what if all Her stores were open'd, and this Firmament [ 175 ] Of Hell should spout her Cataracts of Fire, Impendent horrors, threatning hideous fall

What when we fled amain, pursu'd and strook [ 165 ] With Heav'ns afflicting Thunder, and besought The Deep to shelter us? this Hell then seem'd A refuge from those wounds: or when we lay Chain'd on the burning Lake? that sure was worse.

Say they who counsel Warr, we are decreed, [ 160 ] Reserv'd and destin'd to Eternal woe; Whatever doing, what can we suffer more, What can we suffer worse?

Will he, so wise, let loose at once his ire, [ 155 ] Belike through impotence, or unaware, To give his Enemies thir wish, and end Them in his anger, whom his anger saves To punish endless?

To perish rather, swallowd up and lost In the wide womb of uncreated night, [ 150 ] Devoid of sense and motion? and who knows, Let this be good, whether our angry Foe Can give it, or will ever?

we must exasperate Th' Almighty Victor to spend all his rage, And that must end us, that must be our cure, [ 145 ] To be no more;

Or could we break our way By force, and at our heels all Hell should rise [ 135 ] With blackest Insurrection, to confound Heav'ns purest Light, yet our great Enemy All incorruptible would on his Throne Sit unpolluted, and th' Ethereal mould Incapable of stain would soon expel [ 140 ] Her mischief, and purge off the baser fire Victorious.

When he who most excels in fact of Arms, In what he counsels and in what excels [ 125 ] Mistrustful, grounds his courage on despair And utter dissolution, as the scope Of all his aim, after some dire revenge.

I should be much for open Warr, O Peers, As not behind in hate; if what was urg'd [ 120 ] Main reason to persuade immediate Warr, Did not disswade me most, and seem to cast

Though inaccessible, his fatal Throne: Which if not Victory is yet Revenge.

And cannot cease to be, we are at worst [ 100 ] On this side nothing

What fear we then? what doubt we to incense His utmost ire? which to the highth enrag'd, [ 95 ] Will either quite consume us, and reduce To nothing this essential, happier farr Then miserable to have eternal being:

The Vassals of his anger, when the Scourge [ 90 ] Inexorably, and the torturing hour Calls us to Penance?

if there be in Hell Fear to be worse destroy'd: what can be worse

Th' ascent is easie

When the fierce Foe hung on our brok'n Rear Insulting, and pursu'd us through the Deep, With what compulsion and laborious flight [ 80 ] We sunk thus low?

Let such bethink them, if the sleepy drench Of that forgetful Lake benumm not still,

Accept this dark opprobrious Den of shame, The Prison of his Tyranny who Reigns By our delay? no, let us rather choose [ 60 ] Arm'd with Hell flames and fury all at once O're Heav'ns 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 [ 65 ] 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 trust was with th' Eternal to be deem'd Equal in strength, and rather then be less Care'd not to be at all; with that care lost Went all his fear: of God, or Hell, or worse He reck'd not, and these words thereafter spake.

we now return To claim our just inheritance of old, Surer to prosper then prosperity Could have assur'd us; and by what best way, [ 40 ] Whether of open Warr or covert guile, We now debate; who can advise, may speak.

where there is then no good [ 30 ] 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.

The happier state In Heav'n, which follows dignity, might draw [ 25 ] Envy from each inferior; but who here Will envy whom the highest place exposes Formost to stand against the Thunderers aim

Establisht in a safe unenvied Throne Yielded with full consent

Powers and Dominions, Deities of Heav'n, For since no deep within her gulf can hold Immortal vigor, though opprest and fall'n, I give not Heav'n for lost. From this descent Celestial vertues rising, will appear [ 15 ] More glorious and more dread then from no fall, And trust themselves to fear no second fate

Beyond thus high, insatiate to pursue Vain Warr with Heav'n, and by success untaught His proud imaginations thus displaid.

