Paradise Lost - Book II

High on a Throne of Royal State, which far     Outshon the wealth of Ormus and of Ind,     Or where the gorgeous East with richest hand     Showrs on her Kings Barbaric Pearl and Gold,     Satan exalted sat, by merit raisd     To that bad eminence; and from despair     Thus high uplifted beyond hope, aspires     Beyond thus high, insatiate to pursue     Vain Warr with Heavn, and by success untaught     His proud imaginations thus displaid.     Powers and Dominions, Deities of Heavn,     For since no deep within her gulf can hold     Immortal vigor, though opprest and falln,     I give not Heavn for lost. From this descent     Celestial vertues rising, will appear     More glorious and more dread then from no fall,     And trust themselves to fear no second fate:     Mee though just right, and the fixt Laws of Heavn     Did first create your Leader, next, free choice,     With what besides, in Counsel or in Fight,     Hath bin achievd of merit, yet this loss     Thus farr at least recoverd, hath much more     Establisht in a safe unenvied Throne     Yeilded with full consent. The happier state     In Heavn, which follows dignity, might draw     Envy from each inferior; but who here     Will envy whom the highest place exposes     Formost to stand against the Thunderers aim     Your bulwark, and condemns to greatest share     Of endless pain? where there is then no good     For which to strive, no strife can grow up there     From Faction; for none sure will claim in hell     Precedence, none, whose portion is so small     Of present pain, that with ambitious mind     Will covet more. With this advantage then     To union, and firm Faith, and firm accord,     More then can be in Heavn, we now return     To claim our just inheritance of old,     Surer to prosper then prosperity     Could have assurd us; and by what best way,     Whether of open Warr or covert guile,     We now debate; who can advise, may speak.     He ceasd, and next him Moloc, Scepterd King     Stood up, the strongest and the fiercest Spirit     That fought in Heavn; now fiercer by despair:     His trust was with th Eternal to be deemd     Equal in strength, and rather then be less     Card not to be at all; with that care lost     Went all his fear: of God, or Hell, or worse     He reckd not, and these words thereafter spake.     My sentence is for open Warr: Of Wiles,     More unexpert, I boast not: them let those     Contrive who need, or when they need, not now.     For while they sit contriving, shall the rest,     Millions that stand in Arms, and longing wait     The Signal to ascend, sit lingring here     Heavns fugitives, and for thir dwelling place     Accept this dark opprobrious Den of shame,     The Prison of his Tyranny who Reigns     By our delay? no, let us rather choose     Armd with Hell flames and fury all at once     Ore Heavns high Towrs to force resistless way,     Turning our Tortures into horrid Arms     Against the Torturer; when to meet the noise     Of his Almighty Engin he shall hear     Infernal Thunder, and for Lightning see     Black fire and horror shot with equal rage     Among his Angels; and his Throne it self     Mixt with Tartarean Sulphur, and strange fire,     His own invented Torments. But perhaps     The way seems difficult and steep to scale     With upright wing against a higher foe.     Let such bethink them, if the sleepy drench     Of that forgetful Lake benumme not still,     That in our proper motion we ascend     Up to our native seat: descent and fall     To us is adverse. Who but felt of late     When the fierce Foe hung on our brokn Rear     Insulting, and pursud us through the Deep,     With what compulsion and laborious flight     We sunk thus low? Th ascent is easie then;     Th event is feard; should we again provoke     Our stronger, some worse way his wrath may find     To our destruction: if there be in Hell     Fear to be worse destroyd: what can be worse     Then to dwell here, drivn out from bliss, condemnd     In this abhorred deep to utter woe;     Where pain of unextinguishable fire     Must exercise us without hope of end     The Vassals of his anger, when the Scourge     Inexorably, and the torturing hour     Calls us to Penance? More destroyd then thus     We should be quite abolisht and expire.     What fear we then? what doubt we to incense     His utmost ire? which to the highth enragd,     Will either quite consume us, and reduce     To nothing this essential, happier farr     Then miserable to have eternal being:     Or if our substance be indeed Divine,     And cannot cease to be, we are at worst     On this side nothing; and by proof we feel     Our power sufficient to disturb his Heavn,     And with perpetual inrodes to Allarme,     Though inaccessible, his fatal Throne:     Which if not Victory is yet Revenge.     He ended frowning, and his look denouncd     Desperate revenge, and Battel dangerous     To less then Gods. On th other side up rose     Belial, in act more graceful and humane;     A fairer person lost not Heavn; he seemd     For dignity composd and high exploit:     But all was false and hollow; though his Tongue     Dropt Manna, and could make the worse appear     The better reason, to perplex and dash     Maturest Counsels: for his thoughts were low;     To vice industrious, but to Nobler deeds     Timorous and slothful: yet he pleasd the ear,     And with perswasive accent thus began.     I should be much for open Warr, O Peers,     As not behind in hate; if what was urgd     Main reason to perswade immediate Warr,     Did not disswade me most, and seem to cast     Ominous conjecture on the whole success:     When he who most excels in fact of Arms,     In what he counsels and in what excels     Mistrustful, grounds his courage on despair     And utter dissolution, as the scope     Of all his aim, after some dire revenge.     