The text is from the second edition of 1674. The notes are my own. I’ve only just begun adding annotations; be patient.
The other books are available here.
THE VERSE |
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The Measure° is English Heroic Verse without Rime, as that of Homer in Greek, and Virgil in Latin; Rime being no necessary Adjunct or true Ornament of Poem or good Verse, in longer Works especially, but the Invention of a barbarous Age, to set off wretched matter and lame Meeter; grac’t indeed since by the use of some famous modern Poets, carried away by Custom, but much to thir own vexation, hindrance, and constraint to express many things otherwise, and for the most part worse then else° they would have exprest them. Not without cause therefore some both Italian, and Spanish Poets of prime note have rejected Rhime both in longer and shorter Works, as have also long since our best English Tragedies, as a thing of itself, to all judicious ears, triveal, and of no true musical delight; which consists onely in apt Numbers,° fit quantity of Syllables, and the sense variously drawn out from one Verse into another, not in the jingling sound of like endings, a fault avoyded by the learned Ancients both in Poetry and all good Oratory. This neglect then of Rhime so little is to be taken for a defect, though it may seem so perhaps to vulgar Readers, that it rather is to be esteem’d an example set, the first in English, of ancient liberty recover’d to heroic Poem from the troublesom and modern bondage of Rimeing. |
Measure = verse form else = otherwise Heroic Verse without Rhyme = blank verse Numbers = meter vulgar = common esteem’d = considered |
BOOK 1 |
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THE ARGUMENT° |
plot summary |
This first Book proposes, first in brief, the whole Subject, Mans disobedience, and the loss thereupon of Paradise wherein he was plac’t: Then touches the prime cause of his fall, the Serpent, or rather Satan in the Serpent; who revolting from God, and drawing to his side many Legions of Angels, was by the command of God driven out of Heaven with all his Crew into the great Deep. Which action past over, the Poem hasts into the midst of things, presenting Satan with his Angels now fallen into Hell, describ’d here, not in the Center (for Heaven and Earth may be suppos’d as yet not made, certainly not yet accurst) but in a place of utter darkness, fitliest° call’d Chaos: Here Satan with his Angels lying on the burning Lake, thunder-struck and astonisht, after a certain space recovers, as from confusion, calls up him who next in Order and Dignity lay by him; they confer of thir miserable fall. Satanawakens all his Legions, who lay till then in the same manner confounded; They rise, thir Numbers, array of Battel, thir chief Leaders nam’d, according to the Idols known afterwards in Canaan and the Countries adjoyning. To these Satan directs his Speech, comforts them with hope yet of regaining Heaven, but tells them lastly of a new World and new kind of Creature to be created, according to an ancient Prophesie or report in Heaven; for that Angels were long before this visible Creation, was the opinion of many ancient Fathers. To find out the truth of this Prophesie, and what to determin thereon he refers to a full Councel. What his Associates thence attempt. Pandemonium the Palace of Satan rises, suddenly built out of the Deep: The infernal Peers there sit in Councel. |
fitliest = most appropriately |
| Of Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit | |
| Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal° tast | deadly |
| Brought Death into the World, and all our woe, | |
| With loss of Eden, till one greater Man | |
| Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat,° [1.5] | place of habitation |
| Sing Heav’nly Muse, that on the secret top | |
| Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire° | breathe into |
| That Shepherd, who first taught the chosen Seed, | |
| In the Beginning how the Heav’ns and Earth | |
| Rose out of Chaos: Or if Sion Hill [1.10] | |
| Delight thee more, and Siloa’s Brook that flow’d | |
| Fast by the Oracle of God; I thence° | from there |
| Invoke thy aid to my adventrous Song, | |
| That with no middle flight intends to soar | |
| Above th’ Aonian Mount, while it pursues [1.15] | |
| Things unattempted yet in Prose or Rhime. | |
| And chiefly Thou O Spirit, that dost prefer | |
| Before all Temples th’ upright heart and pure, | |
| Instruct me, for Thou know’st; Thou from the first | |
| Wast present, and with mighty wings outspread [1.20] | |
| Dove-like satst brooding on the vast Abyss | |
| And mad’st it pregnant: What in me is dark | |
| Illumin, what is low raise and support; | |
| That to the highth° of this great Argument° | height — subject |
| I may assert Eternal Providence, [1.25] | |
| And justifie the wayes of God to men. | |
| Say first, for Heav’n hides nothing from thy view | |
| Nor the deep Tract of Hell, say first what cause | |
| Mov’d our Grand Parents in that happy State,° | situation, status |
| Favour’d of Heav’n so highly, to fall off [1.30] | |
| From thir Creator, and transgress his Will | |
| For° one restraint, Lords of the World besides?° | because of — otherwise |
| Who first seduc’d them to that foul revolt? | |
| Th’ infernal Serpent; he it was, whose guile | |
| Stird up with Envy and Revenge, deceiv’d [1.35] | |
| The Mother of Mankind, what time his Pride | |
| Had cast him out from Heav’n, with all his Host° | forces |
| Of Rebel Angels, by whose aid aspiring | |
| To set himself in Glory above his Peers,° | equals |
| He trusted to have equal’d the most High, [1.40] | |
| If he oppos’d; and with ambitious aim | |
| Against the Throne and Monarchy of God | |
| Rais’d impious° War in Heav’n and Battel proud | unholy |