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

Throng numberless, like that Pigmean Race [ 780 ]Beyond the Indian Mount, or Faerie Elves,Whose midnight Revels, by a Forrest sideOr Fountain some belated Peasant sees,

In bigness to surpass Earths Giant SonsNow less then smallest Dwarfs,

As BeesIn spring time, when the Sun with Taurus rides,Pour forth thir populous youth about the Hive [ 770 ]In clusters; they among fresh dews and flowersFlie to and fro, or on the smoothed Plank,The suburb of thir Straw-built Cittadel,

A solemn Councel forthwith to be held [ 755 ]At Pandæmonium, the high CapitalOf Satan and his Peers: thir summons call'dFrom every Band and squared RegimentBy place or choice the worthiest; they anonWith hunderds and with thousands trooping came [ 760 ]Attended: all access was throng'd, the GatesAnd Porches wide, but chief the spacious Hall

In ancient Greece; and in Ausonian landMen call'd him Mulciber; and how he fell [ 740 ]From Heav'n, they fabl'd, thrown by angry JoveSheer o're the Chrystal Battlements: from MornTo Noon he fell, from Noon to dewy Eve,A Summers day; and with the setting SunDropt from the Zenith like a falling Star, [ 745 ]On Lemnos th' Ægean Ile: thus they relate,Erring; for he with this rebellious routFell long before; nor aught avail'd him nowTo have built in Heav'n high Towrs; nor did he scapeBy all his Engins, but was headlong sent [ 750 ]With his industrious crew to build in hell.

With wondrous Art found out the massie Ore,Severing each kind, and scum'd the Bullion dross:A third as soon had form'd within the ground [ 705 ]A various mould, and from the boyling cellsBy strange conveyance fill'd each hollow nook,As in an Organ from one blast of windTo many a row of Pipes the sound-board breaths.Anon out of the earth a Fabrick huge [ 710 ]Rose like an Exhalation, with the soundOf Dulcet Symphonies and voices sweet,Built like a Temple, where Pilasters roundWere set, and Doric pillars overlaidWith Golden Architrave; nor did there want [ 715 ]Cornice or Freeze, with bossy Sculptures grav'n,The Roof was fretted Gold. Not Babilon,Nor great Alcairo such magnificenceEqual'd in all thir glories, to inshrineBelus or Serapis thir Gods, or seat [ 720 ]Thir Kings, when Ægypt with Assyria stroveIn wealth and luxurie. Th' ascending pileStood fixt her stately highth, and strait the doresOp'ning thir brazen foulds discover wideWithin, her ample spaces, o're the smooth [ 725 ]And level pavement: from the arched roofPendant by suttle Magic many a rowOf Starry Lamps and blazing Cressets fedWith Naphtha and Asphaltus yeilded lightAs from a sky. The hasty multitude [ 730 ]Admiring enter'd, and the work some praise

. And here let thoseWho boast in mortal things, and wond'ring tellOf Babel, and the works of Memphian KingsLearn how thir greatest Monuments of Fame, [ 695 ]And Strength and Art are easily out-doneBy Spirits reprobate, and in an hour

Let none admire [ 690 ]That riches grow in Hell; that soyle may bestDeserve the precious bane.

Thither wing'd with speedA numerous Brigad hasten'd. As when Bands [ 675 ]Of Pioners with Spade and Pickax arm'dForerun the Royal Camp, to trench a Field,Or cast a Rampart. Mammon led them on,Mammon, the least erected Spirit that fellFrom heav'n, for ev'n in heav'n his looks and thoughts [ 680 ]Were always downward bent, admiring moreThe riches of Heav'ns pavement, trod'n Gold,Then aught divine or holy else enjoy'd

Our first eruption, thither or elsewhere: For this Infernal Pit shall never holdCælestial Spirits in Bondage, nor th' AbyssLong under darkness cover

So as not either to provoke, or dreadNew warr, provok't; our better part remains [ 645 ]To work in close design, by fraud or guileWhat force effected not: that he no lessAt length from us may find, who overcomesBy force, hath overcome but half his foe.Space may produce new Worlds; whereof so rife

Host of Heav'n

As this place testifies, and this dire change [ 625 ]Hateful to utter: but what power of mindForeseeing or presaging, from the DepthOf knowledge past or present, could have fear'd,How such united force of Gods, how suchAs stood like these, could ever know repulse?