First, what Revenge? the Towrs of Heavn are filld     With Armed watch, that render all access     Impregnable; oft on the bordering Deep     Encamp thir Legions, or with obscure wing     Scout farr and wide into the Realm of night,     Scorning surprize. Or could we break our way     By force, and at our heels all Hell should rise     With blackest Insurrection, to confound     Heavns purest Light, yet our great Enemy     All incorruptible would on his Throne     Sit unpolluted, and th Ethereal mould     Incapable of stain would soon expel     Her mischief, and purge off the baser fire     Victorious. Thus repulsd, our final hope     Is flat despair: we must exasperate     Th Almighty Victor to spend all his rage,     And that must end us, that must be our cure,     To be no more; sad cure; for who would loose,     Though full of pain, this intellectual being,     Those thoughts that wander through Eternity,     To perish rather, swallowd up and lost     In the wide womb of uncreated night,     Devoid of sense and motion? and who knows,     Let this be good, whether our angry Foe     Can give it, or will ever? how he can     Is doubtful; that he never will is sure.     Will he, so wise, let loose at once his ire,     Belike through impotence, or unaware,     To give his Enemies thir wish, and end     Them in his anger, whom his anger saves     To punish endless? wherefore cease we then?     Say they who counsel Warr, we are decreed,     Reservd and destind to Eternal woe;     Whatever doing, what can we suffer more,     What can we suffer worse? is this then worst,     Thus sitting, thus consulting, thus in Arms?     What when we fled amain, pursud and strook     With Heavns afflicting Thunder, and besought     The Deep to shelter us? this Hell then seemd     A refuge from those wounds: or when we lay     Chaind on the burning Lake? that sure was worse.     What if the breath that kindld those grim fires     Awakd should blow them into sevenfold rage     And plunge us in the Flames? or from above     Should intermitted vengeance arm again     His red right hand to plague us? what if all     Her stores were opnd, and this Firmament     Of Hell should spout her Cataracts of Fire,     Impendent horrors, threatning hideous fall     One day upon our heads; while we perhaps     Designing or exhorting glorious Warr,     Caught in a fierie Tempest shall be hurld     Each on his rock transfixt, the sport and prey     Of racking whirlwinds, or for ever sunk     Under yon boyling Ocean, wrapt in Chains;     There to converse with everlasting groans,     Unrespited, unpitied, unrepreevd,     Ages of hopeless end; this would be worse.     Warr therefore, open or conceald, alike     My voice disswades; for what can force or guile     With him, or who deceive his mind, whose eye     Views all things at one view? he from heavns highth     All these our motions vain, sees and derides;     Not more Almighty to resist our might     Then wise to frustrate all our plots and wiles.     Shall we then live thus vile, the race of Heavn     Thus trampld, thus expelld to suffer here     Chains and these Torments? better these then worse     By my advice; since fate inevitable     Subdues us, and Omnipotent Decree,     The Victors will. To suffer, as to doe,     Our strength is equal, nor the Law unjust     That so ordains: this was at first resolvd,     If we were wise, against so great a foe     Contending, and so doubtful what might fall.     I laugh, when those who at the Spear are bold     And ventrous, if that fail them, shrink and fear     What yet they know must follow, to endure     Exile, or ignominy, or bonds, or pain,     The sentence of thir Conquerour: This is now     Our doom; which if we can sustain and bear,     Our Supream Foe in time may much remit     His anger, and perhaps thus farr removd     Not mind us not offending, satisfid     With what is punisht; whence these raging fires     Will slackn, if his breath stir not thir flames.     Our purer essence then will overcome     Thir noxious vapour, or enurd not feel,     Or changd at length, and to the place conformd     In temper and in nature, will receive     Familiar the fierce heat, and void of pain;     This horror will grow milde, this darkness light,     Besides what hope the never-ending flight     Of future days may bring, what chance, what change     Worth waiting, since our present lot appeers     For happy though but ill, for ill not worst,     If we procure not to our selves more woe.     Thus Belial with words cloathd in reasons garb     Counseld ignoble ease, and peaceful sloath,     Not peace: and after him thus Mammon spake.     Either to disinthrone the King of Heavn     We warr, if warr be best, or to regain     Our own right lost: him to unthrone we then     May hope, when everlasting Fate shall yeild     To fickle Chance, and Chaos judge the strife:     The former vain to hope argues as vain     The latter: for what place can be for us     Within Heavns bound, unless Heavns Lord supream     We overpower? Suppose he should relent     And publish Grace to all, on promise made     Of new Subjection; with what eyes could we     Stand in his presence humble, and receive     Strict Laws imposd, to celebrate his Throne     With warbld Hymns, and to his Godhead sing     Forct Halleluiahs; while he Lordly sits     Our envied Sovran, and his Altar breathes     Ambrosial Odours and Ambrosial Flowers,     Our servile offerings. This must be our task     In Heavn, this our delight; how wearisom     Eternity so spent in worship paid     To whom we hate. Let us not then pursue     By force impossible, by leave obtaind     Unacceptable, though in Heavn, our state     Of splendid vassalage, but rather seek     Our own good from our selves, and from our own     Live to our selves, though in this vast recess,     Free, and to none accountable, preferring     Hard liberty before the easie yoke     Of servile Pomp. Our greatness will appear     Then most conspicuous, when great things of small,     Useful of hurtful, prosperous of adverse     We can create, and in what place so ere     Thrive under evil, and work ease out of pain     Through labour and endurance. This deep world     Of darkness do we dread? How oft amidst     Thick clouds and dark doth Heavns all-ruling Sire     Choose to reside, his Glory unobscurd,     And with the Majesty of darkness round     Covers his Throne; from whence deep thunders roar     Mustring thir rage, and Heavn resembles Hell?     