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even scale the battle

hung

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Long Dreadful combustion warring, and disturb, time in Though not destroy, their happy native seat; Had not the Eternal King Omnipotent From his strong hold of Heaven high overruled And limited their might, though numbered such As each divided legion might have seemed A numerous host, in strength each armed hand A legion! Led in fight, yet leader seemed Each warrior single as in chief; expert When to advance, or stand, or turn the sway Of battle, open when, and when to close The ridges of grim war. No thought of flight, None of retreat, no unbecoming deed That argued fear; each on himself relied As only in his arm the moment lay Of victory. Deeds of eternal fame Were done, but infinite; for wide was spread That war, and various: sometimes on firm ground A standing fight; then, soaring on main wing, Tormented all the air; all air seemed then Conflicting fire. Long time in even scale The battle hung; till Satan, who that day Prodigious power had shown, and met in arms No equal, ranging through the dire attack Of fighting Seraphim confused, at length Saw where the sword of Michael smote, and

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felled
Squadrons at once: with huge two-handed sway
Brandished aloft, the horrid edge came down
Wide-wasting. Such destruction to withstand
He hasted, and opposed the rocky orb
Of tenfold adamant, his ample shield,
A vast circumference. At his approach
The great Archangel from his warlike toil

Surceased, and, glad, as hoping here to end A parle of Intestine war in Heaven, the Arch-foe subdued, Michael Or captive dragged in chains, with hostile with

frown

And visage all inflamed, first thus began :

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"Author of Evil, unknown till thy revolt, Unnamed in Heaven, now plenteous as thou

seest

These acts of hateful strife-hateful to all,
Though heaviest, by just measure, on thyself
And thy adherents-how hast thou disturbed
Heaven's blessed peace, and into Nature brought
Misery, uncreated till the crime

Of thy rebellion! how hast thou instilled
Thy malice into thousands, once upright
And faithful, now proved false !

here

270

But think not

To trouble holy rest; Heaven casts thee out
From all her confines; Heaven, the seat of bliss,
Brooks not the works of violence and war.
Hence, then, and Evil go with thee along,
Thy offspring, to the place of Evil, Hell-
Thou and thy wicked crew! there mingle
broils!

Ere this avenging sword begin thy doom,
Or some more sudden vengeance, winged from
God,

Precipitate thee with augmented pain."

280

'So spake the Prince of Angels; to whom thus The Adversary :-"Nor think thou with wind Of airy threats to awe whom yet with deeds Thou canst not. Hast thou turned the least of these

To flight-or, if to fall, but that they rise

Satan

Their Unvanquished-easier to transact with me
terrific That thou shouldst hope, imperious, and with
duel
threats

To chase me hence? Err not that so shall end
The strife which thou call'st evil, but we style
The strife of glory; which we mean to win, 290
Or turn this Heaven itself into the Hell
Thou fablest; here, however, to dwell free,
If not to reign. Meanwhile, thy utmost force-
And join him named Almighty to thy aid-
I fly not, but have sought thee far and nigh."
"They ended parle, and both addressed for fight
Unspeakable; for who, though with the tongue
Of Angels, can relate, or to what things
Liken on Earth conspicuous, that may lift
Human imagination to such highth

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Of godlike power? for likest gods they seemed,
Stood they or moved, in stature, motion, arms,
Fit to decide the empire of great Heaven.
Now waved their fiery swords, and in the air
Made horrid circles; two broad suns their
shields

Blazed opposite, while Expectation stood

In horror; from each hand with speed retired,
Where erst was thickest fight, the Angelic
throng,

And left large field, unsafe within the wind
Of such commotion: such as (to set forth
Great things by small) if, Nature's concord

broke,

Among the constellations war were sprung,
Two planets, rushing from aspéct malign
Of fiercest opposition, in mid sky

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Should combat, and their jarring spheres confound.

Satan's wound

Together both, with next to almighty arm
Uplifted imminent, one stroke they aimed
That might determine, and not need repeat
As not of power, at once; nor odds appeared
In might or swift prevention. But the sword 320
Of Michael from the armoury of God
Was given him tempered so, that neither keen
Nor solid might resist that edge: it met

The sword of Satan, with steep force to smite
Descending, and in half cut sheer; nor stayed,
But, with swift wheel reverse, deep entering,
shared

All his right side. Then Satan first knew pain,
And writhed him to and fro convolved; so sore
The griding sword with discontinuous wound
Passed through him. But the ethereal substance
closed,

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Not long divisible; and from the gash
A stream of nectarous humour issuing flowed
Sanguine, such as celestial Spirits may bleed,
And all his armour stained, erewhile so bright.
Forthwith, on all sides, to his aid was run
By Angels many and strong, who interposed
Defence, while others bore him on their shields
Back to his chariot where it stood retired
From off the files of war: there they him laid
Gnashing for anguish, and despite, and shame 340
To find himself not matchless, and his pride
Humbled by such rebuke, so far beneath
His confidence to equal God in power.
Yet soon he healed; for Spirits, that live
throughout

Vital in every part-not, as frail Man,
In entrails, heart or head, liver or reins-

Other Cannot but by annihilating die;
great Nor in their liquid texture mortal wound
deeds Receive, no more than can the fluid air:
All heart they live, all head, all eye, all

ear, 350
All intellect, all sense; and as they please
They limb themselves, and colour, shape, or size
Assume, as likes them best, condense or rare.
'Meanwhile, in other parts, like deeds de-
served

Memorial, where the might of Gabriel fought,
And with fierce ensigns pierced the deep array
Of Moloch, furious king, who him defied,

And at his chariot-wheels to drag him bound
Threatened, nor from the Holy One of Heaven
Refrained his tongue blasphemous, but anon, 360
Down cloven to the waist, with shattered arms
And uncouth pain fled bellowing. On each
wing

Uriel and Raphaël his vaunting foe,

Though huge and in a rock of diamond armed,
Vanquished-Adramelech and Asmadai,
Two potent Thrones, that to be less than Gods
Disdained, but meaner thoughts learned in their
flight,

Mangled with ghastly wounds through plate and
mail.

Nor stood unmindful Abdiel to annoy

The atheist crew, but with redoubled blow 370
Ariel, and Arioch, and the violence

Of Ramiel, scorched and blasted, overthrew.
I might relate of thousands, and their names
Eternize here on Earth; but those elect
Angels, contented with their fame in Heaven,
Seek not the praise of men: the other sort,

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