The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems (86 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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183

      

To future men, and in their dwellings peace

184

      

Glory to Him, whose just avenging ire

185

      

Had driven out the ungodly from His sight

186

      

And th’ habitations of the just; to Him

187

      

Glory and praise, whose wisdom had ordained

188

      

Good out of evil to create, instead

189

      

Of Spirits malign a better race to bring

190

      

Into their vacant room,
4170
and thence diffuse

191

      

His good to worlds and ages infinite.

192

      

So sang the Hierarchies.
4171

 

      

“Meanwhile the Son

193

      

On his great expedition now appeared,

194

      

Girt with Omnipotence, with radiance crowned

195

      

Of Majesty Divine. Sapience
4172
and love

196

      

Immense, and all his Father in him shone.

197

      

About his chariot numberless were poured

198

      

Cherub, and Seraph, Potentates, and Thrones,

199

      

And Virtues, wingèd Spirits, and chariots winged

200

      

From th’ armory
4173
of God, where stand of old

201

      

Myriads, between two brazen
4174
mountains lodged
4175

202

      

Against a solemn day, harnessed at hand,

203

      

Celestial equipage,
4176
and now came forth

204

      

Spontaneous,
4177
for within them Spirit lived,

205

      

Attendant on their Lord. Heav’n op’ned wide

206

      

Her ever-during
4178
gates, harmonious sound

207

      

On golden hinges moving, to let forth

208

      

The King of Glory, in his powerful Word

209

      

And Spirit, coming to create new worlds.

210

      

On Heav’nly ground they stood, and from the shore

211

      

They viewed the vast immeasurable abyss

212

      

Outrageous
4179
as a sea, dark, wasteful,
4180
wild,

213

      

Up from the bottom turned by furious winds

214

      

And surging waves, as mountains, to assault

215

      

Heav’n’s height, and with the center mix the pole.

216

      

   
“‘Silence, ye troubled waves, and thou, deep: peace!

217

      

Said then the Omnific
4181
Word. ‘Your discord end!

218

      

Nor stayed but on the wings of Cherubim

219

      

Uplifted, in paternal glory rode

220

      

Far into Chaos and the world unborn,

221

      

For Chaos heard His voice. Him all his train

222

      

Followed in bright procession, to behold

223

      

Creation, and the wonders of His might.

224

      

Then stayed the fervid
4182
wheels, and in His hand

225

      

He took the golden compasses, prepared

226

      

In God’s eternal store, to circumscribe
4183

227

      

This universe, and all created things.

228

      

One foot He centered, and the other turned

229

      

Round through the vast profundity
4184
obscure.

230

      

And said: ‘Thus far extend, thus far thy bounds,

231

      

This be thy just circumference, O world!

232

      

Thus God the Heav’n created, thus the earth,

233

      

Matter unformed and void. Darkness profound
4185

234

      

Covered the abyss, but on the wat’ry calm

235

      

His brooding wings the Spirit of God outspread,

236

      

And vital virtue infused, and vital warmth

237

      

Throughout the fluid mass, but downward purged
4186

238

      

The black tartareous
4187
cold infernal dregs,

239

      

Adverse to life. Then founded,
4188
then conglobed
4189

240

      

Like things to like; the rest to several place

241

      

Disparted,
4190
and between
4191
spun out the air,

242

      

And earth self-balanced on her center hung.

243

      

‘Let there be light,’ said God, and forthwith light

244

      

Ethereal,
4192
first of things, quintessence
4193
pure,

245

      

Sprung from the deep, and from her native east

246

      

To journey through the airy gloom began,

247

      

Sphered in a radiant cloud, for yet the sun

248

      

Was not; she
4194
in a cloudy tabernacle
4195

249

      

Sojourned
4196
the while. God saw the light was good,

250

      

And light from darkness by the hemisphere

251

      

Divided; light the Day, and darkness Night

252

      

He named. Thus was the first day, ev’n and morn,

253

      

Nor passed uncelebrated, nor unsung

254

      

By the celestial choirs, when orient
4197
light

255

      

Exhaling
4198
first from darkness they beheld,

256

      

Birth-day of Heav’n and earth. With joy and shout

257

      

The hollow universal orb they filled,

258

      

And touched their golden harps, and hymning praised

259

      

God and His works. Creator Him they sung,

260

      

Both when first ev’ning was, and when first morn.

261

      

Again, God said: ‘Let there be firmament
4199

262

      

Amid the waters, and let it divide

263

      

The waters from the waters. ’And God made

264

      

The firmament, expanse of liquid, pure,

265

      

Transparent, elemental air, diffused

266

      

In circuit to the uttermost convex

267

      

Of this great round, partition
4200
firm and sure,

268

      

The waters underneath from those above

269

      

Dividing, for as earth, so He the world

270

      

Built on circumfluous
4201
waters calm, in wide

271

      

Crystalline ocean, and the loud
4202
misrule
4203

272

      

Of Chaos far removed,
4204
lest fierce extremes

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