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
621
Folly to me! So doth the Prince of Hell
622
And his adherents, that with so much ease
623
I suffer
5480
them to enter and possess
624
A place so Heav’nly, and conniving
5481
seem
625
To gratify
5482
my scornful enemies,
626
That laugh, as if transported
5483
with some fit
627
Of passion, I to them had quitted
5484
all,
628
At random
5485
yielded up to their misrule,
629
And know not that I called, and drew them thither,
630
My Hell-hounds, to lick up the draff
5486
and filth
631
Which man’s polluting sin with taint hath shed
632
On what was pure, till
5487
crammed
5488
and gorged,
5489
night
5490
burst
633
634
Of thy victorious arm, well-pleasing Son,
635
Both Sin and Death, and yawning
5495
grave at last
636
Through Chaos hurled, obstruct
5496
the mouth of Hell
637
Forever, and seal up his ravenous jaws.
638
Then Heav’n and earth renewed shall be made pure
639
To sanctity
5497
that shall receive no stain:
640
Till then, the curse pronounced on both precedes.”
5498
641
He ended, and the Heav’nly audience loud
642
Sung Hallelujah, as
5499
the sound of seas,
643
Through multitude that sung:
“Just are Thy way
644
Righteous are Thy decrees on all Thy works.
645
646
Destined Restorer of mankind, by whom
647
New Heav’n and earth shall to the ages rise,
648
Or down from Heav’n descend.
Such was their song,
649
While the Creator, calling forth by name
650
His mighty Angels, gave them several charge
5502
651
As sorted
5503
best with present things. The sun
652
Had first his precept
5504
so to move, so shine,
653
As might affect the earth with cold and heat
654
Scarce tolerable, and from the north to call
655
Decrepit
5505
winter, from the south to bring
656
657
Her office they prescribed; to th’ other five
5508
658
Their planetary motions, and aspects,
5509
659
660
Of noxious
5514
efficacy, and when to join
661
662
Their influence malignant when to shower,
663
Which of them rising with the sun, or falling,
664
Should prove tempestuous.
5517
To the winds they set
665
666
Sea, air, and shore; the thunder when to roll
667
With terror through the dark aereal hall.
668
Some say He bid his Angels turn askance
5521
669
The poles of earth, twice ten degrees and more
670
From the sun’s axle. They with labor pushed
671
672
Was bid turn reins from th’ equinoctial
5525
road
673
674
675
676
677
As deep as Capricorn, to bring in change
678
Of seasons to each clime. Else
5535
had the Spring
679
Perpetual smiled on earth with vernant
5536
flowers,
680
Equal in days and nights, except to those
681
Beyond the polar circles: to them day
682
Had unbenighted
5537
shone, while the low sun,
683
To recompense
5538
his distance, in their sight
684
Had rounded still the horizon, and not known
685
Or east or west, which had forbid the snow
686
From cold Estotiland,
5539
and south as far
687
688
The sun, as from Thyestean banquet,
5542
turned
689
His course intended: else how had the world
690
Inhabited,
5543
though sinless more than now,
691
Avoided pinching
5544
cold and scorching heat?
692
These changes in the heav’ns, though slow, produced
693
694
Vapor, and mist, and exhalation hot,
695
Corrupt and pestilent. Now from the north
696
697
Bursting their brazen dungeon,
5549
armed with ice,
698
And snow, and hail, and stormy gust and flaw,
5550
699
700
And Thrascias,
5554
rend the woods, and seas upturn.
701
With adverse
5555
blast upturns them from the south