O D! ON ! ! ! ! O !

NING
O ! ! ! ! I ST S N AT I ! I T!
’

! ! J O ! N ! I LT O N x 1

WI! ! AN I N ! ! O D ! ! ! I O N ! !

W AL! ! ! ! A! L O ! I LD
! !

! A! L ! LD ! ! AN D ! O ! ! AN!
S A N ! ! A N ! I S! O AN D N ! W ! O ! !
 ! I LTO N I N ! ! ! N AT I ! I T! O D!

Milton we fin d t w o personali t ies inte r

fused and blen d ed in t o one H e is firs t
’

.
,
,

the court ly gentleman t he accomplished

,

musician t he elegant scholar the warm

, ,

h earted friend of Charles D i o d a t i and E d ward

! ing ; again he is the grea t unfa t homable o ne t he
, ,

preacher of morali t y t he apos tle of libert y t he

, ,

s earcher of D ivine mys t eries There is a wi d e

.

di fference be tween the poe t of Com u s and t he

p ro ph et o f Paradise Lo st yet in ea ch are t h e t w o
,

n a t u re s
. Th e gro wi n g p re pon d erance o f th e
s terner quali t ies was due par tly t o an evolu t ion of
character under t he s tress of bi tter personal ex
—loss o f sight loss of for tune loss of
p e ri e n c e s
, , ,

—
posi t ion and i n fl ue n c e bu t more t han t his t o t he
, , ,

growing spiri t of reli g ious aus teri t y which marke d

t he seven teen t h cen tury in En glan d an d which
culminate d in Cromwell and the Commonweal t h .

Standing his tori c ally betw een t he Elizabetha n

era and the Puri t an ! efo rm a t ion he showe d t he
,
infl u ence o f b o th — h is e arlier w o rk having m o re
,

of brigh t ness his later more of c old s ubli m i t y

, .

Like a tall cathedral spire at s un s et w e s ee him ,

on the o ne s ide glorified b y t he light of a fading

d ay on the o t her wra p ped in t he s hadows
, .

For m any years i t was t he Puri t an Mil ton who

was known in li t era ture H e was con s idered only
.

—
as the poet of Paradise Los t lofty maj es t ic far
, , ,

seeing profo u nd clo t he d in t he man t le of p hilo s

, ,

o p h y m ovin g l ike a s e er along the hi g hwa y of his

,

verse But more recen t ly a tt en t ion has been a t

.

t ra cted t o his El i zabe t ha n quali t ies no t onl y in th e

,

Para d ise L os t bu t par t icularly in hi s s o called -

minor poems — w hich are minor only in r espect

t o s ize and which include L Alle gro and I l Pen
,
’

seroso that superb pair of lyrics ; Comus the

, ,

peerle s s masque ; Lyci d as t he elegy which unite s

,

d elicacy wi t h pa s sion ; and t he O d e on the Nativ

ity with i t s burs t of p ur e reli g ious ec s tacy
, .

Of them a ll t he Ode on the Na t ivi ty is p er

,

haps t he leas t read and ye t the mo s t tr u ly re p r e

s e n t a t i ve I t lacks t he flawless ele g ance of L Al
’
.

le gro and Il Penseroso the li g htness of Comus

,

an d t h e in tensi t y of Lycidas bu t i t sh o ws more

, ,

t h a n any othe r p o em of M ilto n s I believe t h e’

, ,
tw o s id es o f his geni us It i s j oyo us a n d yet
.

earnes t ; bri gh t an d ye t full of a s t a tely d igni t y

whi c h is a prophecy of the grande u r of Para d is e
Los t .

It s faults were t hose which were bequea t hed

to its aut hor by a former genera t ion — by D onne ,

and o thers of his school who were t he popular ,

poe ts of M il t on s earlier years A few straine d

’
.

metaphors and overwrou g h t compari s ons mark

t his influence but the s t ren gt h t he vigor the
, , ,

polish t he sinceri t y of i t were new in En glish

, ,

li t erature and anno u nced the ad ve nt o f a p o et of

h eroic m ould .

