cure his life, was faine to putt him from his service; and, procuring him fome fmale imploy at the Lady's of Loretto, whither he went in pilgrimage in fummer time, and ouerheating him selfe dyed in few weeks after he came thither; and it was doubtfull whether he were not poyfoned."—

Mr. Hayley notices the existence also of the following pieces rclating to Milton's fubject:

i. Adamo Caduto, tragedia facra, di Serafino della Salandra. Cozenzo, 1647. Svo.

ii. La Battaglia Celeste tra Michele e Lucifero, di Antonio Alfani, Palermitano. Palermo, 1568. 4to.

iii. Dell' Adamo di Giovanni Soranzo, Genova, 1604.,

12mo.

They had, however, efcaped the refearches of Mr. Hayley. Signor Signorelli, the learned and elegant correfpondent of Mr. Walker on fubjects connected with his Memoir on Italian Tragedy, published in 1799, had not then feen them. Whether Milton had perufed them, muft therefore be a matter of future inquiry. Mr. Walker, to whom the reader is indebted for the curious Note on the dialogue between Satan and Michael, Par. Loft, B. vi. 292 &c, obferves that all the commentators pafs over the obligations of Milton to the Gerufalemme Diftrutta of Marino. From the feventh canto, which is all that is printed, and which is fubjoined to two fmall editions of the Strage de gli Innocenti in his poffeffion, Mr. Walker has made a few extracts; and I have cited those relating to

d

See the Hift. Mem. Appendix, p. xxxiii.
Ibid. p. xxxvi.

the compaffionate countenance of Chrift, and to the glorious defcription of God, in the Notes on Par. Loft, B. iii. 140, 380. See alfo the Note on B. xi. 406.

Mr. Hayley further notices the probable attention of Milton to Taffo Le Sette Giornate del Mondo Creato. See likewife Dr. Warton's Note on Par. Loft, B. v. 689. Taffo, like Milton, follows indeed almost the very words of Scripture, in relating the commands of God on the feveral days of the Creation. The poem is in blank verfe. I fubmit to the reader the following pious address:

"Dimmi, qual opra alhora, ò qual ripofo
"Foffe ne la Diuina, e Sacra Mente
"In quel d' eternita felice ftato.

"E 'n qual ignota parte, e'n quale idea
"Era l'effempio tuo, Celeste Fabro,
"Quando facesti à te la Reggia, e 'l Tempio.
"Tu, che 'l fai, tu 'l riuela: e chiare, e conte
"Signor, per me fà l' opre, i modi, e l' arti.
"Signor, tu fe' la mano, io fon la cetra,
"La qual moffa da te, con dolci tempre
"Di foaue armonia, rifuona; e molce
"D' adamantino fmalto i duri affetti.
"Signor, tu fe' lo fpirto, io roca tromba
"Son per me fteffo à la tua gloria; e langue,
"Se non m' infpiri tu, la voce, e 'l fuono."

In the preceding verfes Milton's addrefs to the Holy Spirit, "Inftruct me, for thou know'ft,' is

← Dr. Warton mentions only the edition of Viterbo, in 1607. There had been an earlier edition thus entitled, "I due primi Giorni del Mondo Creato, Poefia facra." Venet. 1600, 4to. And there have been several later; Le fette Giornate &c. 12mo. Milan. 1608, Venet. 1609, and Venet. 1637, ult. imprefs. ri

corretta.

perhaps obfervable. They clofe alfo with a fimilar fentiment to his invocation of the fame affiftance in his Paradife Regained, B. i. 11.

"Thou Spirit,

infpire,

"As thou art wont, my prompted fong, elfe mute."

