The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems (39 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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541

      

In whirlwind. Hell scarce holds the wild uproar,

542

      

As when Alcides,
2144
from Oechalia
2145
crowned

543

      

With conquest, felt th’ envenomed robe,
2146
and tore

544

      

Through pain up by the roots Thessalian
2147
pines,

545

      

And Lichas
2148
from the top of Oeta
2149
threw

546

      

Into th’ Euboic sea.
2150
Others, more mild,

547

      

Retreated
2151
in a silent valley, sing

548

      

With notes angelical to many a harp

549

      

Their own heroic deeds and hapless
2152
fall

550

      

By doom
2153
of battle, and complain that Fate

551

      

Free virtue should enthrall
2154
to force or chance.
2155

552

      

Their song was partial,
2156
but the harmony

553

      

(What could it less when Spirits immortal sing?

554

      

Suspended
2157
Hell, and took
2158
with ravishment

555

      

The thronging audience. In discourse
2159
more sweet

556

      

(For eloquence the soul,
2160
song charms the sense)

557

      

Others apart sat on a hill retired,
2161

558

      

In thoughts more elevate, and reasoned high

559

      

Of providence, foreknowledge, will, and fate

560

      

Fixed fate, free will, foreknowledge absolute,

561

      

And found no end, in wand’ring mazes lost.

562

      

Of good and evil much they argued then,

563

      

Of happiness and final misery,

564

      

Passion and apathy, and glory and shame:

565

      

Vain wisdom all, and false philosophy

566

      

Yet with a pleasing sorcery could charm

567

      

Pain for a while, or anguish, and excite

568

      

Fallacious hope, or arm th’ obdurèd
2162
breast

569

      

With stubborn patience, as with triple steel.

570

      

Another part, in squadrons and gross
2163
bands,

571

      

On bold
2164
adventure to discover
2165
wide
2166

572

      

That dismal world, if any clime perhaps

573

      

Might yield them easier habitation, bend

574

      

Four ways their flying
2167
march, along the banks

575

      

Of four infernal rivers, that disgorge

576

      

Into the burning lake their baleful
2168
streams—

577

      

Abhorrèd Styx, the flood
2169
of deadly hate;

578

      

Sad Acheron of sorrow, black and deep;

579

      

Cocytus,
2170
named of
2171
lamentation loud

580

      

Heard on the rueful
2172
stream; fierce Phlegeton,
2173

581

      

Whose waves of torrent
2174
fire inflame
2175
with rage.
2176

582

      

Far off from these, a slow and silent stream,

583

      

Lethe,
2177
the river of oblivion, rolls

584

      

Her wat’ry labyrinth,
2178
whereof who drinks

585

      

Forthwith
2179
his former state and being forgets—

586

      

Forgets both joy and grief, pleasure and pain.

587

      

Beyond this flood
2180
a frozen continent

588

      

Lies dark and wild, beat with perpetual storms

589

      

Of whirlwind and dire hail, which on firm land

590

      

Thaws not, but gathers heap,
2181
and ruin seems

591

      

Of ancient pile,
2182
all else deep snow and ice,

592

      

A gulf
2183
profound
2184
as that Serbonian bog
2185

593

      

Betwixt Damiata
2186
and Mount Casius
2187
old,

594

      

Where armies whole have sunk. The parching
2188
air

595

      

Burns frore,
2189
and cold performs
2190
th’ effect of fire.

596

      

Thither, by harpy-footed Furies haled,
2191

597

      

At certain revolutions
2192
all the damned

598

      

Are brought and feel by turns the bitter change

599

      

Of fierce extremes, extremes by change more fierce,

600

      

From
2193
beds of raging fire to starve
2194
in ice

601

      

Their soft ethereal warmth, and there to pine
2195

602

      

Immovable, infixed, and frozen round,

603

      

Periods
2196
of time, thence hurried back to fire.

604

      

They ferry over this Lethean sound

605

      

Both to and fro, their sorrow to augment,

606

      

And wish and struggle, as they pass, to reach

607

      

The tempting stream, with one small drop to lose

608

      

In sweet forgetfulness all pain and woe,

609

      

All in one moment, and so near the brink.

610

      

But Fate withstands
2197
and, to oppose th’ attempt,

611

      

Medusa,
2198
with Gorgonian terror, guards

612

      

The ford, and of itself the water flies
2199

613

      

All taste of living wight,
2200
as once it fled

614

      

The lip of Tantalus.
2201
Thus roving on

615

      

In confused
2202
march forlorn, th’ adventurous bands,

616

      

With shuddering horror pale and eyes aghast,

617

      

Viewed first their lamentable
2203
lot, and found

618

      

No rest. Through many a dark and dreary vale

619

      

They passed, and many a region dolorous,

620

      

O’er many a frozen, many a fiery alp,

621

      

Rocks, caves, lakes, fens, bogs, dens, and shades of death—

622

      

A universe of death, which God by curse

623

      

Created evil, for evil only good,
2204

624

      

Where all life dies, death lives, and Nature breeds,

625

      

Perverse, all monstrous, all prodigious
2205
things,

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