Mil t on wr o te the Ode while i n college at

Cambridge Prior t o t his he ha d pro du ced a few
.

u nimport an t poems me trical versions of two o f

,

t he Psalms c o mposed at fifteen a few cre d i t able ,

Latin ele g ies an d several o r d ina r y pieces of Eng

lish v er s e On the Chris t mas m orning of his
.

tw e n t y fi r s t year however inspire d by t he s weet

-
, ,

signific ance of t he d ay and filled wi t h th e spirit

o f p eace and j o y w i t h w hich i t h as touched so
m a n y h e a rt s h e laun che d in to t his firs t of his real
,

fli g hts o f s ong H is sixt h La t in epistl e wri tt en

.
,

so o n aft e r t o Charles D i o d a ti d esc ribes t he c ir ,

iii
cu m s t a n ceH e s ays ! Bu t if you will kn ow what
.

I am d oin g , I am singing t he ! ing o f

Heaven bringer of peace and t he fortuna t e days
, ,

promised by the Holy Book t he wanderin gs of ,

G o d and t he s t abling un d er a poor roof of Him

who rules wi t h his Fa ther t he realms above ; the
s tar that led t he wizar d s the hymning of angels
,

in the air and the g o ds flyin g t o t heir endan gere d

fanes This poem I ma d e as a birt hday g ift for
.

Christ ; t he first light of Chris t ma s dawn bro u ght

me the theme .

I ts burden is Peace on Eart h N o so u nd of .

war breaks the stillness of the holy night The .

shepherds talkin g t o ge t her as they w atch their

,

flocks are s uddenly g reeted wi t h s u c h music a s

,

was never heard before s ave when the so ns of

morning sang toge t her in t he dawn of th e Crea
tion Cherubim and s eraphim wi t h ou tstre t ched
.

w ings a radiant circle in t he heavens strike their

, ,

harps in honor of t heir new born Lord The -

.

ancient gods have lost their power ; the o racles

are d umb ; the nymphs have left t he ha u nted
S prings ; the pries t s and fl a m e n s see strange prod

i gi e s before the altars I n vain t hey call upon

.

their pa gan deities the Babe of Be t hl e he m has

,

iv
co n! ue red th em But the mot he r la ys the Holy
.

Child t o re st while th e youn gest s t ar of heaven

hold s her lamp above him and a n ge l s s urr oun d,

t h e manger w h e re he lie s .

—
S u ch i s the argumen t a s imple t h e me and
, ,

yet c lothed w i t h a beau t y of phrase an d image ry

which gives i t s ingular dis t inc t ion It is thi s .

ela bo ration of detail t ogether wi t h a n e s se n tia l

,

dignity of mo vement and mu s ical c a d ence that

designa t e the Miltonic to u ch The ornam e nt i s .

n o t confin e d to h a p py phras e ology ; it embra ces

a weal t h of allusi o n a brea dt h of knowl ed ge a su g
, ,

ge s t i ve n e ss tha t appeal par t icularl y to th e s cholar .

Few other p oets have been able t o put so muc h

into a p hras e I like Mil ton a nd But ler s aid
! !
.
,

D r J ohnson once to Bosw e ll becaus e they

!
.
, , ,

m ake m e think This thou g ht stimulus t o geth e r

.
!

wi t h a rare c las s i c al infl u enc e m ake s th e re ad

i ng o f M il to n a n e du c a t ion Say s M atth e w Ar
.

nold ! I n o ur race ar e th ous and s o f readers

!

pre s entl y there w ill b e milli o n s w h o d o no t know ,

a word of G reek and La t in and w ill never lear n ,

t h o se language s If thi s host o f reader s are ever

.

to gain an y s ense of th e powe r and charm of t h e

grea t poets o f antiqui t y th eir way t o gai n it i s no t
,
th rou gh tra ns l ation s o f the an c ients but th rou gh ,

the ori g inal poe try o f M ilto n who h a s the lik e ,

power and c ha rm bec aus e h e ha s the lik e gre at

,

styl e .

