How Milton reads: Scripture, the classics, and that two-handed engine

Modern Philology

Volumn 103, Issue 3, 2006, Pages 332-357

  Sansone, David ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA CHAMPAIGN   (United States)

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EID: 64149111862     PISSN: 00268232     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1086/509002     Document Type: Article

References (105)

1. Roy Flannagan, ed., The Riverside Milton (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1998), 105
2. All quotations from Lycidas follow Flannagan's text
3. So, for example, W. R. Parker, Milton: A Biography, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press, 1996), 1:162: It is not, of course [!], necessary to make the lines [130-31] mean something definite, for their intention is clear enough and their ambiguity is effective. University Press, 1996), 1:162: "It is not, of course [!], necessary to make the lines [130-31] mean something definite, for their intention is clear enough and their ambiguity is effective."
4. Compare David S. Berkeley, Inwrought with Figures Dim: A Reading of Milton's Lycidas (The Hague: Mouton, 1974), 79: The 'two-handed engine' is a mystery, and precise understanding is vulgar Milton's "Lycidas" (The Hague: Mouton, 1974), 79: "The 'two-handed engine' is a mystery, and precise understanding is vulgar"
5. Stanley Fish, How Milton Works (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2001), 273: The focus of the Pilot's words is continually expanding, until it opens in the end on a perspective so wide that all our attempts to name it are at once accurate and hopelessly inadequate. Whatever the two-handed engine is - and we shall never know ... 2001), 273: "The focus of the Pilot's words is continually expanding, until it opens in the end on a perspective so wide that all our attempts to name it are at once accurate and hopelessly inadequate. Whatever the two-handed engine is - and we shall never know ..."
6. Since the speaker of the lines has been prominently introduced as bearing two massy keys ... of metals twain (110), we may presume that the door in question is the one that is opened and shut by those keys, namely, the door to the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 16:19). "two massy keys ... of metals twain" (110), we may presume that the door in question is the one that is opened and shut by those keys, namely, the door to the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 16:19)
7. The text is that of the 1587 translation of the Geneva Bible, as are all biblical quotations below, unless otherwise specified. biblical quotations below, unless otherwise specified
8. See, for example, the comments by Newton and Warton, quoted in Scott ed., Milton's Lycidas (New York: Harper & Row, 1966), 293-94. Elledge, ed., Milton's "Lycidas" (New York: Harper & Row, 1966), 293-94
9. Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S.J., trans. and comm., The Gospel according to Luke (I-IX), the Anchor Bible, 28 (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981), 464. (I-IX), the Anchor Bible, vol. 28 (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981), 464
10. La Bibbia cioè, i Libri del Vecchio e del Nuovo Teslamento, nuovamente traslatati in lingua Italiana do Giovanni Diodati nuovamente traslatati in lingua Italiana do Giovanni Diodati (Geneva, 1607)
11. According to Harris F. Fletcher, The Intellectual Development of John Milton, 2, The Cambridge University Period, 1625-32 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1961), 114 Milton, vol. 2, The Cambridge University Period, 1625-32 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1961), 114
12. "There can be little doubt that Milton early owned and used this version in one or more of its several editions, and, incidentally, later also owned and used Diodati's Annotations. These last are the Pious Annotations upon the Holy Bible ... by the Reverend Learned and Godly Divine Mr. John Diodati (London, 1643), which comprises an English translation of the notes in the expanded 1641 edition of Diodati's Italian translation of the Bible. For Diodati's visits in 1619 and 1627 to his London relatives, who lived in the neighborhood of St. Paul's, and for Milton's visit in 1639 with Diodati in Geneva Italian version in one or more of its several editions, and, incidentally, later also owned and used Diodati's Annotations." These last are the Pious Annotations upon the Holy Bible ... by the Reverend Learned and Godly Divine Mr. John Diodati (London, 1643), which comprises an English translation of the notes in the expanded 1641 edition of Diodati's Italian translation of the Bible. For Diodati's visits in 1619 and 1627 to his London relatives, who lived in the neighborhood of St. Paul's, and for Milton's visit in 1639 with Diodati in Geneva
13. see Donald C. Dorian, The English Diodatis (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1950), 98-101, 119-20, and 169-76 (referring to Jean Diodati). University Press, 1950), 98-101, 119-20, and 169-76 (referring to "Jean Diodati")
14. The 1643 English translation (Diodati's Pious Annotations) renders this as follows: hee shall cleanse his Churche, from the mixture of all hypocrites and wicked men casting them into hell fire, and gathering all his true beleevers into the Kingdome of heaven. as follows: "hee shall cleanse his Churche, from the mixture of all hypocrites and wicked men casting them into hell fire, and gathering all his true beleevers into the Kingdome of heaven."
