The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems
Page 63
The woman’s seed, obscurely then foretold,
544
Now ampler known thy Savior and thy Lord,
545
Last6436 in the clouds from Heav’n to be revealed
546
In glory of the Father, to dissolve
547
Satan with his perverted world, then raise
548
From the conflagrant6437 mass, purged and refined,
549
New Heav’ns, new earth, ages of endless date,6438
550
Founded in righteousness, and peace, and love—
551
To bring forth fruits, joy and eternal bliss.”
552
He ended, and thus Adam last6439 replied:
553
“How soon hath thy prediction, seer 6440 blest,
554
Measured6441 this transient world, the race6442 of time,
555
Till time stand fixed! Beyond is all abyss,
556
Eternity, whose end no eye can reach.
557
Greatly-instructed I shall hence depart,
558
Greatly in peace of thought, and have my fill
559
Of knowledge, what this vessel can contain,
560
Beyond which was my folly to aspire.
561
Henceforth I learn that to obey is best,
562
And love with fear the only God; to walk
563
As in His presence, ever to observe
564
His providence, and on Him sole depend,
565
Merciful over 6443 all His works, with good
566
Still 6444 overcoming evil, and by small
567
Accomplishing great things, by things deemed weak
568
Subverting6445 worldly strong, and worldly wise
569
By simply meek; that suffering for truth’s sake
570
Is fortitude to highest victory
571
And, to the faithful, death the gate of life,
572
Taught this by his example, whom I now
573
Acknowledge my Redeemer ever blest.”
574
To whom thus also th’ Angel last6446 replied:
575
“This having learned, thou hast attained the sum
576
Of wisdom. Hope no higher, though all the stars
577
Thou knew’st by name, and all the ethereal powers,
578
All secrets of the deep, all Nature’s works,
579
Or works of God in Heav’n, air, earth, or sea,
580
And all the riches of this world enjoyd’st,
581
And all the rule, one empire. Only add
582
Deeds to thy knowledge answerable,6447 add faith,
583
Add virtue, patience, temperance, add love,
584
By name to come called charity, the soul
585
Of all the rest. Then wilt thou not be loath
586
To leave this Paradise, but shalt possess
587
A Paradise within thee, happier far.
588
“Let us descend now therefore from this top6448
589
Of speculation,6449 for the hour precise6450
590
Exacts6451 our parting hence. And see the guards,
591
By me encamped on yonder hill! Expect6452
592
Their motion, at whose front 6453 a flaming sword,
593
In signal of remove,6454 waves fiercely6455 round.
594
We may no longer stay. Go, waken Eve.
595
Her also I with gentle dreams have calmed,
596
Portending6456 good, and all her spirits composed6457
597
To meek6458 submission. Thou, at season fit,6459
598
Let her with thee partake6460 what thou hast heard,
599
Chiefly what may concern her faith to know,
600
The great deliverance by her seed to come
601
(For by the woman’s seed) on all mankind,
602
That ye may live, which will be many days,
603
Both in one faith unanimous,6461 though sad,
604
With cause, for evils past, yet much more cheered
605
With meditation6462 on the happy end.”
606
He ended, and they both descend the hill.
607
Descended Adam to the bow’r where Eve
608
Lay sleeping, ran before, but found her waked,
609
And thus with words not sad she him received:
610
“Whence thou return’st, and whither went’st, I know,
611
For God is also in sleep, and dreams advise,6463
612
Which He hath sent propitious,6464 some great good
613
Presaging, since with sorrow and heart’s distress
614
Wearied I fell asleep. But now lead on:
615
In me is no delay. With thee to go
616
Is to stay here. Without thee here to stay
617
Is to go hence unwilling. Thou to me
618
Art all things under Heav’n, all places thou,
619
Who for my wilful crime art banished hence.
620
This further consolation yet secure
621
I carry hence, though all by me is lost,
622
Such favor I unworthy am vouchsafed,6465
623
By me the promised seed shall all restore.”