B u t pe rh a ps th e m o s t rem arkable qualit y of

M ilton s ve r s e i s i ts melo d y We do not need t o
’
.

be told that he wa s an acc om plished musician ,

and that hi s fa t her wa s a musician before hi m .

H i s v erse sh ow s th e m usical e a r It ha s i n it a .

subtle pow e r w hic h i s akin t o m agic W e need .

no t try to a nalyze it for it el u d es analys is ; bu t we

,

cannot fail t o be mov ed b y it Children are .

m oved by it not knowin g what it m eans Tho s e

, .

m aje st ic Alexan d rines which make t he last line of

,

e ach stanza in the Ode were in fo rm borrowe d ,

fro m Spen se r from whom M il t on in hi s earli e r

,

poe m s borrowed much — but t here is s o met hing ,

in them d is t in ct l y M il t onic Then t oo t hey sug .

, ,

ges t so much We feel t h e s olemnity and th e

.

mystery of th e In ca rnation in that lin e ,

!
An d c hose w i t h us a d a r! s o me ho us e of m o rt a l cl ay
.

We feel t he peace of the new era o f love and

goo d will in t he phra s e ,

!
W h ile b i rd s o f ca l m s i t b r oo d i n g o n the c ha rmed w ave .

vi
We fe e l th e majes t y o f O m nip o te n ce in the word s ,

An d bi d t h e w e l te ri n g w aves hei r oo ! y c ha n n el ! ee p
!
t .

Even the n a mes of the pagan go ds in th e t wen t y ,

second and su ccee d ing s tanzas roll out wi t h a ,

a lar g ene ss that comman d s respec t .

I t must not be t hou g h t that t his m u sic and t his

beauty cam e t o M ilton a s a n inspira t ion His .

work wa s not t hat o f an i m provisa tore b u t of a ,

pains t aking and c onsumma t e artist E ve r y word .

was cho s en and every phra s e polis he d A manu .

s cri pt o f h i s i n t h e library of Chris t s Colle ge ’

Ca m bridge s how s erasures and recas t in g s which

,

proves the e fli c a cy of carefu l work as O pposed to

slipshod rhaps o dizing .

Bu t afte r all the greatne ss of Milton s verse

’

, ,

is not in i ts h aunting melody nor in i t s beaut y of,

phrase nor in i ts intellec tuali ty It arises out of

, .

t he greatnes s of the poet himself I n it we see .

M il ton the pa t rio t th e r eformer the i d ealist t he

, , ,

hi g h min d ed Chris t ian the s t ainles s hero ; his i n

-
,

d i vi d u a l i t y is stamped upon every line t ha t he ever

wro te H e w h o would not be frus trate of his
!
.

hope to write well hereaft er in lau d able thin gs ,

!

he s ays quain t ly in th e Apology for S me ct ym

,
n u us , ou gh t h i mse lf be a tr ue poem Th i s is
.

th e s ecret o f the vi tality of M ilton s work It i s

’
.

vi vi fi e d a n d e n nob l e d by th e c harac ter w h i ch

s hine s out thro u gh it .

Th e tra ve l e r m ay climb today the narrow s tai r

cas e w hich lead s t o M ilt on s q u arter s a t Chri st s
’ ’

—
Cam b ridge may s ta nd in th e l itt l e r oom in
,

which th e Ode on t he N ativity wa s b egun on t h at

Chris tm a s morning ne arl y three h u ndred ye ar s
a go m a y loo k o ut of th e windo w and s e e th e
,

r oo fs a nd t u rr e ts a nd b it o f l aw n w hic h M i lton
s aw — all the se a r e su gge sti ve o f th e tangibl e
,

