Beyond his potent ärm, to live exempt
From Heav'n's high jurifdiction, in new league
Banded against his throne, but to remain
In ftricteft bondage, tho' thus far remov'd,
Under th' inevitable curb referv'd
His captive multitude: for he, be sure,

In height or depth, ftill first and last will reign
Sole king, and of his kingdom lofe no part
By our revolt, but over hell extend
His empire, and with iron fceptre rule
Us here, as with his golden thofe in heav'n.
What! fit we then projecting peace and war?
War hath determin'd us, and foil'd with lots
Irreparable; terms of peace yet none
Vouchfaf'd or fought; for what peace will be given
To us inflav'd, but cuftody fevere,
And stripes, and arbitrary punishment
Inflicted? and what peace can we return
But to our power hoftility and hate,
Untan'd reluctance, and revenge, though flow,
Yet ever plotting how the Conqu'ror leaft
May reap his conqueft, and may leaft rejoice
In doing what we moft in fuffering feel?
Nor will occafion want, nor fhall we need,
With dangerous expedition, to invade
Heav'n, whofe high wails fear no affault or fiege,
Or ambush from the deep. What, if we find
Some easier enterprife? There is a place,
(If ancient and prophetic fame in heav'n
Err not) another world, the happy feat

Of fome new race call'd MAN, about this time
To be created like to us, though lefs
In power and excellence, but favour'd more
Of him who rules above; fo was his will
Pronounc'd among the gods, and, by an oath,
That fhook heaven's whole circumference, con-
firm'd.

Thither let us bend all our thoughts, to learn
What creatures there inhabit, of what mould
Or fubftance, how endu'd, and what their power,
And where their weakness, how attempted beft,
By force or fubtlety. Though Heav'n be fhut,
And Heav'n's high Arbitrator fit fecure
In his own ftrength, this place may lie expos'd,
The utmost border of his kingdom, left
To their defence who hold it: here perhaps
Some advantageous act may be achiev'd
By fudden onfet, either with hell fire
To wafte his whole creation, or poffefs
All as our own, and drive, as we were driven,
The puny habitants; or if not drive,
Seduce them to our party, that their God
May prove their foe, and with repenting hand
Abolish his own works. This would furpafs
Common revenge, and interrupt his joy
In our confufion, and our joy upraise
In his disturbance; when his darling fons,
Hurl'd head-long to partake with us, fhall curfe
Their frail original, and faded bliss,
Faded fo foon. Advife if this be worth
Attemping, or to fit in darkness here
Hatching vain empires. Thus Beelzebub
Pleaded his devilish counsel, first devis'd
By Satan, and in part propos'd: for whence,
But from the author of all ill, could fpring

So deep a malice, to confound the race
Of mankind in one root, and earth with hell
To mingle and involve, done all to spite
The great Creator? But their spite still ferves
His glory to augment. The bold defign
Pleas'd highly thofe infernal States, and joy
Sparkled in all their eyes; with full affent
They vote: where at his fpeech he thus renews:
Well have ye judg'd, well ended long debate,
Synod of gods, and, like to what ye are,
Great things refolv'd, which from the loweft deep
Will once more lift us up, in fpite of fate,
Nearer our ancient feat; perhaps in view [arms
Of those bright confines, whence with neighb'ring
And opportune excurfion, we may chance
Re-enter heav'n; or elfe in fome mild zone
Dwell not unvifited of heav'n's fair light
Secure, and at the brightening orient beam
Purge off this gloom; the foft delicious air,
To heal the fear of thefe corrofive fires,
Shall breathe her balm. But firft, whom fhall we
In fearch of this new world? whom fhall we find
Sufficient? who fhall tempt with wand'ring feet
The dark unbottom'd infinite abyfs,

And through the palpable obfcure find out
His uncouth way, or spread his airy flight,
Upborne with indefatigable wings,
Over the vast abrubt, e'er he arrive

[fend

The happy ifle; what ftrength, what art can then
Suffice, or what evafion bear him safe.
Through the ftrict fenteries and stations thick
Of angels watching round? Here he had need
All circumfpection, and we now no lefs
Choice in their fuffrage; for on whom we fend,
The weight of all and our last hope relies.

