e. In the utterance of his sacred song he
soared beyond the starry sphere, describing himself as wrapt above the
pole--the starry pole--up to the Empyrean, or Heaven of Heavens, the
ineffable abode of the Deity and the blissful habitation of angelic
beings who, in adoration and worship, surround the throne of the Most
High.

Descending to that nether world at the opposite pole of the universe, in
the lowest depth of Chaos, the place prepared by Eternal Justice for the
rebellious, he unfolds to our horror-stricken gaze the terrors of this
infernal region; its fiery deluge of ever-burning sulphur; its 'regions
of sorrow;' its 'doleful shades'--the unhappy abode of fallen angels who
'in floods and whirlwinds of tempestuous fire,' alternated by exposure
to unendurable cold and icy torment, experience the direful consequences
of their apostacy.

Milton's 'Paradise Lost' may be regarded as the loftiest intellectual
effort in the whole range of literature. In it we find all that was
known of science, philosophy, and theology. The theme, founded upon a
Bible narrative, itself written under divine inspiration, embraces the
entire system of Christian doctrine as revealed in the Scriptures, and
many of the noblest passages in the sacred volume are introduced into
the poem expressed in the lofty utterance of flowing and harmonious
verse. The choicest classical writings of Greek and Latin authors; the
mythological and traditional beliefs of ancient nations; historical
incidents of valour and renown and all that was great and good in the
annals of mankind were laid under contribution by Milton in the
illustration and embellishment of his poem.

In order to obtain a basis or foundation upon which to construct his
great epic, Milton found it necessary to localise the regions of space
in which the principal events mentioned in his poem are described as
having occurred. The unfathomable abyss of space may be regarded as an
uncircumscribed sphere boundless on all sides round, and so far as we
can comprehend of infinite extent. This sphere Milton divided into two
hemispheres--an upper and a lower. The upper was called Heaven, or the
Empyrean--a glorified region of boundless dimensions; the lower
hemisphere embraced Chaos--a dark, fathomless abyss in which the
elements of matter existed in a state of perpetual tumult and wild
uproar. The occurrence of a rebellion in Heaven necessitated a further
division of the sphere. The revolt, headed