—
p resenc e o f a gr e at po e t b u t t o k now Mil ton
,

and to reali ! e the greatne ss of hi s w ork o n e m u s t ,

look farther than m ere externals ; h e mus t ha ve

a s piritu al in s ight whic h will let hi m look de e pl y ,

a sy mpathy wi t h the s cholar s l ife wh ich w il l

’

let hi m lo o k appre ci a tiv el y a pu r e he art wh ich

,

will let hi m l ook clearl y A s incere admiration

.

for M ilto n i s th e tou chston e of chara cte r If o ne .

can take t h i s great so u l in t o hi s own h e m ay fee l

,

tha t h e is in s ome s en se hi mse lf above t he littl e

, ,

nes s e s of life .

WAL! ! ! TA! LO ! F I ! LD
 ’
O N ! ! ! ! O ! N I N G O ! ! ! ! I ST S
N A T I ! I T!

!! O ! ! O S! D 1
62 9)

H IS is t he mon t h and t his t he happy morn

, ,

Wher e in t he Son of H e ave n s ete rnal ! ing

’

Of w e dded m aid and vir g in mo t her born ,

Our great re demption from above did bring ;

Fo r s o t he ho l y sage s o n ce did sing ,

That h e ou r deadly forfei t should relea s e ,

And wi t h h is Fa t her work us a perp e tual peace .

T h at glorious form that ligh t unsufferable

, ,

And t hat far b ea m in g b laze of majes ty

-
,

Wher ewi t h he w o nt a t Heaven s high council t able

’
-
To s it the m i d s t of Tri na l ! nit y ,

H e laid aside and here w i th u s to b e

, , ,

Forso ok t he co u rt s of e ve r l as ti ng day ,

An d chose wit h us a dark s ome h ouse mortal

cla y .

Say Hea ve n ly M u se s hall not th y s acred v ein

, ,

Afford a p re s ent to the I nfa n t G o d ?

H ast tho u n o v ers e no hymn or so l em n s t rain
, , ,

To welco m e him t o this h i s n e w a bo de ,

Now while the hea ven by th e S u n s te am untrod

,
’

H a t h took no p r i nt of the a ppro ac h in g light ,

And all the spangled h os t k e ep w atch i n s q u adrons

bri gh t ?

S ee h ow fro m far u p o n t he easter n road

Th e s tar l e d wi ! a rd s h a s te w i th o d ou rs s weet !
-

O h ! ru n ; p r event th e m with th y hum ble o d e ,

A n d la y i t lowl y at h is blessed fee t ;
H a ve t hou th e ho n o u r first t hy Lord to gree t ,

An d join th yvoice un t o the Angel ! uire ,

From ou t his secre t a lt a r t ouche d wi t h hallowe d

 TH E H ! M N

It was th e w int e r w ild ,

Whil e th e h eaven b orn child

-

Al l me anl y wr a p t i n th e ru de manger lies ;

N at ure in aw e to hi m
, ,

Had d o fl e d her g au dy tr i m ,

Wi th he r great M aster s o to sympa t hize

It w a s n o s eas on then fo r h er
To wanton w ith the Sun her lus t y paramour
,
!

Onl y wi th s p ee c he s fair
Sh e w oos t h e ge n tl e ai r
To hid e he r gu ilt y fr o nt w ith innocent snow ,

An d on he r naked s h am e ,

Pollut e w it h sin ful b l ame ,

T he s aintly v eil of m aid en w hite to t hrow ;

Confo u nded that he r M a k e r s eye s
’

S hou ld look so ne a r u p on h e r fo u l deformi ti es .

 But p eaceful wa s t he ni g ht
Wh erein the Princ e of Light
Hi s re ign o f pe ace u p o n the eart h be g an .

T he wi n ds w i t h w onder w h is t
, ,

Smoothl y th e wa te rs ki s s e d ,

Whi s p e ring new joys to t h e m ild Ocean ,

Who n o w h a t h ! uite forgot to r av e ,

While b ird s of c al m sit b r ooding on t he charm e d

w ave .

