Might in that noife refide, of whom to afk
Which way the nearest coaft of darkness lies
Bord'ring on light; when ftrait behold the throne
Of Chaos, and his dark pavilion spread
Wide on the wafteful deep; with him enthron'd
Sat fable-vefted Night, eldest of things,
'The confort of his reign; and by thein ftood
Orcus and Ades, and the dreaded name
Of Damogorgo: Rumour next, and Chance,
And tumult and Confufion, all embroil'd,
And Difcord, with a thoufand various mouths.
T' whom Satan turning boldly, thus: Ye powers
And Spirits of this nethermoft abyss,
Chaos and ancient Night, I come no fpy,
With purpose to explore or to disturb
The fecrets of your realm, but by constraint
Wand'ring this darkfome defert, as my way
Lies through your fpacious empire up to light,
Alone, and without guide, half loft, I feck
What readiest path leads where your gloomy
bounds

Confine with Heav'n; or if fome other place,
From your dominion won, th' ethereal King
Poffeffes lately, thither to arrive

I travel this profound; direct my courfe;
Directed no mean recompenfe it brings
To your behoof, if I that region loft,
All ufurpation thence expell'd, reduce
To her original darkness and your fway,
(Which is my prefent journey) and once more
Erect the ftandard there of ancient Night;
Yours be th' advantage all, mine the revenge.

Thus Satan; and him thus the Anarch old,
With fault'ring speech and vifage incompos'd,
Anfwer'd. I know thee, Stranger, who thou art,
That mighty leading angel, who of late thrown.
Made head against Heaven's King, though over-
I faw and heard, for such a numerous hoft
Fled not in filence through the frighted Deep
With ruin upon ruin, rout on rout,
Confufion worse confounded; and Heav'n gates
Pour'd out by millions her victorious bands
pursuing. I upon my frontiers here
Keep refidence; if all I can will ferve
That little which is left fo to defend,
Encroach'd on still through your inteftine broils
Weak'ning the fceptre of old Night; firft Hell
Your dungeon ftretching far and wide beneath;
Now lately Heav'n and Earth, another world,
Hung o'er my realm, link'd in a golden chain

To that fide Heav'n from whence your legions fell:
If that way be your walk, you have not far:
So much the nearer danger; go and speed;
Havoc, and fpoil, and ruin, are my gain.

He ceas'd; and Satan ftay'd not to reply;
But glad that now his fea fhould find a fhore,
With fresh alacrity and force renew'd,
Springs upward like a pyramid of fire
Into the wild expance, and through the shock
Of fighting elements, on all fides round
Environ'd wins his way; harder befet
And more endanger'd, than when Argo pass'd
Through Bofporus betwixt the juftling rocks :
Or when Ulyffes on the larboard fhunn'd
Charybdis,, and by th' other whirlpool ficer.
So he with difficulty and labour hard
Mov'd on, with difficulty and labour he:
But he once paft, foon after when man fell,
Strange alteration! Sin and Death amein
Following his track, fuch was the will of Heav'n,
Pav'd after him a broad and beaten way
Over the dark abyfs, whofe boiling gulf
Tamely ndur'd a bridge of wondrous length,
From Hell continued reaching th' utmolt orb
Of this frail world; by which the fp'rits perverfe
With eafy intercourfe pals to and fro

To tempt or punish mortals, except whom
God and good angels guard by special grace.

But now, at laft, the facred influence
Of light appears, and from the walls of Heav'n
Shoots far into the bofom of dim night
A glimmering dawn; here Nature first begins
Her fartheft verge, and Chaos to retire
As from her utmoft works a broken foe
With tumult lefs and with less hoftile din,
That Satan with les toil, and now with ease
Wafts on the calmer wave by dubious light,
And like a weather-beaten veffel holds
Gladly the port, though fhrouds and tackle torn;
Or in the emptier waite, refembling air,
Weighs his fpread wings, at leifure to behold
Far off th' empyreal Heav'n extended wide
In circuit, undetermin'd fquare or round,
With opal tow'rs and battlements adorn'd
Of living faphir, once his native feat;
And fait by hanging in a golden chain
This pendent world, in bignefs as a ítar
Of finalleft magnitude clofe by the moon,
Thither, full fraught with mifchievous revenge,
Accurf'd, and in a curfed hour he hies.

Sings darkling, and in fhadiest covert hid
Tunes her nocturnal note. Thus with the year
Seafons return, but not to me returns
Day, or the fweet approach of ev'n or morn,
Or fight of vernal bloom, or summer's rofe,
Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine;
But cloud instead, and ever-during dark
Surrounds me, from the cheerful ways of men
Cut off, and for the book of Knowledge fair
Presented with a universal blank

Of Nature's works to me expung'd and raif'd,
And wisdom at one entrance quite fhut out.
So much the rather thou, celeftial Light,
Shine inward, and the Mind through all her powers
Irradiate, there plant eyes, all mist from thence
Purge and difperfe, that I may fee and tell
Of things invifible to mortal fight.