O Myriads of immortal Spirits, O PowersMatchless, but with th' Almighty, and that strife

He now prepar'd [ 615 ]To speak; whereat thir doubl'd Ranks they bendFrom wing to wing, and half enclose him roundWith all his Peers: attention held them mute.Thrice he assayd, and thrice in spight of scorn,Tears such as Angels weep, burst forth: at last [ 620 ]Words interwove with sighs found out thir way.

Could merit more then that small infantry [ 575 ]Warr'd on by Cranes:

Millions of Spirits for his fault amerc'tOf Heav'n, and from Eternal Splendors flung [ 610 ]For his revolt, yet faithfull how they stood,Thir Glory witherd.

: but his face [ 600 ]Deep scars of Thunder had intrencht, and careSat on his faded cheek, but under BrowesOf dauntless courage, and considerate PrideWaiting revenge: cruel his eye, but castSigns of remorse and passion to behold [ 605

he above the restIn shape and gesture proudly eminent [ 590 ]Stood like a Towr; his form had yet not lostAll her Original brightness, nor appear'dLess then Arch Angel ruind, and th' excessOf Glory obscur'd: As when the Sun new ris'nLooks through the Horizontal misty Air [ 595 ]Shorn of his Beams, or from behind the MoonIn dim Eclips disastrous twilight shedsOn half the Nations, and with fear of changePerplexes Monarchs.

and what resoundsIn Fable or Romance of Uthers Son [ 580 ]Begirt with British and Armoric Knights;And all who since, Baptiz'd or InfidelJousted in Aspramont or Montalban,Damasco, or Marocco, or Trebisond,

Ten thousand Banners rise into the Air [ 545 ]With Orient Colours waving: with them roseA Forest huge of Spears: and thronging HelmsAppear'd, and serried shields in thick arrayOf depth immeasurable: Anon they moveIn perfect Phalanx to the Dorian mood [ 550 ]Of Flutes and soft Recorders; such as rais'dTo hight of noblest temper Hero's oldArming to Battel, and in stead of rageDeliberate valour breath'd, firm and unmov'dWith dread of death to flight or foul retreat, [ 555 ]Nor wanting power to mitigate and swage

Azazel

And ore the Celtic roam'd the utmost Isles

The rest were long to tell, though far renown'd,Th' Ionian Gods, of Javans Issue heldGods, yet confest later then Heav'n and Earth Thir boasted Parents; Titan Heav'ns first born [ 510 ]With his enormous brood, and birthright seis'dBy younger Saturn, he from mightier JoveHis own and Rhea's Son like measure found;So Jove usurping reign'd: these first in CreetAnd Ida known, thence on the Snowy top [ 515 ]Of cold Olympus rul'd the middle AirThir highest Heav'n; or on the Delphian Cliff,Or in Dodona, and through all the boundsOf Doric Land; or who with Saturn old

Of Baalim and Ashtaroth, those male,These Feminine. For Spirits when they pleaseCan either Sex assume, or both; so softAnd uncompounded is thir Essence pure, [ 425 ]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 chooseDilated or condens't, bright or obscure,Can execute thir aerie purposes, [ 430 ]And works of love or enmity fulfill.For those the Race of Israel oft forsookThir living strength, and unfrequented leftHis righteous Altar, bowing lowly downTo bestial Gods; for which thir heads as low [ 435 ]Bow'd down in Battel, sunk before the SpearOf despicable foes

Belial came last, then whom a Spirit more lewd [ 490 ]Fell not from Heaven, or more gross to loveVice for it self: To him no Temple stoodOr Altar smoak'd; yet who more oft then heeIn Temples and at Altars, when the PriestTurns Atheist, as did Ely's Sons, who fill'd [ 495 ]With lust and violence the house of God.