| With vain attempt. Him the Almighty Power | |
| Hurld headlong flaming from th’ Ethereal° Skie [1.45] | heavenly |
| With hideous ruine and combustion down | |
| To bottomless perdition,° there to dwell | ruin |
| In Adamantine° Chains and penal Fire, | unbreakable |
| Who durst° defie th’ Omnipotent to Arms. | dared |
| Nine times the Space that measures Day and Night [1.50] | |
| To mortal men, he with his horrid crew | |
| Lay vanquisht, rowling in the fiery Gulfe | |
| Confounded° though immortal: But his doom | defeated |
| Reserv’d him to more wrath; for now the thought | |
| Both of lost happiness and lasting pain [1.55] | |
| Torments him; round he throws his baleful° eyes | threatening evil |
| That witness’d huge affliction and dismay | |
| Mixt with obdurate° pride and stedfast° hate: | persistent — unchanging |
| At once as far as Angels kenn° he views | extent of knowledge |
| The dismal Situation waste and wilde, [1.60] | |
| A Dungeon horrible, on all sides round | |
| As one great Furnace flam’d, yet from those flames | |
| No light, but rather darkness visible | |
| Serv’d onely to discover° sights of woe, | reveal |
| Regions of sorrow, doleful° shades, where peace [1.65] | sad, afflicted |
| And rest can never dwell, hope never comes | |
| That comes to all; but torture without end | |
| Still urges,° and a fiery Deluge,° fed | constantly provokes — flood |
| With ever-burning Sulphur unconsum’d: | |
| Such place Eternal Justice had prepar’d [1.70] | |
| For those rebellious, here thir Prison ordain’d | |
| In utter darkness, and thir portion° set | fate |
| As far remov’d from God and light of Heav’n | |
| As from the Center thrice to th’ utmost Pole. | |
| O how unlike the place from whence° they fell! [1.75] | where |
| There the companions of his fall, o’rewhelm’d | |
| With Floods and Whirlwinds of tempestuous° fire, | stormy |
| He soon discerns,° and weltring° by his side | makes out — writhing |
| One next himself in power, and next in crime, | |
| Long after known in Palestine, and nam’d [1.80] | |
| Beelzebub. To whom th’ Arch-Enemy, | |
| And thence in Heav’n call’d Satan, with bold words | from there |
| Breaking the horrid silence thus began. | |
| If thou beest he; But O how fall’n! how chang’d | |
| From him, who in the happy Realms of Light [1.85] | |
| Cloth’d with transcendent brightness didst out-shine | |
| Myriads though bright: If he Whom mutual league, | |
| United thoughts and counsels, equal hope | |
| And hazard in the Glorious Enterprize,° | mission |
| Joynd with me once, now misery hath joynd [1.90] | |
| In equal ruin: into what Pit thou seest | |
| From what highth° fall’n, so much the stronger prov’d | height |
| He with his Thunder: and till then who knew | |
| The force of those dire Arms? yet not for those, | |
| Nor what the Potent Victor in his rage [1.95] | |
| Can else° inflict, do I repent or change, | otherwise |
| Though chang’d in outward lustre; that fixt mind | |
| And high disdain, from sence of injur’d merit, | |
| That with the mightiest rais’d me to contend, | |
| And to the fierce contention° brought along [1.100] | struggle |
| Innumerable force of Spirits arm’d | |
| That durst° dislike his reign, and me preferring, | dare |
| His utmost power with adverse power oppos’d | |
| In dubious° Battel on the Plains of Heav’n, | uncertain |
| And shook his throne. What though the field be lost? [1.105] | |
| All is not lost; the unconquerable Will, | |
| And study of revenge, immortal hate, | |
| And courage never to submit or yield: | |
| And what is else° not to be overcome? | otherwise |
| That Glory never shall his wrath or might [1.110] | |
| Extort from me. To bow and sue° for grace | plead |
| With suppliant° knee, and deifie his power, | imploring, begging |
| Who from the terrour of this Arm so late | |
| Doubted° his Empire, that were low indeed, | worried about |
| That were an ignominy° and shame beneath [1.115] | disgrace |
| This downfall; since by Fate the strength of Gods | |
| And this Empyreal° substance cannot fail, | celestial |
| Since through experience of this great event° | outcome |
| In Arms not worse, in foresight much advanc’t, | |
| We may with more successful hope resolve [1.120] | |
| To wage by force or guile° eternal Warr | tricks |
| Irreconcileable, to our grand Foe, | |
| Who now triumphs, and in th’ excess of joy | |
| Sole reigning holds the Tyranny of Heav’n. | |
| So spake th’ Apostate° Angel, though in pain, [1.125] | infidel |
| Vaunting° aloud, but rackt with deep despare: | boasting |
| And him thus answer’d soon his bold Compeer.° | companion |
| O Prince, O Chief of many Throned Powers, | |
| That led th’ imbattelld Seraphim° to Warr | angels |
| Under thy conduct, and in dreadful deeds [1.130] | |
| Fearless, endanger’d Heav’ns perpetual King; | |
| And put to proof° his high Supremacy, | the test |
| Whether upheld by strength, or Chance, or Fate, | |
| Too well I see and rue° the dire° event,° | regret — outcome |
| That with sad overthrow and foul defeat [1.135] | |
| Hath lost us Heav’n, and all this mighty Host | army |
| In horrible destruction laid thus low, | |
| As far as Gods and Heav’nly Essences | |
| Can perish: for the mind and spirit remains | |
| Invincible, and vigour soon returns, [1.140] | |
| Though all our Glory extinct, and happy state | |
| Here swallow’d up in endless misery. | |
| But what if he our Conquerour, (whom I now | |
| Of force° believe Almighty, since no less | necessity |
| Then such could hav orepow’rd such force as ours) [1.145] | |
| Have left us this our spirit and strength intire | |
| Strongly to suffer and support our pains, | |
| That we may so suffice his vengeful ire, | |
| Or do him mightier service as his thralls° | slaves |
| By right of Warr, what e’re his business be [1.150] | |