As he our Darkness, cannot we his Light     Imitate when we please? This Desart soile     Wants not her hidden lustre, Gemms and Gold;     Nor want we skill or art, from whence to raise     Magnificence; and what can Heavn shew more?     Our torments also may in length of time     Become our Elements, these piercing Fires     As soft as now severe, our temper changd     Into their temper; which must needs remove     The sensible of pain. All things invite     To peaceful Counsels, and the settld State     Of order, how in safety best we may     Compose our present evils, with regard     Of what we are and where, dismissing quite     All thoughts of Warr: ye have what I advise.     He scarce had finisht, when such murmur filld     Th Assembly, as when hollow Rocks retain     The sound of blustring winds, which all night long     Had rousd the Sea, now with hoarse cadence lull     Sea-faring men orewatcht, whose Bark by chance     Or Pinnace anchors in a craggy Bay     After the Tempest: Such applause was heard     As Mammon ended, and his Sentence pleasd,     Advising peace: for such another Field     They dreaded worse then Hell: so much the fear     Of Thunder and the Sword of Michael     Wrought still within them; and no less desire     To found this nether Empire, which might rise     By pollicy, and long process of time,     In emulation opposite to Heavn.     Which when Beelzebub perceivd, then whom,     Satan except, none higher sat, with grave     Aspect he rose, and in his rising seemd     A Pillar of State; deep on his Front engraven     Deliberation sat and public care;     And Princely counsel in his face yet shon,     Majestick though in ruin: sage he stood     With Atlantean shoulders fit to bear     The weight of mightiest Monarchies; his look     Drew audience and attention still as Night     Or Summers Noon-tide air, while thus he spake.     Thrones and imperial Powers, off-spring of heavn,     Ethereal Vertues; or these Titles now     Must we renounce, and changing stile be calld     Princes of Hell? for so the popular vote     Inclines, here to continue, and build up here     A growing Empire; doubtless; while we dream,     And know not that the King of Heavn hath doomd     This place our dungeon, not our safe retreat     Beyond his Potent arm, to live exempt     From Heavns high jurisdiction, in new League     Banded against his Throne, but to remaine     In strictest bondage, though thus far removd,     Under th inevitable curb, reservd     His captive multitude: For he, be sure,     In highth or depth, still first and last will Reign     Sole King, and of his Kingdom loose no part     By our revolt, but over Hell extend     His Empire, and with Iron Scepter rule     Us here, as with his Golden those in Heavn.     What sit we then projecting Peace and Warr?     Warr hath determind us, and foild with loss     Irreparable; tearms of peace yet none     Voutsaft or sought; for what peace will be givn     To us enslavd, but custody severe,     And stripes, and arbitrary punishment     Inflicted? and what peace can we return,     But to our power hostility and hate,     Untamd reluctance, and revenge though slow,     Yet ever plotting how the Conquerour least     May reap his conquest, and may least rejoyce     In doing what we most in suffering feel?     Nor will occasion want, nor shall we need     With dangerous expedition to invade     Heavn, whose high walls fear no assault or Siege,     Or ambush from the Deep. What if we find     Some easier enterprize? There is a place     (If ancient and prophetic fame in Heavn     Err not) another World, the happy seat     Of som new Race calld Man, about this time     To be created like to us, though less     In power and excellence, but favourd more     Of him who rules above; so was his will     Pronouncd among the Gods, and by an Oath,     That shook Heavns whol circumference, confirmd.     Thither let us bend all our thoughts, to learn     What creatures there inhabit, of what mould,     Or substance, how endud, and what thir Power,     And where thir weakness, how attempted best,     By force or suttlety: Though Heavn be shut,     And Heavns high Arbitrator sit secure     In his own strength, this place may lye exposd     The utmost border of his Kingdom, left     To their defence who hold it: here perhaps     Som advantagious act may be achievd     By sudden onset, either with Hell fire     To waste his whole Creation, or possess     All as our own, and drive as we were driven,     The punie habitants, or if not drive,     Seduce them to our Party, that thir God     May prove thir foe, and with repenting hand     Abolish his own works. This would surpass     Common revenge, and interrupt his joy     In our Confusion, and our Joy upraise     In his disturbance; when his darling Sons     Hurld headlong to partake with us, shall curse     Thir frail Originals, and faded bliss,     Faded so soon. Advise if this be worth     Attempting, or to sit in darkness here     Hatching vain Empires. Thus Beelzebub     Pleaded his devilish Counsel, first devisd     By Satan, and in part proposd: for whence,     But from the Author of all ill could Spring     So deep a malice, to confound the race     Of mankind in one root, and Earth with Hell     To mingle and involve, done all to spite     The great Creatour? But thir spite still serves     His glory to augment. The bold design     Pleasd highly those infernal States, and joy     Sparkld in all thir eyes; with full assent     They vote: whereat his speech he thus renews.     