John Milton

On the Morning of Christ's Nativity

THis is the Month, and this the happy morn
Wherin the Son of Heav'ns eternal King,
Of wedded Maid, and Virgin Mother born,
Our great redemption from above did bring;
For so the holy sages once did sing,

deadly forfeit

Legal language—humanity owes a death penalty for sin. Christ "releases" us from the debt, like paying off a bond or ransom.

That he our deadly forfeit should release,
And with his Father work us a perpetual peace.
II.
That glorious Form, that Light unsufferable,
And that far-beaming blaze of Majesty,
Wherwith he wont at Heav'ns high Councel-Table,
To sit the midst of Trinal Unity,

Trinal Unity

The Trinity. Milton pictures Christ at God's council table before incarnation—he's describing what Christ gave up by becoming human.

He laid aside; and here with us to be,
Forsook the Courts of everlasting Day,
And chose with us a darksom House of mortal Clay.
Say Heav'nly Muse, shall not thy sacred vein
Afford a present to the Infant God?
Hast thou no vers, no hymn, or solemn strein,
To welcom him to this his new abode,
Now while the Heav'n, by the Suns team untrod,
Hath took no print of the approaching light,
And all the spangled host keep watch in squadrons bright?
IV.
See how from far upon the Eastern rode

star-led Wizards

The Magi. "Wizards" meant wise men or astrologers in 1629—no Harry Potter connotation. They navigate by the star.

The star-led Wizards haste with odours sweet:
O run, prevent them with thy humble ode,

prevent them

"Prevent" = arrive before, not stop. Milton wants his poem to reach Christ before the Magi's gifts do—a race to worship first.

And lay it lowly at his blessed feet;
Have thou the honour first thy Lord to greet,
And joyn thy voice unto the Angel Quire,
From out his secret Altar toucht with hallow'd fire.
Source Wikipedia Poetry Foundation

Reading Notes

The Incarnation as Downgrade

Milton wrote this at age 21, showing off his theology. Stanza II maps the kenosis—Christ's self-emptying described in Philippians 2:6-7. Notice the contrast: "glorious Form" and "Light unsufferable" versus "darksom House of mortal Clay." Christ doesn't just visit earth; he trades down from the "Courts of everlasting Day" to a body that will die.

The phrase "Light unsufferable" means light too bright to endure, not light that suffers. Milton imagines Christ's pre-incarnate glory as physically unbearable to look at—the same blinding radiance that appears at the Transfiguration. By becoming human, Christ dims himself.

"Trinal Unity" is Milton's coinage for the Trinity, placing Christ at the divine council table. This matters because Milton later became an Arian heretic who denied Christ's full divinity—but here in 1629, he's still orthodox. The poem captures Christ as fully God choosing to become fully human, which makes the "laying aside" more dramatic. He's not a demigod slumming; he's God accepting mortality.

Racing the Magi

Stanzas III-IV stage a competition: Can Milton's poem reach baby Jesus before the wise men arrive? The "star-led Wizards" are traveling from the East with their gifts, and Milton wants to "prevent them"—arrive first. It's a Renaissance poet's anxiety about being late to the greatest story ever told.

The "Heav'nly Muse" Milton invokes is the Holy Spirit, same muse he'll call on in *Paradise Lost*. He's asking for divine inspiration to write a worthy birthday poem. The detail "by the Suns team untrod" means the sun's horses haven't yet crossed the sky—it's still pre-dawn, the exact moment of Christ's birth. Milton is writing in real-time, trying to be the first worshiper.

The final image—"secret Altar toucht with hallow'd fire"—recalls Isaiah 6:6-7, where a seraph touches Isaiah's lips with a coal from God's altar, purifying him to prophesy. Milton wants that same divine authorization for his poem. He's not just celebrating Christmas; he's claiming his calling as a sacred poet, touched by God's fire.