. Of which notice given to the whole affembly, they haften thither, taxe him of præfumption, fingularity, breach of city-customs; in fine, offer violence. The Chorus of fhepheards præpare refiftance in thire maister's defence; calling the rest of the ferviture: but, being forc't to give back, the angels open the dore, refcue Lot, difcover themfelves, warne him to gether his friends and fons in law out of the citty. He goes, and returns; as having met with fome incredulous. Some other freind or fon in law (out of the way when Lot came to his houfe) overtakes him to know his buifnes. Heer is difputed of incredulity of divine judge. ments, and fuch like matters. At laft is defcribed the parting from the citty. The Chorus depart with their maifter. The angels doe the deed with all dreadfull execution. The king and nobles of the citty may come forth, and ferve to fet out the terror. A Chorus of angels concluding, and the angels relating the event of Lot's journey and of his wife. The first Chorus, beginning, may relate the course of the citty; each evening every one, with mistresse or Ganymed, gitterning along the streets, or folacing on the banks of Jordan, or down the stream. d gitterning along the ftreets,] That is, playing on the cittern along the streets. This mufical inftrument, the cittern, was called gittern in Milton's time; and has been, in later days, termed by fome the guitar. See Sylvefter's Du Bartas, ed. 1621, p. 468. “The divers strings of a sweet guittern." And Gayton's Noter on Don Quixote, 1654, p. 280. "a gitterne, "As muficall as any bitterne." Milton ufes the word gitterning, because the cittern was the fymbol of women that lived by prostitution. See Sir John Hawkins's Hift. of Musick, vol. iii. 408, where, among other proofs, Jonfon's Volpone is cited, A. ii. S. v. Corvino is there ironically exhorting his wife Celia not to dally with his jealousy, but at once to proftitute herself to the fuppofed mountebank who had courted her at her window:-"Get you a cistern, Lady Vanity, and be a dealer with the |