My vanquisher, spoil'd of his vaunted spoil;
Death his death's wound shall then receive, and stoop
Inglorious, of his mortal sting disarm'd.
I through the ample air in triumph high
Shall lead Hell captive, maugre Hell; and show
The Pow'rs of darkness bound. Thou at the fight
Pleas'd, out of Heaven shalt look down and smile,
While by thee rais'd I ruin all my foes,
Death last, and with his carcafs glut the grave:
Then with the multitude of my redeem'd
Shall enter Heav'n long abfent, and return,
Father, to see thy face, wherein no cloud
Of anger shall remain, but peace afsur'd
And reconcilement; wrath shall be no more
Thenceforth, but in thy prefence joy entire.
His words here ended, but his meek afpect
Silent yet spake, 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 seis'd
All Heav'n, what this might mean, and whither tend
Wond'ring; but foon th' Almighty thus reply'd.
O Thou in Heav'n and Earth the only peace
Found out for mankind under wrath, O Thou
My fole complacence! well thou know'st how dear
To me are all my works, nor Man the leaft
Though laft created; that for him I spare
Thee from my bofom and right hand, to fave,
By losing thee a while, the whole race loft.
Thou therefore, whom thou only canft redeem,
Their nature also to thy nature join ;
And be thyself 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 son.
As in him perish all men,
As from a fecond root, shall be restor'd
As many as are restor'd, without thee none.
His crime makes guilty all his fons; thy merit
Imputed shall 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,
Shall fatisfy for man, be judg'd and die;
And dying rife, and rising with him raise
His brethren, ransom'd with his own dear life.
So heav'nly love shall outdo hellish hare,
Giving to death, and dying to redeem,
So dearly to redeem what hellish hate
So easily destroy'd, and still destroys
In those who, when they may, accept not grace.
Nor shalt thou, by defcending to affume
Man's nature, lefen or degrade thine own.
Because thou hast, tho' thron'd in highest bliss
Equal to God, and equally enjoying
God-like fruition, quitted all to fave
A world from utter lofs, and haft been found
By merit more than birthright Son of God,
Found worthiest to be so by being good,
Far more than great or high; because in thee
Love hath abounded more than glory abounds,
Therefore thy humiliation shall exalt
With thee thy manhood alfo to this throne;
Here shalt thou fit incarnate, here shalt reig'n
Both God and Man, Son both of God and Man,
Anointed univerfal king; all power
I give thee; reign for ever, and affume
Thy merits: under thee as head fupreme
Thrones, Princedoms, Powers, Dominions I reduce:
All knees to thee shall bows of them that 'bide 321
In Heav'n, or Earth, orlunder Earth in Hell.
When thou attended glorioufly ifrom Heav'n
Shalt in the sky appears and from thee fend
The fummoning Arch Angels to proclaim 325
Thy dread tribunal: forthwith from all winds
The living, and forthwith the cited dead
Of all past ages to the general doom
Shall haften, fuch a peal fhall rouse their fleep.
Then all thy faints affsembled, thou shalt judge
Bad men and Angels, they arraign'd shall fink
Beneath thy fentence; Hell, her numbers full,"
Thenceforth shall be for ever shut. Mean while
The world fhall burn, and from her ashes spring
New Heav'n and Earth, wherein the just shall dwell,
And after all their tribulations long
See golden days, fruitful of golden deeds,
With joy and love triumphing, and fair truth,
Then thou thy regal fceptre shalt lay by,
For regal fceptre then no more shall need,
God shall be all in all. But all ye God's,
Adore him, who to compass all this dies,
Adore the Son, and honor him as me.
