But to return to his Person, he is, as I have said, notwithstanding his lost glory, a mighty, a terrible and an immortal Spirit; he is himself call’d a Prince,the Prince of the Power of the Air; the Prince of Darkness, the Prince ofDevils, and the like, and his attending Spirits are call’dhis Angels: so that howeverSatanhas lost the glory and rectitude of his Nature, by his apostate state, yet he retains a greatness and magnificence, which places him above our rank, and indeed above our conception; for we know not what he is, any more than we know what the blessed Angels are; of whom we can say no more than that they areministring Spirits, &c. as the Scripture hasdescrib’dthem.
Two things, however, may give us some insight into the nature of the Devil, in the present state he is in; and these we have a clear discovery of in the whole series of his Conduct from the Beginning.
1. That he is the vanquish’d but implacable enemy of God his Creator, who has conquer’d him, and expell’d him from the habitations of bliss; on which account he is fill’d with envy, rage, malice, and all uncharitableness; would dethrone God and overturn the thrones of Heaven, if it was in his power.2. That he is man’s irreconcilable Enemy; not as he is a man, nor on his own account simply, nor for any advantage he (the Devil) can make by the ruin and destruction of man; but in meer envy at the felicity he is supposed to enjoy as Satan’s rival; and as he is appointed to succeed Satan and his Angels in the possession of those glories from which they are fallen.
1. That he is the vanquish’d but implacable enemy of God his Creator, who has conquer’d him, and expell’d him from the habitations of bliss; on which account he is fill’d with envy, rage, malice, and all uncharitableness; would dethrone God and overturn the thrones of Heaven, if it was in his power.
2. That he is man’s irreconcilable Enemy; not as he is a man, nor on his own account simply, nor for any advantage he (the Devil) can make by the ruin and destruction of man; but in meer envy at the felicity he is supposed to enjoy as Satan’s rival; and as he is appointed to succeed Satan and his Angels in the possession of those glories from which they are fallen.
And here I must take upon me to say, Mr.Miltonmakes a wrong judgment of the reason ofSatan’s resolution to disturb the felicity of man; He tells us it was meerly to affront God his Maker, rob him of the glory design’d in his new work of creations and to disappoint him in his main design, namely, the creating a new species of creatures in a perfect rectitude of soul, and after his own image, from whom he might expect a new Fund of glory should be rais’d, and who was to appear as the triumph of the Messiah’s victory over the Devil. In all which Satan could not be fool enough not to know that he shouldbe disappointed by the same Power which had so eminently counter-acted his rage before.
But, I believe, the Devil went upon a much more probable design; and tho’ he may be said to act upon a meaner principle than that of pointing his rage at the personal glory of his Creator; yet I own, that in my opinion, it was by much the more rational undertaking, and more likely to succeed; and that was, that whereas he perceived this new species of creatures had a sublime as well as a human part, and were made capable of possessing the mansions of eternal Beatitude, from whence, he (Satan) and his Angels were expell’d and irretrievably banish’d; envy at such a rival mov’d him by all possible artifice,for he saw him deprived of capacity to do it by force, to render him unworthy like himself; that bringing him to fall into rebellion and disobedience, he might see his Rival damn’d with him; and those who were intended to fill up the empty spaces in Heaven, made so by the absence of so many millions of fallen Angels, be cast out into the same darkness with them.
How he came to know that this new species of creatures were liable to such imperfection, is best explain’d by theDevil’s prying, vigilant disposition, judging or leading him to judge by himself; (for he was as near being infallible as any of God’s creatures had been) and then inclining him to try whether it was so or no.
Modern Naturalists, especially some who have not so large a charity for the fair sex, as I have, tell us, that as soon as ever Satan saw the woman, and look’d in her face, he saw evidently that she was the best form’d creature to make a Tool of, and the best to make a hypocrite of, that could be made, and therefore the most fitted for his purpose.
1. He saw by some thwart lines in her face, (legible, perhaps, to himself only) that there wasa throne ready prepar’d for the sin of pride to sit in state upon, especially if it took an early possession:Eveyou may suppose was a perfect Beauty, if ever such a thing may be supposed in the human frame; her figure being so extraordinary, was the groundwork of his project; there needed no more than to bring her to be vain of it, and to conceit that it either was so, or was infinitely more sublime and beautiful than it really was; and having thus tickl’d her vanity, to introduce Pride gradually, till at last he might persuade her, that she was really Angelic, or of heavenly Race, and wanted nothing but to eat the forbidden fruit, and that would make her something more excellent still.
2. Looking farther into her Frame, and with a nearer view to her imperfections, he saw room to conclude that she was of a constitution easy to be seduc’d, and especially by flattering her; raising a commotion in her Soul, and a disturbance among her passions; and accordingly he set himself to work, to disturb her repose, and put dreams of great things into her head; together with something of a nameless Kind, which (however, some have been ill-natur’d enough to suggest) I shall not injure the Devil so much as to mention, without better evidence.
3. But, besides this, he found, upon the very first survey of her outside, something so very charming in her mein and behaviour, so engaging as well as agreeable in the whole texture of her person, and withal such a sprightly wit, such a vivacity of parts, such a fluency of tongue, and above all, such a winning prevailing whine in her smiles, or at least in her tears, that he made no doubt if he could but once delude her, she would easily be brought to deludeAdam, whom he found set not only a great value upon her person, butwas perfectly captivated by her charms; in a word, he saw plainly, that if he could but ruin her, he should easily make a Devil of her, to ruin her husband, and draw him into any gulph of mischief, were it ever so black and dreadful, that she should first fall into herself; how far some may be wicked enough, from hence, to suggest of thefair sex, that they have been Devils to their husbands ever since, I cannot say; I hope they will not be so unmerciful to discover truths of such fatal consequence, tho’ they should come to their knowledge.
