With horrible convulsions to and fro He tugged, he shook, till down they came, and drew The whole roof after them with burst of thunder Upon the heads of all who sat beneath, Lords, ladies, captains, counsellors, or priests, Their choice nobility and flower, not only Of this, but each Philistian city round, Met from all parts to solemnise this feast. Samson, with these immixed, inevitably Pulled down the same destruction on himself; The vulgar only scaped, who stood without. MANOA: Samson hath quit himself Like Samson, and heroically hath finished A life heroic. Nothing is here for tears, nothing to wail Or knock the breast; no weakness, no contempt, Dispraise or blame; nothing but well and fair, And what may quiet us in a death so noble. Let us go find the body where it lies. I, with what speed the while Will send for all my kindred, all my friends, To fetch him hence, and solemnly attend, With silent obsequy and funeral train, Home to his father's house. There will I build him A monument, and plant it round with shade Of laurel evergreen and branching palm, With all his trophies hung, and acts enrolled In copious legend, or sweet lyric song. Thither shall all the valiant youth resort, And from his memory inflame their breasts To matchless valour and adventures high. FOOTNOTES: [AC] "Samson Agonistes" (that is, "Samson the Athlete, or Wrestler"), Milton's tragedy, cast in a classical mould, was composed after "Paradise Regained" was written, and after "Paradise Lost" was published. It was issued in 1671. No reader with knowledge can avoid associating the poem in a personal way with Milton, who, like Samson, was blind, living in the midst of enemies, and to some extent deserted; and, like him too, did not lose heart on behalf of the life's cause which, unlike Samson, he had never betrayed. As becomes a drama, it has more vigorously sustained movement than any of Milton's works. The familiar story is skilfully developed and relieved, and the formality of the style does not detract from the pity and beauty, while it adds to the dignity of the work. MOLIÈRE[AD] The Doctor in Spite of Himself _Persons in the Play_ SGANARELLE MARTINE, _Sganarelle's wife_ LUCAS JACQUELINE, _Lucas's wife, and nurse at M. Géronte's_ GÉRONTE LUCINDE, _Géronte's daughter_ LÉANDRE, _her lover_ VALÈRE, _Géronte's attendant_ ACT I