The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems (129 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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531

      

The rule of not too much, by temperance taught,

532

      

In what thou eat’st and drink’st, seeking from thence

533

      

Due nourishment, not gluttonous delight,

534

      

Till many years over thy head return.
6018

535

      

So may’st thou live till, like ripe fruit, thou drop

536

      

Into thy mother’s lap, or be with ease

537

      

Gathered, nor harshly plucked, for Death mature:

538

      

This is old age. But then thou must outlive

539

      

Thy youth, thy strength, thy beauty, which will change

540

      

To withered, weak, and gray. Thy senses, then

541

      

Obtuse,
6019
all taste of pleasure must forego,
6020

542

      

To what thou hast
6021
and, for the air of youth,

543

      

Hopeful and cheerful, in thy blood will reign

544

      

A melancholy damp
6022
of cold and dry

545

      

To weigh thy spirits down, and last
6023
consume

546

      

The balm of life.” To whom our ancestor:

547

      

   
“Henceforth I fly not Death, nor would prolong

548

      

Life much, bent
6024
rather how I may be quit,
6025

549

      

Fairest and easiest, of this cumbrous
6026
charge,
6027

550

      

Which I must keep till my appointed day

551

      

Of rend’ring up,
6028
and patiently attend
6029

552

      

My dissolution.” Michael
6030
replied:

553

      

   
“Nor
6031
love thy life, nor hate, but what thouliv’st

554

      

Live well. How long, or short, permit
6032
to Heav’n.

555

      

And now prepare thee for another sight.”

556

      

   
He looked, and saw a spacious plain whereon

557

      

Were tents of various hue. By some,
6033
were herds

558

      

Of cattle grazing; others, whence the sound

559

      

Of instruments, that made melodious chime,
6034

560

      

Was heard, of harp and organ, and who
6035
moved

561

      

Their stops and chords was seen, his volant
6036
touch,

562

      

Instinct
6037
through all proportions, low and high,

563

      

Fled and pursued transverse the resonant fugue.

564

      

In other part stood one who, at the forge

565

      

Laboring, two massy clods of iron and brass

566

      

Had melted (whether found where casual
6038
fire

567

      

Had wasted woods on mountain or in vale,

568

      

Down to the veins of earth, thence gliding hot

569

      

To some cave’s mouth, or whether washed by stream

570

      

From underground). The liquid ore he drained

571

      

Into fit moulds prepared, from which he formed

572

      

First his own tools, then what might else be wrought,
6039

573

      

Fusil
6040
or graven
6041
in metal. After these,

574

      

But on the hither
6042
side, a different sort

575

      

From the high neighboring hills, which was their seat,

576

      

Down to the plain descended. By their guise
6043

577

      

Just
6044
men they seemed, and all their study bent

578

      

To worship God aright, and know His works

579

      

Not hid, nor those things last
6045
which might preserve

580

      

Freedom and peace to men. They on the plain

581

      

Long had not walked when, from the tents, behold!

582

      

A bevy
6046
of fair women, richly gay

583

      

In gems and wanton
6047
dress! To th’ harp they sung

584

      

Soft amorous ditties,
6048
and in dance came on.
6049

585

      

The men, though grave,
6050
eyed them, and let their eyes

586

      

Rove without rein till, in the amorous net

587

      

Fast caught, they liked, and each his liking chose,

588

      

And now of love they treat,
6051
till the ev’ningstar,
6052

589

      

Love’s harbinger,
6053
appeared. Then all in heat

590

      

They light the nuptial torch, and bid
6054
invoke
6055

591

      

Hymen,
6056
then first
6057
to marriage rites invoked:

592

      

With feast and music all the tents resound.

593

      

Such happy
6058
interview
6059
and fair event
6060

594

      

Of love and youth not lost, songs, garlands, flow’rs,

595

      

And charming symphonies,
6061
attached
6062
the heart

596

      

Of Adam, soon inclined t’ admit
6063
delight,

597

      

The bent
6064
of Nature, which he thus expressed:

598

      

   
“True opener of mine eyes, prime Angel blest,

599

      

Much better seems this vision, and more hope

600

      

Of peaceful days portends,
6065
than those two past.

601

      

Those were of hate and Death, or pain much worse.

602

      

Here Nature seems fulfilled in all her ends.”
6066

603

      

To whom thus Michael:

“Judge not what is best

604

      

By pleasure, though to Nature seeming meet,
6067

605

      

Created, as thou art, to nobler end

606

      

Holy and pure, conformity
6068
divine.

607

      

Those tents thou saw’st so pleasant were the tents

608

      

Of wickedness, wherein shall dwell his race

609

      

Who slew his brother. Studious they appear

610

      

Of arts that polish
6069
life, inventors rare,
6070

611

      

Unmindful of their Maker, though His Spirit

612

      

Taught them, but they His gifts acknowledged none.

613

      

Yet they a beauteous offspring shall beget,

614

      

For that fair female troop thou saw’st, that seemed

615

      

Of goddesses, so blithe,
6071
so smooth, so gay,

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