| Here in the heart of Hell to work in Fire, | |
| Or do his Errands in the gloomy Deep; | |
| What can it then avail° though yet we feel | what good is it |
| Strength undiminisht, or eternal being | |
| To undergo eternal punishment? [1.155] | |
| Whereto with speedy words th’ Arch-fiend reply’d. | |
| Fall’n Cherube,° to be weak is miserable | angel |
| Doing or Suffering: but of this be sure, | |
| To do ought good never will be our task, | |
| But ever to do ill our sole delight, [1.160] | |
| As being the contrary to his high will | |
| Whom we resist. If then his Providence | |
| Out of our evil seek to bring forth good, | |
| Our labour must be to pervert° that end, | misdirect |
| And out of good still to find means of evil; [1.165] | |
| Which oft times may succeed, so as perhaps | |
| Shall grieve him, if I fail not, and disturb | |
| His inmost counsels° from thir destind aim. | plans |
| But see the angry Victor hath recall’d | |
| His Ministers of vengeance and pursuit [1.170] | |
| Back to the Gates of Heav’n: The Sulphurous Hail | |
| Shot after us in storm, oreblown hath laid° | calmed |
| The fiery Surge, that from the Precipice° | cliff’s edge |
| Of Heav’n receiv’d us falling, and the Thunder, | |
| Wing’d with red Lightning and impetuous rage, [1.175] | |
| Perhaps hath spent his shafts, and ceases now | |
| To bellow through the vast and boundless Deep. | |
| Let us not slip th’ occasion, whether scorn, | |
| Or satiate fury yield it from our Foe. | |
| Seest thou yon dreary Plain, forlorn° and wilde, [1.180] | deserted |
| The seat of desolation, voyd of light, | |
| Save° what the glimmering of these livid° flames | except — bluish |
| Casts pale and dreadful? Thither° let us tend | to there |
| From off the tossing of these fiery waves, | |
| There rest, if any rest can harbour there, [1.185] | |
| And reassembling our afflicted Powers, | |
| Consult how we may henceforth° most offend° | after now — hurt |
| Our Enemy, our own loss how repair, | |
| How overcome this dire Calamity,° | disaster |
| What reinforcement we may gain from Hope, [1.190] | |
| If not what resolution from despare. | |
| Thus Satan talking to his neerest Mate | |
| With Head up-lift above the wave, and Eyes | |
| That sparkling blaz’d, his other Parts besides | |
| Prone° on the Flood, extended long and large [1.195] | lying down |
| Lay floating many a rood,° in bulk as huge | a quarter-acre |
| As whom the Fables name of monstrous size, | |
| Titanian, or Earth-born, that warr’d on Jove, | |
| Briareos or Typhon, whom the Den | |
| By ancient Tarsus held, or that Sea-beast [1.200] | |
| Leviathan, which God of all his works | |
| Created hugest that swim th’ Ocean stream: | |
| Him haply° slumbring on the Norway foam | by chance |
| The Pilot of some small night-founder’d° Skiff,° | upset by night — boat |
| Deeming some Island, oft, as Sea-men tell, [1.205] | |
| With fixed Anchor in his skaly rind | |
| Moors by his side under the Lee,° while Night | shelter from the wind |
| Invests° the Sea, and wished Morn delayes: | covers |
| So stretcht out huge in length the Arch-fiend lay | |
| Chain’d on the burning Lake, nor ever thence [1.210] | from there |
| Had ris’n or heav’d his head, but that the will | |
| And high permission of all-ruling Heaven | |
| Left him at large° to his own dark designs, | free |
| That with reiterated crimes he might | |
| Heap on himself damnation, while he sought [1.215] | |
| Evil to others, and enrag’d might see | |
| How all his malice serv’d but to bring forth | |
| Infinite goodness, grace and mercy shewn | |
| On Man by him seduc’t, but on himself | |
| Treble confusion,° wrath and vengeance pour’d. [1.220] | ruin |
| Forthwith upright he rears from off the Pool | |
| His mighty Stature; on each hand the flames | |
| Drivn backward slope thir pointing spires, and rowld | |
| In billows, leave i’th’ midst a horrid Vale.° | valley |
| Then with expanded wings he stears his flight [1.225] | |
| Aloft, incumbent° on the dusky° Air | resting — blackish |
| That felt unusual weight, till on dry Land | |
| He lights,° if it were Land that ever burn’d | lands |
| With solid, as the Lake with liquid fire; | |
| And such appear’d in hue, as when the force [1.230] | |
| Of subterranean wind transports a Hill | |
| Torn from Pelorus, or the shatter’d side | |
| Of thundring Ætna,° whose combustible | an Italian volcano |
| And fewel’d entrals thence conceiving Fire, | fueled — from there |
| Sublim’d° with Mineral fury, aid the Winds, [1.235] | vaporized |
| And leave a singed bottom all involv’d° | entangled |
| With stench and smoak: Such resting found the sole | |
| Of unblest feet. Him followed his next Mate, | |
| Both glorying to have scap’t° the Stygian° flood | escaped — related to Styx, river in hell |
| As Gods, and by thir own recover’d strength, [1.240] | |
| Not by the sufferance° of supernal° Power. | permission — heavenly |
| Is this the Region, this the Soil, the Clime,° | climate |
| Said then the lost Arch-Angel, this the seat° | location, base |
| That we must change for Heav’n, this mournful gloom | |
| For that celestial° light? Be it so, since he [1.245] | heavenly |
| Who now is Sovran° can dispose° and bid | sovereign — order |
| What shall be right: fardest from him is best | |
| Whom reason hath equald, force hath made supream | |
| Above his equals. Farewel happy Fields | |
| Where Joy for ever dwells: Hail horrours, hail [1.250] | |
| Infernal° world, and thou profoundest° Hell | hellish — deepest |
| Receive thy new Possessor: One who brings | |
| A mind not to be chang’d by Place or Time. | |
| The mind is its own place, and in it self | |
| Can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heav’n. [1.255] | |
| What matter where, if I be still the same, | |