Well have ye judgd, well ended long debate,     Synod of Gods, and like to what ye are,     Great things resolvd; which from the lowest deep     Will once more lift us up, in spight of Fate,     Neerer our ancient Seat; perhaps in view     Of those bright confines, whence with neighbouring Arms     And opportune excursion we may chance     Re-enter Heavn; or else in some milde Zone     Dwell not unvisited of Heavns fair Light     Secure, and at the brightning Orient beam     Purge off this gloom; the soft delicious Air,     To heal the scarr of these corrosive Fires     Shall breath her balme. But first whom shall we send     In search of this new world, whom shall we find     Sufficient? who shall tempt with wandring feet     The dark unbottomd infinite Abyss     And through the palpable obscure find out     His uncouth way, or spread his aerie flight     Upborn with indefatigable wings     Over the vast abrupt, ere he arrive     The happy Ile; what strength, what art can then     Suffice, or what evasion bear him safe     Through the strict Senteries and Stations thick     Of Angels watching round? Here he had need     All circumspection, and we now no less     Choice in our suffrage; for on whom we send,     The weight of all and our last hope relies.     This said, he sat; and expectation held     His look suspence, awaiting who appeerd     To second, or oppose, or undertake     The perilous attempt: but all sat mute,     Pondering the danger with deep thoughts; and each     In others countnance read his own dismay     Astonisht: none among the choice and prime     Of those Heavn-warring Champions could be found     So hardie as to proffer or accept     Alone the dreadful voyage; till at last     Satan, whom now transcendent glory raisd     Above his fellows, with Monarchal pride     Conscious of highest worth, unmovd thus spake.     O Progeny of Heavn, Empyreal Thrones,     With reason hath deep silence and demurr     Seisd us, though undismaid: long is the way     And hard, that out of Hell leads up to Light;     Our prison strong, this huge convex of Fire,     Outrageous to devour, immures us round     Ninefold, and gates of burning Adamant     Barrd over us prohibit all egress.     These past, if any pass, the void profound     Of unessential Night receives him next     Wide gaping, and with utter loss of being     Threatens him, plungd in that abortive gulf.     If thence he scape into what ever world,     Or unknown Region, what remains him less     Then unknown dangers and as hard escape.     But I should ill become this Throne, O Peers,     And this Imperial Sovranty, adornd     With splendor, armd with power, if aught proposd     And judgd of public moment, in the shape     Of difficulty or danger could deterre     Me from attempting. Wherefore do I assume     These Royalties, and not refuse to Reign,     Refusing to accept as great a share     Of hazard as of honour, due alike     To him who Reigns, and so much to him due     Of hazard more, as he above the rest     High honourd sits? Go therfore mighty powers,     Terror of Heavn, though falln; intend at home,     While here shall be our home, what best may ease     The present misery, and render Hell     More tollerable; if there be cure or charm     To respite or deceive, or slack the pain     Of this ill Mansion: intermit no watch     Against a wakeful Foe, while I abroad     Through all the coasts of dark destruction seek     Deliverance for us all: this enterprize     None shall partake with me. Thus saying rose     The Monarch, and prevented all reply,     Prudent, least from his resolution raisd     Others among the chief might offer now     (Certain to be refusd) what erst they feard;     And so refusd might in opinion stand     His rivals, winning cheap the high repute     Which he through hazard huge must earn. But they     Dreaded not more th adventure then his voice     Forbidding; and at once with him they rose;     Thir rising all at once was as the sound     Of Thunder heard remote. Towards him they bend     With awful reverence prone; and as a God     Extoll him equal to the highest in Heavn:     Nor faild they to express how much they praisd,     That for the general safety he despisd     His own: for neither do the Spirits damnd     Loose all thir vertue; least bad men should boast     Thir specious deeds on earth, which glory excites,     Or close ambition varnisht ore with zeal.     Thus they thir doubtful consultations dark     Ended rejoycing in thir matchless Chief:     As when from mountain tops the dusky clouds     Ascending, while the North wind sleeps, orespread     Heavns chearful face, the lowring Element     Scowls ore the darknd lantskip Snow, or showre;     If chance the radiant Sun with farewell sweet     Extend his evning beam, the fields revive,     The birds thir notes renew, and bleating herds     Attest thir joy, that hill and valley rings.     O shame to men! Devil with Devil damnd     Firm concord holds, men onely disagree     Of Creatures rational, though under hope     Of heavenly Grace: and God proclaiming peace,     Yet live in hatred, enmity, and strife     Among themselves, and levie cruel warres,     Wasting the Earth, each other to destroy:     As if (which might induce us to accord)     Man had not hellish foes anow besides,     That day and night for his destruction waite.     The Stygian Councel thus dissolvd; and forth     In order came the grand infernal Peers,     Midst came thir mighty Paramount, and seemd     Alone th Antagonist of Heavn, nor less     Then Hells dread Emperour with pomp Supream,     And God-like imitated State; him round     A Globe of fierie Seraphim inclosd     With bright imblazonrie, and horrent Arms.     Then of thir Session ended they bid cry     With Trumpets regal sound the great result:     Toward the four winds four speedy Cherubim     Put to thir mouths the sounding Alchymie     By Haralds voice explaind: the hollow Abyss     Heard farr and wide, and all the host of Hell     With deafning shout, returnd them loud acclaim.     Thence more at ease thir minds and somwhat raisd     By false presumptuous hope, the ranged powers     Disband, and wandring, each his several way     Pursues, as inclination or sad choice     Leads him perplext, where he may likeliest find     Truce to his restless thoughts, and entertain     The irksome hours, till his great Chief return.     Part on the Plain, or in the Air sublime     Upon the wing, or in swift race contend,     As at th Olympian Games or Pythian fields;     Part curb thir fierie Steeds, or shun the Goal     With rapid wheels, or fronted Brigads form.     