VII. The latest obfervation refpecting the origin of Paradife Loft, which has been fubmitted to the publick, is contained in Mr. Dunfter's "Confiderations on Milton's early reading, and the prima Stamina of Paradife Loft," 1800. The object of thefe "Confiderations" is to prove that Milton became, at a very early period of his life, enamoured of Joshua Sylvefter's tranflation of the French poet, Du Bartas. Lauder had afferted long fince that Milton was indebted to Sylvester's tranflation for "numberless fine thoughts, befides his low trick of playing upon words, and his frequent ufe of technical terms. From him," he adds, "Milton has borrowed many elegant phrafes, and fingle words, which were thought to be peculiar to him, or rather coined by him; fuch as palpable darkness, and a thoufand others." Lauder has also faid, that Phillips, Milton's nephew, "every where, in his Theatrum Poetarum, either wholly paffes over in filence fuch authors as Milton was moft obliged to, or, if he chances to mention them, does it in the most flight and fuperficial manner imaginable: Du Bartas alone excepted." But Sylvefter is alfo highly commended, in this work for his tranflation. Mr. Hayley well obferves, in apology, for other omiffions of Phillips, "which are too frequent to be confidered as accidental, that he probably chofe

not to enumerate various poems relating to Angels, to Adam, and to Paradife, left ignorance and malice fhould abfurdly confider the mere exiftence of fuch poetry as a derogation from the glory of Milton."

Lauder adds, that there is "a commentary on this work, called A Summary of Du Bartas, a book full of prodigious learning, and many curious obfervations on all arts and sciences; from whence Milton has derived a multiplicity of fine hints, scattered up and down his poem, efpecially in philofophy and theology." This book was printed in folio, in 1621; and is recommended, in the titlepage, as "fitt for the learned to refresh their memories, and for younger students to abbreviate and further theire ftudies." From this pretended garden of fweets I can collect no nofegay. It cannot indeed be fuppofed that Milton, when he wrote the Paradife Loft, was fo imperfectly acquainted with the purer fources of knowledge, as to be indebted to fuch a volume.

That Milton, however, had read the tranflation of Du Bartas, has been admitted by his warmest admirers, Dr. Farmer, Mr. Bowle, Mr. Warton, and Mr. Headley. A flight remark, which the editor of these volumes long fince ventured to make, in the Gentleman's Magazine, refpecting Milton's acquaintance with the poetry of Sylvefter,

f See November 1796, p. 900. See alfo Mr. Dunster's Confiderations &c. p. 3. I take this opportunity of adding that Dr. Farmer's remark occurs in a Note on the "married calm of states," in Troilus and Creffida. See Steevens's Shakspeare, edit. 1793. vol. xi. p. 254.

attracted the notice of the author of the Confider-. ations &c. juft mentioned; and appears to have stimulated his defire to know more of the forgotten bard. Mr. Dunfter, therefore, having procured an edition of Sylvefter's Du Bartas, drew up his ingenious volume; and, with no lefs elegance of language than liberality of opinion, pointed out the taste and judgement of Milton in availing himself of particular paffages in that book. With honourahle affection for the fame of Milton, he obferves, that "nothing can be further from my intention than to infinuate that Milton was a plagiarist or fervile imitator; but I conceive that, having read these facred poems of very high merit, at the immediate age when his own mind was just beginning to teem with poetry, he retained numberlefs thoughts, paffages, and expreffions therein, fo deeply in his mind, that they hung inherently on his imagination, and became as it were naturalized there. Hence many of them were afterwards infenfibly transfused into his own compofitions." Sylvefter's Du Bartas was alfo a popular book when Milton began to write poetry; it was published in the very street in which Milton's father then lived; Sylvefter was certainly, as was probably & Humphry

I may obferve that the folio edition of Spenfer's Faerie Queene, and of his other poems, in 1611, came from the prefs of Humphry Lownes; the date at the end of the Faerie Queene is, however, 1612.

In 1611 alfo Humphry Lownes printed the second edition of the little volume, from which I fhall presently have occafion to make an extract or two, entitled "Stafford's Niobe: or his age of teares. A Treatife no leffe profitable and comfortable then the times damnable, &c." 12mo.