arose a contention between Gabriel and Satan on his discovery in
Paradise.

The Eternal, to prevent such horrid fray,
Hung forth in Heaven his golden scales, yet seen
Betwixt Astrea[6] and the Scorpion sign,
Wherein all things created first he weighed,
The pendulous round Earth with balanced air
In counterpoise, now ponders all events,
Battles and realms. In these he put two weights,
The sequel each of parting and of fight:
The latter quick up flew, and kicked the beam.--iv. 996-1004.

Orion, the finest constellation in the heavens, did not escape Milton's
observation, and there is one allusion to it in his poem. It arrives on
the meridian in winter, where it is conspicuous as a brilliant
assemblage of stars, and represents an armed giant, or hunter, holding a
massive club in his right hand, and having a shield of lion's hide on
his left arm. A triple-gemmed belt encircles his waist, from which is
suspended a glittering sword, tipped with a bright star. The two
brilliants Betelgeux and Bellatrix form the giant's shoulders, and the
bright star Rigel marks the position of his advanced foot. The rising of
Orion was believed to be accompanied by stormy and tempestuous weather.
Milton alludes to this in the following lines:--

When with fierce winds Orion armed
Hath vexed the Red Sea coast, whose waves o'erthrew
Busiris and his Memphian chivalry.--i. 305-7.

Andromeda is described as being borne by Aries, and in 'Ophiuchus huge'
Milton locates a comet which extends the whole length of the
constellation. It is evident that Milton possessed a precise knowledge
of the configuration and size of the constellations, and of the
positions which they occupy relatively to each other on the celestial
sphere.

Though Milton was conversant with the Copernican theory, and entertained
a conviction of its accuracy and truthfulness, and doubtless recognised
the superiority of this system, which, besides conveying to the mind a
nobler conception of the universe and of the solar system--though it
diminished the importance of the Earth as a member of it--was capable of
explaining the occurrence of celestial phenomena in a manner more
satisfactory than could be arrived at by the Ptolemaic theory.
Notwithstanding this, he selected the Ptolemaic cosmology as the
scientific basis upon which he constructed his 'Paradise Lost,' and in
its elaboration adhered with marked fidelity to this sy