The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems (162 page)

Useless, and thence ridiculous
⁷⁹⁹⁸
about him.

And since his strength with eye-sight was not lost,

God will restore him eye-sight to his strength.

CHOR. Thy hopes are not ill founded nor seem vain
⁷⁹⁹⁹

Of His delivery,
⁸⁰⁰⁰
and thy joy thereon

Conceived,
⁸⁰⁰¹
agreeable
⁸⁰⁰²
to a father’s love,

In both which we, as next,
⁸⁰⁰³
participate.

MAN. I know your friendly minds and—O what noise!

Mercy of Heav’n, what hideous noise was that!

Horribly loud, unlike the former shout. 1510

CHOR. Noise call you it? or universal groan,

As if the whole inhabitation
⁸⁰⁰⁴
perished.

Blood, death, and deathful deeds are in that noise,

Ruin, destruction at the utmost point.

MAN. Of ruin indeed methought I heard the noise.

Oh it continues, they have slain my son!

CHOR. Thy son is rather slaying them: that outcry

From slaughter of one foe could not ascend.

MAN. Some dismal
⁸⁰⁰⁵
accident
⁸⁰⁰⁶
it needs must be.

What shall we do, stay here or run and see? 1520

CHOR. Best keep together here, lest running thither

We unawares run into danger’s mouth.

This evil on the Philistines is fall’n:

From whom could else a general cry be heard?

The sufferers then will scarce molest us here;

From other hands we need not much to fear.

What if his eye-sight (for to Israel’s God

Nothing is hard) by miracle restored,

He now be dealing dole
⁸⁰⁰⁷
among his foes,

And over heaps of slaughtered walk his way?

MAN. That were a joy presumptuous to be thought.

CHOR. Yet God hath wrought things as incredible

For His people of old. What hinders now?

MAN. He can, I know, but doubt to think He will,

Yet hope would fain subscribe,
⁸⁰⁰⁸
and tempts belief.

A little stay
⁸⁰⁰⁹
will bring some notice hither.

CHOR. Of good or bad so great, of bad the sooner,

For evil news rides post,
⁸⁰¹⁰
while good news baits.
⁸⁰¹¹

And to our wish I see one hither speeding,

An Hebrew, as I guess, and of our tribe.

MESS. O whither shall I run, or which way fly
⁸⁰¹²

The sight of this so horrid spectacle

Which erst my eyes beheld and yet behold,

For dire
⁸⁰¹³
imagination still pursues me?

But providence or instinct of nature seems,

Or reason (though disturbed, and scarce consulted)

To have guided me aright, I know not how,

To thee first, reverend Manoa, and to these

My countrymen, whom here I knew remaining,

As at some distance from the place of horror,

So in the sad event too much concerned.

MAN. The accident
⁸⁰¹⁴
was loud, and here before thee,

With rueful cry, yet what it was we hear not.

No preface needs: thou see’st we long to know.

MESS. It would burst forth, but I recover breath

And sense distract,
⁸⁰¹⁵
to know well what I utter.

MAN. Tell us the sum,
⁸⁰¹⁶
the circumstance
⁸⁰¹⁷
defer.

MESS. Gaza yet stands, but all her sons are fall’n,

All in a moment overwhelmed and fall’n.

MAN. Sad, but thou know’st to Israelites not saddest, 1560

The desolation of a hostile city.

MESS. Feed on that first, there may in grief be surfeit.
⁸⁰¹⁸

MAN. Relate by whom.

MESS.         By Samson.

MAN.                 That still lessens

The sorrow, and converts it nigh to joy.

MESS. Ah Manoa, I refrain too suddenly
⁸⁰¹⁹

To utter what will come at last too soon,
⁸⁰²⁰

Lest evil tidings with too rude eruption
⁸⁰²¹

Hitting thy agèd ear should pierce too deep.

MAN. Suspense in news is torture: speak them out.

MESS. Then take the worst in brief: Samson is dead. 1570

MAN. The worst indeed. O all my hope’s defeated

To free him hence! But death who sets all free

Hath paid his ransom now and full discharge.

What windy
⁸⁰²²
joy this day had I conceived,

Hopeful of his delivery, which now proves

Abortive as the first-born bloom of spring

Nipped with the lagging rear of winter’s frost.

Yet ere I give the reins to grief, say first,

How died he? Death to life is crown or shame.

All by him fell, thou say’st. By whom fell he? 1580

What glorious hand gave Samson his death’s wound?

MESS. Unwounded of his enemies he fell.

MAN. Wearied with slaughter, then, or how? Explain.

MESS. By his own hands.

MAN.                 Self-violence? What cause

Brought him so soon at variance
⁸⁰²³
with himself,

Among his foes?

MESS. Inevitable cause

At once both to destroy and be destroyed.

The edifice where all were met to see him

Upon their heads and on his own he pulled.

MAN. O lastly
⁸⁰²⁴
over-strong against thyself! 1590

A dreadful way thou took’st to thy revenge.