Osiris, Isis, Orus and their TrainWith monstrous shapes and sorceries abus'dFanatic Egypt and her Priests, to seek [ 480 ]Thir wandring Gods disguis'd in brutish formsRather then human

Him follow'd Rimmon, whose delightful SeatWas fair Damascus, on the fertil BanksOf Abbana and Pharphar, lucid streams.

Dagon his Name, Sea Monster, upward ManAnd downward Fish: yet had his Temple highRear'd in Azotus, dreaded through the CoastOf Palestine, in Gath and Ascalon [ 465 ]And Accaron and Gaza's frontier bounds.

To Idols foul. Thammuz came next behind,Whose annual wound in Lebanon allur'dThe Syrian Damsels to lament his fateIn amorous dittyes all a Summers day,While smooth Adonis from his native Rock [ 450 ]Ran purple to the Sea, suppos'd with bloodOf Thammuz yearly wounded: the Love-taleInfected Sions daughters with like heat,Whose wanton passions in the sacred PorchEzekiel saw, when by the Vision led [ 455 ]His eye survay'd the dark IdolatriesOf alienated Judah.

Came Astoreth, whom the Phoenicians call'dAstarte, Queen of Heav'n, with crescent Horns;To whose bright Image nightly by the Moon [ 440 ]Sidonian Virgins paid thir Vows and Songs,In Sion also not unsung, where stoodHer Temple on th' offensive Mountain, builtBy that uxorious King, whose heart though large,Beguil'd by fair Idolatresses, fell [ 445 ]

Next Chemos, th' obscene dread of Moabs Sons,From Aroar to Nebo, and the wildOf Southmost Abarim; in HesebonAnd Horonaim, Seons Realm, beyondThe flowry Dale of Sibma clad with Vines, [ 410 ]And Eleale to th' Asphaltick Pool.Peor his other Name, when he entic'dIsrael in Sittim on thir march from NileTo do him wanton rites, which cost them woe.Yet thence his lustful Orgies he enlarg'd [ 415 ]Even to that Hill of scandal, by the Grove

First Moloch, horrid King besmear'd with bloodOf human sacrifice, and parents tears,Though for the noyse of Drums and Timbrels loudThir childrens cries unheard, that past through fire [ 395 ]To his grim Idol. Him the AmmoniteWorshipt in Rabba and her watry Plain,In Argob and in Basan, to the streamOf utmost Arnon. Nor content with suchAudacious neighbourhood, the wisest heart [ 400 ]Of Solomon he led by fraud to buildHis Temple right against the Temple of God

Thir Seats long after next the Seat of God,Thir Altars by his Altar, Gods ador'dAmong the Nations round, and durst abide [ 385 ]Jehovah thundring out of Sion, thron'dBetween the Cherubim; yea, often plac'dWithin his Sanctuary it self thir Shrines,Abominations; and with cursed thingsHis holy Rites, and solemn Feasts profan'd, [ 390 ]And with thir darkness durst affront his light.

Say, Muse, thir Names then known, who first, who last,Rous'd from the slumber, on that fiery Couch,

Devils to adore for Deities

Got them new Names,

A multitude, like which the populous NorthPour'd never from her frozen loyns, to passRhene or the Danaw, when her barbarous SonsCame like a Deluge on the South, and spreadBeneath Gibralter to the Lybian sands.

SpearOf thir great Sultan

RodOf Amrams Son in Egypts evill dayWav'd round the Coast, up call'd a pitchy cloud [ 340 ]Of Locusts, warping on the Eastern Wind,That ore the Realm of impious Pharaoh hungLike Night, and darken'd all the Land of Nile:

Awake, arise, or be for ever fall'n.

