The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems (118 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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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

      

With sucked
5491
and glutted
5492
offal,
5493
at one sling
5494

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

      

Who can extenuate
5500
Thee?” Next,
5501
to the Son,

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

      

Solstitial
5506
summer’s heat. To the blanc
5507
moon

657

      

Her office they prescribed; to th’ other five
5508

658

      

Their planetary motions, and aspects,
5509

659

      

In sextile,
5510
square,
5511
and trine,
5512
and opposite,
5513

660

      

Of noxious
5514
efficacy, and when to join

661

      

In synod
5515
unbenign, and taught the fixed
5516

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

      

Their corners,
5518
when with bluster
5519
to confound
5520

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

      

Oblique
5522
the centric globe.
5523
Some say the sun
5524

672

      

Was bid turn reins from th’ equinoctial
5525
road

673

      

Like
5526
distant breadth to Taurus
5527
with the Sev’n

674

      

Atlantic Sisters,
5528
and the Spartan Twins,
5529

675

      

Up to the Tropic Crab,
5530
thence down amain
5531

676

      

By Leo,
5532
and the Virgin,
5533
and the Scales,
5534

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

      

Beneath Magellan.
5540
At that tasted fruit
5541

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

      

Like
5545
change on sea and land, sideral
5546
blast,

694

      

Vapor, and mist, and exhalation hot,

695

      

Corrupt and pestilent. Now from the north

696

      

Of Norumbega,
5547
and the Samoed shore,
5548

697

      

Bursting their brazen dungeon,
5549
armed with ice,

698

      

And snow, and hail, and stormy gust and flaw,
5550

699

      

Boreas,
5551
and Caecias,
5552
and Argestes
5553
loud,

700

      

And Thrascias,
5554
rend the woods, and seas upturn.

701

      

With adverse
5555
blast upturns them from the south

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