Deliverer from new lords, leader to free
Enjoyment of our rights as gods; yet hard
For gods, and too unequal work we find
Against unequal arms to fight in pain,
Against unpain'd, impassive; from which evil
Ruin must needs ensue, for what avails

Valour or strength, though matchless, quell'd with pain,
Which all subdues, and makes remiss the hands

Of mightiest? Sense of pleasure we may well

Spare out of life perhaps, and not repine,

But live content, which is the calmest life :
But pain is perfect misery, the worst
Of evils, and excessive overturns

All patience. He who therefore can invent
With what more forcible we may offend
Our yet unwounded enemies, or arm
Ourselves with like defence, to me deserves
No less than for deliverance what we owe.

Whereto, with look composed, Satan replied:
Not uninvented that, which thou aright
Believest so main to our success, I bring:
Which of us who beholds the bright surface
Of this ethereous mould whereon we stand,
This continent of spacious heaven, adorn'd
With plant, fruit, flower ambrosial, gems, and gold,
Whose eye so superficially surveys

These things, as not to mind from whence they grow,
Deep under ground, materials dark and crude,

Of spiritous and fiery spume, till touch'd

With heaven's ray, and temper'd, they shoot forth

So beauteous, opening to the ambient light?

These in their dark nativity the deep

Shall yield us pregnant with infernal flame,
Which into hollow engines long and round

Thick-ramm'd, at the other bore with touch of fire
Dilated and infuriate, shall send forth

From far with thundering noise among our foes
Such implements of mischief, as shall dash
To pieces, and o'erwhelm whatever stands
Adverse, that they shall fear we have disarm'd
The Thunderer of his only dreaded bolt.
Nor long shall be our labour; yet, ere dawn,
Effect shall end our wish. Meanwhile revive;
Abandon fear; to strength and counsel join'd
Think nothing hard, much less to be despair'd.

He ended, and his words their drooping cheer
Enlighten'd, and their languish'd hope revived.
The invention all admired, and each, how he
To be the inventor miss'd, so easy it seem'd

Once found, which yet unfound most would have thought
Impossible yet haply of thy race

In future days, if malice should abound,

Some one, intent on mischief, or inspired
With devilish machination, might devise
Like instrument to plague the sons of men
For sin, on war and mutual slaughter bent.
Forthwith from council to the work they flew
None arguing stood; innumerable hands
Were ready, in a moment up they turn'd
Wide the celestial soil, and saw beneath
The originals of nature in their crude
Conception; sulphurous and nitrous foam
They found, they mingled, and with subtle art
Concocted and adjusted they reduced

To blackest grain, and into store convey'd.
Part hidden veins digg'd up, nor hath this earth
Entrails unlike, of mineral and stone,

Whereof to found their engines and their balls
Of missive ruin; part incentive reed

Provide, pernicious with one touch to fire.
So all ere day-spring, under conscious night
Secret, they finish'd, and in order set,
With silent circumspection unespied.

Now when fair morn orient in heaven appear'd

Up rose the victor-angels, and to arms

The matin trumpet sung: in arms they stood

Of golden panoply, refulgent host,

Soon banded; others from the dawning hills

Look'd round, and scouts each coast light-armed scour

Each quarter, to descry the distant foe,

Where lodged, or whither fled; or if for fight,

In motion or in halt; him soon they met
Under spread ensigns moving nigh, in slow
But firm battalion: back with speediest sail
Zophiel, of cherubim the swiftest wing,
Came flying, and in mid air aloud thus cried:

Arm, warriors, arm for fight, the foe at hand,
Whom fled we thought, will save us long pursuit.
This day, fear not his flight; so thick a cloud
He comes, and settled in his face I see
Sad resolution and secure : let each

His adamantine coat gird well, and each

Fit well his helm, gripe fast his orbed shield,
Borne even or high; for this day will pour down,
If I conjecture aught, no drizzling shower,
But rattling storm of arrows barb'd with fire.

So warn'd he them, aware themselves, and soon
In order, quit of all impediment;
Instant without disturb they took alarm,
And onward move embattled; when, behold,
Not distant far with heavy pace the foe
Approaching gross and huge, in hollow cube
Training his devilish enginery, impaled

On every side with shadowing squadrons deep,

To hide the fraud. At interview both stood
Awhile; but suddenly at head appear'd
Satan, and thus was heard commanding loud:

Vanguard, to right and left the front unfold,
That all may see, who hate us, how we seek
Peace and composure, and with open breast
Stand ready to receive them, if they like
Our overture, and turn not back perverse;
But that I doubt; however witness heaven,
Heaven witness thou anon, while we discharge
Freely our part: ye who appointed stand
Do as you have in charge, and briefly touch
What we propound, and loud that all may hear
So scoffing in ambiguous words, he scarce
Had ended, when to right and left the front
Divided, and to either flank retired :

Which to our eyes discover'd, new and strange,
A triple mounted row of pillars, laid

On wheels, for like to pillars most they seem'd,
Or hollow'd bodies made of oak or fir,

With branches lopt, in wood or mountain fell'd,
Brass, iron, stony mould, had not their mouths
With hideous orifice gaped on us wide,
Portending hollow truce; at each behind
A seraph stood, and in his hand a reed
Stood waving tipt with fire; while we suspense
Collected stood within our thoughts amused;
Not long, for sudden all at once their reeds
Put forth, and to a narrow vent applied
With nicest touch. Immediate in a flame,