| And what I should be, all but less then he | |
| Whom Thunder hath made greater? Here at least | |
| We shall be free; th’ Almighty hath not built | |
| Here for his envy, will not drive us hence:° [1.260] | from here |
| Here we may reign secure, and in my choyce | |
| To reign is worth ambition though in Hell: | |
| Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav’n. | |
| But wherefore let we then our faithful friends, | |
| Th’ associates and copartners of our loss [1.265] | |
| Lye thus astonisht on th’ oblivious° Pool, | related to forgetfulness |
| And call them not to share with us their part | |
| In this unhappy Mansion, or once more | |
| With rallied Arms to try what may be yet | |
| Regaind in Heav’n, or what more lost in Hell? [1.270] | |
| So Satan spake, and him Beelzebub | |
| Thus answer’d. Leader of those Armies bright, | |
| Which but th’ Onmipotent none could have foyld,° | defeated |
| If once they hear that voyce, thir liveliest pledge | |
| Of hope in fears and dangers, heard so oft [1.275] | |
| In worst extreams, and on the perilous edge | |
| Of battel when it rag’d, in all assaults | |
| Thir surest signal, they will soon resume | |
| New courage and revive, though now they lye | |
| Groveling and prostrate° on yon Lake of Fire, [1.280] | lying flat |
| As we erewhile, astounded and amaz’d, | |
| No wonder, fall’n such a pernicious° highth.° | terrible — height |
| He scarce had ceas’t when the superiour Fiend | |
| Was moving toward the shoar; his ponderous° shield | heavy |
| Ethereal temper, massy, large and round, [1.285] | |
| Behind him cast; the broad circumference | |
| Hung on his shoulders like the Moon, whose Orb | |
| Through Optic Glass° the Tuscan Artist° views | telescope — Galileo |
| At Ev’ning from the top of Fesole, | |
| Or in Valdarno, to descry° new Lands, [1.290] | see, make out |
| Rivers or Mountains in her spotty Globe. | |
| His Spear, to equal which the tallest Pine | |
| Hewn on Norwegian hills, to be the Mast | |
| Of some great Ammiral, were but a wand, | |
| He walkt with to support uneasie steps [1.295] | |
| Over the burning Marle,° not like those steps | soil |
| On Heavens Azure, and the torrid Clime° | climate |
| Smote° on him sore besides, vaulted with Fire; | struck |
| Nathless° he so endur’d, till on the Beach | nonetheless |
| Of that inflamed° Sea, he stood and call’d [1.300] | flaming |
| His Legions, Angel Forms, who lay intrans’t | |
| Thick as Autumnal Leaves that strow the Brooks | |
| In Vallombrosa, where th’ Etrurian° shades | in central Italy |
| High overarch’t imbowr; or scatterd sedge° | swamp plant |
| Afloat, when with fierce Winds Orion arm’d [1.305] | |
| Hath vext° the Red-Sea Coast, whose waves orethrew | upset |
| Busiris and his Memphian Chivalry, | |
| While with perfidious° hatred they pursu’d | treacherous |
| The Sojourners of Goshen, who beheld | |
| From the safe shore thir floating Carkases [1.310] | |
| And broken Chariot Wheels, so thick bestrown° | left lying around |
| Abject and lost lay these, covering the Flood, | |
| Under amazement of thir hideous change. | |
| He call’d so loud, that all the hollow Deep | |
| Of Hell resounded. Princes, Potentates,° [1.315] | rulers |
| Warriers, the Flowr of Heav’n, once yours, now lost, | |
| If such astonishment as this can sieze | |
| Eternal spirits; or have ye chos’n this place | |
| After the toyl of Battel to repose | |
| Your wearied vertue,° for the ease you find [1.320] | strength |
| To slumber here, as in the Vales of Heav’n? | |
| Or in this abject° posture have ye sworn | beaten, submissive |
| To adore the Conquerour? who now beholds | |
| Cherube and Seraph° rowling in the Flood | (two kinds of angels) |
| With scatter’d Arms and Ensigns, till anon° [1.325] | soon |
| His swift pursuers from Heav’n Gates discern | |
| Th’ advantage, and descending tread us down | |
| Thus drooping, or with linked Thunderbolts | |
| Transfix us to the bottom of this Gulfe. | |
| Awake, arise, or be for ever fall’n. [1.330] | |
| They heard, and were abasht, and up they sprung | |
| Upon the wing, as when men wont° to watch | accustomed |
| On duty, sleeping found by whom they dread, | |
| Rouse and bestir themselves ere° well awake. | before |
| Nor did they not perceave the evil plight [1.335] | |
| In which they were, or the fierce pains not feel; | |
| Yet to thir Generals Voyce they soon obeyd | |
| Innumerable. As when the potent Rod | |
| Of Amrams Son in Egypts evill day | |
| Wav’d round the Coast, up call’d a pitchy° cloud [1.340] | black as tar |
| Of Locusts, warping° on the Eastern Wind, | whirling |
| That ore the Realm of impious Pharaoh hung | |
| Like Night, and darken’d all the Land of Nile: | |
| So numberless were those bad Angels seen | |
| Hovering on wing under the Cope° of Hell [1.345] | vault |
| ’Twixt° upper, nether, and surrounding Fires; | between |
| Till, as a signal giv’n, th’ uplifted Spear | |
| Of thir great Sultan waving to direct | |
| Thir course, in even ballance down they light° | land |
| On the firm brimstone, and fill all the Plain; [1.350] | |
| A multitude, like which the populous North | |
| Pour’d never from her frozen loyns, to pass | |
| Rhene or the Danaw, when her barbarous Sons | |
| Came like a Deluge on the South, and spread | |
| Beneath Gibralter to the Lybian sands. [1.355] | |
| Forthwith from every Squadron and each Band | |
| The Heads and Leaders thither hast° where stood | go there |
| Thir great Commander; Godlike shapes and forms | |
| Excelling human, Princely Dignities, | |
| And Powers that earst° in Heaven sat on Thrones; [1.360] | earlier |
| Though of thir Names in heav’nly Records now | |
| Be no memorial blotted out and ras’d° | erased |
| By thir Rebellion, from the Books of Life. | |
| Nor had they yet among the Sons of Eve | |
