Paradise Lost (Modern Library Classics) (46 page)

Thick-rammed, at th’ other bore
⁴⁸⁵
with touch of fire

Dilated and infuriate shall send forth

From far with thund’ring noise among our foes

Such implements of mischief as shall dash

To pieces, and o’erwhelm whatever stands

Adverse, that they shall fear we have disarmed

The thunderer of his only dreaded bolt.

Nor long shall be our labor, yet ere dawn,

Effect shall end our wish. Meanwhile revive;

Abandon fear; to strength and counsel
⁴⁹⁴
joined

Think nothing hard, much less to be despaired.’

He ended, and his words their drooping cheer
⁴⁹⁶

Enlightened, and their languished hope revived.

Th’ invention all admired
⁴⁹⁸
, and each, how he

To be th’ inventor missed, so easy it seemed

Once found, which yet unfound most would have thought

Impossible: yet haply of thy race

In future days, if malice should abound,

Some one intent on mischief, or inspired

With dev’lish machination might devise

Like instrument to plague the sons of men

For sin, on war and mutual slaughter bent.

Forthwith from council to the work they flew,
⁵⁰⁷

None arguing stood, innumerable hands

Were ready, in a moment up they turned

Wide the
⁵¹⁰
celestial soil, and saw beneath

Th’ originals of nature in their crude

Conception; sulfurous and nitrous foam
⁵¹²

They found, they mingled, and with subtle art,

Concocted and adusted
⁵¹⁴
they reduced

To blackest grain
⁵¹⁵
, and into store conveyed:

Part hidden veins digged up (nor hath this Earth

Entrails unlike) of mineral and stone,

Whereof to found
⁵¹⁸
their engines and their balls

Of missive
⁵¹⁹
ruin; part incentive reed

Provide, pernicious
⁵²⁰
with one touch to fire.

So all ere day-spring, under conscious
⁵²¹
night

Secret they finished, and in order set,

With silent circumspection unespied.

Now when fair morn orient in Heav’n appeared

Up rose the victor angels, and to arms

The matin trumpet sung: in arms they stood

Of golden panoply, refulgent host,

Soon banded; others from the dawning hills

Looked round, and scouts each coast light-armèd scour,

Each quarter, to descry the distant foe,

Where lodged, or whither fled, or if for fight,

In motion or in halt: him soon they met

Under spread ensigns moving nigh, in slow

But firm battalion; back with speediest sail

Zophiel
⁵³⁵
, of Cherubim the swiftest wing,

Came flying, and in mid-air aloud thus cried.

   “ ‘Arm, warriors, arm for fight, the foe at hand,

Whom fled we thought, will save us long pursuit

This day, fear not his flight; so thick a cloud

He comes, and settled in his face I see

Sad
⁵⁴¹
resolution and secure: let each

His adamantine coat gird well, and each

Fit well his helm, grip fast his orbèd shield,

Borne ev’n or high
⁵⁴⁴
, for this day will pour down,

If I conjecture aught, no drizzling shower,

But rattling storm of arrows barbed with fire.’

So warned he them aware themselves
⁵⁴⁷
, and soon

In order, quit of all impediment
⁵⁴⁸
;

Instant
⁵⁴⁹
without disturb they took alarm,

And onward move embattled
⁵⁵⁰
; when behold

Not distant far with heavy pace the foe

Approaching gross and huge; in hollow cube

Training
⁵⁵³
his devilish enginery, impaled

On every side with shadowing squadrons deep,

To hide the fraud. At interview
⁵⁵⁵
both stood

A while, but suddenly at head appeared

Satan: and thus was heard commanding loud.

   “ ‘Vanguard, to right and left the front unfold;

That all may see who hate us, how we seek

Peace and composure
⁵⁶⁰
, and with open breast

Stand ready to receive them, if they like

Our overture
⁵⁶²
, and turn not back perverse;

But that I doubt, however witness Heaven,

Heav’n witness thou anon, while we discharge

Freely our part; ye who appointed stand

Do as you have in charge, and briefly touch

What we propound, and loud that all may hear.’

   “So scoffing in ambiguous words, he scarce

Had ended when to right and left the front

Divided, and to either flank retired.

Which to our eyes discovered new and strange,

A triple-mounted
⁵⁷²
row of pillars laid

On wheels (for like to pillars most they seemed

Or hollowed bodies made of oak or fir

With branches lopped, in wood or mountain felled)

Brass, iron, stony mold
⁵⁷⁶
, had not their mouths

With hideous orifice gaped on us wide,

Portending hollow truce; at each behind

A Seraph stood, and in his hand a reed

Stood waving tipped with fire; while we suspense
⁵⁸⁰
,

Collected stood within our thoughts amused
⁵⁸¹
,

Not long, for sudden all at once their reeds

Put forth, and to a narrow vent applied

With nicest touch. Immediate in a flame,

But soon
⁵⁸⁵
obscured with smoke, all Heav’n appeared,

From those
⁵⁸⁶
deep-throated engines belched, whose roar

Emboweled with outrageous noise the air,

And all her entrails tore, disgorging foul

Their devilish glut, chained thunderbolts
⁵⁸⁹
and hail

Of iron globes, which on the victor host

Leveled, with such impetuous fury smote,

That whom they hit, none on their feet might stand,

Though standing else as rocks, but down they fell

By thousands, angel on archangel rolled;

The sooner
⁵⁹⁵
for their arms, unarmed they might

Have easily as spirits evaded swift

By quick contraction or remove; but now

Foul dissipation
⁵⁹⁸
followed and forced rout;

Nor
⁵⁹⁹
served it to relax their serried files.

