The Complete Poetry of John Milton (86 page)

   430     
Cover’d with pearly grain:
³²
yet God hath here

               
Varied his bounty so with new delights,

               
As may compare with Heaven; and to taste

               
Think not I shall be nice. So down they sat,

               
And to thir viands fell, nor seemingly

   435     
The Angel, nor in mist, the common gloss

               
Of Theologians, but with keen dispatch

               
Of real hunger, and concoctive heat

               
To transubstantiate; what redounds,
³³
transpires

               
Through Spirits with ease; nor wonder; if by fire

   440     
Of sooty coal th’ Empiric Alchimist

               
Can turn, or holds it possible to turn

               
Metals of drossiest Ore to perfet Gold

               
As from the Mine. Mean while at Table
Eve

               
Ministerd naked, and thir flowing cups

   445     
With pleasant liquors crown’d: O innocence

               
Deserving Paradise! if ever, then,

               
Then had the Sons of God excuse t’ have bin

               
Enamour’d at that sight; but in those hearts

               
Love unlibidinous reign’d, nor jealousie

   450     
Was understood, the injur’d Lovers Hell.

           
      
       Thus when with meats and drinks they had suffic’d,

               
Not burd’nd Nature, sudden mind arose

               
In
Adam
, not to let th’ occasion pass

               
Giv’n him by this great Conference to know

   455     
Of things above his World, and of thir being

               
Who dwell in Heav’n, whose excellence he saw

               
Transcend his own so farr, whose radiant forms

               
Divine effulgence, whose high Power so far

               
Exceeded human, and his wary speech

   460     
Thus to th’ Empyreal Minister he fram’d.

           
      
       Inhabitant with God, now know I well

               
Thy favour, in this honour done to man,

               
Under whose lowly roof thou hast voutsaf’t

               
To enter, and these earthly fruits to taste,

   465     
Food not of Angels, yet accepted so,

               
As that more willingly thou couldst not seem

               
At Heav’ns high feasts t’ have fed: yet what compare?

           
      
       To whom the winged Hierarch repli’d.

               
O
Adam
, one Almightie is, from whom

   470     
All things proceed, and up to him return,
³⁴

               
If not deprav’d from good, created all

               
Such to perfection, one first matter all,

               
Indu’d with various forms, various degrees

               
Of substance, and in things that live, of life;

   475     
But more refin’d, more spiritous, and pure,

               
As neerer to him plac’t or neerer tending

               
Each in thir several active Sphears assign’d,

               
Till body up to spirit work, in bounds

               
Proportiond to each kind. So from the root

   480     
Springs lighter the green stalk, from thence the leaves

               
More aerie, last the bright consummate flowr

               
Spirits odorous breathes: flowrs and thir fruit

               
Mans nourishment, by gradual scale sublim’d

               
To vital Spirits aspire, to animal,

   485     
To intellectual, give both life and sense,
³⁵

               
Fansie and understanding, whence the Soul

               
Reason receives, and reason is her being,

               
Discursive, or Intuitive; discourse

               
Is oftest yours, the latter most is ours,

   490     
Differing but in degree, of kind the same.

               
Wonder not then, what God for you saw good

               
If I refuse not, but convert, as you,

               
To proper substance; time may come when men

               
With Angels may participate, and find

   495     
No inconvenient Diet, nor too light Fare:

               
And from these corporal nutriments perhaps

               
Your bodies may at last turn all to Spirit,

               
Improv’d by tract of time, and wing’d ascend

               
Ethereal, as wee, or may at choice

   500     
Here or in Heav’nly Paradises dwell;

               
If ye be found obedient, and retain

               
Unalterably firm his love entire

               
Whose progenie you are. Mean while enjoy

               
Your fill what happiness this happie state

   505     
Can comprehend, incapable of more.

           
      
       To whom the Patriarch of mankind repli’d.