624
So spoke our mother Eve, and Adam heard
625
Well pleased, but answered not. For now, too nigh
626
The Arch-Angel stood and, from the other hill
627
To their fixed station, all in bright array
628
The Cherubim descended, on the ground
629
Gliding meteorous,6466 as ev’ning-mist
630
Ris’n from a river o’er the marish6467 glides,
631
And gathers ground fast at the laborer’s heel
632
Homeward returning. High in front advanced,6468
633
The brandished sword of God before them blazed,
634
Fierce6469 as a comet, which with torrid heat,
635
And vapor6470 as6471 the Libyan air adust,6472
636
Began to parch6473 that 6474 temperate 6475 clime. Whereat
637
In either hand the hast’ning Angel caught
638
Our ling’ring6476 parents, and to the eastern gate
639
Led them direct, and down the cliff as fast
640
To the subjected 6477 plain, then disappeared.6478
641
They looking back, all th’ eastern side beheld
642
Of Paradise, so late their happy seat,
643
Waved over by that flaming brand, the gate
644
With dreadful faces thronged and fiery arms.
645
Some natural tears they dropped, but wiped them soon.
646
647
Their place of rest, and Providence their guide.
648
They hand in hand, with wand’ring steps and slow,
649
Through Eden took their solitary way.
The End
PARADISE REGAINED
1671
BOOK I
I, who erewhile6479 the happy Garden sung
By one man’s disobedience lost, now sing
Recovered Paradise to all mankind,
By one man’s firm obedience fully tried6480
Through all temptation, and the Tempter foiled
In all his wiles, defeated and repulsed,
And Eden raised in the waste wilderness.
Thou Spirit, who led’st this glorious Eremite6481
Into the desert, his victorious field
Against the spiritual foe, and brought’st him thence
By proof th’ undoubted Son of God, inspire,
As thou art wont,6482 my prompted6483 song, else mute,
And bear through height or depth of Nature’s bounds,
With prosperous6484 wing full summed,6485 to tell of deeds
Above6486 heroic, though in secret done,
And unrecorded left through many an age—
Worthy t’ have not remained so long unsung.
Now had the great Proclaimer,6487 with a voice
More awful 6488 than the sound of trumpet, cried
“Repentance, and Heav’n’s kingdom nigh at hand
To all baptized!” To his great baptism flocked
With awe6489 the regions round, and with them came
From Nazareth, the son of Joseph deemed,6490
To the flood Jordan—came as then obscure,
Unmarked,6491 unknown. But him the Baptist soon
Descried,6492 divinely warned, and witness bore
As to his worthier,6493 and would have resigned
To him his Heav’nly office. Nor was long
His witness unconfirmed: on him6494 baptized
Heav’n opened, and in likeness of a dove
The Spirit descended, while the Father’s voice
From Heav’n pronounced him His belovèd Son.
That heard the Adversary,6495 who roving still
About the world, at that assembly famed6496
Would not be last, and with the voice divine
Nigh thunder-struck,6497 th’ exalted man to whom
Such high attest was giv’n a while surveyed6498
With wonder. Then with envy fraught,6499 and rage,
Flies to his place,6500 nor rests, but in mid air
To council summons all his mighty Peers,6501
Within thick clouds and dark tenfold involved,6502
A gloomy consistory,6503 and them amidst,
With looks aghast6504 and sad,6505 he thus bespoke:
“O ancient Powers of air and this wide world
(For much more willingly I mention air,
This our old conquest, than remember Hell,
Our hated habitation), well ye know
How many ages, as6506 the years of men,
This universe6507 we have possessed, and ruled
In manner at our will th’ affairs of earth,
Since Adam and his facile6508 consort Eve
Lost Paradise, deceived by me, though since
With dread attending 6509 when that fatal wound
Shall6510 be inflicted by the seed of Eve
Upon my head. Long the decrees of Heav’n
Delay, for longest time to Him is short.
And now, too soon for us, the circling hours
This dreaded time have compassed,6511 wherein we
Must bide6512 the stroke of that long-threat’ned wound
(At least, if so we can, and by the head
Broken6513 be not intended all our power
To be infringed,6514 our freedom and our being
In this fair empire won of earth and air),
For this ill news I bring: the woman’s seed,
Destined to this, is late of woman born.