| Got them new Names, till wandring ore the Earth, [1.365] | |
| Through Gods high sufferance for the tryal of man, | |
| By falsities and lyes the greatest part | |
| Of Mankind they corrupted to forsake | |
| God thir Creator, and th’ invisible | |
| Glory of him that made them, to transform [1.370] | |
| Oft to the Image of a Brute,° adorn’d | beast |
| With gay° Religions full of Pomp and Gold, | cheery |
| And Devils to adore for Deities: | |
| Then were they known to men by various Names, | |
| And various Idols through the Heathen World. [1.375] | |
| Say, Muse, thir Names then known, who first, who last, | |
| Rous’d from the slumber, on that fiery Couch, | |
| At thir great Emperors call, as next in worth | |
| Came singly where he stood on the bare strand, | shore |
| While the promiscuous° croud stood yet aloof? [1.380] | indiscriminately mixed |
| The chief were those who from the Pit of Hell | |
| Roaming to seek thir prey on earth, durst° fix | dared to |
| Thir Seats° long after next the Seat of God, | residences |
| Thir Altars by his Altar, Gods ador’d | |
| Among the Nations round, and durst° abide [1.385] | dared to |
| Jehovah thundring out of Sion, thron’d | |
| Between the Cherubim;° yea, often plac’d | a kind of angel |
| Within his Sanctuary it self thir Shrines, | |
| Abominations; and with cursed things | |
| His holy Rites, and solemn Feasts profan’d, [1.390] | |
| And with thir darkness durst° affront his light. | dared |
| First Moloch, horrid King besmear’d with blood | |
| Of human sacrifice, and parents tears, | |
| Though for the noyse of Drums and Timbrels° loud | tambourines |
| Thir childrens cries unheard, that past through fire [1.395] | |
| To his grim Idol. Him the Ammonite | |
| Worshipt in Rabba and her watry Plain, | |
| In Argob and in Basan, to the stream | |
| Of utmost Arnon. Nor content with such | |
| Audacious neighbourhood, the wisest heart [1.400] | |
| Of Solomon he led by fraud to build | |
| His Temple right against the Temple of God | |
| On that opprobrious° Hill, and made his Grove | shameful |
| The pleasant Vally of Hinnom, Tophet thence | from there |
| And black Gehenna call’d, the Type° of Hell. [1.405] | model, archetype |
| Next Chemos, th’ obscene dread of Moabs Sons, | loathsome |
| From Aroar to Nebo, and the wild | |
| Of Southmost Abarim; in Hesebon | |
| And Horonaim, Seons Realm, beyond | |
| The flowry Dale° of Sibma clad with Vines, [1.410] | valley |
| And Eleale to th’ Asphaltick Pool. | |
| Peor his other Name, when he entic’d | |
| Israel in Sittim on thir march from Nile | |
| To do him wanton° rites, which cost them woe. | sensual |
| Yet thence° his lustful Orgies he enlarg’d [1.415] | from there |
| Even to that Hill of scandal, by the Grove | |
| Of Moloch homicide, lust hard° by hate; | close |
| Till good Josiah drove them thence° to Hell. | from there |
| With these came they, who from the bordring flood | |
| Of old Euphrates to the Brook that parts [1.420] | |
| Egypt from Syrian ground, had general Names | |
| Of Baalim and Ashtaroth, those male, | |
| These Feminine. For Spirits when they please | |
| Can either Sex assume, or both; so soft | |
| And uncompounded° is thir Essence pure, [1.425] | unmixed |
| Not ti’d or manacl’d with joynt or limb, | |
| Nor founded on the brittle strength of bones, | |
| Like cumbrous° flesh; but in what shape they choose | burdensome |
| Dilated or condens’t, bright or obscure, | dark |
| Can execute thir aerie purposes, [1.430] | |
| And works of love or enmity fulfill. | |
| For those the Race of Israel oft forsook° | renounced |
| Thir living strength, and unfrequented left | |
| His righteous Altar, bowing lowly down | |
| To bestial° Gods; for which thir heads as low [1.435] | animal-like |
| Bow’d down in Battel, sunk before the Spear | |
| Of despicable foes. With these in troop | |
| Came Astoreth, whom the Phoenicians call’d | |
| Astarte, Queen of Heav’n, with crescent Horns; | |
| To whose bright Image nightly by the Moon [1.440] | |
| Sidonian Virgins paid thir Vows and Songs, | |
| In Sion also not unsung, where stood | |
| Her Temple on th’ offensive Mountain, built | |
| By that uxorious° King, whose heart though large, | submissive to his wife |
| Beguil’d° by fair Idolatresses, fell [1.445] | enchanted |
| To Idols foul. Thammuz came next behind, | |
| Whose annual wound in Lebanon allur’d | |
| The Syrian Damsels to lament his fate | |
| In amorous dittyes° all a Summers day, | love songs |
| While smooth Adonis from his native Rock [1.450] | |
| Ran purple° to the Sea, suppos’d with blood | blood-colored |
| Of Thammuz yearly wounded: the Love-tale | |
| Infected Sions daughters with like heat, | |
| Whose wanton° passions in the sacred Porch | sensuous |
| Ezekiel saw, when by the Vision led [1.455] | |
| His eye survay’d the dark Idolatries | |
| Of alienated Judah. Next came one | |
| Who mourn’d in earnest, when the Captive Ark | |
| Maim’d his brute Image, head and hands lopt off | |
| In his own Temple, on the grunsel° edge, [1.460] | threshold |
| Where he fell flat, and sham’d his Worshipers: | |
| Dagon his Name, Sea Monster, upward Man | |
| And downward Fish: yet had his Temple high | |
| Rear’d in Azotus, dreaded through the Coast | |
| Of Palestine, in Gath and Ascalon [1.465] | |
| And Accaron and Gaza’s frontier bounds. | |
| Him follow’d Rimmon, whose delightful Seat | |
| Was fair Damascus, on the fertil Banks | |
| Of Abbana and Pharphar, lucid streams. | |
| He also against the house of God was bold: [1.470] | |
| A Leper once he lost and gain’d a King, | |
| Ahaz his sottish Conquerour, whom he drew | |
| Gods Altar to disparage and displace | |
| For one of Syrian mode, whereon to burn | |
| His odious off’rings, and adore the Gods [1.475] | |
| Whom he had vanquisht. After these appear’d | |