Thus subtle and penetrating has Satan been from the beginning; and who can wonder that upon these discoveries made into the woman’s inside, he went immediately to work with her, rather than withAdam? not but that one would think, ifAdamwas fool enough to be deluded by his wife, the Devil might have seen so much of it in his countenance, as to have encourag’d him to make his attack directly upon him, and not go round about, beating the bush, and ploughing with the Heifer; setting upon the woman first, and then setting her upon her husband, who might as easily have been imposed upon as she.
Other Commentators upon this critical Text suggest to us, thatEvewas not so pleased with the hopes of being made a Goddess; That the pride of a Seraphic Knowledge did not so much work upon her imagination to bring her to consent, as a certain secret Notion infus’d into her head by the same wicked instrument, that she should be wiser thanAdam, and should by the superiority of her understanding, necessarily have the government over him; which, at present, she was sensible she had not, he being master of a particular air of gravity and majesty, as well as of strength, infinitely superior to her.
This is an ill-natur’d suggestion; but it must be confess’d the impatient desire of government, which (since that) appears in the general Behaviour of the sex, and particularly of governing husbands, leaves too much room to legitimate the supposition.
The Expositors, who are of this opinion, add to it, that this being her original crime, or the particular temptation to that crime; Heaven thought fit to shew his justice, in making her more entire subjection to her husband be a part of the Curse, that she might read her sin in the punishment, (viz.)he shall rule over thee.
I only give the general hint of these things as they appear recorded in the annals ofSatan’s first Tyranny, and at the beginning of his government in the World; those that would be more particularly inform’d, may enquire of himand know farther.
I cannot however, but observe herewith some regret, how it appears by the consequence, that the Devil was not mistaken when he made an early judgment of Mrs.Eve; and howSatanreally went the right way to work, to judge of her; ’tis certain the Devil had nothing to do but to look in her face, and upon a near steady view he might easily see there, an instrument for his Turn; nor has he fail’d to make her a Tool ever since, by the very methods which he at first proposed; to which, perhaps, he has made some additions in the corrupting her composition, as well as her understanding; qualifying her to be a compleat snare to the poorweaker vesselMan; to wheedle him with herSyren’s voice, abuse him with her smiles, delude him with her crocodile tears, and sometimes cock her crown at him, and terrify him with the thunder of herTreble; making the effeminatedMale Apple-eatertremble at thenoise of that very Tongue, which at first commanded him to Sin. For it is yet a debate which the Learned have not decided, whether she persuaded and entreated him, or like a true she-tyrant, exercised her authority and oblig’d him to eat the forbidden fruit.
And therefore a certain author, whose name,for fear of the Sex’s resentmentI conceal, brings her in, calling toAdamat a great distance, in an imperious haughty manner, beckoning to him with her hand, thus;Here, says she,you cowardly faint-hearted wretch, take this branch of heavenly fruit, eat and be a stupid fool no longer; eat and be wise; eat and be a God; and know, to your eternal shame, that your wife has been made an enlightn’d Goddess before you.
He tells youAdamhung back a little at first, and trembl’d,afraid to trespass:What ails theSot, says the new Termagant?what are you afraid of? did God forbid you! yes, and why? that we might not be knowing and wise like himself! What reason can there be that we, who have capacious souls, able to receive knowledge, should have it withheld? take it, you Fool, and eat; don’t you see how I am exalted in soul by it, and am quite another Creature? Take it, I say,or, if you don’t, I’ll go and cut down the Tree, and you shall never eat any of it at all, and you shall be still a fool, and be governed by your wife for ever.
Thus, if this interpretation of the thing be just, she Scolded him into it; Rated him, and brought him to it by the terror of her voice; a thing that has retained a dreadful influence over him ever since; nor have the greatest ofAdam’s Successors, how light soever some husbands make of it in this age, been ever able, since that, to conceal their terror, at the very Sound; nay, if we may believe history, it prevailed even among the Gods;not all the noise ofVulcan’s hammers could silence the clamours of that outrageous whore his Goddess; nay, evenJupiterhimself led such a life with a termagant wife, that once, they say,Junoout-scolded the noise of all his Thunders, and was within an ace of brawling him out of Heaven. But to return to the Devil.
With these views he resolv’d, it seems, to attack the woman; and if you consider him as a Devil, and what he aim’d at, and consider the fair prospect he had of success, I must confess, I do not see who can blame him, or at least, how any thing less could be expected from him; But we shall meet with it again by and by.
Of the station Satan had in Heaven before he fell; the nature and original of his crime, and some of Mr.Milton’s mistakes about it.
Of the station Satan had in Heaven before he fell; the nature and original of his crime, and some of Mr.Milton’s mistakes about it.
Thusfar I have gone upon general observation, in this great affair ofSatanand his Empire in the World; I now come tomy Title, and shall enter upon the historical part, as the main work before me.
Besides what has been said Poetically, relating to the fall and wandering condition of theDeviland his Host, which poetical part I offer only as an excursion, and desire it should be taken so; I shall give you what I think is deduc’d from good originals on the part ofSatan’s story in a few words.