Of Hell resounded. Princes, Potentates, [ 315 ]Warriers, the Flowr of Heav'n, once yours, now lost,If such astonishment as this can siezeEternal spirits; or have ye chos'n this placeAfter the toyl of Battel to reposeYour wearied vertue, for the ease you find [ 320 ]To slumber here, as in the Vales of Heav'n?

Stygian flood

his ponderous shield Ethereal temper, massy, large and round, [ 285 ]Behind him cast; the broad circumferenceHung on his shoulders like the Moon, whose OrbThrough Optic Glass the Tuscan Artist viewsAt Ev'ning from the top of Fesole,Or in Valdarno, to descry new Lands, [ 290 ]Rivers or Mountains in her spotty Globe.His Spear, to equal which the tallest PineHewn on Norwegian hills, to be the MastOf some great Ammiral, were but a wand,

Thus answer'd. Leader of those Armies bright,Which but th' Onmipotent none could have foyld,If once they hear that voyce, thir liveliest pledgeOf hope in fears and dangers, heard so oft [ 275 ]In worst extreams, and on the perilous edgeOf battel when it rag'd, in all assaultsThir surest signal, they will soon resumeNew courage and revive, though now they lyeGroveling and prostrate on yon Lake of Fire, [ 280 ]As we erewhile, astounded and amaz'd,No wonder, fall'n such a pernicious highth.

We shall be free; th' Almighty hath not builtHere for his envy, will not drive us hence: [ 260 ]Here we may reign secure, and in my choyceTo reign is worth ambition though in Hell:Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav'n.

Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n.

. Farewel happy FieldsWhere Joy for ever dwells: Hail horrours, hail [ 250 ]Infernal world, and thou profoundest HellReceive thy new Possessor: One who bringsA mind not to be chang'd by Place or Time.

Of subterranean wind transports a HillTorn from Pelorus, or the shatter'd sideOf thundring Ætna, whose combustibleAnd fewel'd entrals thence conceiving Fire

rood, in bulk as hugeAs whom the Fables name of monstrous size,Titanian, or Earth-born, that warr'd on Jove,Briareos or Typhon, whom the DenBy ancient Tarsus held, or that Sea-beast [ 200 ]Leviathan, which God of all his worksCreated hugest that swim th' Ocean stream:Him haply slumbring on the Norway foamThe Pilot of some small night-founder'd Skiff,Deeming some Island, oft, as Sea-men tell, [ 205 ]With fixed Anchor in his skaly rindMoors by his side under the Lee, while NightInvests the Sea, and wished Morn delayes:So stretcht out huge in length the Arch-fiend layChain'd on the burning Lake, nor ever thence [ 210 ]Had ris'n or heav'd his head, but that the will

Which oft times may succeed, so as perhapsShall grieve him, if I fail not, and disturbHis inmost counsels from thir destind aim.But see the angry Victor hath recall'dHis Ministers of vengeance and pursuit [ 170 ]Back to the Gates of Heav'n: The Sulphurous HailShot after us in storm, oreblown hath laidThe fiery Surge, that from the PrecipiceOf Heav'n receiv'd us falling, and the Thunder,Wing'd with red Lightning and impetuous rage,

To do ought good never will be our task,But ever to do ill our sole delight, [ 160 ]As being the contrary to his high willWhom we resist. If then his ProvidenceOut of our evil seek to bring forth good,Our labour must be to pervert that end,And out of good still to find means of evil;

But what if he our Conquerour, (whom I nowOf force believe Almighty, since no lessThen such could hav orepow'rd such force as ours

Sole reigning holds the Tyranny of Heav'n.

