Man's transgression known, the Guardian Angels forsake Paradise, and return up to Heaven to approve their vigilance, and are approved, God declaring that the entrance of Satan could not be by them prevented. He sends his Son to judge the transgressors, who descends and gives sentence accordingly; then in pity clothes them both, and re-ascends. Sin and Death sitting till then at the gates of Hell, by wondrous sympathy feeling the success of Satan in this new world, and the sin by man there committed, resolve to sit no longer coufined in Hell, but to follow Satan their sire up to the place of Man: to make the way easier from Hell to this new world to and fro, they pave a broad high-way or bridge over Chaos, according to the track that Satan first made; then preparing for Earth, they meet him proud of his success returning to Hell; their mutual gratulation. Satan arrives at Pandimonium, in full assembly relates with boasting his success against Man; instead of applause is entertained with a general hiss by all his andience, transformed with himself also suddenly into serpents, according to his doom given in Paradise; then deluded with a shew of the forbidden Tree springing up before them, they greedily reaching to take of the fruit, chew dust and bitter ashes. The proceedings of Sin and Death; God foretels the final victory of his Son over them, and the renewing of all things; but for the present commands his Angels to make some alterations in the Heavens and elements. Adam more and more perceiving his fallen condition, heavily bewails, rejects the condolement of Eve; she persists and at length appeases him: then to evade the curse likely to fall on their offspring, proposes to Adam vio. lent ways, which he approves not, but conceiving better hope, puts her in mind of the late promise made them, that her Seed should be revenged on tire Serpent, and exhorts her with him to seek peace with the offended Deity, by repentance and supplication.
Complete to have discover'd and repuls'd Whatever wiles of foe or seeming friend. For still they knew, and ought to have still re- member'd
The high injunction not to taste that fruit, Whoever tempted; which they not obeying, Incurr'd (what could they less?) the penalty, And manifold in sin, deserv'd to fall. Up in Heav'n from Paradise in haste Th' angelic guard ascended, mute and sad For man, for of his state by this they knew, Much wond'ring how the subtle Fiend had [news
Entrance unseen. Soon as th' unwelcome From Earth arriv'd at Heav'n gate, displeas'd All were who heard; dim Sadness did not
That time celestial visages, yet mix'd With pity violated not their bliss.
About the new-arriv'd, in multitudes
Th' ethereal people ran, to hear and know
How all befel: they toward the throne su
I told ye then he should prevail and speed On his bad erraud, man should be seduc'd And flatter'd out of all, believing lies Against his Maker; no decree of mine Concurring to necessitate his fall, Or touch with slightest moment of impulse His free will, to her own inclining left In even scale. But fall'n he is, and now What rests, but that the mortal sentence pass On his transgression, death denounc'd that day?
Which he presumes already vain and void, Because not yet inflicted, as he fear'd, By some immediate stroke; but soon shall
Easy it may be seen that I intend
Mercy colleague with justice, sending thee Man's friend, his mediator, his design'd Both ransome and redeemer voluntary, And destin'd Man himself to judge men fall'n. So spake the Father, and unfolding bright Toward the right hand his glory, on his Son, Blaz'd forth unclouded deity; he full Resplendent all his Father manifest Express'd, and thus divinely answer'd mild. Father eternal, thine is to decree, Mine both in heav'n and earth to do thy will Supreme, that thou in me thy Son belov'd May'st ever rest well pleas'd. I go to judge On earth these thy transgressors, but thou know'st,
Whoever judg'd, the worst on me must light, When time shall be, for so I undertook Before thee; and not repenting, this obtain Of right, that I may mitigate their doom On me deriv'd; yet shall I temper so Justice with mercy, as may illustrate most Them fully satisfied, and thee appease. Attendance none shall need, nor train where
Are to behold the judgment, but the judg'd, Those two; the third best absent is condemn'd, Convict by flight, and rebel to all law : Conviction to the serpent none belongs.
Thus saying from his radiant seat he rose Of high collateral glory, him Thrones and Powers,
Princedoms, and Dominations ministrant Accompanied to heaven gate, from whence Eden and all the coast in prospect lay. Down he descended straight: the speed of Gods [wing'd. Time counts not, though with swiftest minutes Now was the sun in western cadence low From noon, and gentle airs due at their hour To fan the Earth now wak'd, and usher in The ev'ning cool, when he from wrath more cool
Came the mild judge and intercessor both To sentence man: the voice of God they heard, Now walking in the garden, by soft winds Brought to their ears, while day declined;
And from his presence hid themselves among The thickest trees, both man and wife, till God Approaching, thus to Adam call'd aloud, Where art thou Adam, wont with joy to meet My coming seen far off? I miss thee here, Not pleas'd thus entertain'd with solitude, Where obvious duty ere while appear'd unsought:
Or come I less conspicuous, or what change Absents thee, or what chance detains? Come forth.