| A crew who under Names of old Renown, | |
| Osiris, Isis, Orus and their Train | |
| With monstrous shapes and sorceries abus’d | |
| Fanatic Egypt and her Priests, to seek [1.480] | |
| Thir wandring Gods disguis’d in brutish° forms | animal |
| Rather then human. Nor did Israel scape | |
| Th’ infection when thir borrow’d Gold compos’d | |
| The Calf in Oreb: and the Rebel King | |
| Doubl’d that sin in Bethel and in Dan, [1.485] | |
| Lik’ning his Maker to the Grazed Ox, | |
| Jehovah, who in one Night when he pass’d | |
| From Egypt marching, equal’d with one stroke | |
| Both her first born and all her bleating Gods. | |
| Belial came last, then whom a Spirit more lewd [1.490] | |
| Fell not from Heaven, or more gross to love | |
| Vice for it self: To him no Temple stood | |
| Or Altar smoak’d; yet who more oft then hee | |
| In Temples and at Altars, when the Priest | |
| Turns Atheist, as did Ely’s Sons, who fill’d [1.495] | |
| With lust and violence the house of God. | |
| In Courts and Palaces he also Reigns | |
| And in luxurious Cities, where the noyse | |
| Of riot° ascends above thir loftiest Towrs, | debauchery |
| And injury and outrage: And when Night [1.500] | |
| Darkens the Streets, then wander forth the Sons | |
| Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine. | |
| Witness the Streets of Sodom, and that night | |
| In Gibeah, when the hospitable door | |
| Expos’d a Matron to avoid worse rape. [1.505] | |
| These were the prime in order and in might; | |
| The rest were long to tell, though far renown’d, | |
| Th’ Ionian Gods, of Javans Issue held | |
| Gods, yet confest later then Heav’n and Earth | |
| Thir boasted Parents; Titan Heav’ns first born [1.510] | |
| With his enormous brood,° and birthright seis’d | group of children |
| By younger Saturn, he from mightier Jove | |
| His own and Rhea’s Son like measure found; | |
| So Jove usurping reign’d: these first in Creet | |
| And Ida known, thence on the Snowy top [1.515] | from there |
| Of cold Olympus rul’d the middle Air | |
| Thir highest Heav’n; or on the Delphian Cliff, | |
| Or in Dodona, and through all the bounds | |
| Of Doric Land; or who with Saturn old | |
| Fled over Adria to th’ Hesperian Fields, [1.520] | |
| And ore the Celtic roam’d the utmost Isles. | |
| All these and more came flocking; but with looks | |
| Down cast and damp,° yet such wherein appear’d | dazed |
| Obscure some glimps of joy, to have found thir chief | block |
| Not in despair, to have found themselves not lost [1.525] | |
| In loss it self; which on his count’nance° cast | face |
| Like doubtful hue: but he his wonted° pride | usual |
| Soon recollecting, with high words, that bore | |
| Semblance° of worth, not substance, gently rais’d | appearance |
| Thir fainting courage, and dispel’d thir fears. [1.530] | |
| Then strait° commands that at the warlike sound | immediately |
| Of Trumpets loud and Clarions° be upreard | horns |
| His mighty Standard;° that proud honour claim’d | war banner |
| Azazel as his right, a Cherube° tall: | a kind of angel |
| Who forthwith from the glittering Staff unfurld [1.535] | |
| Th’ Imperial Ensign,° which full high advanc’t | flag |
| Shon like a Meteor streaming to the Wind | |
| With Gemms and Golden lustre rich imblaz’d, | |
| Seraphic° arms and Trophies: all the while | angelic |
| Sonorous° mettal blowing Martial° sounds: [1.540] | sounding — warlike |
| At which the universal Host° upsent | army |
| A shout that tore Hells Concave,° and beyond | roof |
| Frighted the Reign of Chaos and old Night. | |
| All in a moment through the gloom were seen | |
| Ten thousand Banners rise into the Air [1.545] | |
| With Orient° Colours waving: with them rose | eastern |
| A Forest huge of Spears: and thronging Helms | |
| Appear’d, and serried° shields in thick array | standing close together |
| Of depth immeasurable: Anon they move | soon |
| In perfect Phalanx° to the Dorian mood° [1.550] | military formation — musical sound |
| Of Flutes and soft Recorders; such as rais’d | |
| To hight of noblest temper Hero’s old | |
| Arming to Battel, and in stead of rage | |
| Deliberate valour breath’d, firm and unmov’d | |
| With dread of death to flight or foul retreat, [1.555] | |
| Nor wanting° power to mitigate° and swage° | lacking — make better — ease |
| With solemn touches, troubl’d thoughts, and chase | |
| Anguish and doubt and fear and sorrow and pain | |
| From mortal or immortal minds. Thus they | |
| Breathing united force with fixed thought [1.560] | |
| Mov’d on in silence to soft Pipes that charm’d | |
| Thir painful steps o’re the burnt soyle; and now | |
| Advanc’t in view, they stand, a horrid° Front | bristling |
| Of dreadful length and dazling Arms, in guise | |
| Of Warriers old with order’d Spear and Shield, [1.565] | |
| Awaiting what command thir mighty Chief | |
| Had to impose: He through the armed Files° | ranks |
| Darts his experienc’t eye, and soon traverse° | cross |
| The whole Battalion views, thir order due, | |
| Thir visages° and stature as of Gods, [1.570] | faces |
| Thir number last he summs. And now his heart | |
| Distends° with pride, and hardning in his strength | swells |
| Glories: For never since created man, | |
| Met such imbodied force, as nam’d with these | |
| Could merit more then that small infantry [1.575] | |
| Warr’d on by Cranes: though all the Giant brood° | offspring |
| Of Phlegra with th’ Heroic Race were joyn’d | |
| That fought at Theb’s and Ilium, on each side | |
| Mixt with auxiliar° Gods; and what resounds | assistant |
| In Fable or Romance of Uthers Son° [1.580] | King Arthur |
| Begirt with British and Armoric Knights; | |
| And all who since, Baptiz’d or Infidel | |
| Jousted in Aspramont or Montalban, | |
| Damasco, or Marocco, or Trebisond, | |
| Or whom Biserta sent from Afric shore [1.585] | |