He was one of the created Angels, form’d by the same omnipotent hand and glorious power,who created the Heavens and the Earth, and all that is therein: This innumerable heavenly host, as we have reason to believe, contain’d Angels of higher and lower stations, of greater and of lesser degree, express’d in the Scripture byThrones,Dominions, andPrincipalities: This, I think, we have as much reason to believe, as we have, that there are Stars in the Firmament (or starry Heavens) of greater and of lesser magnitude.
What particular station among the immortal Choir of Angels, this Arch-seraph, this Prince ofDevils, call’dSatan, was plac’d in before his expulsion, that indeed, we cannot come at the knowledge of, at least, not with such an Authority as may be depended upon; but as from Scripture authority, he is plac’d at the head of all the Apostate armies, after he was fallen, we cannot think it in the least assuming to say, that he might be supposed to be one of the principal Agents in theRebellionwhich happen’d in Heaven, and consequently that he might be one of the highest in dignity there, before that Rebellion.
The higher his station, the lower, and with the greater precipitation, was his overthrow; and therefore, those words, tho’ taken in another sense, may very well be apply’d to him:How art thou fallen, O Lucifer!Son of the Morning!
Having granted the dignity of his Person, and the high station in which he was placed among the heavenly Host; it would come then necessarily to inquire into the nature of his fall, andabove all, a little into the reason of it; certain it is,he did fall, was guilty of Rebellion and Disobedience, the just effect of Pride; sins, which, in that holy place, might well be call’d wonderful.
But what to me is more wonderful, and which, I think, will be very ill accounted for, is, how came seeds of crime to rise in the Angelic Nature?created in a state of perfect, unspotted holiness? how was it first found in a place where no unclean thing can enter? how came ambition, pride, or envy to generate there? could there be offence where there was no crime? could untainted purity breed corruption? could that nature contaminate and infect, which was always Drinking in principles of perfection?
Happy ’tis to me,thatwriting the History,notsolving the Difficulties ofSatan’s Affairs, is my province in this Work; that I am to relate the Fact, not give reasons for it, or sign causes; if it was otherwise, I should break off at this difficulty, for I acknowledge I do not see thro’ it; neither do I think that the greatMilton, after all his fine Images and lofty Excursions upon the Subject, has left it one jot clearer than he found it: Some are of opinion, and among them the great Dr.B——s, that crime broke in upon them at some interval, when they omitted but one moment fixing their eyes and thoughts on the glories of the divine face, to admire and adore, which is the full employment of Angels; but even this, tho’ it goes as high as imagination can carry us, does not reach it, nor, to me, make it one jot more comprehensible than it was before; all I can say to it here, is, thatso it was, the fact was upon Record, and the rejected Troop are in being, whose circumstances confess the Guilt, and still groan under the Punishment.
If you will bear with a poetic excursion upon the subject, not to solve but to illustrate the difficulty; take it in a few lines, thus,
Thou sin of Witchcraft! firstborn child of Crime!Produc’d before the bloom of Time;Ambition’s maiden Sin, in Heaven conceiv’d,And who could have believ’dDefilement could in purity begin,And bright eternal Day be soil’d with Sin?Tell us, sly penetrating Crime,How cam’st thou there, thou fault sublime?How didst thou pass the Adamantine Gate;And into Spirit thy self insinuate?From what dark state? from what deep place?From what strange uncreated race?Where was thy ancient habitation foundBefore void Chaos heard the forming sound?Wast thou a Substance, or an airy Ghost,A Vapour flying in the fluid wasteOf unconcocted air?And how at first didst thou come there?Sure there was once a time when thou wert not,By whom wast thou created? and for what?Art thou a steam from some contagious damp exhal’d?How should contagion be intail’d,On bright seraphic Spirits, and in a placeWhere all’s supreme, and Glory fills the Space?No noxious vapour there could rise,For there no noxious matter lies;Nothing that’s evil could appear,Sin never could Seraphic Glory bear;The brightness of the eternal Face,Which fills as well as constitutes the place,Would be a fire too hot for crime to bear,’Twould calcine Sin, or melt it into air.How then did first defilement enter in?Ambition, thou first vital seed of Sin!Thou Life of Death, how cam’st thou there?In what bright form didst thou appear?In what Seraphic Orb didst thou arise?Surely that place admits of no disguise,Eternal Sight must know thee there,And being known, thou soon must disappear.But since the fatal Truth we know,Without the matter whence or manner how:Thou high superlative of Sin,Tell us thy nature, where thou didst begin?The first degree of thy increase,Debauch’d the Regions of eternal Peace,And fill’d the breasts of loyal Angels thereWith the first Treason and infernal War.Thou art the high extreme of pride,And dost o’er lesser crimes preside;Not for the mean attempt of Vice design’d,But to embroil the World, and damn Mankind.Transforming mischief, now hast thou procur’dThat loss that ne’er to be restor’d,And made the bright Seraphic Morning-starIn horrid monstrous shapes appear?Satan, that while he dwelt in glorious light,Was always then as pure as he was bright,That in effulgent rays of glory shone,Excell’d by eternal Light, by him alone,Distorted now, and stript of Innocence,And banish’d with thee from the high Pre-eminence,How has the splendid Seraph chang’d his face,Transform’d by thee, and like thy monstrous race?Ugly as is the crime, for which he fell,Fitted by thee to make a local Hell,For such must be the place where either of you dwell.