Now had th' almighty Father from above,
From the pure empyrean where he fits
High-thron'd above all height, bent down his eye,
His own works and their works at once to view :
About him all the fancities of Heaven
Stood thick as stars, and from his fight receiv'd
Beatitude paft utterance; on his right
The radiant image of his glory fat,
His only fon; on earth he first beheld
Our two first Parents, yet the only two
Of mankind, in the happy garden plac'd,
Reaping immortal fruits of joy and love,
Uninterrupted joy, unrival'd love,
In blissful folitude he then furvey'd
Hell and the gulf between, and Satan there!
Coafting the wall of Heav'n on this fide Night
In the dun air fublime, and ready now
To ftoop with wearied wings and willing feet
On the bare outfide of this world, that feem'd
Firm land embofom'd, without firmament,
Uncertain which, in ocean or in air.
Him God beholding from his prospect high,
Wherein paft, prefent, future, he beholds,
Thus to his only fon forefeeing fpake:

Only begotten Son, feeft thou what rage Tranfports our adverfary? whom no bounds Prefcrib'd, no bars of Hell, nor all the chains Heap'd on him there, nor yet the main abyfs' Wide interrupt can hold; fo bent he seems On defperate revenge, that fhall redound Upon his own rebellious head. And now Through all restraint broke loose, he wings his way Not far off Heav'n, in the precincts of light, Directly towards the new created world. And Man there plac'd, with purpose to affay If him by force he can deftroy, or worse, By fome falfe guile pervert; and shall pervert, For Man will hearken to his glozing lies, And cafily tranfgrefs the fole command, Sole pledge of his difobedience : fo will fall, He and his faithless progeny: Whofe fault? Whofe but his own? Ingrate, he had of me All he could have; I made him juft and right, Sufficient to have ftood, tho' free to fall.

Such I created all th' ethereal powers [fail'd; And fp'rits, both them who stood, and them who Freely they stood who stood, and fell who fell. Not free, what proof could they have giv'n fincere

Of true allegiance, conftant faith or love,
Where only what they needs must do appear'd,
Not what they would? what praise could they
receive?

What pleasure I from fuch obedience paid,
When will and reafon (reafon alfo 's choice)
Ufeless and vain, of freedom both despoil'd,
Made paffive both, had ferv'd Neceffity,
Not me? They, therefore, as to right belong'd,
So were created, nor can justly' accufe
Their Maker, or their making, or their fate,
As if predeftination over-rul'd

Their will difpos'd by abfolute decree

Or high foreknowledge; they themselves decreed
Their own revolt, not I; if I foreknew,
Foreknowledge had no influence on their fault,
Which had no lefs prov'd certain unforeknown.
So without leaft impulfe or fhadow of fate,
Or ought by me immutably foreseen,
They trefpafs, authors to themfelves in all
Both what they judg'd, and what they choose;
for fo

I form'd them free, and free they must remain
Till they inthrall themfelves; I elfe muft change
Their nature, and revoke the high decree
Unchangeable, eternal, which ordain'd
Their freedom; they themselves ordain'd their fall.
The first fort by their own fuggeftion fell,
Self-tempted, felf-deprav'd: Man falls, deceiv'd
By th' other firft: Man, therefore, fhall find grace,
The other none: in mercy' and in justice both,
Through Heav'n and earth, fo fhall my glory'
excel,

But mercy firft and last shall brightest shine.

Thus, while God fpake, ambrofial fragrance fill'd All Heav'n, and in the bleffed fp'rits elect Senfe of new joy ineffable diffus'd: Beyond compare the Son of God was feen Moft glorious; in him all his father fhone Subftantially exprefl'd; and in his face Divine compaffion vifibly appear'd, Love without end, and without measure grace, Which utt'ring, thus he to his father spake :

O Father! gracious was that word which clos d
Thy fov'reignfentence, that Man fhould find grace;
For which both Heav'n and earth fhall high extol
Thy praifes, with th' innumerable found
Of hymns and facred fongs, wherewith thy throne
Incompaff'd fhall refound thee ever bleft.
For fhould Man finally be loft, should Man,
Thy creature late fo lov'd, thy youngest fon,
Fall circumvented thus by fraud, though join'd
With his own folly? that be from thee far,
That far be from thee, Father, who art judge
Of all things made, and judgeft only right.
Or fhall the Adverfary thus obtain
His end, and fruftrate thine? fhall he fulfil
His malice, and thy goodnefs bring to nought,
Or proud return, though to his heavier doom,
Yet with revenge accomplish'd, and to Hell
Draw after him the whole race of mankind,
By him corrupted? or wilt thou thyfelf
Abolish thy creation, and unmake

For him, what for thy glory thou haft made?
So fhould thy goodness and thy greatness both

Be queftion'd and blafphem'd without defence.
To whom the great Creator thus reply'd.
O Son, in whom my foul hath chief delight,
Son of my bofom, Son who art alone
My word, my wifdom, and effectual might,
All haft thou spoken as my thoughts are, all
As my eternal purpose hath decreed:

Man fhall not quite be loft, but fav'd who will,
Yet not of will in him, but grace in me
Freely vouchfaf'd; once more I will renew
His lapfed powers, though forfeit and inthrall'd
By fin to foul exorbitant defires;
Upheld by me, yet once more he shall stand
On even ground against his mortal foe,
By me upheld, that he may know how frail
His fallen condition is, and to me owe
All his deliverance; and to none but me.
Some I have chofen of peculiar grace
Ele& above the reft; fo is my will:

The reft fhall hear me call, and oft be warn'd
Their finful state, and to appease betimes
Th' incenfed Deity, while offer'd grace
Invites; for I will clear their senses dark,
What may fuffice, and foften ftony hearts
To pray, repent, and bring obedience due.
To pray'r repentance, and obedience due,
Though but endeavour'd with fincere intent,
Mine car fhall not be flow, mine eye not shut.
And I will place within them as a guide
My umpire conscience, whom if they will hear,
Light after light well us'd they shall attain,
And to the end perfifting, fafe arrive.
This my long fufferance and my day of grace
They who neglect and scorp, shall never taste;
But hard be harden'd, blind be blinded more,
That they may ftumble on and deeper fall;
And none but fuch from mercy I exclude.
But yet all is not done; Man difobeying,
Difoyal breaks his fealty, and fins
Against the high fupremacy of Heaven,
Affecting God-head, and fo lofing all,
To expiate his treafon hath nought left,
But to deftruction facred and devote,
He with his whole pofterity muft die,
Die he or juftice muft; unless for him
Some other able, and as willing, pay
The rigid fatisfaction, death for death.

Say heav'nly Pow'rs, where fhall we find fuch love?
Which of ye will be mortal to redeem
Man's mortal crime, and just th' unjust to save;
Dwells in all Heaven charity fo dear?

He afk'd; but all the heav'nly choir ftood mute,
And filence was in Heav'n: on Man's behalf
Patron or interceffor none appear'd,
Much less that durft upon his own head draw
The deadly forfeiture, and ransome fet.
And now without redemption all mankind
Must have been loft, adjudg'd to Death and Hell
By doom fevere, had not the Son of God,
In whom the fulness dwells of love divine,
His deareft mediation thus renew'd.

Father, thy word is paft, Man fhall find grace; And fhall grace not find means, that finds her way The speediest of thy winged meffengers, To vifit all thy creatures, and to all

Comes unprevented, unimplor'd, unfought ?
Happy for Man, fo coming; he her aid
Can never feek, once dead in fins and loft;
Atonement for himself or offering meet,
Indebted and undone, hath none to bring:
Behold me then; me for him, life for life
I offer; on me let thine anger fall;
Account me Man; for his fake will leave
Thy bofom, and this glory next to thee
Freely put off, and for him laftly die

Well pleas'd; on me let death wreck all his rage;
Under his gloomy pow'r I fhall not long
Lie vanquish'd; thou haft given me to poffefs
Life in myfelf for ever; by thee I live,
Though now to Death I yield, and am his duc.
All that of me can die; yet that debt paid,
Thou wilt not leave me in the loathfome grave
His prey, nor fuffer my unspotted foul
For ever with corruption there to dwell;
But I fhall rife victorious, and fubdue
My vanquisher, spoil'd of his vaunted spoil;
Death his death's wound fhall then receive, and
Inglorious, of his mortal fting difarm'd. [stoop
I through the ample air in triumph high
Shall lead Hell captive maugre Hell, and fhew
The pow'rs of darkness bound. Thou at the fight
Pleas'd, out of Heaven fhalt look down and fmile.
While by thee rais'd I ruin all my foes,
Death laft, and with his carcafe glut the grave:
Then with the multitude of my redeem'd
Shall enter Heav'n long abfent, and return,
Father, to fee thy face, wherein no cloud
Of anger fhall remain, but peace affur'd'
And reconcilement; wrath fhall be no more
Thenceforth, but in thy prefence joy entire.

His words here ended, but his meek afpe&
Silent yet fpake, and breath'd immortal love
To mortal men, above which only shone
Filial obedience: as a facrifice
Glad to be offer'd, he attends the will
Of his great Father. Admiration feiz'd
All Heav'n, what this might mean, and whither
Wond'ring; but foon the Almighty thus reply'd.

[tend,

O thou in Heav'n and Earth, the only peace
Found out for mankind under wrath, O thou
My fole complacence! well thou knoweft how
dear

To me are all my works, nor Man the leaft,
Though last created; that for him I spare
Thee from my bofom and right hand, to fave,
By lofing thee a while, the whole race loft.
Thou therefore, whom thou only canft redeem,
Their nature also to thy nature join;
And be thyfelf Man among men on earth,
Made flesh, when time shall be, of virgin feed
By wondrous birth: be thou in Adam's room`
The head of all mankind, though Adam's fon.
As in him perish all men, fo in thee,
As from a fecond root, shall be reftor'd
As many as are reftor'd, without thee none.
His crime makes guilty all his fons; thy merit
Imputed fhall abfolve them who renounce
Their own both righteous and unrighteous deeds,
And live in thee transplanted, and from thee
Receive new life. So man, as is most just,