As when to warn proud Cities warr appears     Wagd in the troubld Skie, and Armies rush     To Battel in the Clouds, before each Van     Prick forth the Aerie Knights, and couch thir Spears     Till thickest Legions close; with feats of Arms     From either end of Heavn the welkin burns.     Others with vast Typhan rage more fell     Rend up both Rocks and Hills, and ride the Air     In whirlwind; Hell scarce holds the wilde uproar.     As when Alcides from Oechalia Crownd     With conquest, felt th envenomd robe, and tore     Through pain up by the roots Thessalian Pines,     And Lichas from the top of Oeta threw     Into th Euboic Sea. Others more milde,     Retreated in a silent valley, sing     With notes Angelical to many a Harp     Thir own Heroic deeds and hapless fall     By doom of Battel; and complain that Fate     Free Vertue should enthrall to Force or Chance.     Thir song was partial, but the harmony     (What could it less when Spirits immortal sing?)     Suspended Hell, and took with ravishment     The thronging audience. In discourse more sweet     (For Eloquence the Soul, Song charms the Sense,)     Others apart sat on a Hill retird,     In thoughts more elevate, and reasond high     Of Providence, Foreknowledge, Will, and Fate,     Fixt Fate, free will, foreknowledge absolute,     And found no end, in wandring mazes lost.     Of good and evil much they argud then,     Of happiness and final misery,     Passion and Apathie, and glory and shame,     Vain wisdom all, and false Philosophie:     Yet with a pleasing sorcerie could charm     Pain for a while or anguish, and excite     Fallacious hope, or arm th obdured brest     With stubborn patience as with triple steel.     Another part in Squadrons and gross Bands,     On bold adventure to discover wide     That dismal world, if any Clime perhaps     Might yeild them easier habitation, bend     Four ways thir flying March, along the Banks     Of four infernal Rivers that disgorge     Into the burning Lake thir baleful streams;     Abhorred Styx the flood of deadly hate,     Sad Acheron of sorrow, black and deep;     Cocytus, namd of lamentation loud     Heard on the ruful stream; fierce Phlegeton     Whose waves of torrent fire inflame with rage.     Farr off from these a slow and silent stream,     Lethe the River of Oblivion roules     Her watrie Labyrinth, whereof who drinks,     Forthwith his former state and being forgets,     Forgets both joy and grief, pleasure and pain.     Beyond this flood a frozen Continent     Lies dark and wilde, beat with perpetual storms     Of Whirlwind and dire Hail, which on firm land     Thaws not, but gathers heap, and ruin seems     Of ancient pile; all else deep snow and ice,     A gulf profound as that Serbonian Bog     Betwixt Damiata and mount Casius old,     Where Armies whole have sunk: the parching Air     Burns frore, and cold performs th effect of Fire.     Thither by harpy-footed Furies haild,     At certain revolutions all the damnd     Are brought: and feel by turns the bitter change     Of fierce extreams, extreams by change more fierce,     From Beds of raging Fire to starve in Ice     Thir soft Ethereal warmth, and there to pine     Immovable, infixt, and frozen round,     Periods of time, thence hurried back to fire.     They ferry over this Lethean Sound     Both to and fro, thir sorrow to augment,     And wish and struggle, as they pass, to reach     The tempting stream, with one small drop to loose     In sweet forgetfulness all pain and woe,     All in one moment, and so neer the brink;     But Fate withstands, and to oppose th attempt     Medusa with Gorgonian terror guards     The Ford, and of it self the water flies     All taste of living wight, as once it fled     The lip of Tantalus. Thus roving on     In confusd march forlorn, th adventrous Bands     With shuddring horror pale, and eyes agast     Viewd first thir lamentable lot, and found     No rest: through many a dark and drearie Vaile     They passd, and many a Region dolorous,     Ore many a Frozen, many a Fierie Alpe,     Rocks, Caves, Lakes, Fens, Bogs, Dens, and shades of death,     A Universe of death, which God by curse     Created evil, for evil only good,     Where all life dies, death lives, and nature breeds,     Perverse, all monstrous, all prodigious things,     Abominable, inutterable, and worse     Then Fables yet have feignd, or fear conceivd,     Gorgons and Hydras, and Chimeras dire.     Mean while the Adversary of God and Man,     Satan with thoughts inflamd of highest design,     Puts on swift wings, and toward the Gates of Hell     Explores his solitary flight; som times     He scours the right hand coast, som times the left,     Now shaves with level wing the Deep, then soares     Up to the fiery concave touring high.     As when farr off at Sea a Fleet descrid     Hangs in the Clouds, by quinoctial Winds     Close sailing from Bengala, or the Iles     Of Ternate and Tidore, whence Merchants bring     Thir spicie Drugs: they on the trading Flood     Through the wide Ethiopian to the Cape     Ply stemming nightly toward the Pole. So seemd     Farr off the flying Fiend: at last appeer     Hell bounds high reaching to the horrid Roof,     And thrice threefold the Gates; three folds were Brass     Three Iron, three of Adamantine Rock,     Impenitrable, impald with circling fire,     Yet unconsumd. Before the Gates there sat     On either side a formidable shape;     The one seemd Woman to the waste, and fair,     But ended foul in many a scaly fould     Voluminous and vast, a Serpent armd     With mortal sting: about her middle round     A cry of Hell Hounds never ceasing barkd     With wide Cerberean mouths full loud, and rung     A hideous Peal: yet, when they list, would creep,     If aught disturbd thir noyse, into her woomb,     And kennel there, yet there still barkd and howld     Within unseen. Farr less abhorrd then these     Vexd Scylla bathing in the Sea that parts     Calabria from the hoarce Trinacrian shore:     Nor uglier follow the Night-Hag, when calld     In secret, riding through the Air she comes     Lurd with the smell of infant blood, to dance     With Lapland Witches, while the labouring Moon     Eclipses at thir charms. The other shape,     If shape it might be calld that shape had none     Distinguishable in member, joynt, or limb,     Or substance might be calld that shadow seemd,     For each seemd either; black it stood as Night,     Fierce as ten Furies, terrible as Hell,     And shook a dreadful Dart; what seemd his head     The likeness of a Kingly Crown had on.     