273
Of mortal 5298 change on earth. As when a flock
274
Of ravenous fowl, though many a league remote,
275
Against the day of battle, to a field
276
Where armies lie encamped, come flying, lured
277
With scent of living carcasses designed
278
For death the following day, in bloody fight,
279
So scented the grim feature, 5299 and upturned
280
His nostril wide into the murky air,
281
Sagacious5300 of his quarry from so far.
282
Then both from out Hell-gates, into the waste,
283
Wide anarchy of Chaos, damp and dark,
284
Flew diverse, 5301 and with power (their power was great)
285
Hovering5302 upon the waters, what5303 they met
286
Solid or slimy, as in raging sea
287
Tossed up and down, together crowded drove,
288
From each side shoaling5304 towards the mouth of Hell,
289
As when two polar winds, blowing adverse
290
Upon the Cronian5305 sea, together drive
291
Mountains of ice, that stop5306 th’ imagined5307 way
292
Beyond Petsora5308 eastward, to the rich
293
Cathaian5309 coast. The aggregated soil5310
294
Death with his mace petrific,5311 cold and dry,
295
As with a trident,5312 smote, and fixed as firm
296
As Delos,5313 floating once. The rest his look
297
Bound with Gorgonian5314 rigor5315 not to move,
298
And with asphaltic5316 slime, broad as the gate,
299
Deep to the roots of Hell the gathered beach5317
300
They fastened, and the mole5318 immense wrought5319 on
301
Over the foaming deep high-arched, a bridge
302
Of length prodigious, joining to the wall
303
Immoveable5320 of this now fenceless5321 world,
304
Forfeit5322 to Death. From hence a passage broad,
305
Smooth, easy, inoffensive, 5323 down to Hell.
306
So (if great things to small may be compared)
307
Xerxes,5324 the liberty of Greece to yoke,
308
From Susa,5325 his Memnonian palace high,
309
Came to the sea, and over Hellespont 5326
310
Bridging his way, Europe with Asia joined,
311
And scourged 5327 with many a stroke th’ indignant waves.
312
Now had they brought the work by wondrous art
313
Pontifical,5328 a ridge of pendant 5329 rock
314
Over the vexed 5330 abyss, following the track
315
Of Satan to the self-same place where he
316
First lighted5331 from his wing, 5332 and landed safe
317
From out of Chaos, to the outside bare
318
Of this round world. With pins of adamant
319
And chains they made all fast—too fast they made
320
And durable! And now in little space
321
The confines5333 met of empyrean Heav’n
322
And of this world, and on the left hand Hell
323
With long reach interposed.5334 Three sev’ral5335 ways5336
324
In sight, to each of these three places led.
325
And now their way to earth they had descried,5337
326
To Paradise first tending 5338 —when, behold!
327
Satan, in likeness of an Angel bright,
328
Betwixt the Centaur and the Scorpion steering
329
His zenith,5339 while the sun in Aries rose. 5340
330
Disguised he came, but those his children dear
331
Their parent soon discerned,5341 though in disguise.
332
He, after Eve seduced, unminded5342 slunk
333
Into the wood fast by and, changing shape
334
T’ observe the sequel, saw his guileful act
335
By Eve, though all unweeting, 5343 seconded
336
Upon her husband, saw their shame that sought
337
Vain covertures,5344 but when he saw descend
338
The Son of God to judge them, terrified
339
He fled, not hoping to escape, but shun
340
The present, fearing, guilty, what His5345 wrath
341
Might suddenly inflict. That past, returned 5346
342
By night, and list’ning where the hapless5347 pair
343
Sat in their sad discourse and various plaint,
344
Thence gathered his own doom, which understood
345
Not instant, but of future time. With joy
346
And tidings fraught,5348 to Hell he now returned,
347
And at the brink of Chaos, near the foot
348
Of this new wondrous pontifice, unhoped
349
Met who to meet him came, his offspring dear.
350
Great joy was at their meeting, and at sight
351
Of that stupendious bridge his joy increased.
352
Long he admiring stood, till Sin, his fair
353
Enchanting daughter, thus the silence broke:
354
“O parent, these are thy magnific deeds,
355
Thy trophies! which thou view’st as not thine own.
356
Thou art their author and prime architect,
357
For I no sooner in my heart divined
358
(My heart, which by a secret harmony
359
Still moves with thine, joined in connection sweet)
360
That thou on earth had’st prospered, which thy looks
361
Now also evidence, but straight I felt
362
(Though distant from thee worlds between), yet felt
363
That I must after5349 thee, with this thy son,
364
Such fatal 5350 consequence5351 unites us three!
365
Hell could no longer hold us in our bounds,
366
Nor this unvoyageable gulf obscure
367
Detain from following thy illustrious track.
368
Thou hast achieved our liberty, confined
369
Within Hell-gates till now. Thou us empowered
370
To fortify5352 thus far, and overlay,
371
With this portentous5353 bridge, the dark abyss.