More than enough we know, but while things yet

Are in confusion, give us, if thou canst,

Eye-witness of what first or last was done,

Relation
⁸⁰²⁵
more particular and distinct.

MESS. Occasions
⁸⁰²⁶
drew me early to this city,

And as the gates I entered with sun-rise,

The morning trumpets festival proclaimed

Through each high street.
⁸⁰²⁷
Little I had dispatched
⁸⁰²⁸

When all abroad
⁸⁰²⁹
was rumored that this day 1600

Samson should be brought forth to show the people

Proof of his mighty strength in feats and games.

I sorrowed at his captive state, but minded
⁸⁰³⁰

Not to be absent at that spectacle.

The building was a spacious theater
⁸⁰³¹

Half round on two main pillars vaulted high,

With seats where all the lords and each degree

Of sort
⁸⁰³²
might sit in order to behold.

The other side was open, where the throng

On banks
⁸⁰³³
and scaffolds under sky might stand.

I among these aloof
⁸⁰³⁴
obscurely
⁸⁰³⁵
stood.

The feast and noon grew high, and sacrifice

Had filled their hearts with mirth, high cheer, and wine,

When to their sports
⁸⁰³⁶
they turned. Immediately

Was Samson as a public servant brought,

In their state livery
⁸⁰³⁷
clad. Before him pipes
⁸⁰³⁸

And timbrels,
⁸⁰³⁹
on each side went armèd guards,

Both horse and foot before him, and behind

Archers, and slingers, cataphracts
⁸⁰⁴⁰
and spears.

At sight of him the people with a shout

Rifted
⁸⁰⁴¹
the air, clamoring
⁸⁰⁴²
their god with praise,

Who had made their dreadful
⁸⁰⁴³
enemy their thrall.
⁸⁰⁴⁴

He patient but undaunted where they led him

Came to the place, and what was set before him

Which without help of eye, might be assayed,

To heave, pull, draw, or break, he still performed

All with incredible, stupendous force,

None daring to appear antagonist.
⁸⁰⁴⁵

At length for intermission sake they led him

Between the pillars. He his guide requested

(For so from such as nearer stood we heard)

As over-tired to let him lean a while

With both his arms on those two massy pillars

That to the archèd roof gave main support.

He
⁸⁰⁴⁶
unsuspicious led him, which when Samson

Felt in his arms, with head a while inclined
⁸⁰⁴⁷

And eyes fast fixed he stood, as one who prayed,

Or some great matter in his mind revolved.

At last with head erect thus cried aloud,

“Hitherto, lords, what your commands imposed

I have performed, as reason was, obeying,

Not without wonder or delight beheld.

Now of my own accord such other trial
⁸⁰⁴⁸

I mean to show you of my strength, yet greater,

As with amaze shall strike all who behold.”

This uttered, straining all his nerves
⁸⁰⁴⁹
he bowed.

As with the force of winds and waters pent
⁸⁰⁵⁰

When mountains tremble, those two massy pillars

With horrible convulsion
⁸⁰⁵¹
to and fro

He tugged, he shook, till down they came and drew

The whole roof after them, with burst of thunder

Upon the heads of all who sat beneath,

Lords, ladies, captains, councillors, or priests,

Their choice nobility and flower, not only

Of this but each Philistian city round,

Met from all parts to solemnize this feast.

Samson with these immixed,
⁸⁰⁵²
inevitably

Pulled down the same destruction on himself.

The vulgar
⁸⁰⁵³
only scaped, who stood without.
⁸⁰⁵⁴

CHOR. O dearly-bought revenge, yet glorious! 1660

Living or dying thou hast fulfilled

The work for which thou wast foretold

To Israel, and now ly’st victorious

Among thy slain, self-killed

Not willingly, but tangled in the fold
⁸⁰⁵⁵

Of dire necessity, whose law in death conjoined

Thee with thy slaughtered foes, in number more

Than all thy life had slain before.

SEMICHOR. While their hearts were jocund
⁸⁰⁵⁶
and sublime,
⁸⁰⁵⁷

Drunk with idolatry, drunk with wine 1670

And fat regorged
⁸⁰⁵⁸
of bulls and goats,

Chanting their idol, and preferring
⁸⁰⁵⁹

Before our living Dread who dwells

In Silo
⁸⁰⁶⁰
His bright sanctuary:

Among them He a Spirit of frenzy
⁸⁰⁶¹
sent,

Who
⁸⁰⁶²
hurt
⁸⁰⁶³
their minds,

And urged them on with mad desire

To call in haste for their destroyer.

They only set on sport
⁸⁰⁶⁴
and play

Unweetingly
⁸⁰⁶⁵
importuned

Their own destruction to come speedy upon them.

So fond
⁸⁰⁶⁶
are mortal men

Fallen into
⁸⁰⁶⁷
wrath divine,

As their own ruin on themselves t’ invite,

Insensate left, or to sense reprobate,
⁸⁰⁶⁸

And with blindness internal struck.

SEMICHOR. But he though blind of sight,

Despised and thought extinguished quite,

With inward eyes illuminated,