[found

This faid, he fat; and expectation held His looks fufpenfe, awaiting who appear'd, To fecond, or oppofe, or undertake The perilous attempt: but all fat mute, Pond'ring the danger with deep thoughts; and In others count'nance read his own difmay, [each Aftonish'd: none among the choice and prime Of thofe heav'n-warring champions, could be So hardy as to proffer or accept Alone the dreadful voyage; till at last Satan, whom now tranfcendent glory rais'd Above his fellows, with monarchial pride Confcious of highest worth, unmov'd, thus spake: Oprogeny of heav'n! empyreal thrones! With reafon hath deep filence and demur Seis'd us, though undifmay'd: long is the way: And hard, that out of hell leads up to light; Our prifon ftrong; this huge convex of fire, Outrageous to devour, immures us round, Ninefold, and gates of burning adamant Barr'd over us, prohibit all egrefs. Thefe pafs'd, if any país, the void profound Of uneffential Night receives him next Wide gaping, and with utter lofs of being Threatens him, plung'd in that abortive gulf, If thence he 'fcape, into whatever world, Or unknown region, what remains him less Than unknown dangers, and as hard escape? But I fhould ill become this throne, O Peers! And this imperial fov'reignty, adorn'd

With fplendor, arm'd with power, if ought pro-
And judg'd of public moment, in the fhape [pos'd
Of difficulty or danger could deter

Me from attempting. Wherefore do I affume,
Thefe royalties, and not refufe to reign,
Refufing to accept as great a share
Of hazard as of honour, due alike
To him who reigns, and fo much to him due
Of hazard more, as he above the reft

[they

But

High honour'd fits? Go, therefore, mighty powers,
Terror of Heav'n, tho' fall'n; intend at home,
While here fhall be our home, what beft may cafe
The prefent mifery, and render Hell
More tolerable; if there be cure or charm
To refpite, or deceive, or flack the pain
Of this ill manfion: intermit no watch
Against a wakeful foe, while I abroad
Through all the coafts of dark destruction, seek
Deliverance for us all this enterprife
None fhall partake with me. Thus faying, rose
The monarch, and prevented all reply,
Prudent, left from his refolution rais'd,
Others among the chief might offer now
(Certain to be refus'd) what erft they fear'd;
And fo refus'd, might in opinion stand
His rivals, winning cheap the high repute
Which he through hazard huge muft earn.
Dreaded not more th' adventure than his voice
Forbidding; and at once with him they rofe;
Their rifing all at once was as the found
Of thunder heard remote. Tow'rds him they
With awful reverence prone; and as a god [bend
Extol him equal to the High'ft in Heav'n:
Nor fail'd they to exprefs how much they prais'd,
That for the general fafety he defpis'd
His own for neither do the fpirits damn'd
Lofe all their virtue; left bad men fhould boaft
Their fpecious deeds on earth, which glory excites,
Or clofe ambition varnish'd o'er with zeal.
Thus they their doubtful confultations dark
Ended, rejoicing in their matchlefs chief:
As when from mountain tops the dusky clouds
Afcending, while the north wind fleeps, o'erfpread
Heav'n's cheerful face, the louring clement
Scowls o'er the darken'd landfkip fnow, or fhower;
If chance the radiant fun with farewel fweet
Extend his ev'ning beam, the fields revive,
The birds their notes renew, and bleating herds
Atteft their joy, that hill and valley rings.
O fhame to men, devil with devil damn'd
Firm concord holds, men only difagree
Of creatures rational, tho' under hope
Of heav'nly grace: and God proclaiming peace,
Yet live in hatred, enmity, and ftrife
Among themfelves, and levy cruel wars,
Wafting the earth, each other to destroy:
As if(which might induce us to accord)
Man had not hellifh foes enow befides,
That day and night for his deftruction wait.