| When Charlemain with all his Peerage fell | |
| By Fontarabbia. Thus far these beyond | |
| Compare of mortal prowess, yet observ’d° | obeyed |
| Thir dread° commander: he above the rest | terrifying |
| In shape and gesture proudly eminent [1.590] | |
| Stood like a Towr; his form had yet not lost | |
| All her Original brightness, nor appear’d | |
| Less then Arch Angel ruind, and th’ excess | |
| Of Glory obscur’d: As when the Sun new ris’n | covered |
| Looks through the Horizontal misty Air [1.595] | |
| Shorn of his Beams, or from behind the Moon | |
| In dim Eclips disastrous twilight sheds | |
| On half the Nations, and with fear of change | |
| Perplexes° Monarchs. Dark’n’d so, yet shon | troubles |
| Above them all th’ Arch Angel: but his face [1.600] | |
| Deep scars of Thunder had intrencht, and care | |
| Sat on his faded cheek, but under Browes | |
| Of dauntless° courage, and considerate° Pride | fearless — deliberate |
| Waiting revenge: cruel his eye, but cast | |
| Signs of remorse and passion to behold [1.605] | |
| The fellows of his crime, the followers rather | |
| (Far other once beheld in bliss) condemn’d | |
| For ever now to have thir lot in pain, | |
| Millions of Spirits for his fault amerc’t° | punished |
| Of Heav’n, and from Eternal Splendors flung [1.610] | |
| For his revolt, yet faithfull how they stood, | |
| Thir Glory witherd. As when Heavens Fire | |
| Hath scath’d° the Forrest Oaks, or Mountain Pines, | damaged |
| With singed top thir stately growth though bare | |
| Stands on the blasted Heath. He now prepar’d [1.615] | |
| To speak; whereat thir doubl’d Ranks they bend | |
| From wing to wing, and half enclose him round | |
| With all his Peers: attention held them mute. | |
| Thrice he assayd,° and thrice in spight of scorn, | tried |
| Tears such as Angels weep, burst forth: at last [1.620] | |
| Words interwove with sighs found out thir way. | |
| O Myriads of immortal Spirits, O Powers | |
| Matchless, but° with th’ Almighty, and that strife | except |
| Was not inglorious, though th’ event° was dire, | outcome |
| As this place testifies, and this dire change [1.625] | |
| Hateful to utter: but what power of mind | |
| Foreseeing or presaging,° from the Depth | predicting |
| Of knowledge past or present, could have fear’d, | |
| How such united force of Gods, how such | |
| As stood like these, could ever know repulse? [1.630] | |
| For who can yet beleeve, though after loss, | |
| That all these puissant° Legions, whose exile | powerful |
| Hath emptied Heav’n, shall fail to re-ascend | |
| Self-rais’d, and repossess thir native seat? | |
| For mee be witness all the Host of Heav’n, [1.635] | army |
| If counsels different, or danger shun’d | |
| By me, have lost our hopes. But he who reigns | |
| Monarch in Heav’n, till then as one secure | |
| Sat on his Throne, upheld by old repute, | |
| Consent or custome, and his Regal State [1.640] | |
| Put forth at full, but still° his strength conceal’d, | always |
| Which tempted our attempt, and wrought our fall. | |
| Henceforth his might we know, and know our own | after now |
| So as not either to provoke, or dread | |
| New warr, provok’t; our better part remains [1.645] | |
| To work in close° design, by fraud or guile° | secret — deceit |
| What force effected° not: that he no less | achieved |
| At length from us may find, who overcomes | |
| By force, hath overcome but half his foe. | |
| Space may produce new Worlds; whereof so rife [1.650] | |
| There went a fame° in Heav’n that he ere° long | rumor — before |
| Intended to create, and therein plant | |
| A generation, whom his choice regard | |
| Should favour equal to the Sons of Heaven: | |
| Thither,° if but to pry, shall be perhaps | to there |
| Our first eruption, thither° or elsewhere: [1.655] | to there |
| For this Infernal Pit shall never hold | |
| Cælestial° Spirits in Bondage, nor th’ Abyss | heavenly |
| Long under darkness cover. But these thoughts | |
| Full Counsel must mature: Peace is despaird, [1.660] | |
| For who can think Submission? Warr then, Warr | |
| Open or understood must be resolv’d. | |
| He spake: and to confirm his words, out-flew | |
| Millions of flaming swords, drawn from the thighs | |
| Of mighty Cherubim;° the sudden blaze [1.665] | kinds of angels |
| Far round illumin’d hell: highly they rag’d | |
| Against the Highest, and fierce with grasped arms | |
| Clash’d on thir sounding Shields the din of war, | |
| Hurling defiance toward the vault of Heav’n. | |
| There stood a Hill not far whose griesly° top [1.670] | terrifying |
| Belch’d fire and rowling smoak; the rest entire | |
| Shon with a glossie scurff,° undoubted sign | crust |
| That in his womb was hid metallic Ore, | |
| The work of Sulphur. Thither° wing’d with speed | to there |
| A numerous Brigad hasten’d. As when Bands° [1.675] | groups |
| Of Pioners° with Spade and Pickax arm’d | military engineers |
| Forerun the Royal Camp, to trench a Field, | |
| Or cast a Rampart, Mammon led them on, | |
| Mammon, the least erected Spirit that fell | |
| From heav’n, for ev’n in heav’n his looks and thoughts [1.680] | |
| Were always downward bent, admiring more | |
| The riches of Heav’ns pavement, trod’n Gold, | |
| Then aught° divine or holy else° enjoy’d | anything — otherwise |
| In vision beatific:° by him first | blessed |
| Men also, and by his suggestion taught, [1.685] | |
| Ransack’d the Center, and with impious hands | |
| Rifl’d the bowels of thir mother Earth | |
| For Treasures better hid. Soon had his crew | |
| Op’nd into the Hill a spacious wound | |
| And dig’d out ribs of Gold. Let none admire° [1.690] | wonder |
| That riches grow in Hell; that soyle may best | |
| Deserve the precious bane.° And here let those | cause of ruin |