Satan was now at hand, and from his seat     The Monster moving onward came as fast,     With horrid strides, Hell trembled as he strode.     Th undaunted Fiend what this might be admird,     Admird, not feard; God and his Son except,     Created thing naught vallud he nor shund;     And with disdainful look thus first began.     Whence and what art thou, execrable shape,     That darst, though grim and terrible, advance     Thy miscreated Front athwart my way     To yonder Gates? through them I mean to pass,     That be assurd, without leave askt of thee:     Retire, or taste thy folly, and learn by proof,     Hell-born, not to contend with Spirits of Heavn.     To whom the Goblin full of wrauth replyd,     Art thou that Traitor Angel, art thou hee,     Who first broke peace in Heavn and Faith, till then     Unbrokn, and in proud rebellious Arms     Drew after him the third part of Heavns Sons     Conjurd against the highest, for which both Thou     And they outcast from God, are here condemnd     To waste Eternal dayes in woe and pain?     And recknst thou thy self with Spirits of Heavn,     Hell-doomd, and breathst defiance here and scorn,     Where I reign King, and to enrage thee more,     Thy King and Lord? Back to thy punishment,     False fugitive, and to thy speed add wings,     Least with a whip of Scorpions I pursue     Thy lingring, or with one stroke of this Dart     Strange horror seise thee, and pangs unfelt before.     So spake the grieslie terrour, and in shape,     So speaking and so threatning, grew ten fold     More dreadful and deform: on th other side     Incenct with indignation Satan stood     Unterrifid, and like a Comet burnd,     That fires the length of Ophiucus huge     In th Artick Sky, and from his horrid hair     Shakes Pestilence and Warr. Each at the Head     Leveld his deadly aime; thir fatall hands     No second stroke intend, and such a frown     Each cast at th other, as when two black Clouds     With Heavns Artillery fraught, come rattling on     Over the Caspian, then stand front to front     Hovring a space, till Winds the signal blow     To joyn thir dark Encounter in mid air:     So frownd the mighty Combatants, that Hell     Grew darker at thir frown, so matcht they stood;     For never but once more was either like     To meet so great a foe: and now great deeds     Had been achievd, whereof all Hell had rung,     Had not the Snakie Sorceress that sat     Fast by Hell Gate, and kept the fatal Key,     Risn, and with hideous outcry rushd between.     O Father, what intends thy hand, she cryd,     Against thy only Son? What fury O Son,     Possesses thee to bend that mortal Dart     Against thy Fathers head? and knowst for whom;     For him who sits above and laughs the while     At thee ordaind his drudge, to execute     What ere his wrath, which he calls Justice, bids,     His wrath which one day will destroy ye both.     She spake, and at her words the hellish Pest     Forbore, then these to her Satan returnd:     So strange thy outcry, and thy words so strange     Thou interposest, that my sudden hand     Prevented spares to tell thee yet by deeds     What it intends; till first I know of thee,     What thing thou art, thus double-formd, and why     In this infernal Vaile first met thou callst     Me Father, and that Fantasm callst my Son?     I know thee not, nor ever saw till now     Sight more detestable then him and thee.     T whom thus the Portress of Hell Gate replyd;     Hast thou forgot me then, and do I seem     Now in thine eye so foul, once deemd so fair     In Heavn, when at th Assembly, and in sight     Of all the Seraphim with thee combind     In bold conspiracy against Heavns King,     All on a sudden miserable pain     Surprisd thee, dim thine eyes, and dizzie swumm     In darkness, while thy head flames thick and fast     Threw forth, till on the left side opning wide,     Likest to thee in shape and countnance bright,     Then shining heavnly fair, a Goddess armd     Out of thy head I sprung: amazement seisd     All th Host of Heavn; back they recoild affraid     At first, and calld me Sin, and for a Sign     Portentous held me; but familiar grown,     I pleasd, and with attractive graces won     The most averse, thee chiefly, who full oft     Thy self in me thy perfect image viewing     Becamst enamourd, and such joy thou tookst     With me in secret, that my womb conceivd     A growing burden. Mean while Warr arose,     And fields were fought in Heavn; wherein remaind     (For what could else) to our Almighty Foe     Cleer Victory, to our part loss and rout     Through all the Empyrean: down they fell     Drivn headlong from the Pitch of Heaven, down     Into this Deep, and in the general fall     I also; at which time this powerful Key     Into my hand was givn, with charge to keep     These Gates for ever shut, which none can pass     Without my opning. Pensive here I sat     Alone, but long I sat not, till my womb     Pregnant by thee, and now excessive grown     Prodigious motion felt and rueful throes.     At last this odious offspring whom thou seest     Thine own begotten, breaking violent way     Tore through my entrails, that with fear and pain     Distorted, all my nether shape thus grew     Transformd: but he my inbred enemie     Forth issud, brandishing his fatal Dart     Made to destroy: I fled, and cryd out Death;     Hell trembld at the hideous Name, and sighd     From all her Caves, and back resounded Death.     