O Prince, O Chief of many Throned Powers,That led th' imbattelld Seraphim to WarrUnder thy conduct, and in dreadful deeds [ 130 ]Fearless, endanger'd Heav'ns perpetual King;And put to proof his high Supremacy,Whether upheld by strength, or Chance, or Fate,Too well I see and rue the dire event,That with sad overthrow and foul defeat [ 135 ]Hath lost us Heav'n, and all this mighty HostIn horrible destruction laid thus low,As far as Gods and Heav'nly EssencesCan perish: for the mind and spirit remainsInvincible, and vigour soon returns, [ 140 ]Though all our Glory extinct, and happy stateHere swallow'd up in endless misery.But what if he our Conquerour, (whom I nowOf force believe Almighty, since no lessThen such could hav orepow'rd such force as ours) [ 145 ]Have left us this our spirit and strength intireStrongly to suffer and support our pains,That we may so suffice his vengeful ire,Or do him mightier service as his thrallsBy right of Warr, what e're his business be [ 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 feelStrength undiminisht, or eternal beingTo undergo eternal punishment? [ 155 ]Whereto with speedy words th' Arch-fiend reply'd

Who from the terrour of this Arm so lateDoubted his Empire, that were low indeed,That were an ignominy and shame beneath [ 115 ]This downfall; since by Fate the strength of GodsAnd this Empyreal substance cannot fail,

If thou beest he; But O how fall'n! how chang'dFrom him, who in the happy Realms of Light [ 85 ]Cloth'd with transcendent brightness didst out-shineMyriads though bright: If he Whom mutual league,United thoughts and counsels, equal hopeAnd hazard in the Glorious Enterprize,Joynd with me once, now misery hath joynd [ 90 ]In equal ruin: into what Pit thou seestFrom what highth fall'n, so much the stronger prov'dHe with his Thunder: and till then who knewThe force of those dire Arms? yet not for those,Nor what the Potent Victor in his rage [ 95 ]Can else inflict, do I repent or change,Though chang'd in outward lustre; that fixt mindAnd high disdain, from sence of injur'd merit,That with the mightiest rais'd me to contend,And to the fierce contention brought along [ 100 ]Innumerable force of Spirits arm'dThat durst dislike his reign, and me preferring,His utmost power with adverse power oppos'dIn dubious Battel on the Plains of Heav'n,And shook his throne. What though the field be lost? [ 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?That Glory never shall his wrath or might [ 110 ]Extort from me.

For those rebellious, here thir Prison ordain'dIn utter darkness, and thir portion setAs far remov'd from God and light of Heav'nAs from the Center thrice to th' utmost Pole.O how unlike the place from whence they fell!

One next himself in power, and next in crime

Long after known in Palestine, and nam'd [ 80 ]Beelzebub.

With Floods and Whirlwinds of tempestuous fire,

A Dungeon horrible, on all sides roundAs one great Furnace flam'd, yet from those flamesNo light, but rather darkness visibleServ'd onely to discover sights of woe,Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace [ 65 ]And rest can never dwell, hope never comesThat comes to all; but torture without end

But his doom Reserv'd him to more wrath; for now the thought Both of lost happiness and lasting pain [ 55 ] Torments him; round he throws his baleful eyes That witness'd huge affliction and dismay Mixt with obdurate pride and stedfast hate

To bottomless perdition, there to dwell In Adamantine Chains and penal Fire, Who durst defie th' Omnipotent to Arms. Nine times the Space that measures Day and Night

He trusted to have equal'd the most High, [ 40 ] If he oppos'd; and with ambitious aim Against the Throne and Monarchy of God

The Mother of Mankind

Favour'd of Heav'n so highly, to fall off [ 30 ] From thir Creator, and transgress his Will For one restraint, Lords of the World besides? 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

Say first

That to the highth of this great Argument

What in me is dark Illumin, what is low raise and support; That to the highth of this great Argument I may assert Eternal Providence, [ 25 ] And justifie the wayes of God to men.

Things unattempted yet in Prose or Rhime.

And chiefly Thou O Spirit

Invoke thy aid to my adventrous Song

n the Beginning how the Heav'ns and Earth Rose out of Chaos

didst inspire That Shepherd, who first taught the chosen Seed

OF Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal tast Brought Death into the World, and all our woe, With loss of Eden, till one greater Man Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat, [ 5 ] Sing Heav'nly Muse,

Satan directs his Speech, comforts them with hope yet of regaining Heaven,

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