What should they do? If on they rushed, repulse

Repeated, and indecent
⁶⁰¹
overthrow

Doubled, would render them yet more despised,

And to their foes a laughter
⁶⁰³
; for in view

Stood ranked of Seraphim another row

In posture to displode
⁶⁰⁵
their second tire

Of thunder: back defeated to return

They worse abhorred. Satan beheld their plight,

And to his mates thus in derision called.

   “ ‘O friends, why come not on these victors proud?

Erewhile they fierce were coming, and when we,

To entertain them fair with open front
⁶¹¹

And breast, (what could we more?) propounded terms

Of composition, straight they changed their minds,

Flew off,
⁶¹⁴
and into strange vagaries fell,

As they would dance, yet for a dance they seemed

Somewhat extravagant and wild, perhaps

For joy of offered peace: but I suppose

If our proposals once again were heard

We should compel them to a quick result.’

   “To whom thus Belial in like gamesome mood.

‘Leader, the terms we sent were terms of weight,

Of hard contents, and full of force urged home,

Such as we might perceive amused
⁶²³
them all,

And stumbled many: who receives them right,

Had need from head to foot well understand;

Not understood, this gift they have besides,

They show us when our foes walk not upright.’

   “So they among themselves in pleasant vein

Stood scoffing, heightened in their thoughts beyond

All doubt of victory, eternal might

To match with their inventions they presumed

So easy, and of his thunder made a scorn,

And all his host derided, while they stood

A while in trouble; but they stood not long,

Rage prompted them at length, and found them arms
⁶³⁵

Against such hellish mischief fit to oppose.

Forthwith (behold the excellence, the power

Which God hath in his mighty angels placed)

Their arms
⁶³⁹
away they threw, and to the hills

(For Earth hath this variety from Heav’n

Of pleasure situate in hill and dale)

Light as the lightning glimpse they ran, they flew,

From their foundations loos’ning to and fro

They plucked the seated hills with all their load,

Rocks, waters, woods, and by the shaggy tops

Uplifting bore them in their hands: amaze
⁶⁴⁶
,

Be sure, and terror seized the rebel host,

When coming towards them so dread they saw

The bottom of the mountains upward turned,

Till on those cursèd engines’ triple-row
⁶⁵⁰

They saw them whelmed, and all their confidence

Under the weight of mountains buried deep,

Themselves invaded
⁶⁵³
next, and on their heads

Main
⁶⁵⁴
promontories flung, which in the air

Came shadowing, and oppressed
⁶⁵⁵
whole legions armed,

Their armor helped their harm, crushed in and bruised

Into their substance pent
⁶⁵⁷
, which wrought them pain

Implacable, and many a dolorous groan,

Long struggling underneath, ere they could wind

Out of such prison, though spirits of purest light,

Purest at first, now gross by sinning grown.

The rest in imitation to like arms

Betook them, and the neighboring hills uptore;

So hills amid the air encountered hills

Hurled to and fro with jaculation
⁶⁶⁵
dire

That underground they fought in dismal shade;

Infernal noise; war seemed a civil game

To this uproar; horrid confusion heaped

Upon confusion rose: and now all Heav’n

Had gone to wrack, with ruin overspread,

Had not th’ almighty Father where he sits

Shrined in his sanctuary of Heav’n secure,

Consulting on the sum of things
⁶⁷³
, foreseen

This tumult, and permitted all, advised:

That his great purpose he might so fulfill,

To honor his anointed Son avenged

Upon his enemies, and to declare

All power on him transferred: whence to his Son

Th’ assessor
⁶⁷⁹
of his throne he thus began.

   “ ‘Effulgence of my glory, Son beloved,

Son in whose face invisible is beheld
⁶⁸¹

Visibly
⁶⁸¹
, what by deity I am,

And in whose hand what by decree I do,

Second omnipotence
⁶⁸⁴
, two days are passed,

Two days, as we compute the days of Heav’n,

Since Michael and his powers went forth to tame

These disobedient; sore hath been their fight,

As likeliest was, when two such foes met armed;

For to themselves I left them, and thou know’st,

Equal in their creation they were formed,

Save what sin hath impaired, which yet hath wrought

Insensibly, for I suspend their doom;

Whence in perpetual fight they needs must last

Endless, and no solution will be found:

War wearied hath performed what war can do,

And to disordered rage let loose the reins,

With mountains as with weapons armed, which makes

Wild work in Heav’n, and dangerous to the main
⁶⁹⁸
.

Two days are therefore passed, the third is thine
⁶⁹⁹
;

For thee I have ordained it, and thus far

Have suffered
⁷⁰¹
, that the glory may be thine

Of ending this great war, since none but thou

Can end it. Into thee such virtue and grace

Immense I have transfused, that all may know

In Heav’n and Hell thy power above compare,

And this perverse commotion governed thus,

To manifest thee worthiest to be heir
⁷⁰⁷

Of all things
⁷⁰⁷
, to be heir and to be King

By sacred unction, thy deservèd right.

Go then thou mightiest in thy Father’s might,

Ascend my chariot, guide the rapid wheels

That shake Heav’n’s basis, bring forth all my war
⁷¹²
,

My bow and thunder, my almighty arms

Gird on, and sword upon thy puissant thigh;

Pursue these sons of darkness, drive them out

From all Heav’n’s bounds into the utter
⁷¹⁶
deep:

There let them learn, as likes them, to despise

God and Messiah his anointed King.’

   “He said, and on his Son with rays direct

Shone full,
⁷²⁰
he all his Father full expressed

Ineffably into his face received,

And thus the filial Godhead answering spake:

    “ ‘O Father, O supreme of Heav’nly thrones,

First, highest, holiest, best, thou always seek’st

To glorify
⁷²⁵
s thy Son, I always thee,