The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems (103 page)

Read The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems Online

Authors: John Milton,Burton Raffel

Tags: #Fiction, #General, #Literary Collections, #Poetry, #Classics, #English; Irish; Scottish; Welsh, #English poetry

BOOK: The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems
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443

      

Held dalliance
4896
with his fair Egyptian spouse.
4897

444

      

Much he the place admired,
4898
the person more.

445

      

As one who long in populous city pent,
4899

446

      

Where houses thick and sewers annoy
4900
the air,

447

      

Forth issuing on a summer’s morn to breathe

448

      

Among the pleasant villages and farms

449

      

Adjoined, from each thing met conceives delight,

450

      

The smell of grain, or tedded grass,
4901
or kine,
4902

451

      

Or dairy,
4903
each rural sight, each rural sound.

452

      

If chance, with nymph-like step, fair virgin pass,

453

      

What pleasing seemed, for her
4904
now pleases more,

454

      

She most, and in her look sums all delight.

455

      

Such pleasure took the serpent to behold

456

      

This flowery plat,
4905
the sweet recess
4906
of Eve

457

      

Thus early, thus alone. Her Heav’nly form

458

      

Angelic, but more soft, and feminine,

459

      

Her graceful innocence, her every air

460

      

Of gesture, or least action, overawed
4907

461

      

His malice, and with rapine
4908
sweet bereaved
4909

462

      

His fierceness of the fierce intent it brought.

463

      

That space
4910
the Evil One abstracted
4911
stood

464

      

From his own evil, and for the time remained

465

      

Stupidly
4912
good, of enmity disarmed,

466

      

Of guile, of hate, of envy, of revenge.

467

      

But the hot Hell that always in him burns,

468

      

Though in mid Heav’n, soon ended his delight,

469

      

And tortures him now more, the more he sees

470

      

Of pleasure, not for him ordained. Then soon

471

      

Fierce hate he recollects, and all his thoughts

472

      

Of mischief, gratulating,
4913
thus excites:
4914

473

      

   
“Thoughts, whither have ye led me! with what sweet

474

      

Compulsion thus transported, to forget

475

      

What hither brought us! Hate, not love, nor hope

476

      

Of Paradise for Hell, hope here to taste

477

      

Of pleasure, but all pleasure to destroy,

478

      

Save what is in destroying. Other joy

479

      

To me is lost. Then let me not let pass
4915

480

      

Occasion
4916
which now smiles. Behold alone

481

      

The woman, opportune
4917
to all attempts,

482

      

Her husband, for I view far round, not nigh,

483

      

Whose higher intellectual
4918
more I shun,

484

      

And strength, of courage haughty,
4919
and of limb

485

      

Heroic built, though of terrestrial mould,

486

      

Foe not informidable!
4920
exempt from wound,

487

      

I not, so much hath Hell debased, and pain

488

      

Enfeebled me, to what I was in Heav’n.

489

      

She fair, divinely fair, fit love for Gods!

490

      

Not terrible, though terror be in love

491

      

And beauty, not
4921
approached
4922
by stronger hate,

492

      

Hate stronger, under show of love well feigned,

493

      

The way which to her ruin now I tend.”
4923

494

      

   
So spoke the enemy of mankind, enclosed

495

      

In serpent, inmate
4924
bad! and toward Eve

496

      

Addressed
4925
his way, not with indented
4926
wave,

497

      

Prone on the ground, as since, but on his rear,

498

      

Circular base of rising folds, that tow’red

499

      

Fold above fold, a surging maze! His head

500

      

Crested aloft, and carbuncle
4927
his eyes,

501

      

With burnished neck of verdant gold, erect

502

      

Amidst his circling spires,
4928
that on the grass

503

      

Floated
4929
redundant.
4930
Pleasing was his shape

504

      

And lovely, never since of serpent-kind

505

      

Lovelier, not those that in Illyria changed
4931

506

      

Hermione
4932
and Cadmus,
4933
or the god

507

      

In Epidaurus,
4934
nor to which transformed

508

      

Ammonian Jove,
4935
or Capitoline,
4936
was seen,

509

      

He with Olympias, this with her who bore

510

      

Scipio, the height
4937
of Rome. With tract
4938
oblique
4939

511

      

At first, as one who sought access
4940
but feared

512

      

To interrupt, sidelong he works his way.

513

      

As when a ship, by skilful steersman wrought

514

      

Nigh river’s mouth or foreland,
4941
where the wind

515

      

Veers oft, as oft so steers, and shifts her sail,

516

      

So varied he, and of his tortuous
4942
train

517

      

Curled many a wanton
4943
wreath
4944
in sight of Eve,

518

      

To lure her eye. She, busied, heard the sound

519

      

Of rustling leaves, but minded not, as used

520

      

To such disport before
4945
her through the field,

521

      

From every beast, more duteous
4946
at her call

522

      

Than at Circean call the herd disguised.
4947

523

      

   
He, bolder now, uncalled before her stood,

524

      

But as in gaze admiring. Oft he bowed

525

      

His turret crest, and sleek enamelled neck,

526

      

Fawning, and licked the ground whereon she trod.

527

      

His gentle dumb expression turned at length

528

      

The eye of Eve to mark his play. He, glad

529

      

Of her attention gained, with serpent-tongue

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