Thus, as I told you, I only moralize upon the subject, but as to the difficulty, I must leave it as I find it, unless,as I hinted at first, I could prevail with Satan to set pen to paper, and write this part of his own History: No question, but he could let us into the secret; but to be plain, I doubt I shall tell so many plain truths of theDevil, in this History, and discover so many of his secrets, which it is not for his interest to have discover’d, that before I have done, theDeviland I may not be so good friends as you may suppose we are; at least, not friends enough to obtain such a favour of him, tho’ it be for public good; so we must be content till we come ont’ other side theBlue-Blanket, and then we shall know the whole Story.
But now, tho’ as I said, I will not attempt to solve the difficulty, I may, I hope, venture to tell you, that there is not so much difficulty in it, as at first sight appears: and especially not so much as some people would make us believe; let us see how others are mistaken in it, perhaps, that may help us a little in the enquiry; for to knowwhat it is not, is one help towards knowingwhat it is.
Mr.Miltonhas indeed told us a great many merry things of the Devil, in a most formal, solemn manner; till in short he has made a goodPlayofHeavenandHell; and no doubt if he had liv’d in our times, he might have had it acted with ourPlutoandProserpine. He has made fine Speeches both forGodand theDevil, and a little additionmight have turn’d ita la moderninto aHarlequin Dieu & Diable.
I confess I don’t well know how far the dominion of Poetry extends itself; it seems the Buts and Bounds ofParnassusare not yet ascertain’d; so that for ought I know, by vertue of their antient privileges call’dLicentia Poetarum, there can be noBlasphemyinVerse; as some of our Divines say there can be noTreasonin thePulpit. But they that will venture to write that way, ought to be better satisfy’d about that Point than I am.
Upon this foot Mr.Milton, to grace his Poem, and give room for his Towring Fancy, has gone a length beyond all that ever went before him, sinceOvidin hisMetamorphosis. He has indeed complimentedGodAlmightywith a flux of lofty words, and great sounds; and has made a very fine Story of theDevil, but he has made a meerje ne scay QuoiofJesus Christ. In one line he has him riding on aCherub, and in another sitting on a Throne, both in the very same moment of action. In another place he has brought him in making a Speech to hisSaints, when ’tis evident he had none there; for we all knowMan was not created till a long while after; and no body can be so dull as to say theAngelsmay be calledSaints, without the greatest absurdity in nature. Besides, he makesChristhimself distinguish them, as in two several Bands, and of differing Persons and Species, as to be sure they are.
Stand still in bright array,ye Saints————— ——— ———— ———— Here stand,Ye Angels. ———Par. Lost. lib.vi.fo.174.
So thatChristhere is brought in drawing up his Army before the last Battle, and making a Speech to them, to tell them they shall only stand by in warlike order, but that they shall have no occasion to fight, for he alone will engage the Rebels. Then in embattling his Legions, he places the Saints here, and the Angels there, as if one were the main Battle of Infantry, and the other the Wings of Cavalry. But who are those Saints? they are indeed all ofMilton’s own making; ’tis certain there were no Saints at all inHeavenorEarthat that time;Godand hisAngelsfill’d up the place; and till some of theAngelsfell, and Men were created, had liv’d, and were dead, there could have been noSaintsthere. SaintAbelwas certainly theProto-Saintof all that ever were seen inHeaven, as well as the Proto-martyr of all that have been uponEarth.
Just such another Mistake, not to call it a Blunder, he makes aboutHell; which he not only makeslocal, but gives it a being before the Fall of theAngels; and brings it in opening its mouth to receive them. This is so contrary to the nature of the thing, and so great an absurdity, that no Poetic License can account for it; for tho’ Poesie may form Stories, as Idea and Fancy may furnish Materials, yet Poesy must not break in upon Chronology, and make things which in time were to exist, act before they existed.
Thus a Painter may make a fine piece of Work, the fancy may be good, the strokes masterly, and the beauty of the Workmanship inimitably curious and fine, and yet have some unpardonable improprieties which marr the whole Work. So the famous Painter ofToledopainted the story of the three Wisemen of theEastcoming to worship, and bring their presents to our Lord upon his birth atBethlehem, where he represents them asthreeArabianorIndianKings; two of them are white, and one black; But unhappily when he drew the latter part of them kneeling, which to be sure was done after their faces; their legs being necessarily a little intermix’d, he made three black feet for theNegroeKing, and but three white feet for the two white Kings, and yet never discover’d the mistake till the piece was presented to the King, and hung up in the great Church. As this is an unpardonable error in Sculpture or Limning, it must be much more so in Poetry, where the Images must have no improprieties, much less inconsistencies.
In a word, Mr.Miltonhas indeed made a fine Poem, but it isthe Devil of a History. I can easily allow Mr.Miltonto make Hills and Dales, flowry Meadows and Plains (and the like) in Heaven; and places of Retreat and Contemplation inHell; tho’ I must add, that it can be allowed to no Poet on Earth but Mr.Milton. Nay, I will allow Mr.Milton, if you please, to set theAngelsa dancing inHeaven,lib.v.fo.138. and theDevilsa singing in Hell,lib.i.fo.44. tho’ they are in short, especially the last, most horrid Absurdities. But I cannot allow him to make their Musick inHellto be harmonious and charming as he does; such Images being incongruous, and indeed shocking to Nature. Neither can I think we should allow things to be plac’d out of time in Poetry, any more than in History; ’tis a confusion of Images which is allow’d to be disallow’d by all the Criticks of what tribe or species soever in the world, and is indeed unpardonable. But we shall find so many more of these things in Mr.Milton, that really taking notice of them all, would carry me quite out of my way, I being at this time not writing the History of Mr.Milton, but of theDevil: besides,Mr.Miltonis such a celebrated Man, that who but he that can write the History of theDevildare meddle with him?