15. In making this statement, I rely on Michael Bauman, A Scripture Index to John Milton's De doctrina Christiana (Binghamton, NY: Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies, 1989). John Milton's "De doctrina Christiana" (Binghamton, NY: Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies, 1989)
16. Neither is there any reference to these two passages in S.J. Rogal, An Index to the Biblical References, Parallels, and Allusions in the Poetry and Prose of John Milton (Lewiston, NY: Mellen Biblical Press, 1994). Index to the Biblical References, Parallels, and Allusions in the Poetry and Prose of John Milton (Lewiston, NY: Mellen Biblical Press, 1994)
17. For the recent controversy over the authorship of De doctrina Christiana (Doc. Ch.), J. P. Rumrich, The Provenance of De doctrina Christiana: A View of the Present State of the Controversy, in Milton and the Grounds of Contention, ed. Mark R. Kelley, Michael Lieb, and John T. Shawcross (Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 2003), 214-33. (Doc. Ch.), see J. P. Rumrich, "The Provenance of De doctrina Christiana: A View of the Present State of the Controversy," in Milton and the Grounds of Contention, ed. Mark R. Kelley, Michael Lieb, and John T. Shawcross (Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 2003), 214-33
18. Doc. Ch. 1.29, quoted from Complete Prose Works of John Milton, gen. ed. Don M. Wolfe, 8 vols. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1953-1982), 6:563. References to Milton's prose works will be to this edition. Don M. Wolfe, 8 vols. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1953-1982), 6:563. References to Milton's prose works will be to this edition
19. For a full account of the procedures and equipment of the Romans, see the Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, and, for the best general description of the process of threshing and winnowing 449-450 works of K. D. White: Roman Farming (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1970), 184-87 and 449-50, for the best general description of the process of threshing and winnowing
20. Agricultural Implements of the Roman World (Cambridge University Press, 1967), 31-35 for winnowing and winnowing equipment, 152-56 for threshing and threshing machines 1967), 31-35 for winnowing and winnowing equipment, 152-56 for threshing and threshing machines
21. Farm Equipment of the Roman World (Cambridge University Press, 1975), 75-77 for winnowing fans, 207-9 for flails
22. Virtually the same procedures and equipment continued in use in early modern East Anglia: G. E. Evans, The Farm and the Village (London: Faber, 1969), 83-92. modern East Anglia: G. E. Evans, The Farm and the Village (London: Faber, 1969), 83-92
23. C. O. Osgood, "Lycidas 130, 131," Review of English Studies 1 339-41, in fact suggested that the two-handed engine was the (military) flail of Talus from bk. 5 of Spenser's Faerie Queene. But J. M. Steadman, William Hog and Milton's 'Two-Handed Engine,' Notes & Queries 3 (1956): 335, points out that Talus seems actually to have employed his flail normally as a one-handed instrument. In any event, the Messiah and the Last Judgment would seem to be more appropriate objects of St. Peter's prophesying than a poetic figment and a localized castle. (1925): 339-41, in fact suggested that the two-handed engine was the (military) flail of Talus from bk. 5 of Spenser's Faerie Queene. But J. M. Steadman, "William Hog and Milton's 'Two-Handed Engine,'" Notes & Queries 3 (1956): 335, points out that Talus "seems actually to have employed his flail normally as a one-handed instrument." In any event, the Messiah and the Last Judgment would seem to be more appropriate objects of St. Peter's prophesying than a poetic figment and a localized castle
24. Milton would later, in 1653, translate this Psalm himself from the Hebrew. Lines 11-14 read, Not so the wicked, but as chaff which fann'd / The wind drives, so the wicked shall not stand / In judgment, or abide their trial then, / Nor sinners in th' assembly of just men. Hebrew. Lines 11-14 read, "Not so the wicked, but as chaff which fann'd / The wind drives, so the wicked shall not stand / In judgment, or abide their trial then, / Nor sinners in th' assembly of just men."