No fooner had th' Almighty ceas'd, but all
The multitude of Angels with a shout
Loud as from numbers without number, fweet
As from blest voices, uttering joy, Heav'n rung
With jubilee, and loud hofanna's fill'd'
Th' eternal regions. Lowly reverent
Tow'rds either throne they bow, and to the ground
With folemn adoration down they caft
Their crowns, inwove with amarant and gold,
Immortal amarant! a flow'r which once
In Paradife fast by the tree of life
Began to bloom; but foon for man's offence
To Heav'n remov'd, where first it grew, there grows,
And flow'rs aloft shading the fount of life,
And where the river of bliss thro midst of Heaven
Rolls o'er Elyfian flow'rs her amber stream:
With these that never fade the fpirits elect
Bind their refplendent locks, inwreath'd with beams,
Now in loofe garlands thick thrown off the bright
Pavement, that like a fea of jafper shone,
Impurpled with coeleftial rofes fmil'd.
Then crown'd again, their golden harps they took, 365
Harps ever tun'd, that glitt'ring by their side
Like quivers hung, and with preamble sweet
Of charming symphony they introduce
Their facred fong, and waken raptures high,
No voice exempt; no voice but well could join
Melodious part, such concord is in Heav'n.
Thee, Father, first they fung, Omnipotent,
Immutable, Immortal, Infinite,
Eternal King; Thee Author of all Being,
Fountain of Light, thyself invisible
Amidst the glorious brightness where thou sit'st
Thron'd inacceffible, but when thou fhad'st
The full blaze of thy beams, and thro' a cloud
Drawn round about thee like a radiant shrine,
Dark with excessive bright thy skirts appear,
Yet dazle Heav'n, that brightest Seraphim
Approach not, but with both wings veil their eyes.
Thee next they fung of all creation first,
Begotten Son, Divine similitude!
In whose conspicuous count'nance, without cloud 385
Made visible, th' almighty Father shines,
Whom else no creature can behold: on thee
Impress'd, th' effulgence of his glory abides;
Transfus'd on thee his ample Spirit refts.
He Heav'n of Heav'ns, and all the pow'rs therein 396
By thee created; and by thee drew down
Th' afpiring Dominations. Thou that day
Thy Father's dreadful thunder didst not spare,
Nor stop thy flaming chariot wheels, that shook
Heav'n's everlasting frame, while o'er the necks
Thou drov'st of warring Angels disarray'd.
Back from pursuit thy Pow'rs with loud acclame
Thee only extoll'd, Son of thy Father's might,
To execute fierce vengeance on his foes.
Not so on man: him thro their malice fall'n,
Father of mercy and grace! thou didst not doom
So strictly; but much more to pity incline.
No sooner did thy dear and only Son,
Perceive thee purpos'd not to doom frail man
So strictly, but much more to pity inclin'd,
He to appease thy wrath, and end the strife
Of mercy and justice in thy face discern'd,
Regardless of the bliss wherein he fat
Second to thee, offer'd himself to die
For man's offence. O unexampled love!
Love no where to be found less than Divine!
Hail Son of God, Saviour of men! thy name
Shall be the copious matter of my fong
Henceforth, and never shall my harp thy praise
Forget, nor from thy Father's praise disjoin.
Thus they in Heav'n, above the starry sphere,
Their happy hours in joy and hymning spent.
Mean while upon the firm opacous globe
Of this round world, whose first convex divides
The luminous inferior orbs inclos'd
From Chaos, and th' inroad of Darkness old,
Satan alighted walks. A globe far off
It feem'd, now seems a boundless continent
Dark, waste, and wild, under the frown of Night
Starless expos'd, and ever-threat'ning storms
Of Chaos blustring round, inclement sky!
Save on that fide which from the well of Heaven,
Tho' distant far, some small reflection gains
Of glimmering air, less vex'd with tempest loud.
Here walk'd the Fiend at large in spacious field. 430
As when a Vultur on Imaus bred,
Whose snowy ridge the roving Tartar bounds,
Diflodging from a region scarce of prey
To gorge the flesh of lambs, or yeanling kids,
On hills where flocks are fed, flies tow'rd the fprings
Of Ganges or Hydaspes, Indian streams;
But in his way lights on the barren plains
Of Sericana, where Chineses drive
With fails and wind their cany waggons light:
So on this windy fea of land, the Fiend
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