But to come back to the business. As I had caution’d you against running to Scripture for shelter in cases of difficulty, Scripture weighing very little among the people I am directing my Speech to; so indeed Scripture gives but very little light into any thing of theDevil’s Story before his Fall, and butto very littleof it for some time after.
Nor has Mr.Miltonsaid one word to solve the main difficulty (viz.) How theDevilcame to fall, and how Sin came into Heaven; how the spotless Seraphic Nature could receive infection, whence the contagion proceeded, what noxious matter could emit corruption there, how and whence any vapour to poison the Angelick Frame could rise up, or how it increas’d and grew up to crime. But all this he passes over, and hurrying up that part in two or three words, only tells us,
——— his Pride,Had cast him out of Heaven with all his HostOf rebel Angels, by whose aid aspiringHe trusted to have equal’d the most High.lib.i.fo.3.
His pride!but how cameSatanwhile an Arch-angel to be proud? How did it consist, that Pride and perfect Holiness should meet in the same Person? Here we must bid Mr.Miltongood night; for, in plain terms, he is in the dark about it, and so we are all; and the most that can be said, is, that we know the fact is so, but nothing of the nature or reason of it.
But to come to the History: The Angels fell, they sinn’d (wonderful!) in Heaven, and God cast them out; what their sin was is not explicit, but in general ’tis call’d a Rebellion againstGod; all sin must be so.
Mr.Miltonhere takes upon him to give the History of it, as particularly as if he had been born there, and came down hither on purpose to give us an account of it; (I hope he is better inform’d by this time;) but this he does in such a manner, as jostles with Religion, and shocks our Faith in so many points necessary to be believ’d, that we must forbear to give up to Mr.Milton, or must set aside part of the sacred Text, in such a manner, as will assist some people to set it all aside.
I mean by this, his invented Scheme of the Son’s being declared in Heaven to be begotten then, and then to be declar’d Generalissimo of all the Armies of Heaven; and of the Father’s Summoning all the Angels of the heavenly Host to submit to him, and pay him homage. The words are quoted already, page 32.
I must own the Invention, indeed, is very fine; the Images exceeding magnificent, the Thought rich and bright, and, in some respect, truly sublime: But the Authorities fail most wretchedly, and the miss-timing of it, is unsufferably gross, as is noted in the Introduction to this Work; for Christ is not declar’d the Son of God but on Earth; ’tis true, ’tis spoken from Heaven, but then ’tis spoken as perfected on Earth; if it was at all to be assign’d to Heaven, it was from Eternity, and there, indeed, his eternal Generation is allow’d; but to take upon us to say, thatOn a day, a certain day, for so our Poet assumes, lib. v. fol. 137.
——— ‘When on a day,——— ‘On such a day‘As Heaven’s great Year brings forth, the empyreal Host‘Of Angels by imperial Summons call’d,‘Forthwith from all the ends of Heaven appear’d.
This is, indeed, too gross; at this meeting he makes God declare the Son to bethat day begotten, as before; had he made him not begotten that day, but declared General that day, it would be reconcileable with Scripture and with sense; for either the begetting is meant of ordaining to an office, or else the eternal Generation falls to the ground; and if it was to the office (Mediator) then Mr.Miltonis out in ascribing another fix’d day to the Work; see lib. x. fo. 194. But then the declaring himthat day, is wrong chronology too, for Christ is declar’dthe Son of God with power, onlyby the Resurrection of the dead, and this is both a Declaration in Heaven and in Earth.Rom.i. 4. AndMiltoncan have no authority to tell us, there was any Declaration of it in Heaven before this, except it be that dull authority call’dpoetic License, which will not pass in so solemn an affair as that.
But the thing was necessary toMilton, who wanted to assign some cause or original of theDevil’s Rebellion; and so,as I said above, the design is well laid, it only wants two Trifles call’dTruthandHistory; so I leave it to struggle for itself.
This Ground-plot being laid, he has a fair field for theDevilto play the Rebel in, for he immediately brings him in, not satisfy’d with the Exaltation of the Son of God. The case must be thus;Satanbeing an eminentArch-angel, and perhaps, the highest of all the Angelic Train, hearing this Sovereign Declaration, that theSonof Godwas declar’d to be Head or Generalissimo of all the heavenly Host, took it ill to see another put into the high stationover his head, as the Soldiers call it; he, perhaps, thinking himself the senior Officer, and disdaining to submit to any but to his former immediate Sovereign; in short, he threw up his Commission, and, in order not to be compel’d to obey, revolted and broke out in open Rebellion.
All this part is a Decoration noble and great, nor is there any objection to be made against the invention, because a deduction of probable Events; but the Plot is wrong laid, as is observ’d above, because contradicted by the Scripture account, according to which Christ was declared in Heaven, not then, but from Eternity, and not declared with power, but on Earth, (viz.) in his victory over Sin and Death, by the Resurrection from the dead: so that Mr.Miltonis not orthodox in this part, but lays an avow’d foundation for the corrupt Doctrine ofArius, which says, there was a time when Christwas notthe Son ofGod.