25. Doc. Ch. 1.31
26. (Complete Prose Works, 6:604). Milton's interpretation of the biblical verse is in line with that of the Geneva Bible, which has a note, God giueth his Church this victorie so oft as hee ouercommeth their enemies: but the accomplishment hereof shalbe at the last comming of Christ. For further biblical examples of this metaphor, Ps. 35:5, Prov. 20:26, Isa. 17:13, 21:10, 27:12, 41:15-16, Hosea 13:3. verse is in line with that of the Geneva Bible, which has a note, "God giueth his Church this victorie so oft as hee ouercommeth their enemies: but the accomplishment hereof shalbe at the last comming of Christ." For further biblical examples of this metaphor, see Ps. 35:5, Prov. 20:26, Isa. 17:13, 21:10, 27:12, 41:15-16, Hosea 13:3
27. Emphasis added. For use of the word "engine" to refer to an winnowing, Eugenius Philalethes (Thomas Vaughan), Magia Adamica, or the Antiquitie of Magic (London, 1650), 3: Divinitie still is but Chaff, if it be not sifted by the Engine, if it acts not by the Demonstrative Hobby-horse. instrument for winnowing, see "Eugenius Philalethes" (Thomas Vaughan), Magia Adamica, or the Antiquitie of Magic (London, 1650), 3: "Divinitie still is but Chaff, if it be not sifted by the Engine, if it acts not by the Demonstrative Hobby-horse."
28. The engine here is metaphorical - Vaughan is referring to reason - but so, of course, is the engine in Lycidas. The Puritan John Flavel, in the poem that concludes chap. 19 of the first part of his Husbandry Spiritualized (London, 1669), speaks of That soul-instructing engine in his hand, referring to the instrument with which God threshes his children: He beats them, true, to make their chaff to flye; / That they like purged golden graines may lye / In one fair heap, with those bless'd souls that here / Once in like manner thrash'd, and winnowed were (164-65 in the 3rd ed. of 1674). Immediately following this, at the start of chap. 20, Flavel quotes Matt. 3:12. so, of course, is the engine in Lycidas. The Puritan John Flavel, in the poem that concludes chap. 19 of the first part of his Husbandry Spiritualized (London, 1669), speaks of "That soul-instructing engine in his hand," referring to the instrument with which God threshes his children: "He beats them, true, to make their chaff to flye; / That they like purged golden graines may lye / In one fair heap, with those bless'd souls that here / Once in like manner thrash'd, and winnowed were" (164-65 in the 3rd ed. of 1674). Immediately following this, at the start of chap. 20, Flavel quotes Matt. 3:12
29. For a full discussion of the semantic development of this Greek word, with bibliography, G. Bornkamm s.v., in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel, trans. G. W. Bromley, 10 vols. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1967), 4:280-81. with bibliography, see G. Bornkamm s.v., in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel, trans. G. W. Bromley, 10 vols. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1967), 4:280-81
30. John Davies, The Muses Sacrifice (London, 1612), b4r; [Thomas Brice], A briefe register in meter, containing the names and patient suffrings of the martyrs & members of Jesus Christ, afflicted, tormented, and cruelly burned here in England, in ye time of Q. Marie (London, 1599), under April 1558 briefe register in meter, containing the names and patient suffrings of the martyrs & members of Jesus Christ, afflicted, tormented, and cruelly burned here in England, in ye time of Q. Marie (London, 1599), under April 1558
31. Thomas Adams, The Blacke Devill; or, The Apostate (London, 1615), 34
32. Thomas Draxe, The Christian Armorie, the Second Booke (London, 1611), 73
33. The Appellation of Iohn Knoxe from the cruell and most iniust sentence pronounced against him pronounced against him (Geneva, 1558), 73v
34. William Perkins, A Faithful!, and Plaine Exposition vpon the 2. Chapter of Zephaniah (London, 1609), 125-34
35. Francis Grose, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (London, 1785), s.v. to beat any one; I fanned him sweetly, I beat him heartily. 1785), s.v. "to beat any one; I fanned him sweetly, I beat him heartily."
36. For the date, "between 12 and 31 May," see Gordon Campbell, A (New York: St. Martin's, 1997), 71-72. The quotations are from Complete Prose Works, 1:520 and 519. Milton Chronology (New York: St. Martin's, 1997), 71-72. The quotations are from Complete Prose Works, 1:520 and 519
37. John Milton, An Apology, sec. 12
38. (Complete Prose Works, 1:945). For the date, "soon after" April 8, 1642
39. see Campbell, Milton Chronology, 74
40. See Michael Lieb, Milton and the Culture of Violence (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1994), passim, with 44-61 on Lycidas. University Press, 1994), passim, with 44-61 on Lycidas
41. The expression "generative violence" is from Rene Girard, Sacred, trans. Patrick Gregory (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1977), a work that has exercised considerable influence on Lieb's treatment. For homologies connecting the treatment of the harvested seed and the violence of sacrificial ritual Violence and the Sacred, trans. Patrick Gregory (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1977), a work that has exercised considerable influence on Lieb's treatment. For homologies connecting the treatment of the harvested seed and the violence of sacrificial ritual
42. see Walter Burkert, Homo Necans: The Anthropology of Ancient Greek Sacrificial Ritual and Myth, trans. Peter Bing (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983), 44-45. (Burkert is concerned, however, with the violence connected with cutting the grain at harvest and grinding it into flour rather than with threshing and winnowing, but the principle is the same. Later in his treatment, Burkert notes the connection of the winnowing fan with the Mysteries; below, n. 53.) Sacrificial Ritual and Myth, trans. Peter Bing (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983), 44-45. (Burkert is concerned, however, with the violence connected with cutting the grain at harvest and grinding it into flour rather than with threshing and winnowing, but the principle is the same. Later in his treatment, Burkert notes the connection of the winnowing fan with the Mysteries; see below, n. 53.)
