The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems (89 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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447

      

With fish replenished,
4301
and the air with fowl,

448

      

Ev’ning and morn solemnized
4302
the fifth day.

449

      

   
“The sixth, and of Creation last, arose

450

      

With ev’ning harps, and matin,
4303
when God said:

451

      

‘Let th’ earth bring forth soul living, in her kind,
4304

452

      

Cattle, and creeping things, and beast of th’ earth,

453

      

Each in their kind. ’The earth obeyed, and straight

454

      

Op’ning her fertile womb teemed
4305
at a birth

455

      

Innumerous living creatures, perfect forms,

456

      

Limbed and full grown. Out of the ground up rose,

457

      

As from his lair, the wild beast where he wons
4306

458

      

In forest wild, in thicket, brake,
4307
or den.

459

      

Among the trees in pairs they rose, they walked,

460

      

The cattle in the fields and meadows green,

461

      

Those
4308
rare and solitary, these
4309
in flocks

462

      

Pasturing at once, and in broad herds upsprung.
4310

463

      

The grassy clods
4311
now calved: now half appeared

464

      

The tawny lion, pawing to get free

465

      

His hinder parts, then springs as broke from bonds,

466

      

And rampant
4312
shakes his brinded
4313
mane. The ounce,
4314

467

      

The libbard,
4315
and the tiger, as the mole

468

      

Rising, the crumbled earth above them threw

469

      

In hillocks. The swift stag from under ground

470

      

Bore up his branching head. Scarce from his mould

471

      

Behemoth,
4316
biggest born of earth, upheaved

472

      

His vastness. Fleeced the flocks, and bleating rose

473

      

As
4317
plants. Ambiguous
4318
between
4319
sea and land

474

      

The river-horse,
4320
and scaly crocodile.

475

      

At once came forth whatever creeps the ground,

476

      

Insect or worm. Those waved their limber
4321
fans
4322

477

      

For wings, and smallest lineaments
4323
exact
4324

478

      

In all the liveries decked of summer’s pride

479

      

With spots of gold and purple, azure and green.

480

      

These as a line their long dimension drew,

481

      

Streaking
4325
the ground with sinuous trace.
4326
Not all

482

      

Minims
4327
of Nature: some of serpent-kind,

483

      

Wondrous in length and corpulence,
4328
involved
4329

484

      

Their snaky folds, and added
4330
wings. First crept

485

      

The parsimonious emmet,
4331
provident

486

      

Of future, in small room large heart enclosed,

487

      

Pattern of just equality perhaps

488

      

Hereafter, joined in her popular
4332
tribes

489

      

Of commonalty. Swarming, next appeared

490

      

The female bee, that feeds her husband drone

491

      

Deliciously, and builds her waxen cells

492

      

With honey stored. The rest are numberless,

493

      

And thou their natures know’st, and gav’st them names,

494

      

Needless to thee repeated. Nor unknown

495

      

The serpent, subtlest
4333
beast of all the field,

496

      

Of huge extent sometimes, with brazen eyes

497

      

And hairy mane terrific,
4334
though to thee

498

      

Not noxious,
4335
but obedient at thy call.

499

      

   
“Now Heav’n in all her glory shone, and rolled

500

      

Her motions, as the great first Mover’s hand

501

      

First wheeled their course. Earth in her rich attire

502

      

Consummate
4336
lovely smiled. Air, water, earth,

503

      

By fowl, fish, beast, was flown, was swum, was walked,

504

      

Frequent, and of the sixth day yet remained.

505

      

There wanted yet the master-work, the end
4337

506

      

Of all yet done, a creature who not prone
4338

507

      

And brute
4339
as other creatures, but endued

508

      

With sanctity
4340
of reason, might erect

509

      

His stature, and upright with front
4341
serene

510

      

Govern the rest, self-knowing, and from thence

511

      

Magnanimous
4342
to correspond
4343
with Heav’n,

512

      

But grateful to acknowledge whence his good

513

      

Descends, thither with heart, and voice, and eyes

514

      

Directed in devotion, to adore

515

      

And worship God Supreme, who made him chief

516

      

Of all His works. Therefore th’ Omnipotent

517

      

Eternal Father (for where is not He

518

      

Present?) thus to His Son audibly spoke:

519

      

   
“‘Let us make now man in our image, man

520

      

In our similitude,
4344
and let them
4345
rule

521

      

Over the fish and fowl of sea and air,

522

      

Beast of the field, and over all the earth,

523

      

And every creeping thing that creeps the ground.

524

      

This said, He formed thee, Adam, thee, O man,

525

      

Dust of the ground, and in thy nostrils breathed

526

      

The breath of life. In His own image He

527

      

Created thee, in the image of God

528

      

Express,
4346
and thou becam’st a living soul.

529

      

Male He created thee, but thy consort

530

      

Female, for race,
4347
then blessed mankind, and said:

531

      

‘Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth;

532

      

Subdue
4348
it, and throughout dominion hold

533

      

Over fish of the sea, and fowl of the air,

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