I fled, but he pursud (though more, it seems,     Inflamd with lust then rage) and swifter far,     Me overtook his mother all dismaid,     And in embraces forcible and foule     Ingendring with me, of that rape begot     These yelling Monsters that with ceasless cry     Surround me, as thou sawst, hourly conceivd     And hourly born, with sorrow infinite     To me, for when they list into the womb     That bred them they return, and howle and gnaw     My Bowels, their repast; then bursting forth     Afresh with conscious terrours vex me round,     That rest or intermission none I find.     Before mine eyes in opposition sits     Grim Death my Son and foe, who sets them on,     And me his Parent would full soon devour     For want of other prey, but that he knows     His end with mine involvd; and knows that I     Should prove a bitter Morsel, and his bane,     When ever that shall be; so Fate pronouncd.     But thou O Father, I forewarn thee, shun     His deadly arrow; neither vainly hope     To be invulnerable in those bright Arms,     Though temperd heavnly, for that mortal dint,     Save he who reigns above, none can resist.     She finishd, and the suttle Fiend his lore     Soon learnd, now milder, and thus answerd smooth.     Dear Daughter, since thou claimst me for thy Sire,     And my fair Son here showst me, the dear pledge     Of dalliance had with thee in Heavn, and joys     Then sweet, now sad to mention, through dire change     Befalln us unforeseen, unthought of, know     I come no enemie, but to set free     From out this dark and dismal house of pain,     Both him and thee, and all the heavnly Host     Of Spirits that in our just pretenses armd     Fell with us from on high: from them I go     This uncouth errand sole, and one for all     My self expose, with lonely steps to tread     Th unfounded deep, and through the void immense     To search with wandring quest a place foretold     Should be, and, by concurring signs, ere now     Created vast and round, a place of bliss     In the Pourlieues of Heavn, and therein plact     A race of upstart Creatures, to supply     Perhaps our vacant room, though more removd,     Least Heavn surchargd with potent multitude     Might hap to move new broiles: Be this or aught     Then this more secret now designd, I haste     To know, and this once known, shall soon return,     And bring ye to the place where Thou and Death     Shall dwell at ease, and up and down unseen     Wing silently the buxom Air, imbalmd     With odours; there ye shall be fed and filld     Immeasurably, all things shall be your prey.     He ceasd, for both seemd highly pleasd, and Death     Grinnd horrible a gastly smile, to hear     His famine should be filld, and blest his mawe     Destind to that good hour: no less rejoycd     His mother bad, and thus bespake her Sire.     The key of this infernal Pit by due,     And by command of Heavns all-powerful King     I keep, by him forbidden to unlock     These Adamantine Gates; against all force     Death ready stands to interpose his dart,     Fearless to be orematcht by living might.     But what ow I to his commands above     Who hates me, and hath hither thrust me down     Into this gloom of Tartarus profound,     To sit in hateful Office here confind,     Inhabitant of Heavn, and heavnlie-born,     Here in perpetual agonie and pain,     With terrors and with clamors compasst round     Of mine own brood, that on my bowels feed:     Thou art my Father, thou my Author, thou     My being gavst me; whom should I obey     But thee, whom follow? thou wilt bring me soon     To that new world of light and bliss, among     The Gods who live at ease, where I shall Reign     At thy right hand voluptuous, as beseems     Thy daughter and thy darling, without end.     Thus saying, from her side the fatal Key,     Sad instrument of all our woe, she took;     And towards the Gate rouling her bestial train,     Forthwith the huge Porcullis high up drew,     Which but her self not all the Stygian powers     Could once have movd; then in the key-hole turns     Th intricate wards, and every Bolt and Bar     Of massie Iron or sollid Rock with ease     Unfastns: on a sudden opn flie     With impetuous recoile and jarring sound     Th infernal dores, and on thir hinges great     Harsh Thunder, that the lowest bottom shook     Of Erebus. She opnd, but to shut     Exceld her power; the Gates wide opn stood,     That with extended wings a Bannerd Host     Under spread Ensigns marching might pass through     With Horse and Chariots rankt in loose array;     So wide they stood, and like a Furnace mouth     Cast forth redounding smoak and ruddy flame.     Before thir eyes in sudden view appear     The secrets of the hoarie deep, a dark     Illimitable Ocean without bound,     Without dimension, where length, breadth, and highth,     And time and place are lost; where eldest Night     And Chaos, Ancestors of Nature, hold     Eternal Anarchie, amidst the noise     Of endless warrs and by confusion stand.     For hot, cold, moist, and dry, four Champions fierce     Strive here for Maistrie, and to Battel bring     Thir embryon Atoms; they around the flag     Of each his faction, in thir several Clanns,     Light-armd or heavy, sharp, smooth, swift or slow,     Swarm populous, unnumberd as the Sands     Of Barca or Cyrenes torrid soil,     Levied to side with warring Winds, and poise     Thir lighter wings. To whom these most adhere,     Hee rules a moment; Chaos Umpire sits,     And by decision more imbroiles the fray     By which he Reigns: next him high Arbiter     Chance governs all. Into this wilde Abyss,     The Womb of nature and perhaps her Grave,     Of neither Sea, nor Shore, nor Air, nor Fire,     But all these in thir pregnant causes mixt     Confusdly, and which thus must ever fight,     Unless th Almighty Maker them ordain     His dark materials to create more Worlds,     Into this wilde Abyss the warie fiend     Stood on the brink of Hell and lookd a while,     Pondering his Voyage; for no narrow frith     He had to cross. Nor was his eare less peald     With noises loud and ruinous (to compare     Great things with small) then when Bellona storms,     With all her battering Engines bent to rase     Som Capital City, or less then if this frame     Of Heavn were falling, and these Elements     In mutinie had from her Axle torn     The stedfast Earth. At last his Sail-broad Vannes     He spreads for flight, and in the surging smoak     Uplifted spurns the ground, thence many a League     As in a cloudy Chair ascending rides     Audacious, but that seat soon failing, meets     A vast vacuitie: all unawares     Fluttring his pennons vain plumb down he drops     Ten thousand fadom deep, and to this hour     Down had been falling, had not by ill chance     The strong rebuff of som tumultuous cloud     Instinct with Fire and Nitre hurried him     As many miles aloft: that furie stayd,     Quencht in a Boggie Syrtis, neither Sea,     Nor good dry Land: nigh founderd on he fares,     Treading the crude consistence, half on foot,     Half flying; behoves him now both Oare and Saile.     