372
Thine now is all this world. Thy virtue hath won
373
What thy hands builded not, thy wisdom gained
374
With odds5354 what war hath lost, and fully avenged
375
Our foil 5355 in Heav
’n. Here thou shalt monarch reign,
376
There did’st not. There let Him still victor sway, 5356
377
As battle hath adjudged, from this new world
378
Retiring, by His own doom5357 alienated,5358
379
And henceforth monarchy with thee divide
380
Of all things, parted by the empyreal bounds,
381
His quadrature, 5359 from thy orbicular5360 world—
382
Or try5361 thee, now more dang’rous to His throne.
383
Whom thus the Prince of darkness answered glad:
384
“Fair daughter, and thou son and grandchild both:
385
High proof ye now have giv’n to be the race
386
Of Satan (for I glory in the name,
387
Antagonist of Heaven’s Almighty King)
388
Amply have merited of me, of all
389
Th’ infernal empire, that so near Heav’n’s door
390
Triumphal with triumphal act have met,
391
Mine5362 with this glorious work, and made one realm,
392
Hell and this world, one realm, one continent
393
Of easy thoroughfare. Therefore, while I
394
Descend through darkness, on your road with ease,
395
To my associate Powers, them to acquaint
396
With these successes, and with them rejoice,
397
You two this way, among these numerous orbs,
398
All yours, right down to Paradise descend.
399
There dwell, and reign in bliss, thence on the earth
400
Dominion exercise and in the air,
401
Chiefly on man, sole lord of all declared.
402
Him first make sure your thrall,5363 and lastly kill.
403
My substitutes I send ye, and create
404
Plenipotent5364 on earth, of matchless might
405
Issuing from me. On your joint vigor now
406
My hold of this new kingdom all depends,
407
Through Sin to Death exposed 5365 by my exploit.5366
408
If your joint power prevail, th’ affairs of Hell
409
No detriment5367 need fear. Go, and be strong!
410
So saying he dismissed them. They with speed
411
Their course through thickest constellations held,
412
Spreading their bane. 5368 The blasted 5369 stars looked wan,
413
And planets, planet-struck,5370 real 5371 eclipse5372
414
Then suffered. Th’ other way Satan went down
415
The causey5373 to Hell-gate. On either side
416
Disparted 5374 Chaos overbuilt exclaimed 5375
417
And with rebounding surge the bars5376 assailed,
418
That scorned his indignation. Through the gate,
419
Wide open and unguarded, Satan passed,
420
And all about found desolate, for those
421
Appointed to sit there had left their charge,
422
Flown to the upper world. The rest were all
423
Far to the inland retired,5377 about the walls
424
Of Pandemonium, city and proud seat
425
Of Lucifer, so by allusion called
426
Of that bright star to Satan paragoned.5378
427
There kept their watch the legions, while the grand
428
In council sat, solicitous5379 what chance
429
Might intercept5380 their emperor sent.5381 So he
430
Departing gave5382 command, and they observed.
431
As when the Tartar from his Russian foe
432
By Astrakhan5383 over the snowy plains
433
Retires, or Bactrin Sophi,5384 from the horns
434
Of Turkish crescent, leaves all waste beyond
435
The realm of Aladule, 5385 in his retreat
436
To Tauris5386 or Casbeen,5387 so these, the late5388
437
Heav’n-banished host left desert5389 utmost5390 Hell
438
Many a dark league, reduced 5391 in careful watch
439
Round their metropolis, and now expecting
440
Each hour their great adventurer, from the search
441
Of foreign worlds. He through the midst unmarked,5392
442
In show 5393 plebeian5394 Angel militant 5395
443
Of lowest order, passed, and from the door
444
Of that Plutonian hall, invisible
445
Ascended his high throne, which under state5396
446
Of richest texture spread, at th’ upper end
447
Was placed in regal luster. Down a while
448
He sat, and round about him saw unseen.
449
At last, as from a cloud, his fulgent5397 head
450
And shape star-bright appeared, or brighter, clad
451
With what permissive glory since his fall
452
Was left him, or false glitter. All amazed
453
At that so sudden blaze, the Stygian5398 throng
454
Bent 5399 their aspect,5400 and whom they wished beheld,
455
Their mighty chief returned. Loud was th’ acclaim!
456
Forth rushed in haste the great consulting peers,
457
Raised from their dark divan,5401 and with like joy
458
Congratulant approached him, who with hand
459
Silence, and with these words attention won:
460
“Thrones, Dominations, Princedoms, Virtues, Powers!
461
For in possession such, not only of right,
462
I call ye and declare ye now, returned
463
Successful beyond hope, to lead ye forth
464
Triumphant out of this infernal pit
465
Abominable, accursed, the house of woe
466
And dungeon of our tyrant. Now possess,
467
As lords, a spacious world, t’ our native Heav’n
468
Little inferior, by my adventure hard
469
With peril great achieved. Long were to tell
470
What I have done, what suffered, with what pain
471
Voyaged th’ unreal,5402 vast, unbounded deep
472
Of horrible confusion, over which
473
By Sin and Death a broad way now is paved,
474
To expedite your glorious march. But I
475
Toiled out my uncouth5403 passage, forced to ride5404
476
The untractable5405 abyss, plunged in the womb
477
Of unoriginal 5406 Night and Chaos wild
478
That, jealous of their secrets, fiercely opposed
479
My journey strange, 5407 with clamorous uproar
480
Protesting Fate supreme. Thence how I found
481
The new created world, which fame5408 in Heav’n
The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems Page 52