He came and with him Eve, mere loath
To offend, discountenanc'd both, and discompos'd;
Love was not in their looks, either to God Or to each other, but apparent guilt, And shame and perturbation, and despair, Anger and obstinacy, and hate, and guile. Whence Adam falt'ring long, thus auswer'd brief.
I heard thee in the gard'n, and of thy voice Afraid, being naked, hid myself. To whom The gracious judge without revile reply'd. My voice thou oft hast heard, and hast not fear'd,
But still rojoic'd: how is it now become So dreadful to thee? that thou art naked, who Hath told thee? hast thou eaten of the Tree, Whereof i gave thee charge thou shouldst not eat?
To whom thus Adam sore beset reply'd; O Heav'n! in cvil strait this day I stand Before my Judge, either to undergo Myself the total crime, or to accuse My other self, the partner of my life; Whose failing, while her faith to me remains, I should conceal, and not expose to blame By my complaint; but strict necessity Subdues me, and calamitous constraint, Lest on my head both sin, and punishment, However insupportable, be all
Devolv'd; though should I hold my peace, yet thou
Wouldst easily detect what I conceal. This Woman, whom thou mad'st to be my help, And gav'st me as thy perfect gift, so good, So fit, so acceptable, so divine, That from her hand I could suspect no ill, And what she did, whatever in itself, Her doing seem'd to justify the deed; She gave me of the Tree, and I did eat.
To whom the Sovreign Presence thus reply'd; Was she thy God, that her thou didst obey Before his voice, or was she made thy guide, Superior, or but equal, that to her Thou didst resign thy manhood, and the place Wherein God set thee above her, made of thee, And for thee, whose perfection far excell'd Hers in all real dignity? Adorn'd She was indeed, and lovely to attract Thy love and thy subjection; and her gifts Were such as under government well seen'd, Unseemly to bear ruie, which was thy part Aud person, hadst thou known thyself aright. So having said, he thus to Eve in few. Say, Woman, what is this which thou hast done? [whelm'd,
To whom sad Eve with shame nigh overConfessing soon, yet not before her Judge
Bold or loquacious, thus abash'd reply'd : The serpent me beguil'd, and I did eat.
Which when the Lord God heard, without delay
To judgment he proceeded on th' accus'd Serpent though brute, unable to transfer The guilt on him who made him instrument Of mischief, and polluted from the end Of his creation; justly then accurs'd, As vitiated in nature: more to know Concerned not man (since he no further knew) Nor alter'd his offence; yet God at last To Satan first in sin his doom apply'd, Though in mysterious terms, judg'd as then
And on the serpent thus his curse let fall. Because thou hast done this, thou art accurs'd Above all cattle, each heast of the field; Upon thy belly groveling thou shalt go, And dust shalt cat all the days of thy life. Between thee and the woman I will put Enmity, and between thine and her sced; Her seed shall bruise thy head, thou bruise his heel.
So spake this Oracle, then verify'd When Jesus son of Mary, second Eve,
Saw Satan fall like lightning down from heav'n, Prince of the Air; then rising from his grave Spoil'd principalities and powers, triumph'd In open show, and with ascension bright Captivity led captive through the air, The realm itself of Satan long usurp'd, Whom he shall tread at last under our feet; Ev'n he who now foretold his fatal bruise, And to the woman thus his sentence turn'd. Thy sorrow I will greatly multiply By thy conception; children thou shall bring In sorrow forth; and to thy husband's will Thine shall submit; he over thee shall rule.
On Adam last thus judgment he pronounc'd. Because thou hast hearken'd to th' voice of thy wife,
And eaten of the tree, concerning which
I charg'd thee, saying, thou shalt not eat thereof:
Before him naked to the air, that now Must suffer change, disdain'd not to begin Thenceforth the form of servant to assume, Ao when he wash'd his servants' feet, so now As father of his family he clad
Their nakedness with skins of beasts, or slain, Or as the snake with youthful coat repaid; And thought not much to clothe his enemies: Nor he their outward only with the skius Of beasts, but inward nakedness, much more Opprobrious, with his robe of righteousness, Arraying cover'd from his Father's sight. To him with swift ascent he up return'd, Into his blissful bosom reassum'd In glory as of old; to him appeas'd All, tho' all-knowing, what bad pass'd with Man
Recounted, mixing intercession sweet. Mean while ere thus was sinn'd and judg'd on Earth,
Within the gates of Hell sat Sin and Death, In counterview within the gates, that now Stood open wide, belching outrageous flame Far into Chaos, since the Fiend pass'd
Sin opening, who thus now to Death began.