As when a Gryfon through the Wilderness     With winged course ore Hill or moarie Dale,     Pursues the Arimaspian, who by stelth     Had from his wakeful custody purloind     The guarded Gold: So eagerly the fiend     Ore bog or steep, through strait, rough, dense, or rare,     With head, hands, wings, or feet pursues his way,     And swims or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flyes:     At length a universal hubbub wilde     Of stunning sounds and voices all confusd     Born through the hollow dark assaults his eare     With loudest vehemence: thither he plyes,     Undaunted to meet there what ever power     Or Spirit of the nethermost Abyss     Might in that noise reside, of whom to ask     Which way the neerest coast of darkness lyes     Bordering on light; when strait behold the Throne     Of Chaos, and his dark Pavilion spread     Wide on the wasteful Deep; with him Enthrond     Sat Sable-vested Night, eldest of things,     The consort of his Reign; and by them stood     Orcus and Ades, and the dreaded name     Of Demogorgon; Rumor next and Chance,     And Tumult and Confusion all imbroild,     And Discord with a thousand various mouths.     T whom Satan turning boldly, thus. Ye Powers     And Spirits of this nethermost Abyss,     Chaos and ancient Night, I come no Spie,     With purpose to explore or to disturb     The secrets of your Realm, but by constraint     Wandring this darksome desart, as my way     Lies through your spacious Empire up to light,     Alone, and without guide, half lost, I seek     What readiest path leads where your gloomie bounds     Confine with Heavn; or if som other place     From your Dominion won, th Ethereal King     Possesses lately, thither to arrive     I travel this profound, direct my course;     Directed, no mean recompence it brings     To your behoof, if I that Region lost,     All usurpation thence expelld, reduce     To her original darkness and your sway     (Which is my present journey) and once more     Erect the Standard there of ancient Night;     Yours be th advantage all, mine the revenge.     Thus Satan; and him thus the Anarch old     With faultring speech and visage incomposd     Answerd. I know thee, stranger, who thou art,     That mighty leading Angel, who of late     Made head against Heavns King, though overthrown.     I saw and heard, for such a numerous host     Fled not in silence through the frighted deep     With ruin upon ruin, rout on rout,     Confusion worse confounded; and Heavn Gates     Pourd out by millions her victorious Bands     Pursuing. I upon my Frontieres here     Keep residence; if all I can will serve,     That little which is left so to defend     Encroacht on still through our intestine broiles     Weakning the Scepter of old Night: first Hell     Your dungeon stretching far and wide beneath;     Now lately Heaven and Earth, another World     Hung ore my Realm, linkd in a golden Chain     To that side Heavn from whence your Legions fell:     If that way be your walk, you have not farr;     So much the neerer danger; go and speed;     Havock and spoil and ruin are my gain.     He ceasd; and Satan staid not to reply,     But glad that now his Sea should find a shore,     With fresh alacritie and force renewd     Springs upward like a Pyramid of fire     Into the wilde expanse, and through the shock     Of fighting Elements, on all sides round     Environd wins his way; harder beset     And more endangerd, then when Argo passd     Through Bosporus betwixt the justling Rocks:     Or when Ulysses on the Larbord shunnd     Charybdis, and by th other whirlpool steard.     So he with difficulty and labour hard     Movd on, with difficulty and labour hee;     But hee once past, soon after when man fell,     Strange alteration! Sin and Death amain     Following his track, such was the will of Heavn,     Pavd after him a broad and beatn way     Over the dark Abyss, whose boiling Gulf     Tamely endurd a Bridge of wondrous length     From Hell continud reaching th utmost Orbe     Of this frail World; by which the Spirits perverse     With easie intercourse pass to and fro     To tempt or punish mortals, except whom     God and good Angels guard by special grace.     But now at last the sacred influence     Of light appears, and from the walls of Heavn     Shoots farr into the bosom of dim Night     A glimmering dawn; here Nature first begins     Her fardest verge, and Chaos to retire     As from her outmost works a brokn foe     With tumult less and with less hostile din,     That Satan with less toil, and now with ease     Wafts on the calmer wave by dubious light     And like a weather-beaten Vessel holds     Gladly the Port, though Shrouds and Tackle torn;     Or in the emptier waste, resembling Air,     Weighs his spread wings, at leasure to behold     Farr off th Empyreal Heavn, extended wide     In circuit, undetermind square or round,     With Opal Towrs and Battlements adornd     Of living Saphire, once his native Seat;     And fast by hanging in a golden Chain     This pendant world, in bigness as a Starr     Of smallest Magnitude close by the Moon.     Thither full fraught with mischievous revenge,     Accurst, and in a cursed hour he hies.