43. See Edward S. Le Comte, Yet Once More; Verbal and Psychological Pattern in Milton (New York: Liberal Arts Press, 1953), 24-26
44. passim; Leslie Brisman, Milton's Poetry of Choice and Its Romantic Heirs (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1973), 75-85
45. Michael Lieb, "Scriptural Formula and Prophetic Utterance in Lycidas," in Milton and Scriptural Tradition: The Bible into Poetry, ed. James H. Sims and Leland Ryken (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1984), 31-42
46. Andrew Clark, ed., "Brief Lives," chiefly of Contemporaries, the Years 1669 & 1696 set down by John Aubrey, between the Years 1669 & 1696 (Oxford: Clarendon, 1898), 1:253
47. Aubrey's comment is quoted by the OED under "rhetorication," two-handed. The passage in question derives from a manuscript written before 1681 (see Clark, Brief Lives, 13-15). but not under "two-handed." The passage in question derives from a manuscript written before 1681 (see Clark, "Brief Lives," 13-15)
48. Caroline Moore, "Milton's St. Michael and Holy Ambidexterity," Milton Studies 27 (1991): 37-57
49. Charles Darby, Bacchanalia; or, a Description of a Drunken Club; A Poem (London, 1680), 12.11-14
50. [Samuel Hieron], A Defence of the Ministers Reasons, for Refusall of Subscription to the Booke of Common Prayer, and of Conformitie [etc.] (n.p., 1607), pt. 1, chap. 3, 38. Subscription to the Booke of Common Prayer, and of Conformitie [etc.] (n.p., 1607), pt. 1, chap. 3, 38
51. For the equivalence of the forms "two-hand" and no. 1. "two-handed," see the OED, s.vv. no. 1
52. Sir John Denham, A Panegyrick on His Excellency the Lord General George Monck, Commander in Chief of all the Forces in England, Scotland, and Ireland (London, 1659), lines 33-38 Monck, Commander in Chief of all the Forces in England, Scotland, and Ireland (London, 1659), lines 33-38
53. see The Poetical Works of Sir John Denham, ed. Theodore H. Banks Jr. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1928), 148
54. Henry More, An Explanation of the Grand Mystery of Godliness; or, A True Faithfull Representation of the Everlasting Gospel and Faithfull Representation of the Everlasting Gospel [etc.] (London, 1660), bk. 6, chap. 19, 8
55. The Odyssey of Homer, intro. and trans. Richmond Lattimore (New York: Harper & Row, 1965), 11.119-30
56. All translations from the Odyssey are taken from Lattimore, and are hereafter cited parenthetically in the text as Od., book, and line numbers. hereafter cited parenthetically in the text as Od., book, and line numbers
57. See Charles Martindale, John Milton and the Transformation of Ancient familiarity with the Homeric, poems Epic, 2nd ed. (London: Bristol Classical Press, 2002), 53-106, for Milton's intimate familiarity with the Homeric, poems
58. Surely it is to the death of his mother that Milton refers in the opening lines of Lycidas: Yet once more ... before the mellowing year. Amy Boesky, The Maternal Shape of Mourning: A Reconsideration of Lycidas, Modern Philology 95 (1998): 465 lines of Lycidas: "Yet once more ... before the mellowing year." See Amy Boesky, "The Maternal Shape of Mourning: A Reconsideration of Lycidas," Modern Philology 95 (1998): 465
59. Thomas K. Hubbard, The Pipes of Pan: Intertextuality and Literary Tradition from Theocritus to Milton Filiation in the Pastoral Tradition from Theocritus to Milton (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1998), 321 n. 116
60. For detailed studies of this passage, see W. F. Hansen, "Odysseus Hopkins University Press and the Oar: A Folkloric Approach," in Approaches to Greek Myth, ed. Lowell Edmunds (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990), 241-72
61. John Peradotto, Man in the Middle Voice: Name and Narration in the Odyssey (Princeton University Press, 1990), 60-89
62. Iliad 1.316, 327, 14.204, 15.27, 24.752
63. CM. 1.72, 2.370, 5.52, 84, 140, 158, 6.226, 7.79, 8.49, 10.179, 13.419, 17.289. The etymology of, or barren, is uncertain, but Eustathius and other early Homeric commentators, associating it with, grain, considered it to mean not capable of producing fruit. For Milton's extensive use of Eustathius's commentary (in the three-Basel edition of 1560) to accompany his reading of Homer, H. Fletcher, Milton's Homer, Journal of English and Germanic Philology 38 (1939): 229-32. 17.289. The etymology of, or "barren," is uncertain, but Eustathius and other early Homeric commentators, associating it with, "grain," considered it to mean "not capable of producing fruit." For Milton's extensive use of Eustathius's commentary (in the three-volume Basel edition of 1560) to accompany his reading of Homer, see H. Fletcher, "Milton's Homer," Journal of English and Germanic Philology 38 (1939): 229-32
