JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS. 53 
pitiful and unprofitable for a man to try and force the rigid body of 
Truth to accommodate herself to the narrow circle of his views ; but 
it is a far different thing for a man to get his beliefs within the 
sphere of Truth herself, and then to let them expand. 
Astronomy enters largely into the composition of ‘ Paradise 
Lost” ; indeed, it is difficult to understand how such a poem could 
have been written without a knowledge of the heavens and celestial 
orbs and the theory of the universe. In Book VIII. he introduces 
a scientific discussion between Raphael the angel and Adam, upon 
the respective merits of these different theories. The configuration 
of celestial and terrestrial orbs and the great circles by which they 
are circumscribed he also knew. The causes which bring about 
the changes of the seasons—the obliquity of the ecliptic—Zodiacal 
constellations through which the sun travels and the periods of the 
year when he occupies them, are embraced in Milton’s knowledge of 
the science of astronomy. ‘The motions of the earth, including the 
precession of the equinoxes, the number and distinctive appearance 
of the planets, their direct and retrograde courses, and their satel- 
lites, are also described by him. Milton, too, was familiar with the 
constellations and their relative positions, the principal stars, star 
groups and clusters and the galaxy, and in the elaboration of his 
poem all these bear their part. 
Milton adopted the Ptolemaic theory as the groundwork of his 
cosmogony, not so much from conviction, but because it provided a 
more convenient working plan for localizing these regions of space 
wherein the chief incidents of his poem enter, viz.: Heaven or the 
Empyrean, Chaos, Hell and the Mundane Universe. All space 
above the universe newly created and beyond the Primum Mobile 
was known as Heaven or the Empyrean, a region of light, glory and 
joy—the dwelling place of the Deity, who, though omnipresent here, 
was visibly revealed to myriads of angels, veiling their faces with 
their wings and hymning Him throughout eternity. Underneath 
there existed a vast illimitable region called Chaos, occupied by 
embryo elements of matter that with incessant turmoil struggled in 
battle array— 
“¢ The womb of Nature, and perhaps her grave.” 
The lower portion of this region was divided off, and embraced 
