He is an Arian; his Son of God, though an unspeakably exalted being, is dependent, inferior, not self-existent, and could be merged in the Father's person or obliterated entirely without the least diminution of Almighty perfection.

He is, moreover, no longer a Calvinist: Satan and Adam both possess free will, and neither need have fallen.

The reader must accept these views, as well as Milton's conception of the materiality of the spiritual world, if he is to read to good purpose.

"If his imagination," says Pattison, pithily, "is not active enough to assist the poet, he must at least not resist him." This is excellent advice as respects the general plan of "Paradise Lost," the materiality of its spiritual personages, and its system of philosophy and theology.

Its poetical beauties can only be resisted where they are not perceived.