| Who boast in mortal things, and wond’ring tell | |
| Of Babel, and the works of Memphian Kings | |
| Learn how thir greatest Monuments of Fame, [1.695] | |
| And Strength and Art are easily out-done | skill |
| By Spirits reprobate,° and in an hour | wicked |
| What in an age they with incessant toyle | |
| And hands innumerable scarce perform. | |
| Nigh° on the Plain in many cells prepar’d, [1.700] | nearby |
| That underneath had veins of liquid fire | |
| Sluc’d from the Lake, a second multitude | |
| With wondrous Art° found out the massie Ore, | skill |
| Severing° each kind, and scum’d the Bullion dross:° | separating — boiling dregs |
| A third as soon had form’d within the ground [1.705] | |
| A various mould, and from the boyling cells | |
| By strange conveyance fill’d each hollow nook, | |
| As in an Organ from one blast of wind | |
| To many a row of Pipes the sound-board breaths. | |
| Anon° out of the earth a Fabrick° huge [1.710] | at once — building |
| Rose like an Exhalation, with the sound | |
| Of Dulcet° Symphonies and voices sweet, | sweet |
| Built like a Temple, where Pilasters° round | columns |
| Were set, and Doric pillars overlaid | |
| With Golden Architrave; nor did there want° [1.715] | lack |
| Cornice or Freeze, with bossy° Sculptures grav’n, | embossed |
| The Roof was fretted° Gold. Not Babilon, | decorative |
| Nor great Alcairo° such magnificence | Cairo |
| Equal’d in all thir glories, to inshrine | |
| Belus or Serapis thir Gods, or seat [1.720] | |
| Thir Kings, when Ægypt with Assyria strove° | competed |
| In wealth and luxurie. Th’ ascending pile° | building |
| Stood fixt her stately highth,° and strait° the dores | height — immediately |
| Op’ning thir brazen° foulds discover° wide | bronze — reveal |
| Within, her ample spaces, o’re the smooth [1.725] | |
| And level pavement: from the arched roof | |
| Pendant° by suttle Magic many a row | hanging |
| Of Starry Lamps and blazing Cressets° fed | torches |
| With Naphtha° and Asphaltus yeilded light | petroleum |
| As from a sky. The hasty multitude [1.730] | |
| Admiring° enter’d, and the work some praise | amazed |
| And some the Architect: his hand was known | |
| In Heav’n by many a Towred structure high, | |
| Where Scepter’d Angels held thir residence, | |
| And sat as Princes, whom the supreme King [1.735] | |
| Exalted to such power, and gave to rule, | |
| Each in his Hierarchie, the Orders bright. | |
| Nor was his name unheard or unador’d | |
| In ancient Greece; and in Ausonian land | |
| Men call’d him Mulciber; and how he fell [1.740] | |
| From Heav’n, they fabl’d,° thrown by angry Jove | told stories |
| Sheer o’re the Chrystal Battlements: from Morn | |
| To Noon he fell, from Noon to dewy Eve, | |
| A Summers day; and with the setting Sun | |
| Dropt from the Zenith like a falling Star, [1.745] | |
| On Lemnos th’ Ægean Ile: thus they relate, | |
| Erring; for he with this rebellious rout | |
| Fell long before; nor aught avail’d him now | |
| To have built in Heav’n high Towrs; nor did he scape | |
| By all his Engins,° but was headlong sent [1.750] | war machines |
| With his industrious crew to build in hell. | |
| Mean while the winged Haralds by command | |
| Of Sovran° power, with awful° Ceremony | sovereign — awe-inspiring |
| And Trumpets sound throughout the Host° proclaim | army |
| A solemn Councel forthwith to be held [1.755] | |
| At Pandæmonium, the high Capital | |
| Of Satan and his Peers: thir summons call’d | |
| From every Band and squared Regiment | |
| By place° or choice° the worthiest; they anon° | rank — election — at once |
| With hunderds and with thousands trooping came [1.760] | |
| Attended:° all access was throng’d, the Gates | accompanied |
| And Porches wide, but chief the spacious Hall | |
| (Though like a cover’d field, where Champions bold | |
| Wont° ride in arm’d, and at the Soldans° chair | are accustomed to — sultan’s |
| Defi’d the best of Paynim° chivalry [1.765] | pagan or Muslim |
| To mortal combat or carreer° with Lance) | charge |
| Thick swarm’d, both on the ground and in the air, | |
| Brusht with the hiss of russling wings. As Bees | |
| In spring time, when the Sun with Taurus rides, | |
| Pour forth thir populous youth about the Hive [1.770] | |
| In clusters; they among fresh dews and flowers | |
| Flie to and fro, or on the smoothed Plank, | |
| The suburb of thir Straw-built Cittadel, | |
| New rub’d with Baum, expatiate° and confer | discuss at length |
| Thir State affairs. So thick the aerie crowd [1.775] | |
| Swarm’d and were straitn’d;° till the Signal giv’n. | packed together |
| Behold a wonder! they but now who seemd | |
| In bigness to surpass Earths Giant Sons | |
| Now less then smallest Dwarfs, in narrow room | |
| Throng numberless, like that Pigmean° Race [1.780] | short (from pygmy) |
| Beyond the Indian Mount, or Faerie Elves, | |
| Whose midnight Revels, by a Forrest side | |
| Or Fountain some belated° Peasant sees, | out too late |
| Or dreams he sees, while over-head the Moon | |
| Sits Arbitress,° and neerer to the Earth [1.785] | judge |
| Wheels her pale course, they on thir mirth and dance | |
| Intent, with jocond° Music charm his ear; | joyful |
| At once with joy and fear his heart rebounds. | |
| Thus incorporeal° Spirits to smallest forms | immaterial |
| Reduc’d thir shapes immense, and were at large, [1.790] | |
| Though without number still amidst the Hall | |
| Of that infernal° Court. But far within | hellish |
| And in thir own dimensions like themselves | |
| The great Seraphic° Lords and Cherubim° | (kinds of angels) |
| In close recess and secret conclave sat [1.795] | hidden |
| A thousand Demy-Gods on golden seats, | |
| Frequent and full. After short silence then | |
| And summons read, the great consult began. | |
The End of the First Book. |
| Book 2 → |