O Son, why sit we here each other viewing Idly, while Satan our great author thrives In other worlds, and happier seat provides For us his offspring dear? It cannot be But that success attends him; if mishap Ere this he had return'd, with fury driven By his avengers, since no place like this Can fit his punishment, or their revenge. Methinks I feel new strength within me rise, Wings growing, and dominion giv'n me large || Beyond this deep; whatever draws me on, Or sympathy, or some connatural force Powerful at greatest distance to unite With secret amity things of like kind By secretest conveyance. Thou my shade Inseparable must with me along:
For Death from Sin no power can separate, But lest the difficulty of passing back Stay his return perhaps over this guif
Curs'd is the ground for thy sake; thou in Impassable, impervious, let us try
Shall eat thereof all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles it shall bring thee forth
Unbid; and thou shalt eat th' herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, Till thou return unto the ground; for thou Out of the ground wast taken, know thy birth, For dust thou art, and shalt to dust return. So judg'd he Man, both Judge and Saviour [that day And th' instant stroke of death denoun 'd, Remov'd far of; then pitying how they stood
Adventrous work, yet to thy power and mine Not unagreeable, to found a path Over this main from Hell to that new world Where Satan now prevails, a monument Of merit high to all th' infernal host, Easing their passage bence, for intercourse, Or transmigration, as their lot shall lead. Nor can I miss the way, so strongly drawn By this new felt attraction and instinct.
Whom thus the meagre shadow answer'd
Go whither Fate and inclination strong Leads thee; I shall not lag behind, nor err
The way, thou leading, such a scent I draw Of carnage, prey innumerable, and taste The savor of death from all things there that live :
Nor shall I to the work thon enterprisest Be wanting, but afford thee equal aid.
So saying, with delight he snuff'd the smell Of mortal change on earth. As when a flock Of ravenous fowl, though many a league re- mote,
Against a day of battle, to a field,
Where armies lie encamp'd, come flying, lur'd With scent of living carcases design'd
For death, the following day, in bloody fight; So scented the grim feature, and upturn'd His nostril wide into the murky air, Sagacions of his quarry from so far. Then both from out Hell gates into the waste Wide anarchy of Chaos damp and dark Flew diverse, and with power (their power was great)
Hovering upon the waters, what they met Solid or slimy, as in raging sea
Tost up and down, together crowded drove From each side shoaling towards the mouth of Hell:
As when two polar winds, blowing adverse Upon the Cronian sea, together drive Mountains of ice, that stop th' imagin'd way Beyond Petsora eastward, to the rich Cathaian coast. The aggregated soil Death with his mace petrific, cold and dry, As with a trident smote, and fix'd as firm As Delos floating once; the rest his look Bound with Gorgonian rigour not to move; And with Asphaltic slime, broad as the gate, Deep to the roots of Hell the gather'd beach They fasten'd, and the mole immense wrought
Over the foaming deep high arch'd, a bridge, Of length prodigious, joining to the wall Immoveable of this now fenceless world Forfeit to Death; from hence a passage broad Smooth, easy, inoffensive down to Hell.
So, if great things to small may be compar'd, Xerxes, the liberty of Greece to yoke, From Susa his Memuonian palace high Came to the sea, and over Hellespont Bridging his way, Europe with Asia join'd, And scourg`d with many a stroke th' indignant
Now had they brought the work by wond'rous
Pontifical, a ridge of pendent rock,
Over the vex'd abyss, following the track Of Satan to the self-same place where he First lighted from his wing, and landed safe From out of Chaos, to the outside bare Of this round world: with pins of adamant
And chains they made all fast, too fast they made
And durable; and now in little space The confines of empyréan Heaven
And of this world, and on the left hand Hell With long reach interpos'd; three several ways
In sight, to each of these three places led. And now their way to Earth they had de scry'd,
To Paradise first tending, when behold Satan in likeness of an Angel bright Betwixt the Centaur and the Scorpion steering His zenith, while the sun in Aries rose: Disguis'd he came, but those his children dear Their parent soon discern'd, though in dis guise.
