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
632
To Paradise, the happy seat of man,
633
His journey’s end and our beginning woe.
634
But first he casts
2689
to change his proper shape,
635
Which else might work him danger or delay.
636
And now a stripling
2690
Cherub he appears,
637
Not of the prime,
2691
yet such as in his face
638
Youth smiled celestial, and to every limb
639
Suitable grace diffused,
2692
so well he feigned.
640
Under a coronet
2693
his flowing hair
641
In curls on either cheek played; wings he wore
642
Of many a colored plume,
2694
sprinkled with gold;
643
His habit fit for speed succinct,
2695
and held
644
Before his decent
2696
steps a silver wand.
645
He drew not nigh unheard. The Angel bright,
646
Ere he
2697
drew nigh, his radiant visage turned,
647
Admonished by his ear, and straight was known
648
The Arch-Angel Uriel, one of the seven
649
Who in God’s presence, nearest to His throne,
650
Stand ready at command, and are His eyes
651
That run through all the Heav’ns, or down to th’ earth
652
Bear His swift errands over moist and dry,
653
O’er sea and land. Him Satan thus accosts:
2698
654
“Uriel, for thou of those sev’n Spirits that stand
655
In sight of God’s high throne, gloriously bright,
656
657
Interpreter
2701
through highest Heav’n to bring,
658
Where all His sons thy embassy
2702
attend,
659
And here art likeliest by supreme decree
660
Like honor to obtain, and as His eye
661
To visit oft this new creation round.
662
Unspeakable desire to see,
2703
and know
663
All these His wondrous works, but chiefly man,
664
His chief delight and favor, him for whom
665
All these His works so wondrous He ordained,
666
Hath brought me from the choirs
2704
of Cherubim
667
Alone thus wand’ring. Brightest Seraph, tell
668
In which of all these shining orbs hath man
669
His fixèd seat, or fixèd seat hath none,
670
But all these shining orbs his choice to dwell,
671
That I may find him, and with secret gaze
672
Or open admiration
2705
him behold,
673
On whom the great Creator hath bestowed
674
Worlds, and on whom hath all these graces poured,
675
That both in him and all things, as is meet,
2706
676
The universal Maker we may praise,
677
Who justly hath driven out His rebel foes
678
To deepest Hell and, to repair that loss,
679
Created this new happy race of men
680
To serve Him better. Wise are all His ways.
681
So spoke the false dissembler unperceived,
682
For neither man nor Angel can discern
683
Hypocrisy, the only evil that walks
684
Invisible, except to God alone,
685
By His permissive will, through Heav’n and earth,
686
And oft, though wisdom wake, suspicion sleeps
687
At wisdom’s gate, and to simplicity
2707
688
Resigns her charge, while goodness thinks no ill
689
Where no ill seems. Which now for once beguiled
690
691
The sharpest-sighted Spirit of all in Heav’n,
692
Who to the fraudulent impostor foul,
693
694
“Fair Angel, thy desire, which tends to know
695
The works of God, thereby to glorify
696
The great work-master, leads to no excess
697
That reaches
2712
blame, but rather merits praise
698
The more it seems excess, that led thee hither
699
700
To witness with thine eyes what some perhaps,
701
Contented with report, hear only in Heav’n.
702
For wonderful indeed are all His works,
703
Pleasant
2715
to know, and worthiest to be all
704
Had in remembrance always with delight.
705
But what created mind can comprehend
706
Their number, or the wisdom infinite
707
That brought them forth, but hid their causes deep?
708
I saw when at His word the formless mass,
709
This world’s material mould, came to a heap.
2716
710
Confusion heard His voice, and wild uproar
711
712
Till at His second bidding darkness fled,
713
Light shone, and order from disorder sprung.
714
Swift to their several quarters hasted then
715
The cumbrous
2719
elements, earth, flood, air, fire,
716
717
Flew upward, spirited
2722
with various forms,
718
That rolled orbicular,
2723
and turned to stars
719
Numberless, as thou seest, and how they move.
720
Each had his place appointed, each his course.
721
The rest, in circuit, walls
2724
this universe.