"He sang the creation of the world, the origin of man, and all the history of Genesis: and made many verses on the departure of the children of Israel out of Egypt, and their entering into the land of promise, with many other histories from Holy Writ; the incarnation, passion, resurrection of our Lord, and his ascension into heaven; the coming of the Holy Ghost, and the preaching of the Apostles; also the terror of future judgment, the horror of the pains of hell, and the delights of heaven." The Authorship and Subject Matter of the Caedmonian Cycle.--The first edition of the _Paraphrase_ was published in 1655 by Junius, an acquaintance of Milton. Junius attributed the entire _Paraphrase_ to Caedmon, on the authority of the above quotations from Bede. [Illustration: FACSIMILE OF BEGINNING OF JUNIAN MANUSCRIPT OF CAEDMON.] TRANSLATION For us it is mickle right that we should praise with words, love with our hearts, the Lord of the heavens, the glorious King of the people. He is the mighty power, the chief of all exalted creatures, Lord Almighty. The _Paraphrase_ is really composed of three separate poems: the _Genesis_, the _Exodus_, and the _Daniel_; and these are probably the works of different writers. Critics are not agreed whether any of these poems in their present form can be ascribed to Caedmon. The _Genesis_ shows internal evidence of having been composed by several different writers, but some parts of this poem may be Caedmon's own work. The _Genesis_, like Milton's _Paradise Lost_, has for its subject matter the fall of man and its consequences. The _Exodus_, the work of an unknown writer, is a poem of much originality, on the escape of the children of Israel from Egypt, their passage through the Red Sea, and the destruction of Pharaoh's host. The _Daniel_, an uninteresting poem of 765 lines, paraphrases portions of the book of _Daniel_ relating to Nebuchadnezzar's dreams, the fiery furnace, and Belshazzar's feast. Characteristics of the Poetry.--No matter who wrote the _Paraphrase_, we have the poetry, a fact which critics too often overlook. Though the narrative sometimes closely follows the Biblical account in _Genesis_, _Exodus_, and _Daniel_, there are frequent unfettered outbursts of the imagination. The _Exodus_ rings with the warlike notes of the victorious Teutonic race. The _Genesis_ possesses special interest for the student, since many of its strong passages show a marked likeness to certain parts of Milton's _Paradise Lost_. As some critics have concluded that Milton must have been familiar with the Caedmonian _Genesis_, it will be instructive to note the parallelism between the two poems. Caedmon's hell is "without light and full of flame." Milton's flames emit no light; they only make "darkness visible." The following lines are from the _Genesis_:--