The Stygian council thus diffolv'd; and forth
In order came the grand infernal peers:
Midft came their mighty paramount, and feem'd
Alone the antagonist of Heav'n, nor lefs
Than Hell's dread emperor with pomp supreme,
And godlike imitated state; him round

A globe of fiery feraphim inclos'd
With bright imblazonry, and horrent arms.
Then of their feffion ended they id cry
With trumpets' regal found the great refult:
Tow'rds the four winds four fpeedy cherubim
Put to their mouths the founding alchemy
By herald's voice explain'd; the hollow abyfs
Heard far and wide, and all the hoft of hell
With deaf'ning fhout return'd them loud acclaim.
Thence more at eafe their minds, and fomewhat
rais'd

By falfe prefumptuous hope, the ranged powers
Difband, and wand'ring, each his feveral way
Purfues, as inclination or fad choice
Leads him, perplex'd where he may liklieft find
Truce to his reflefs thoughts, and entertain
The irkfome hours, till his great chief return.
Part on the plain, or in the air fublime,
Upon the wing, or in fwift race contend,
As at th' Olympian games or Pythian fields.
Part curb their ficry fteeds, or fun the goal
With rapid wheels, or fronted brigades form,
As when to warn proud cities war appears
Wag'd in the troubled fky, and armies rufh
To battle in the clouds, before each van-
Prick forth the airy knights, and coach their
fpears

Till thickeft legions clofe; with feats of arms
From either end of Heav'n the welkin burns.
Others, with vaft Typhoan rage more fell,
Read up both rocks and hills, and ride the air
In whirlwind; Hell fearce holds the wild uproar.
As when Akides, from Oechalia crown'd
With conqueft, felt th' envenom'd robe, and tore
Through pain up by the roots Theffalian pines,
And Lichas from the top of Geta threw
into th' Euboic fea. Others more mild,
Retreated in a filent valley, fing
With notes angelical to many a harp,
Their own heroic deeds, and hapless fall
By doom of battle; and complain that Fate
Free virtue fhould inthrall to force or chance.
Their fong was partial, but the harmony
(What could it lefs when fp'rits immortal fing ?)
Sufpended Hell, and took with ravishment
The thronging audience. In difcourfe more fweet
(For cloquence the foul, fong charms the fenfe)
Others apart fat on a hill retired,

In thoughts more elevate, and reafon'd high
Of providence, foreknowledge, will, and fate,
Fix'd fate, free-will, foreknowledge abfolute,
And found no end, in wand'ring mazes loft.
Of good and evil much they argu'd, then
Of happiness and final mifery,
Paffion and apathy, and glory and shame,
Vain wildom all, and falie philofophy:
Yet with a pleafing forcery could charm
Pain for a while, or anguish, and excite
Fallacious hope, or arm th' obdur'd breast
With fubborn patience as with triple steel.
Another part, in fquadrons and grofs bands
On bold adventure to discover wide
That difmal world, if any clime perhaps
Might yield them easier habitation, bend
Eour ways their flying march along the banks