But to leave Mr.Miltonto his flights, I agree with him in this part,viz.that the wicked or sinning Angels, with the great Arch-angel at the head of them, revolted from their obedience, even in Heaven it self; thatSatanbegan the wicked defection, and being a Chief among the heavenly Host, consequently carry’d over a great party with him, who all together rebel’d against God; that upon this Rebellion they were sentenc’d, by the righteous judgment ofGod, to be expel’d the holy Habitation; this, besides the authority of Scripture, we have visible testimonies of, from the Devils themselves; their influences and operations among us every day, of which Mankind are witnesses; in all the merry things they do in his name, and under his protection, in almost every scene of life they pass thro’, whether we talk ofthings done openly or in Masquerade, things done in—or out of it, things done in earnest or in jest.
But then, what comes of the long and bloody War that Mr.Miltongives such a full and particular account of, and the terribleBattlesin Heaven betweenMichaelwith the royal Army of Angels on one hand, andSatanwith his rebel Host on the other; in which he supposes the numbers and strength to be pretty near equal? but at length brings in theDevil’s Army, upon doubling their rage and bringing new engines of war into the field, puttingMichaeland all the faithful Army to the worst; and, in a word, defeats them? For tho’ they were not put to a plain flight, in which case he must, at least, have given an account of two or three thousand millions of Angels cut in pieces and wounded, yet he allows them to give over the fight, and make a kind of retreat; so making way for the compleat victory of the Son ofGod: Now this is all invention, or at least, a borrow’d thought from the old Poets, and the Fight of theGiantsagainstJupiter, so nobly design’d byOvid, almost two thousand years ago; and there ’twas well enough; but whether Poetic Fancy should be allow’d to fable uponHeaven, or no, and upon the King of Heaven too, that I leave to the Sages.
By this expulsion of theDevils, it is allow’d by most Authors, they are,ipso facto, stript of the Rectitude and Holiness of their Nature, which was their Beauty and Perfection; and being ingulph’d in the abyss of irrecoverable ruin,’tis no matter where, from that very time they lost their Angelic beautiful Form, commenc’d ugly frightful Monsters andDevils, and became evil doers, as well as evil Spirits; fill’d with a horrid malignity and enmity against their Maker, and arm’d with a hellish resolution to shew andexert it on all occasions; retaining however their exalted spirituous Nature, and having a vast extensive power of Action, all which they can exert in nothing else but doing evil, for they are entirely divested of either Power or will to do good; and even in doing evil, they are under restraints and limitations of a superior Power, which it is their Torment, and, perhaps, a great part of their Hell that they cannot break thro’.
What became of theDeviland his Host of fallen Spirits after their being expell’d from Heaven, and his wandring condition till the Creation; with some more of Mr.Milton’sabsurdities on that subject.
What became of theDeviland his Host of fallen Spirits after their being expell’d from Heaven, and his wandring condition till the Creation; with some more of Mr.Milton’sabsurdities on that subject.
Havingthus brought theDeviland his innumerable Legions to the edge of the Bottomless-pit, it remains, before I bring them to action, that some enquiry should be made into the posture of their affairs immediately after their precipitate Fall, and into the place of their immediate Residence; for this will appear to be very necessary toSatan’s History, and indeed, so as that without it, all the farther account we have to give of him, will be inconsistent and imperfect.
And first, I take upon me to lay down some Fundamentals, which I believe I shall be able to make out Historically, tho’, perhaps, not so Geographically as some have pretended to do.
1. ThatSatanwas not immediately, nor is yet lock’d down into the Abyss of alocal Hell, such as is supposed by some, and such as he shall be at last; or that,2. If he was, he has certain liberties allowed him for excursions into the Regions of this Air, and certain spheres of action, in which he can, and does move, to do,like a very Devil as he is, all the mischief he can, and of which we see so many examples both about us and in us; in the inquiry after which, I shall take occasion to examine whether the Devil is not in most of us, sometimes, if not in all of us one time or other.3. ThatSatanhas no particular residence in this Globe or Earth where we live; that he rambles about among us, and marches over and over our whole country, he and his Devils inCamps volant; but that he pitches his grand Army or chief Encampment in our Adjacencies or Frontiers, which the Philosophers callAtmosphere; and whence he is call’d the Prince of the Power of that Element or part of the World we callAir; from whence he sends out his Spies, his Agents and Emissaries, to get intelligence, and to carry his Commissions to his trusty and well beloved Cousins and Counsellors on Earth, by which his business is done, and his affairs carried on in the World.
1. ThatSatanwas not immediately, nor is yet lock’d down into the Abyss of alocal Hell, such as is supposed by some, and such as he shall be at last; or that,
2. If he was, he has certain liberties allowed him for excursions into the Regions of this Air, and certain spheres of action, in which he can, and does move, to do,like a very Devil as he is, all the mischief he can, and of which we see so many examples both about us and in us; in the inquiry after which, I shall take occasion to examine whether the Devil is not in most of us, sometimes, if not in all of us one time or other.
3. ThatSatanhas no particular residence in this Globe or Earth where we live; that he rambles about among us, and marches over and over our whole country, he and his Devils inCamps volant; but that he pitches his grand Army or chief Encampment in our Adjacencies or Frontiers, which the Philosophers callAtmosphere; and whence he is call’d the Prince of the Power of that Element or part of the World we callAir; from whence he sends out his Spies, his Agents and Emissaries, to get intelligence, and to carry his Commissions to his trusty and well beloved Cousins and Counsellors on Earth, by which his business is done, and his affairs carried on in the World.