He after Eve seduc'd, unminded slunk Into the wood fast by, and changing shape To observe the sequel, saw his guileful act By Eve, though all unweeting, seconded Upon her husband, saw their shame that sought
Vain covertures; but when he saw descend The Son of God to judge them, terrify'd He fled, not hoping to escape, but shun The present, fearing guilty what his wrath Might suddenly inflict; that past, return'd By night, and list'uing where the hapless pair Sat in their sad discourse, and various plaint, Thence gather'd his own doom, which under-
Vet instant, but of u tre time, with joy And tidings fraught, to Hell he now return'd, And at the brink of Chaos, near the foot Of this new wond'rous pontifice, unhop'd Met who to meet him came, his offspring dear. Great joy was at their meeting, and at sight Of that stupendous bridge his joy increas'd. Long he admiring stood, till Sin, his fair Enchanting daughter, thus the silence broke : O Parent, these are thy magnific deeds, Thy trophies, which thou view'st as not thine own;
Thou art their author and prime architect; For I no sooner in my heart divin'd,
My heart, which by a secret harmony Still moves with thine, join'd in connexion
sweet, That thou on earth hadst prosper'd, which thy Now also evidence, but straight I felt Though distant, from thee worlds between, yet
That I inust after thee with this thy son, Such fatal consequences unites us three: Hell could no longer hold us in her bounds, Nor this unvoyageable gulf obscure Detain from following thy illustrious track Thou hast achiev'd our liberty, confin'd
Within Hell-gates till now, thou us impower'd | That scorn'd his indignation; through the gate To fortify thus far, and overlay
With this portentous bridge the dark abyss. Thine now is all this world; thy virtue hath [gain'd What thy hands builded not, thy wisdom With odds what war bath lost, and fully aveng'd Our foil in Heav'n; here thou shalt monarch reigu, [sway, There did'st not; there let him still victor As battle hath adjudg'd, from this new world Retiring, by his own doom alienated, And henceforth monarchy with thee divide Of all things parted by th' empyreal bounds, His quadrature, from thy orbicular world, Or try thee now more dang'rous to his throne. Whom thus the Prince of darkness answer'd glad.
[both, Fair daughter, and thou Son and Grandchild High proof ye now have giv'n to be the race Of Satan, (for I glory in the name, Antagonist of Heav'n's Almighty King) Amply have merited of me, of all
Th' infernal empire, that so near Heav'n's door Triumphal with triumphal act have met, Mine with this glorious work, and made one realm
Hell and this world, one realm, one continent Of easy thoroughfare. Therefore while I Descend through darkness, on your road with
To my associate Pow'rs, them to acquaint With these successes, and with them rejoice, You two this way, among these numerous orbs All yours, right down to Paradise descend; There dwell aud reign in bliss, thence on the earth
Dominion exercise and in the air,
Chiefly on Man, sole lord of all declar'd, Him first make sure your thrall, and lastly kill.
My substitutes I send ye, and create Plenipotent on earth, of matchless might Issuing from me: on your joint vigour now My hold of this new kingdom all depends, Through Sin to Death expos'd by my exploit. If your joint pow'r prevail, th' affairs of Hell No detriment need fear; go and he strong. So saying he dismiss'd them; they with speed [held, Their course through thickest constellations Spreading their baue; the blasted stars look'd wan,
And planet-struck, real eclipse Then suffer'd.
The causey to Hell-gate; on either side Disparted Chaos over-built exclaim'd, And with rebounding surge the bars assail'd,
Wide open and unguarded, Satan pass'd, And all about found desolate; for those Appointed to sit there, had left their charge, Flown to the upper world; the rest were all Far to th' inland retir'd, about the walls Of Pandemonium, city and proud seat Of Lucifer, so by allusion call'd, Of that bright star to Satan paragon'd. There kept their watch the legions, while the
In council sat, solicitous what chance Might intercept their emp'ror sent; so he Departing gave command, and they observ'd. As when the Tartar from bis Russian foe By Astrican over the snowy plains Retires, or Bactrian Sophi from the horns Of Turkish crescent, leaves all waste beyond The realm of Aladule, in his retreat
To Tauris or Casbeen: So these the late Heav'n banish'd host, left desert utmost Hell Many a dark league, reduc'd in careful watch Round their metropolis, and now expecting Each hour their great adventurer from the search [mask'd,
Of foreign worlds: he thought the midst un- In show plebeian Angel militaut
Of lowest order, pass'd; and from the door Of that Plutonian hall, invisible Ascended his high throne, which under state Of richest texture spread, at th' upper end Was plac'd in regal lustre. Down a while He sat, and round about him saw unseen: At last as from a cloud his fulgent head Aud shape star-bright appeard, or brighter
With what permissive glory since his fall Was left him, or false glitter: All amaz'd At that so sudden blaze the Stygian throng Bent their aspect, and whom they wish'd be- held, [claim: Their mighty chief return'd: loud was th' ac- Forth rush din haste the great consulting
Rais'd from their dark Divan, and with like joy Congratulant approach'd him, who with hand Silence, and with these words attention won: Thrones, Dominatious, Princedoms, Virtues,
For in possession such, not only of right, I call ye and declare ye now, return'd Successful beyond hope, to lead ye forth Triumphant out of this infernal pit Abom nable accurs'd, the house of woe, And dungeon of our tyrant: now possess, As Lords, a spacious world, to our native Heaven
Little inferior, by my adventure hard With peril great achiev'd. Long were to teil
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