The Complete Poetry of John Milton (117 page)

   690     
Inhabited, though sinless, more then now,

               
Avoided pinching cold and scorching heat?

               
These changes in the Heav’ns, though slow, produc’d

               
Like change on Sea and Land, sideral blast,
⁷⁵

               
Vapour, and Mist, and Exhalation hot,

   695     
Corrupt and Pestilent: Now from the North

               
Of
Norumbega
,
⁷⁶
and the
Samoed
shoar

               
Bursting thir brazen Dungeon, armd with ice

               
And snow and hail and stormie gust and flaw,
⁷⁷

               
Boreas
⁷⁸
and
Cæcias
and
Argestes
loud

   700     
And
Thrascias
rend the Woods and Seas upturn;

               
With adverse blast up-turns them from the South

               
Notus
and
Afer
black with thundrous Clouds

               
From
Serraliona;
thwart of these as fierce

               
Forth rush the
Levant
and the
Ponent
Winds

   705     
Eurus
and
Zephir
with thir lateral noise,

               
Sirocco
, and
Libecchio.
Thus began

               
Outrage from liveless things; but Discord first

               
Daughter of Sin, among th’ irrational,

               
Death introduc’d through fierce antipathie:
⁷⁹

   710     
Beast now with Beast gan war, and Fowl with Fowl,

               
And Fish with Fish; to graze the Herb all leaving,

               
Devourd each other; nor stood much in awe

               
Of Man, but fled him, or with count’nance grim

               
Glar’d on him passing: these were from without

   715     
The growing miseries, which
Adam
saw

               
Alreadie in part, though hid in gloomiest shade,

               
To sorrow abandond, but worse felt within,

               
And in a troubl’d Sea of passion tost,

               
Thus to disburd’n sought with sad complaint.

  720   
    
         O miserable of happie! is this the end

               
Of this new glorious World, and mee so late

               
The Glory of that Glory, who now becom

               
Accurst of blessed, hide me from the face

               
Of God, whom to behold was then my highth

   725     
Of happiness: yet well, if here would end

               
The miserie, I deserv’d it, and would bear

               
My own deservings; but this will not serve;

               
All that I eat or drink, or shall beget,

               
Is propagated curse. O voice once heard

   730     
Delightfully,
Encrease and multiply
,

               
Now death to hear! for what can I encrease

               
Or multiplie, but curses on my head?

               
Who of all Ages to succeed, but feeling

               
The evil on him brought by me, will curse

   735     
My Head, Ill fare our Ancestor impure,

               
For this we may thank
Adam;
but his thanks

               
Shall be the execration; so besides

               
Mine own that bide upon me, all from mee

               
Shall with a fierce reflux on mee redound,
⁸⁰

   740     
On mee as on thir natural center light

               
Heavie, though in thir place. O fleeting joyes

               
Of Paradise, dear bought with lasting woes!

               
Did I request thee, Maker, from my Clay

               
To mould me Man, did I sollicite thee

   745     
From darkness to promote me, or here place

               
In this delicious Garden? as my Will

               
Concurd not to my being, it were but right

               
And equal to reduce me to my dust,

               
Desirous to resigne, and render back

   750     
All I receav’d, unable to perform

               
Thy terms too hard, by which I was to hold

               
The good I sought not. To the loss of that,

               
Sufficient penaltie, why hast thou added

               
The sense of endless woes? inexplicable

   755     
Thy Justice seems; yet to say truth, too late,

               
I thus contest; then should have been refus’d

               
Those terms whatever, when they were propos’d:

               
Thou didst accept them; wilt thou enjoy the good,

               
Then cavil the conditions? and though God

   760     
Made thee without thy leave, what if thy Son

               
Prove disobedient, and reprov’d, retort,

               
Wherefore didst thou beget me? I sought it not:

               
Wouldst thou admit for his contempt of thee

               
That proud excuse? yet him not thy election,

   765     
But Natural necessity begot.

               
God made thee of choice his own, and of his own

               
To serve him, thy reward was of his grace,

               
Thy punishment then justly is at his Will.