64. A. S. P. Woodhouse and D. Bush, A Variorum Commentary on the Poems of John Milton, 2, The Minor English Poems, pt. 2 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1972), 636-37. John Milton, vol. 2, The Minor English Poems, pt. 2 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1972), 636-37
65. I reproduce the prose translation from Andrew S. F. Gow, Theocritus, edited with a translation and commentary, 2nd ed., 2 vols. (Cambridge University Press, 1952). All translations from Theocritus are taken from Gow, whose text has been used as well. edited with a translation and commentary, 2nd ed., 2 vols. (Cambridge University Press, 1952). All translations from Theocritus are taken from Gow, whose text has been used as well
66. The translation is that of the New English Bible: New Testament (Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press, 1961). The wording of Mark 1:6 is similar but not identical. Another similarity between Theocritus's Lycidas and John the Baptizer is the fact that both prophesy. Further, Lycidas appears to cede his authority to Simichidas, as John does to Jesus, when he gives Simichidas his staff of wild-olive wood (18, 43, 128). University Press and Cambridge University Press, 1961). The wording of Mark 1:6 is similar but not identical. Another similarity between Theocritus's Lycidas and John the Baptizer is the fact that both prophesy. Further, Lycidas appears to cede his authority to Simichidas, as John does to Jesus, when he gives Simichidas his staff of wild-olive wood (18, 43, 128)
67. For Milton's outline of a possible tragedy on the subject of John the Baptizer, Complete Prose Works, 8:558 and 594. The outline dates to a time within two or three years after the composition of Lycidas; Parker, Milton, 1:190 with 2:843 n. 15. Baptizer, see Complete Prose Works, 8:558 and 594. The outline dates to a time within two or three years after the composition of Lycidas; cf. Parker, Milton, 1:190 with 2:843 n. 15
68. The name appears to mean "he who leads the way for a king," that is, "herald"
69. see W. Pape and G. E. Benseler, Wörterbuch der griechischen 3rd ed. (Braunschweig: Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn, 1863), s.v. Ageanax; E. Risch, Wortbildung der homerischen Sprache, 2nd ed. (New York: de Gruyter, 1974), 190-91. Eigennatnen, 3rd ed. (Braunschweig: Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn, 1863), s.v. "Ageanax"; E. Risch, Wortbildung der homerischen Sprache, 2nd ed. (New York: de Gruyter, 1974), 190-91
70. So Chapman renders anax as "king" in, for example, the his translation of Homer: Od. 1.397 (= Chapman's line 614), 3.43 (= 64), 4.87 (= 108), 5.445 (= 596), Il. 1.7 (= 6), 442 (= 433), 2.77 (= 62). For the significance of the second element of Edward King's first name and its appropriateness to his ultimate function as the Genius of the shore, J. K. Franson, Etymology of Edward King's Name, Milton Quarterly 22 (1988): 127-28; and compare the OED s.v. warder, no. 3 (A beacon or sea-mark). following places in his translation of Homer: Od. 1.397 (= Chapman's line 614), 3.43 (= 64), 4.87 (= 108), 5.445 (= 596), Il. 1.7 (= 6), 442 (= 433), 2.77 (= 62). For the significance of the second element of Edward King's first name and its appropriateness to his ultimate function as "the Genius of the shore," see J. K. Franson, "Etymology of Edward King's Name," Milton Quarterly 22 (1988): 127-28; and compare the OED s.v. "warder," no. 3 ("A beacon or sea-mark")
71. As far as I am aware, only J. Martin Evans has recognized the importance of the connection with Theocritus 7 and the irony of naming 'a learned Friend, unfortunately drown'd in his passage from Chester on the Irish Seas,' after a shepherd who bade his lover a safe voyage across the Aegean (J. Martin Evans, The Road from Horton: Looking Backwards in Lycidas, English Literary Studies monograph series, no. 28 [Victoria: English Literary Studies, 1983], 15). of the connection with Theocritus 7 and "the irony of naming 'a learned Friend, unfortunately drown'd in his passage from Chester on the Irish Seas,' after a shepherd who bade his lover a safe voyage across the Aegean" (J. Martin Evans, The Road from Horton: Looking Backwards in "Lycidas," English Literary Studies monograph series, no. 28 [Victoria: English Literary Studies, 1983], 15)