Here, again, I meet Mr.Miltonfull in my face, who will have it, thatthe Devil, immediately at his expulsion, roll’d down directly into a Hell proper and local; nay, he measures the very distance, at least gives the length of the journey by the time they were passing or falling, which, he says, wasnine days; a good Poetical flight, but neither founded on Scripture or Philosophy; he might every jot as well have broughtHellup to the Walls ofHeaven, advanc’d to receive them, or he ought to have consider’d the space whichis to be allow’d to any locality, let him take what part of infinite distance betweenHeavenand a created Hell he pleases.
But let that be as Mr.Milton’s extraordinary genius pleases to place it; the passage, it seems, is justnine daysbetwixt Heaven and Hell; well mightDivesthen see fatherAbraham, and talk to him too; but then the great Gulph whichAbrahamtells him was fix’d between them, does not seem to be so large, as according to SirIsaac Newton, Dr.Halley, Mr.Whiston, and the rest of our Men of Science, we take it to be.
But suppose the passage to be nine Days, according to Mr.Milton, what follow’d? why Hell gap’d wide, open’d its frightful mouth, and received them all at once; millions and thousands of millions as they were, it received them all at a gulp,as we call it, they had no difficulty to go in, no, none at all.
Facilis desensus averni, sed revocare gradumHoc opus hic labor est.——Virg.
All this, as Poetical, we may receive, but not at all as Historical; for then come difficulties insuperable in our way, some of which may be as follow: (1.) Hell is here supposed to be a place; nay a place created for the punishment of Angels and Men, and likewise created long before those had fallen, or these had Being; this makes me say, Mr.Miltonwas a good Poet, but a bad Historian:Tophetwas prepar’d of old, indeed, but it was for the King, that is to say, it was prepar’d for those whose lot it should be to come there; but this does not at all suppose it was prepar’d before it was resolv’d whether there should be subjects for it, or no; else we must suppose both Men and Angels were made by the glorious and uprightMaker of all things, on purpose for destruction, which would be incongruous and absurd.
But there is worse yet to come; in the next place he adds, thatHellhaving receiv’d them, clos’d upon them; that is to say, took them in, clos’d or shut its Mouth; and in a word, they were lock’d in, as it was said in another place, they were lock’d in, and the Key is carry’d up to Heaven and kept there; forwe knowthe Angel came down from Heaven, having the Key of the Bottomless-pit; but first, see Mr.Milton.
‘Nine days they fell, confounded chaos roar’d‘And felt ten-fold confusion in their fall:‘——Hell at last‘Yawning receiv’d them all, and on them clos’d;‘Down from the verge of Heaven, eternal wrath‘Burnt after them ——‘Unquenchable.
This Scheme is certainly deficient, if not absurd, and I think is more so than any other he has laid; ’tis evident, neitherSatanor his Host ofDevilsare,no not any of them, yet, even now, confin’d in the eternal Prison, where the Scripture says, he shall bereserved in chains of darkness. They must have mean thoughts ofHell, as a Prison, alocalConfinement, that can suppose theDevilable to break Goal, knock off his Fetters, and come abroad, if he had been once lock’d in there, as Mr.Miltonsays he was: Now we know that he is abroad again, he presented himself beforeGod, among his neighbours, whenJob’s case came to be discours’d of; and more than that, it’s plain he was a prisoner at large, by his answer to God’s question, which was,whence comest thou?to which he answer’d,from going to and fro thro’the Earth, &c. this, I say, is plain, and if it be as certain that Hell closed upon them, I demand then, how got he out? and why was there not a Proclamation for apprehending him, as there usually is, after such Rogues as break prison?
In short, the true Account of theDevil’s Circumstances, since his Fall fromHeaven, is much more likely to be thus: That he is more of a Vagrant than a Prisoner, that he is a Wanderer in the wild unbounded Wast, where he and his Legions, like the Hoords ofTartary, who, in the wild Countries ofKarakathay, the Desarts ofBarkan,Kassan, andAstracan, live up and down where they find proper; so Satan and his innumerable Legions rove abouthic & ubique, pitching their Camps (being Beasts of prey) where they find the most Spoil; watching over this World, (and all the other Worlds for ought we know, and if there are any such,) I say watching, and seeking who they may devour,that is, who they may deceive and delude, and so destroy, for devour they cannot.
Satanbeing thus confin’d to a vagabond, wandring, unsettl’d Condition, is without any certain Abode; For tho’ he has, in consequence of his Angelic Nature, a kind of Empire in the liquid Wast orAir; yet, this is certainly part of his punishment, that he is continually hovering over this inhabited Globe of Earth; swelling with the Rage of Envy, at the Felicity of his Rival, Man; and studying all the means possible to injure and ruin him; but extremely limited in Power, to his unspeakable Mortification: This is his present State, without any fix’d Abode, Place, or Space, allow’d him to rest the Sole of his Foot upon.
From his Expulsion, I take his first View of Horror to be that, of looking back towards the Heaven which he had lost; there to see the Chasm or Opening made up, out at which, as at aBreach in the Wall of the holy Place, he was thrust Head-long by the Power which expel’d him; I say, to see the Breach repair’d, the Mounds built up, the Walls garison’d with millions of Angels, and arm’d with Thunders; and, above all, made terrible by that Glory from whose Presence they were expel’d, as is Poetically hinted at before.