               
Be it so, for I submit, his doom is fair,

   770     
That dust I am, and shall to dust return:
⁸¹

               
O welcom hour whenever! why delayes

               
His hand to execute what his Decree

               
Fix’d on this day? why do I overlive,

               
Why am I mockt with death, and length’n’d out

   775     
To deathless pain? how gladly would I meet

               
Mortalitie my sentence, and be Earth

               
Insensible, how glad would lay me down

               
As in my Mothers lap? there I should rest

               
And sleep secure; his dreadful voice no more

   780     
Would Thunder in my ears, no fear of worse

               
To mee and to my ofspring would torment me

               
With cruel expectation. Yet one doubt

               
Pursues me still, least all I cannot die,

               
Least that pure breath of Life, the Spirit of Man

   785     
Which God inspir’d, cannot together perish

               
With this corporeal Clod; then in the Grave,

               
Or in some other dismal place, who knows

               
But I shall die a living Death? O thought

               
Horrid, if true! yet why? it was but breath

   790     
Of Life that sinn’d; what dies but what had life

               
And sin? the Bodie properly hath neither.

               
All of me then shall die: let this appease

               
The doubt, since human reach no further knows.

               
For though the Lord of all be infinite,

   795     
Is his wrauth also? be it, man is not so,

               
But mortal doom’d. How can he exercise

               
Wrath without end on Man whom Death must end?

               
Can he make deathless Death? that were to make

               
Strange contradiction, which to God himself

   800     
Impossible is held, as Argument

               
Of weakness, not of Power. Will he draw out,

               
For angers sake, finite to infinite

               
In punisht man, to satisfie his rigour

               
Satisfi’d never; that were to extend

   805     
His Sentence beyond dust and Natures Law,

               
By which all Causes else according still

               
To the reception
⁸²
of thir matter act,

               
Not to th’ extent of thir own Sphear. But say

               
That Death be not one stroak, as I suppos’d,

   810     
Bereaving sense, but endless miserie

               
From this day onward, which I feel begun

               
Both in me, and without me, and so last

               
To perpetuitie; Ay me, that fear

               
Comes thundring back with dreadful revolution

   815     
On my defensless head; both Death and I

               
Am found Eternal, and incorporate both,

               
Nor I on my part single, in mee all

               
Posteritie stands curst: Fair Patrimonie

               
That I must leave ye, Sons; O were I able

   820     
To waste it all my self, and leave ye none!

               
So disinherited how would ye bless

               
Me now your curse! Ah, why should all mankind

               
For one mans fault thus guiltless be condemn’d,

               
If guiltless? But from me what can proceed,

   825     
But all corrupt, both Mind and Will deprav’d,

               
Not to do onely, but to will the same

               
With me? how can they then acquitted stand

               
In sight of God? Him after all Disputes

               
Forc’t I absolve: all my evasions vain,

   830     
And reasonings, though through Mazes, lead me still

               
But to my own conviction: first and last

               
On mee, mee onely, as the sourse and spring

               
Of all corruption, all the blame lights due;

               
So might the wrauth. Fond wish! couldst thou support

   835     
That burden heavier then the Earth to bear,

               
Then all the World much heavier, though divided

               
With that bad Woman? Thus what thou desir’st

               
And what thou fearst, alike destroyes all hope

               
Of refuge, and concludes thee miserable

   840     
Beyond all past example and future,

               
To
Satan
only like both crime and doom.

               
O Conscience, into what Abyss of fears

               
And horrors hast thou driv’n me; out of which

               
I find no way, from deep to deeper plung’d!

   845  
      
       Thus
Adam
to himself lamented loud

               
Through the still Night, not now, as ere man fell,

               
Wholsom and cool, and mild, but with black Air

               
Accompanied, with damps and dreadful gloom,

               
Which to his evil Conscience represented