72. Evans does not, however, note the significance of the name his destination; below, To be sure, Lycidas is itself an odd name for a herdsman. The name follows a common pattern of Greek names, a pattern seen, for example, in Simonides (son of Simon) or Leonidas (son of Leon, As leon is the Greek word for lion, so lycus is the Greek word for wolf, Both Leon and Lycus are fairly common Greek names, One can only imagine that some irony is involved in the practice, presumably originating with Theocritus, of naming a herdsman Wolfson whose job description includes keeping the grim wolf from the weanling herds. Alice Horton, An Exploration into the Etymology of Lycidas, Milton Quarterly 32 1998, 106-7, despite fundamental confusedness, does a service by pointing out the association between wolves and Apollo. Critics of Milton's poem should be aware that "Ageanax" (or of his destination; see below). To be sure, "Lycidas" is itself an odd name for a herdsman. The name follows a common pattern of Greek names, a pattern seen, for example, in Simonides ("son of Simon") or Leonidas ("son of Leon"). As leon is the Greek word for "lion," so lycus is the Greek word for "wolf." (Both Leon and Lycus are fairly common Greek names.) One can only imagine that some irony is involved in the practice, presumably originating with Theocritus, of naming a herdsman "Wolfson" whose job description includes keeping the grim wolf from the weanling herds. Alice Horton, "An Exploration into the Etymology of Lycidas," Milton Quarterly 32 (1998): 106-7, despite fundamental confusedness, does a service by pointing out the association between wolves and Apollo. Critics of Milton's poem should be aware that critics of Theocritus 7 have likewise posited associations between the Lycidas of that poem and Apollo
73. see R. L. Hunter, ed., Theocritus: A Selection (Cambridge University Press, 1999), 148-49
74. See Lieb, Milton and the Culture of Violence, 57-58
75. The similarity between Lycidas 64-66 and Spenser's Ruines 332-34 (but not the connection with Orpheus) is noted by L. S. Friedland, Milton's Lycidas and Spenser's Ruines of Time, Modern Language Notes 27 (1912): 248-49. the connection with Orpheus) is noted by L. S. Friedland, "Milton's Lycidas and Spenser's Ruines of Time," Modern Language Notes 27 (1912): 248-49
76. See Evans, Road from Horton, 13-16, for a cursory look at the For a survey of recent work on Theocritus 7, which is itself as full of interpretative cruxes as Milton's poem, A. Köhnken and R. Kirstein, Theokrit, 1950-1994 (1996), Lustrum 37 (1995): 279-96. In particular, what needs to be examined is the tangled and shifting series of relationships among the various personae involved: Milton's Lycidas, Theocritus's Lycidas, Ageanax, the uncouth swain, and Theocritus's narrator, Simichidas. relationship. For a survey of recent work on Theocritus 7, which is itself as full of interpretative cruxes as Milton's poem, see A. Köhnken and R. Kirstein, "Theokrit, 1950-1994 (1996)," Lustrum 37 (1995): 279-96. In particular, what needs to be examined is the tangled and shifting series of relationships among the various personae involved: Milton's Lycidas, Theocritus's Lycidas, Ageanax, the uncouth swain, and Theocritus's narrator, Simichidas
77. At their parting Lycidas gives Simichidas his olive-wood crook as a gift of friendship based on their common devotion to the Muses (Theocritus 7.129, One wonders if Milton took this as symbolic of the conferral by the character named Lycidas on the poem's narrator of the mantle of poetic preeminence. If so, Milton has adapted that for his own purposes by representing his Lycidas as one who knew Himself to sing, and build the lofty rhyme 10-11, using the metaphor of poetry as architecture that he found at Theocritus 7.45 put into the mouth of Lycidas of friendship based on their common devotion to the Muses (Theocritus 7.129). One wonders if Milton took this as symbolic of the conferral by the character named Lycidas on the poem's narrator of the mantle of poetic preeminence. If so, Milton has adapted that for his own purposes by representing his Lycidas as one who "knew Himself to sing, and build the lofty rhyme" (10-11), using the metaphor of poetry as architecture that he found at Theocritus 7.45 put into the mouth of Lycidas