               
O favourable spirit, propitious guest,

               
Well hast thou taught the way that might direct

               
Our knowledge, and the scale of Nature set

   510     
From center to circumference, whereon

               
In contemplation of created things

               
By steps we may ascend to God. But say,

               
What meant that caution joind,
if ye be found

               
Obedient?
can we want obedience then

   515     
To him, or possibly his love desert

               
Who formd us from the dust, and plac’d us here

               
Full to the utmost measure of what bliss

               
Human desires can seek or apprehend?

           
      
       To whom the Angel. Son of Heav’n and Earth,

   520     
Attend: That thou art happie, owe to God;

               
That thou continu’st such, owe to thy self,

               
That is, to thy obedience; therein stand.

               
This was that caution giv’n thee; be advis’d.

               
God made thee perfet, not immutable;

   525     
And good he made thee, but to persevere

               
He left it in thy power, ordaind thy will

               
By nature free, not over-rul’d by Fate

               
Inextricable, or strict necessity;

               
Our voluntarie service he requires,

   530     
Not our necessitated, such with him

               
Finds no acceptance, nor can find, for how

               
Can hearts, not free, be tri’d whether they serve

               
Willing or no, who will but what they must

               
By Destinie, and can no other choose?

   535     
My self and all th’ Angelic Host that stand

               
In sight of God enthron’d, our happie state

               
Hold, as you yours, while our obedience holds;

               
On other surety none; freely we serve,

               
Because wee freely love, as in our will

   540     
To love or not; in this we stand or fall:

               
And som are fall’n, to disobedience fall’n,

               
And so from Heav’n to deepest Hell; O fall

               
From what high state of bliss into what woel

           
      
       To whom our great Progenitor. Thy words

   545     
Attentive, and with more delighted ear,

               
Divine instructer, I have heard, then when

               
Cherubic Songs by night from neighbouring Hills

               
Aereal Music send: nor knew I not

               
To be both will and deed created free;

   550     
Yet that we never shall forget to love

               
Our maker, and obey him whose command

               
Single, is yet so just, my constant thoughts

               
Assur’d me, and still assure: though what thou tellst

               
Hath past in Heav’n, som doubt within me move,

   555     
But more desire to hear, if thou consent,

               
The full relation, which must needs be strange,

               
Worthy of Sacred silence to be heard;

               
And we have yet large day, for scarce the Sun

               
Hath finisht half his journey, and scarce begins

   560     
His other half in the great Zone of Heav’n.

           
      
       Thus
Adam
made request, and
Raphael

               
After short pause assenting, thus began.

           
      
       High matter thou injoinst me, O prime of men,

               
Sad task and hard, for how shall I relate

   565     
To human sense th’ invisible exploits

               
Of warring Spirits; how without remorse

               
The ruin of so many glorious once

               
And perfet while they stood; how last unfould

               
The secrets of another world, perhaps

   570     
Not lawful to reveal? yet for thy good

               
This is dispenc’t, and what surmounts the reach

               
Of human sense, I shall delineate so,

               
By lik’ning spiritual to corporal forms,

               
As may express them best, though what if Earth

   575     
Be but the shaddow of Heav’n,
³⁶
and things therein

               
Each t’ other like, more then on earth is thought?

           
      
       As yet this world was not, and
Chaos
wild

               
Reign’d where these Heav’ns now rowl, where Earth now rests

               
Upon her Center pois’d, when on a day

   580     
(For Time, though in Eternitie, appli’d

               
To motion, measures all things durable

               
By present, past, and future) on such day

               
As Heav’ns great Year
³⁷
brings forth, th’ Empyreal Host

               
Of Angels by Imperial summons call’d,

   585     
Innumerable before th’ Almighties Throne

               
Forthwith from all the ends of Heav’n appeerd

               
Under thir Hierarchs in orders bright;

               
Ten thousand thousand Ensignes high advanc’d,

               
Standards, and Gonfalons
³⁸
twixt Van and Rear