But soon obscured with smoke, all heaven appear'd,
From those deep-throated engines belch'd, whose roar
Embowell'd with outrageous noise the air,

And all her entrails tore, disgorging foul

Their devilish glut, chain'd thunderbolts and hail
Of iron globes, which on the victor host

Levell'd with such impetuous fury smote,

That whom they hit, none on their feet might stand, Though standing else as rocks; but down they fell By thousands, angel on archangel roll'd,

The sooner for their arms; unarm'd they might

Have easily as spirits evaded swift

By quick contraction or remove; but now
Foul dissipation follow'd and forced rout;
Nor served it to relax their serried files.

What should they do? if on they rush'd, repulse
Repeated, and indecent overthrow

Doubled, would render them yet more despised,
And to their foes a laughter; for in view
Stood rank'd of seraphim another row,
In posture to displode their second tire
Of thunder: back defeated to return

They worse abhorr'd. Satan beheld their plight,
And to his mates thus in derision call'd:

O friends, why come not on these victors proud?
Erewhile they fierce were coming, and when we,
To entertain them fair with open front

And breast (what could we more?) propounded terms
Of composition, straight they changed their minds,
Flew off, and into strange vagaries fell,

As they would dance; yet for a dance they seem'd
Somewhat extravagant and wild, perhaps
For joy of offer'd peace: but I suppose,
If our proposals once again were heard,
We should compel them to a quick result.

To whom thus Belial, in like gamesome mood:
Leader, the terms we sent were terms of weight,
Of hard contents, and full of force urged home
Such as we might perceive amused them all,
And stumbled many; who receives them right,
Had need from head to foot well understand;
Not understood, this gift they have besides,
They show us when our foes walk not upright.
So they among themselves in pleasant vein
Stood scoffing, heighten'd in their thoughts beyond
All doubt of victory; Eternal Might

To match with their inventions they presumed
So easy, and of his thunder made a scorn,

And all his host derided, while they stood
Awhile in trouble; but they stood not long;

Rage prompted them at length, and found them arms
Against such hellish mischief fit to oppose.
Forthwith, behold the excellence, the power
Which God hath in his mighty angels placed!
Their arms away they threw, and to the hills,
For earth hath this variety from heaven
Of pleasure situate in hill and dale,

Light as the lightning glimpse they ran, they flew ;
From their foundations loosening to and fro
They pluck'd the seated hills with all their load,
Rocks, waters, woods, and by the shaggy tops
Uplifting bore them in their hands. Amaze,
Be sure, and terror seized the rebel host,
When coming towards them so dread they saw
The bottom of the mountains upward turn'd;
Till on those cursed engines triple row

They saw them whelm'd, and all their confidence
Under the weight of mountains buried deep;
Themselves invaded next, and on their heads
Main promontories flung, which in the air

Came shadowing, and oppress'd whole legions arm'd ;
Their armour helped their harm, crush'd in and bruised
Into their substance pent, which wrought them pain
Implacable, and many a dolorous groan,

Long struggling underneath, ere they could wind
Out of such prison, though spirits of purest light,
Purest at first, now gross by sinning grown.
The rest in imitation to like arms

Betook them, and the neighbouring hills uptore;
So hills amid the air encounter'd hills,
Hurl'd to and fro with jaculation dire,

That under ground they fought in dismal shade;
Infernal noise! war seem'd a civil game
To this uproar; horrid confusion heap'd
Upon confusion rose. And now all heaven
Had gone to wrack, with ruin overspread,
Had not the Almighty Father, where he sits
Shrined in his sanctuary of heaven secure,
Consulting on the sum of things, foreseen
This tumult, and permitted all, advised;
That his great purpose he might so fulfil,
To honour his anointed Son avenged
Upon his enemies, and to declare

All power on him transferr'd: whence to his Son,
The assessor of his throne, he thus began:

Effulgence of my glory, Son beloved,

Son, in whose face invisible is beheld

Visibly what by Deity I am,

And in whose hand what by decree I do,
Second Omnipotence, two days are past,
Two days, as we compute the days of heaven,
Since Michael and his powers went forth to tame
These disobedient; sore hath been their fight,
As likeliest was, when two such foes met arm'd;
For to themselves I left them, and thou know'st,
Equal in their creation they were form'd,

Save what sin hath impair'd, which yet hath wrought
Insensibly, for I suspend their doom;

Whence in perpetual fight they needs must last

Endless, and no solution will be found.

War wearied hath perform'd what war can do,

And to disorder'd rage let loose the reins,

With mountains as with weapons arm'd, which makes
Wild work in heaven and dangerous to the main.
Two days are therefore past, the third is thine
For thee I have ordain'd it, and thus far
Have suffer'd, that the glory may be thine
Of ending this great war, since none but thou
Can end it. Into thee such virtue and grace
Immense I have transfused, that all may know
In heaven and hell thy power above compare,
And this perverse commotion govern'd thus,
To manifest thee worthiest to be Heir
Of all things, to be Heir and to be King
By sacred unction, thy deserved right.
Go then, thou Mightiest, in thy Father's might;