78. This cave was subjected to elaborate allegorical interpretation by Neoplatonist authors, with whose work Milton was naturally familiar; Robert Lamberton, Homer the Theologian: Neoplatonist Allegorical Reading and the Growth of the Epic Tradition Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986, 318-24, Appendix IV: The History of the Allegory of the Cave of the Nymphs. In general, this cave was interpreted in cosmic terms, representing, with its two entrances, the world into which souls enter and from which they exit in the course of their various incarnations Neoplatonist authors, with whose work Milton was naturally familiar; see Robert Lamberton, Homer the Theologian: Neoplatonist Allegorical Reading and the Growth of the Epic Tradition (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986), 318-24, "Appendix IV: The History of the Allegory of the Cave of the Nymphs." In general, this cave was interpreted in cosmic terms, representing, with its two entrances, the world into which souls enter and from which they exit in the course of their various incarnations
79. As Gow explains, the heap is "the heap of winnowed grain on the threshing-floor. Customs similar to the one referred to here, of planting the winnowing fan in the pile of grain to symbolize the completion of the winnowing, are attested in modern Greece (Hunter, Theocritus, 199) and the Canary Islands (Jane Ellen Harrison, Mystica vannus facchi, Journal of Hellenic Studies 23 [1903]: 292-324, at 305-6 n. 33a). threshing-floor." Customs similar to the one referred to here, of planting the winnowing fan in the pile of grain to symbolize the completion of the winnowing, are attested in modern Greece (Hunter, Theocritus, 199) and the Canary Islands (Jane Ellen Harrison, "Mystica vannus facchi," Journal of Hellenic Studies 23 [1903]: 292-324, at 305-6 n. 33a)
80. Eustathius does use the word to gloss Horner's, as does Porphyry, De antra Nympharum 35 (Porphyry, The Cave of the Nymphs in the Odyssey, ed. and trans. Seminar Classics 609, Arethusa Monographs no. 1 [Buffalo, NY: Arethusa, 1969]). For Milton's use of Eustathius's commentary, n. 35. antra Nympharum 35 (Porphyry, The Cave of the Nymphs in the "Odyssey," ed. and trans. Seminar Classics 609, Arethusa Monographs no. 1 [Buffalo, NY: Arethusa, 1969]). For Milton's use of Eustathius's commentary, see n. 35
81. Harrison, "Mystica," 306, notes the use of the same verb in Additionally, the same verb is used in a passage that immediately follows the Underworld passage in the Odyssey, when Odysseus recounts how he and his men planted Od. 12.15) the oar of Elpenor in the grave mound that they heaped up for their dead companion. This same practice, of placing an oar on the tomb of a deceased sailor, is attested in Lycophron (Alexandra 882-84) and Virgil Aeneid 6.232-35 both passages. Additionally, the same verb is used in a passage that immediately follows the Underworld passage in the Odyssey, when Odysseus recounts how he and his men planted Od. 12.15) the oar of Elpenor in the grave mound that they heaped up for their dead companion. This same practice, of placing an oar on the tomb of a deceased sailor, is attested in Lycophron (Alexandra 882-84) and Virgil (Aeneid 6.232-35
82. see E. C. Brown, "Underworld Sailors in Milton's 'Lycidas' and Appendix, below Virgil's Aeneid," Milton Quarterly 36 [2002]: 34-45, at 37). Both authors are presumably imitating Homer. For Lycophron, see the Appendix, below
83. Hunter, Theocritus, 199; cf. 150
84. For the poppies, see G. E. Mylonas, Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries (Princeton University Press, 1961), 205
85. Walter Burkert, Ancient Mystery Cults (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1987), 108-9, and Homo Necans, 281. Press, 1987), 108-9, and Homo Necans, 281
86. The awesome, culminating rite of the Mysteries was the revelation to the initiates of an ear of grain from the harvest: Hippolytus, Refuiatio omnium, haeresium 5.8.39; Burkert, Homo Necans, 251, 290-91. initiates of an ear of grain from the harvest: Hippolytus, Refuiatio omnium, haeresium 5.8.39; see Burkert, Homo Necans, 251, 290-91
