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Another Source for Milton's “Blind Mouths!”

Another Source for Milton's “Blind Mouths!” March 2004 29 A significant source for Milton’s attack on the “corrupted Clergy then in their height” {Lycidas, headnote) is the deliver­ ance of Phineus from the hovering, polluting Harpies in Book 2 of The Argonautica, a favorite work of Milton’s that, according to Edward Phillips, was assigned to his students.1 Phineus is one of classical myth’s most vivid examples of an excluded “worthy bidden guest” {Lycidas 118). And though in some versions he is neither worthy nor bidden, for Milton he was the intrepid prophet blinded byjove (or Helios) for reveal­ ing the fate of men. Milton compares himself to Phineus in Para­ dise Lost (3.36) and in a letter to Leonard Philaris.2 Conversely, Milton identified “corrupted Clergy” with Harpies in Of Refor­ mation and in The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates:' Milton also used the Phineus/Harpies episode to represent another, related theme that appears in Lycidas'. the menaces to learning {Fourth Prolusion, Hughes 607) and Ad Ioannem Rousium (33-36). In Lycidas, the voracious, swarming Harpies characterize the frenetic, negative, activity of the “Blind mouths”— shoving, in­ truding, and climbing “for their bellies’ sake” (119, 114). “Bel­ lies” points to the Harpies’ monstrous bodies. Significantly, Milton’s bellies/mouths/clergy do http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png English Language Notes Duke University Press

Another Source for Milton's “Blind Mouths!”

Daniel, Clay
English Language Notes , Volume 41 (3) – Mar 1, 2004
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Copyright
Copyright © 2004 Regents of the University of Colorado
ISSN
0013-8282
eISSN
2573-3575
DOI
10.1215/00138282-41.3.29
Publisher site
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Abstract

March 2004 29 A significant source for Milton’s attack on the “corrupted Clergy then in their height” {Lycidas, headnote) is the deliver­ ance of Phineus from the hovering, polluting Harpies in Book 2 of The Argonautica, a favorite work of Milton’s that, according to Edward Phillips, was assigned to his students.1 Phineus is one of classical myth’s most vivid examples of an excluded “worthy bidden guest” {Lycidas 118). And though in some versions he is neither worthy nor bidden, for Milton he was the intrepid prophet blinded byjove (or Helios) for reveal­ ing the fate of men. Milton compares himself to Phineus in Para­ dise Lost (3.36) and in a letter to Leonard Philaris.2 Conversely, Milton identified “corrupted Clergy” with Harpies in Of Refor­ mation and in The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates:' Milton also used the Phineus/Harpies episode to represent another, related theme that appears in Lycidas'. the menaces to learning {Fourth Prolusion, Hughes 607) and Ad Ioannem Rousium (33-36). In Lycidas, the voracious, swarming Harpies characterize the frenetic, negative, activity of the “Blind mouths”— shoving, in­ truding, and climbing “for their bellies’ sake” (119, 114). “Bel­ lies” points to the Harpies’ monstrous bodies. Significantly, Milton’s bellies/mouths/clergy do

Journal

English Language Notes – Duke University Press

Published: Mar 1, 2004

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