T he s tar s w i t h deep amaze

, ,

S t and fixed i n s teadfast gaze ,

Bending o n e way th e ir p recio u s influence ,

And wil l n ot take their fligh t ,

For all the m orning light ,

Or Lucifer that O ften warned t hem t hence

But in t heir glimmering orbs did glow ,

! n t il t heir Lord himself bespake and bi d t hem

 An d th o u g h t he shady gloom
,

Had given day her roo m ,

The Sun h imself wi t hheld his won t e d spee d ,

And hid his head for shame ,

As his inferior flame

! h e ne w enlightened world no m o re shoul d nee d
-

He saw a g rea ter Sun appear

Than his bri g ht throne or burning axle tree co uld
bear .

The shepherds on t he lawn ,

Or ere the point of d awn ,

Sat simply chatting in a rus t ic row ;

Full li t tle though t t he y t han
That t he mi g h ty Pan
Was kin d ly come t o live wi t h t hem below
Perhaps t heir loves or else t heir she e p
,
!

Was all t ha t d i d t heir silly t hou g h t s so busy keep .

 W he n suc h mus i c swe et
Their hea rts and ears d id gree t
As n ever was by m ortal finger st rook ,

D i vinely -
war b l e d v oi c e
An s wering the s tri nge d noi s e ,

As all t he ir sou ls in b lissfu l raptu re to o k

The air suc h plea su re loth t o lo s e
, ,

Wi t h th ousan d echoes s till prolongs each h e ave n l y

clo se .

N atu re that heard such s ound

,

Beneath the h o llo w r ou nd

Of Cynthia s s eat the airy r egion t hrilling
’

N ow was almost w o n
T o think h er part wa s done ,

And that her reign had h ere i ts last fu lfillin g

She knew s uch harmony al o ne
C o uld h old all Heaven and Eart h in happier union .
 A t la s t surroun ds their sight
A globe of circular light ,

T h a t w rrh lo n g b ea ms the sha me fa c ed Night ar

rayed ;
The h elm e d c herub i m
And s w o rded s eraphim
Ar e s een in glitte ri n g ranks wi t h wings di s played ,

Harpin g in l oud and s o lemn quire ,

Wi t h u nexpre s siv e no te s to H e a ve n s new born

’
-
,

Heir.

S uc h mu si c !as tis sa id )
’

Befo re w as never mad e ,

B u t when o f o ld the Sons of M o rn ing su ng ,

While the Cre ator great

Hi s co nstella t ion s s et
,

And the w e ll balanced Wo rld o n hi n ge s hu ng

-
,

And ca s t the dark fo u nda t ions deep ,

And bid the weltering wa ves t h e ir ooz y cha nne l

keep .
 ! ing o ut y e crys tal spheres !
,

Once bless our h um an ears ,

If ye h ave p owe r to t ou ch our s en ses s o ;

And l e t yo u r silver chime
M o ve in melo d ious time ;
An d let th e b ass of heaven s deep organ bl o w ;
’

And with your ninefo ld harmony

M ake u p full c o ns o rt t o the angelic symphony .

For if s u ch holy song

,

Enwrap our fancy lon g ,

Time will ru n back and fetc h the Age of G o l d ;

And spe c kled ! anit y
Will sick e n so on and die ,

And leprou s Sin will m el t fr o m earthly mo u ld ;

And Hell i t self will p ass away ,

And leave her d o l o r ous ma n s ions to the p eeri n g

da y .