87. Quotation is from the dedicatory epistle in which Dryden offers his translation of the Georgics to The Right Honourable Philip Earl of Chesterfield, &c., in The works of Virgil ... Translated into English Verse; by Mr. Dryden (London, 1697). translation of the Georgics to The Right Honourable Philip Earl of Chesterfield, &c., in The works of Virgil ... Translated into English Verse; by Mr. Dryden (London, 1697)
88. Virgil, Georgia 1.162-66, with the prose translation by H. R. Fairclough, revised by G. P. Goold, in the Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999). Celeus was the ruler of Eleusis whose hospitality to the goddess Demeter led to the founding of the Mysteries and whose daughters became the first priestesses of Demeter's rites. For the prevalence of references to the Mysteries in the Georgia revised by G. P. Goold, in the Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999). Celeus was the ruler of Eleusis whose hospitality to the goddess Demeter led to the founding of the Mysteries and whose daughters became the first priestesses of Demeter's rites. For the prevalence of references to the Mysteries in the Georgia
89. see A. Hardie, "The Georgics, the Mysteries and the Muses at Rome," Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society 48 (2002): 175-208, with 178-79 for this passage
90. For the winnowing fan in the ritual of the Mysteries, see Mylonas, Eleusis, 206
91. Burkert, Homo Necans, 267-68
92. Iacchus is the avatar of the ritual cry by which Dionysus (called Liber by Servius) is invoked at Eleusis, eventually identified with Dionysus himself "Father Liber" by Servius) is invoked at Eleusis, eventually identified with Dionysus himself
93. see Burkert, Homo Necans, 279
94. The translation is from Harrison, "Mystica," 293
95. For Milton's likely familiarity with Servius's commentary, see John Milton, 108, with 149 n. 8. Martindale, John Milton, 108, with 149 n. 8
96. Confusion between the type of winnowing implement that depends upon shaking and the type that depends on tossing the grain into the wind seems already to be attested among the scholia in the Venice codex of Homer tenth century, Harrison, Mystica, 302 n. 23 shaking and the type that depends on tossing the grain into the wind seems already to be attested among the scholia in the Venice codex of Homer (tenth century); see Harrison, "Mystica," 302 n. 23
97. Robert Herrick, "His Fare-Well to Sack," 23-25 (from Complete Poetry of Robert Herrick, ed. J. Max Patrick [New York University Press, 1963], 62-63). Hesperides, in The Complete Poetry of Robert Herrick, ed. J. Max Patrick [New York University Press, 1963], 62-63)
98. Dryden himself translates Virgil's words (at his line 246) as "The Bacchus. Similarly, Thomas May, Virgil's Georgicks Englished (London, 1628), 9, renders Bacchus misticke Van. Fan of Bacchus." Similarly, Thomas May, Virgil's Georgicks Englished (London, 1628), 9, renders "Bacchus misticke Van."
99. For a full account, see Hugo Rahner, S.J., Greek Myths and Christian Mystery, trans. Brian Battershaw (New York: Harper & Row, 1963), 3-45
100. see also G. Riedweg, Mysterienterminologie bei Platon, Philon und Klemens Untersuchungen zur antiken Literatur und Geschichte von Alexandrien, Untersuchungen zur antiken Literatur und Geschichte 26 (New York: de Gruyter, 1987), 116-61, on Clement of Alexandria
101. Compare Milton's own Reason of Church-Government, bk. 1, chap. 4 (Complete Prose Works, 1:767): Every Minister sustains the person of Christ in his highest work of communicating to us the mysteries of our salvation. (Complete Prose Works, 1:767): "Every Minister sustains the person of Christ in his highest work of communicating to us the mysteries of our salvation."
102. Additionally, Jesus himself was occasionally seen by the early Christians as the pilot of the church; Münster: Aschendorff as the pilot of the church; see F. J. Dölger, Sol Salutis: Gebet und Gesang im christlichen Altertum (Münster: Aschendorff, 1925), 277-81
103. On the use of "smite," see pp. 338-41 above. Note also Homer's winnowing fan in a simile (Iliad 13.588-92) in which an arrow bouncing off a piece of armor is compared to beans or chickpeas at the threshing floor rebounding under the impetus of the fan. use of the winnowing fan in a simile (Iliad 13.588-92) in which an arrow bouncing off a piece of armor is compared to beans or chickpeas at the threshing floor rebounding under the impetus of the fan
104. Dante, Inferno, 3:109-11, with the prose translation of J. D. Sinclair (Oxford University Press, 1939). (Oxford University Press, 1939)
105. Campbell, A Milton Chronology, 56-57