Our foil in heaven; here thou fhalt monarch reign. There didft not; there let him still victor sway, 376 As battle hath adjudg'd, from this new world Retiring, by his own doom alienated,
And henceforth monarchy with thee divide
Of all things parted by th' empyreal bounds,
His quadrature, from thy orbicular world,
Or try thee now more dang'rous to his throne.
Whom thus the prince of darkness answer'd glad.
Fair daughter, and thou fon and grandchild both,
High proof ye now have given to be the race
Of Satan, (for I glory in the name,
Antagonist of heaven's Almighty King),
Amply have merited of me, of all
Th' infernal empire, that fo near heav'n's door
Triumphal, with triumphal act have met,
Mine with this glorious work, and made one realm
Hell and this world, one realm, one continent
Of eafy thorough-fare. Therefore while I
Defcend through darkness, on your road with ease,
To my affociate powers, them to acquaint
With these fucceffes, and with them rejoice;
You two this way, among thefe numerous orbs,
All yours, right down to Paradife defcend;
There dwell, and reign in blifs; thence on the earth Dominion exercife, and in the air
Chiefly on man, fole lord of all declar'd;
Him firft make fure your thrall, and laftly kill.
My fubftitutes 1 fend ye, and create
Plenipotent on earth, of matchiefs might
fuing from me: on your joint vigour now 405 My hold of this new kingdom all depends, Thro' Sin to Death expos'd by my exploit. If your joint power prevail, th' affairs of hell No detriment need fear; go, and be strong.
So faying, he dismiss'd them; they with speed 410 Their courfe thro' thickest constellations held, Spreading their bane; the blafted ftars look'd wan, And planets, planet ftruck, real eclipfe
Then fuffer'd. Th' other way Satan went down
The caufey to hell-gate; on either fide
Difparted Chaos over-built exclaim'd,
And with rebounding furge the bars affail'd,
That fcorn'd his indignation: thro' the gate,
Wide open and unguarded, Satan pafs'd,
And all about found desolate; for those
Appointed to fit there had left their charge,
Flown to the upper world; the rest were all
Far to th' inland retir'd, about the walls
Of Pandemonium, city and proud feat
Of Lucifer, fo by allufion call'd,
Of that bright ftar to Satan paragon'd.
There kept their watch the legions, while the grand
In council fat, folicitous what chance
Might intercept their emp'ror fent; fo he
Departing gave command, and they obferv'd.
As when the Tartar from his Ruffian foe,
By Aftracan, over the fnowy plains,
Retires; or Bactrian Sophi from the horns
Of Turkish crefcent, leaves all wafte beyond
The realm of Aladule, in his retreat
To Tauris or Cafbeen: fo thefe, the late
Heaven-banish'd host, left defert utmost hell.
Many a dark league, reduc'd in careful watch
Round their metropolis, and now expecting
Each hour their great advent'rer from the fearch 440 Of foreign worlds: he thro' the midst unmark'd,
In fhow plebeian angel militant
Of lowest order, pass'd; and from the door
Of that Plutonian hall, invisible
Afcended his high throne, which under state
Of richest texture spread, at th' upper end
Was plac'd in regal luftre. Down a while
He fat, and round about him faw unseen :
At last, as from a cloud, his fulgent head
And fhape ftar-bright appear'd, or brighter, clad 450
With what permiflive glory fince his fall
Was left him, or falfe glitter. All amaz'd
At that fo fudden blaze, the Stygian throng
Bent their afpéct, and whom they wish'd beheld,
Their mighty chief return'd: loud was th' acclaim:
Forth rush'd in hafte the great confulting peers, 456
Rais'd from their dark divan, and with like joy
Congratulant approach'd him, who with hand
Silence, and with these words attention won.
Thrones, dominations, princedoms, virtues, pow'rs,
For in poffeffion fuch, not only' of right,
I call ye, and declare ye now, return'd
Successful beyond hope, to lead ye forth
Triumphant out of this infernal pit
Abominable, accurs'd, the house of woe,
And dungeon of our tyrant; now poffefs,
As lords, a fpacious world, to our native heaven
Little inferior, by my adventure hard
With peril great achiev'd. Long were to tell
What I have done, what fuffer'd, with what pain 470
Voyag'd th' unreal, vaft, unbounded deep.
Of horrible confufion, over which
By Sin and Death a broad way now is pav'd
To expedite your glorious march; but I
Toil'd out my uncouth paffage, forc'd to ride 475
Th' untractable abyfs, plung'd in the womb
Of unoriginal Night and Chaos wild,
That, jealous of their fecrets, fiercely oppos'd.
My journey ftrange, with clamorous uproar
Protesting Fate fupreme; thence how I found
The new-created world, which fame in heav'n
Long had foretold, a fabric wonderful
Of abfolute perfection, therein man
Plac'd in a paradife, by our exile
Made happy: Him by fraud I have feduc'd
From his Creator, and, the more to' increase
Your wonder, with an apple; he thereat
Offended, worth your laughter, hath giv'n up
Both his beloved man and all his world,
To Sin and Death a prey, and fo to us,
Without our hazard, labour, or alarm,
To range in, and to dwell, and over man
To rule, as over all he should have rul'd.
True is, me also he hath judg'd, or rather
Me not, but the brute ferpent, in whofe fhape 495
Man I deceiv'd: that which to me belongs
Is enmity, which he will put between
Me and mankind; I am to bruise his heel;
His feed, when is not fet, fhall bruife my head:
A world who would not purchase with a bruise, 500
Or much more grievous pain? Ye have th' account
Of my performance: what remains, ye gods,
But up, and enter now into full blifs?
So having faid, a while he stood, expecting
Their univerfal fhout and high applaufe
To fill his ear, when contrary he hears
On all fides, from innumerable tongues,
A dismal universal hiss, the found
Of public fcorn: he wonder'd, but not fong
Had leifure, wond'ring at himself now more ;
His vifage drawn he felt to fharp and spare,
His arms clung to his ribs, his legs intwining
Each other, till fupplanted down he fell
A monftrous ferpent on his belly prone,
Keluctant; but in vain, a greater power
Now rul'd him, punish'd in the fhape he finn'd,
According to his doom: he would have spoke,
But his for his return'd with forked tongue
To forked tongue; for now were all transform'd
Alike to ferpents all, as acceffories
To his bold riot: dreadful was the din
Of hifling through the hall, thick fwarming now
With complicated monsters head and tail;
Scorpion and Asp, and Amphisbæna dire,
Cerafies, horn'd, Hydrus, and Elops drear,
And Dipfas, (not so thick fwarm'd once the foil
Bedropt with blood of Gorgon, or the ifle
Ophiufa): but ftill greatest he the midft,
Now dragon grown, larger than whom the fun
Ingender'd in the Pythian vale on flime,
Huge Python, and his pow'r no less he feem'd
Above the re fill to retain: they all
Him follow'd iffuing forth to th' open field,
Where all yet left of that revolted rout,
Heav'n-fall'n, in tation Itood or just array,
Sublime with expectation when to fee
In triumph iffuing forth their glorious chief:
They faw, but other fight instead, a croud
Of ugly ferpents: horror on them fell,
And horrid fympathy; for what they faw,
They felt themselves now changing; down their arms,
Down fell both spear and shield, down they as fast, And the dire hifs renew'd, and the dire form
Catch'd by contagion; like in punishment,
As in their crime. Thus was th' applause they meant Turn'd to exploding hifs, triumph to shame
Caft on themselves from their own mouths. There ftood
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