His birth to our just fear gave no small cause,
But his growth now to youth’s full flow’r, displaying
All virtue, grace and wisdom to achieve
Things highest, greatest, multiplies my fear.
Before him a great prophet, to proclaim
His coming, is sent harbinger,6515 who all
Invites, and in the consecrated stream
Pretends6516 to wash off sin, and fit them so
Purified to receive him pure, or rather
To do him honor as their King. All come,
And he6517 himself among them was baptized—
Not thence to be more pure, but to receive
The testimony of Heav’n, that who he is
Thenceforth the nations may not doubt. I saw
The prophet do him reverence. On him, rising
Out of the water, Heav’n above the clouds
Unfold her crystal doors, thence on his head
A perfect dove descend (whate’er it meant),
And out of Heav’n the sov’reign voice I heard,
‘This is my Son beloved—in him am pleased. ’
His mother, then, is mortal, but his sire
He6518 who obtains6519 the monarchy of Heav’n,
And what will He not do t’ advance His Son?
His first-begot we know,6520 and sore have felt,
When his fierce thunder drove us to the deep.
Who this is we must learn, for man he seems
In all his lineaments,6521 though in his face
The glimpses of his Father’s glory shine.
Ye see our danger on the utmost edge
Of hazard,6522 which admits6523 no long debate,
But must with something sudden be opposed
(Not force, but well-couched6524 fraud, well-woven snares),
Ere in the head 6525 of nations he appear,
Their king, their leader, and supreme on earth.
I, when no other durst, sole undertook
The dismal6526 expedition6527 to find out
And ruin Adam, and the exploit performed
Successfully. A calmer voyage now
Will waft 6528 me, and the way found prosperous once
Induces best to hope of like success.”
He ended, and his words impression left
Of much amazement to th’ infernal crew,
Distracted and surprised with deep dismay
At these sad tidings. But no time was then6529
For long indulgence to their fears or grief:
Unanimous they all commit the care
And management of this main enterprise
To him, their great dictator,6530 whose attempt
At first against mankind so well had thrived 6531
In Adam’s overthrow, and led their march
From Hell’s deep-vaulted den to dwell in light,
Regents, and potentates, and kings, yea gods,
Of many a pleasant realm and province wide.
So to the coast of Jordan he directs
His easy6532 steps, girded6533 with snaky wiles,
Where he might likeliest find this new-declared,
This man of men, attested Son of God,
Temptation and all guile on him to try—
So to subvert 6534 whom6535 he suspected raised
To end his6536 reign on earth so long enjoyed.
But contrary unweeting,6537 he fulfilled
The purposed counsel, pre-ordained and fixed,
Of the Most High, who in full frequence6538 bright
Of Angels, thus to Gabriel smiling spoke:
“Gabriel, this day, by proof, thou shalt behold,
Thou and all Angels conversant6539 on earth
With man or men’s affairs, how I begin
To verify that solemn message late,
On which I sent thee to the virgin pure
In Galilee, that she should bear a son,
Great in renown, and called the Son of God.
Then told’st her (doubting6540 how these things could be
To her a virgin) that on her should come
The Holy Ghost, and the power of the Highest
O’ershadow6541 her. This man, born and now upgrown,
To show him worthy of his birth divine
And high prediction, henceforth I expose 6542
To Satan. Let him tempt, and now assay6543
His utmost subtlety, because he boasts
And vaunts of his great cunning to the throng
Of his apostasy. He might have learned
Less overweening,6544 since he failed in Job,
Whose constant perseverance overcame
Whate’er his6545 cruel malice could invent.
He now shall know I can produce a man
Of female seed, far abler 6546 to resist
All his solicitations, and at length
All his vast force, and drive him back to Hell,
Winning by conquest what the first man lost
By fallacy 6547 surprised.
“But first I mean
To exercise6548 him6549 in the wilderness.
There he shall first lay down the rudiments6550
Of his great warfare, ere I send him forth