1
0
 ! Trut h and J ustice then
ea ,

W 11
1down re tu rn t o men ,

Orbed in a rainbow ; and like glories weari n g, ,

Mercy will s it be t w e en ,

Throned i n c e le s tial s heen ,

Wi t h radiant feet the tissued clou d s d own s t eerin g ;

And Heaven as at some fes ti val
, ,

Will open wide t he ga t es of her high palace hall

But wisest Fa t e says No ,

This mus t not yet be so ;

The Babe lies yet in smiling infancy
That o n the b itter cr o s s
Must red ee m ou r loss ,

So bo t h himself and us to g lorify

! et firs t to thos e
, y c h a i n e d in s leep ,

The wakeful tru mp O f doom m us t t hunder thro u gh

the d e e p ,
 Wi t h su ch a horrid clang
As on Mo u nt Sinai rang ,

While the red fire and smouldering clo ud s ou t

brake
The aged Eart h aghast
,

Wi t h te rr o r of that b la s t ,

Shall fr o m th e s urface to the cen t re shake ,

When a t the world s las t s ession

’

, ,

The dreadful J u d ge in middle air shall s pread his

throne .

X! III
And t hen a t last o u r bliss
Full and perfect i s ,

But n o w begin s ; for from this happy day

The Old D rago n u nder gro un d ,

I n s trai t er limi t s b o und

,

No t half s o far cas ts his u s urp e d sway ,

And w roth to se e his kingd o m fail

, ,

Swinges t he s caly horror of his fol d ed tail .

1
2
 I n cons e crated eart h ,

And on the hol y hearth ,

The Lars and Le mu res moan wi t h midni g ht plaint;

In u rn s and altars round
, ,

A dre ar and dying sound

Afl r i gh t s the fl a m e n s at t heir service quaint ;
And the chill marb le s eems t o swea t ,

While each peculiar power forgoes his won t e d seat .

Peor and Baalim

Forsake t heir temples d im ,

With th a t twice b attered god of Palestine ;

-

And moon e d Ash taro t h ,

H eaven s ! u e e n and mo t her bo t h

’

Now s its not girt wi t h tapers holy s hine

’

The Lybi c H am mo n shrinks his horn ;

I n va in the Ty r ia n m ai d s their wounde d Tham mu !
mourn .
 XX III
An d sullen Moloch fle d
, ,

Hath left in shadows d read

His burnin g idol all of blackes t hue ;
I n vain wi t h c y mbals rin g
’

They call the grisly king ,

In dismal dance about t he furnace blue ;

The bru t ish gods of Nile as fas t ,

Isis and Orus and t he dog Anubis has te

, , , .

XX I !
Nor is Osiris seen
In M emphian grove or g reen ,

Tramplin g t he unshowere d g rass wi t h lowin gs

lou d ;
Nor can he be a t res t
Wi t hin his sacred ches t ;
Nou ght but p rofo u ndes t Hell can be his shroud ;
In vain wi t h t imbreled an t hems dark
, ,

The sable s tol ed sorcerers bear his worshipe d ark

-
.

1
5
 H e fee ls from J ud a s lan d
’

Th e dre a ded I nfant s h and ;

’

The r ay s o f B e thl e h em b lind h i s d us ky eyn ;

Nor all t h e g o d s bes ide
Lo nger dar e a bid e,

N o t Typ hon hu ge e ndi n g in sna ky twine

O u r Ba b e t o s how his G o d head tr ue
, ,

Ca n in h is s wad d ling bands contr o l th e damn e d

crew .

XX! I
So w h en t he su n in b ed
, ,

C urt a ined wi t h clo u d y r e d ,

Pill o ws hi s chin u pon an orient w a ve ,

T he flocking shadows pale

Troop t o the infe rnal jail ,

Each fettered ghost slip s t o his several grave ,

A n d th e yell ow s kirt e d fays

-

Fly after the night steeds lea ving their moon loved
-
,
-

m aze .
 XX! II
B u t s ee ! the ! ir g in blest
Hath laid her Bab e to rest .

Time is o u r te d i ou s so ng sh o uld here have ending

Heaven s youngest teem e d s tar
’
-

H at h fixed her polished car ,

Her s leeping Lo rd wi t h hand m aid lamp attending ;

And all a b Out the co u rtl y s tabl e
Bright harnes s ed Angels s it in order se rviceable
-
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