Upon this sight, ’tis no wonder (if there was such a Place) that they fled till the Darkness might cover them, and that they might be out of the View of so hated a Sight.
Wherever they found it, you may be sure they pitch’d their first Camp, and began, after many a sour Reflection upon what was pass’d, to consider and think a little, upon what was to come.
If I had as much personal Acquaintance with theDevil, as would admit it, and could depend upon the Truth of what Answer he would give me, the first Question I would ask him, should be, what Measures they resolv’d on at their first Assembly? and the next should be, how they were employ’d in all that space of Time, between their so flying the Face of their almighty Conqueror, and the Creation of Man? as for the Length of the Time, which, according to the Learn’d, was twenty thousand Years, and according to the more Learned, not half a Quarter so much, I would not concern my Curiosity much about it; ’tis most certain, there was a considerable time between, but of that immediately; first let me enquire what they were doing all that time.
The Devil and his Host, being thus, I say, cast out of Heaven, and not yet confin’d strictly toHell, ’tis plain they must besome where. Satan and all his Legions did not lose their Existence, no, nor the Existence ofDevilsneither;Godwas so far from annihilating him, that he still preserv’dhis Being; and this not Mr.Miltononly, butGodhimself has made known to us, having left his History so far upon record; several expressions in Scripture also make it evident, as particularly the story ofJob, mentioned before; the like in our Saviour’s time, and several others.
If Hell did not immediately ingulph them, asMiltonsuggests, ’tis certain, I say, that they fled Somewhere, from the anger of Heaven, from the face of the Avenger; and his absence, and their own guilt,wonder not at it, would make Hell enough for them wherever they went.
Nor need we fly to the Dreams of ourAstronomers, who take a great deal of pains to fill up the vast Spaces of the starry Heavens with innumerable habitable Worlds; allowing as manysolar Systemsas there are fix’d Stars, and that not only in the known Constellations, but even inGallaxieit self; who, to every such System allow a certain number of Planets, and to every one of those Planets so manySatellitesorMoons, and all these Planets and Moons to be Worlds; solid, dark, opaque Bodies, habitable, and (as they would have us believe) inhabited by the like Animals and rational Creatures as on this Earth; so that they may, at this rate, find room enough for theDeviland all his Angels, without making a Hell on purpose; nay they may, for ought I know, find a World for everyDevilin all theDevil’sHost, and so every one may be a Monarch orMaster-Devil, separately in his own Sphere or World, and play theDevilthere by himself.
And even if this were so, it cannot be denied but that oneDevilin a place would be enough for a whole systemary World, and be able, if not restrained, to do mischief enough there too, and even to ruin and overthrow the whole body of People contain’d in it.
But, I say, we need not fly to these shifts, or consult the Astronomers in the decision of this point; for whereverSatanand his defeated Host went, at their expulsion fromHeaven, we think we are certain, none of all these Beautiful Worlds, or be they Worlds or no, I mean the fix’d Stars, Planets,&c.had then any existence; for the Beginning, as the Scripture calls it, was not yet Begun.
But to speak a little by the rules of Philosophy, that is to say, so as to be understood by others, even when we speak of things we cannot fully understand ourselves: Tho’ in the Beginning of Time all this glorious Creation was form’d, the Earth, the starry Heavens, and all the Furniture thereof, and there was a Time when they were not; yet we cannot say so of the Void, or that namelessno-where, as I call’d it before, which now appears to be asome-where, in which these glorious Bodies are plac’d. That immense Space which those take up, and which they move in at this Time, must be supposed, before they had Being, to be plac’d there: As God himself was, and existed before all Being, Time, or Place, so the Heaven of Heavens, or the Place, where the Thrones and Dominions of his Kingdom then existed, inconceivable and ineffable, had an existence before the glorious Seraphs, the innumerable company of Angels which attended about the Throne of God existed; these all had a Being long before, as the Eternal Creator of them all had before them.
Into this void or abyss of Nothing, however unmeasurable, infinite, and even to those Spirits, themselves Inconceivable, they certainly launch’d from the bright Precipice which they fell from, and here they shifted as well as they could.
Here expanding those Wings which Fear, and Horror at their Defeat furnish’d them, as I hinted before, they hurried away to the utmost Distance possible, from the Face ofGodtheir Conqueror, and then most dreaded Enemy; formerly their Joy and Glory.
Be this utmost remov’d Distancewhere it will, Here, certainly,Satanand all hisGang of Devils, his numberless, tho’ routed Armies retired. HereMiltonmight, with some good Ground, have form’d hisPandemonium, and have brought them in, consulting what was next to be done, and whether there was any room left to renew the War, or to carry on the Rebellion; but had they been cast immediately intoHell, closed up there, the Bottomless pit lock’d upon them, and the Key carried up toHeavento be kept there, as Mr.Miltonhimself in part confesses, and the Scripture affirms; I say, had this been so, theDevilhimself could not have been so ignorant as to think of any future Steps to be taken, to retrieve his Affairs, and therefore aPandemoniumor Divan in Hell, to consult of it, was ridiculous.
All Mr.Milton’s Scheme ofSatan’s future Conduct, and all the Scripture Expressions aboutthe Deviland his numerous Attendants, and of his actings since that time, make it not reasonable to suggest that theDevilswere confin’d to their eternal Prison, at their Expulsion out ofHeaven; But that they were in a State of Liberty to act, tho’ limited in acting, of which I shall also speak in its place.