Of four infernal rivers, that difgorge
Into the burning lake their baleful streams;
Abhorr'd Styx, the flood of deadly hate;
Sad Acheron, of forrow, black and deep;
Cocytus, nam'd of lamentation loud,
Heard on the rueful ftream; fierce Phlegethon,
Whole waves of torrent fire inflame with rage.
Far off from thefe a flow and filent ftream,
Lethe, the river of oblivion, rolls
Her watry labyrinth, whereof who drinks
Forthwith his former ftate and being forgets,
Forgets both joy and grief, pleafure and pain.
Beyond this flood a frozen continent
Lies dark and wild, beat with perpetual storms
Of whirlwind and dire hail, which on firm land
Thaws not, but gathers heap, and ruin feems
Of ancient pile; or elfe deep now and ice,
A gulf profound as that Serbonian bog
Betwixt Damiata and Mount Cafics old,
Where armies whole have funk: the parching air
Burns frore, and cold performs th' effect of fire.
Thither, by harpy-footed furies hal'd,
At certain revolutions, all the damn'd
Are brought, and feel by turns the bitter change
Of fierce extremes, by change more fierce,
From beds of raging fire to ftarve in ice
Their foft ethereal warmth, and there to pine
Immoveable, infix'd, and frozen round,
Periods of time, thence hurried back to fire.
They ferry over this Leathean found
Both to and fro, their forrow to augment,
And with and struggle as they pafs, to reach
The tempting stream, with one finall drop to lefe
In fweet forgetfulness all pain and woe,
All in one moment, and fo near the brink;
But fate withstands, and to oppofe th' attempt
Medufa with Gorgonian terror, guards
The ford, and of itself the water files
All tale of living wight, as once it fied
The lip of Tantalus. Thus roving on

In confuf'd march forlorn, th' advent'rous bands,
With fhudd'ring horror pale, and eyes aghaft,
View'd first their lamentable lot, and found
No reft: through many a dark and dreary vale
They pafs'd, and many a region dolorous,
O'er many a frozen, many a fiery Alp,

So feem'd

Of Ternate and Tidore, whence mercharts bring
Their fpicy drugs: they on the trading flood
Through the wide Ethiopian to the Cape
Ply ftemming nightly tow'rd the pole.
Far off the flying Fiend: at laft appear
Heil bounds high reaching to the horrid roof,
And thrice three-fold the gates; three folds were
Three iron, three of adamantine rock, [brafs,
Impenetrable, impal'd with circling fire,
Yet unconfum'd. Before the gates there fat
On either fide a formidable shape;

The one feem'd woman to the waste, and fair,
But ended foul in many a fealy fold
Volumnious and vaft, a ferpent armı'd
With mortal fting: about her middle round
A cry of hell-hounds never ceafing bark
With wide Cerberean mouths full loud, and rung
A hideous pale; yet, when they lift, would creep,
If ought difturb'd their noife, into her womb,
And kennel there, yet there ftill bark'd and howl'₫
Within, unfeen. Far lefs abhorr'd than thefe,
Vex'd Scylla bathing in the fea that parts
Calabria from the hoarfe Trinacrian fhore:
Nor uglier follow the night-hag, when call'd
In fecret, riding through the air she comes,
Lur'd with the finell of infant blood, to dance
With Lapland witches, while the lab'ring moon
Eclipfes at their charms. The other shape,
If fhape it might be call'd that shape had none
Diftinguishable in member, joint, or limb,
Or fubftance might be call'd that fhadow feem'd,.
For each feem'd either; black it flood as Night,
Fierce as ten Furies, terrible as Hell,

And fhook a dreadful dart: what feem'd his head,
The likeness of a kingly crown had on,
Satan was now at hand, and from his feat
The monster moving, onward came as faft
With horrid ftrides: Hell trembled as he strode.
Th' undaunted fiend what this might be admir'd;
Admir'd, not fear'd; God and his fon except
Created thing nought valued he or shunn'd;
And with dildainful look thus first began:

Whence and what art thou, execrable fhape,
That dar'st, though grim and terrible, advance
Thy mifcreated front athwart my way
To yonder gates? through them I mean to pass,

death,

A univerfe of death, which God by curfe

Created evil, for evil only good,

Where all life dies, death lives, and nature breeds,
Perverfe, all monstrous, all prodigious things,
Abominable, inutterable, and worfe
Than fables yet have feign'd, or fear conceiv'd,
Gorgons, and Hydras, and Chimeras dire.

Mean while the adverfary' of God and man, Satan, with thoughts inflam'd of high'st design, Puts on fwift wings, and towards the gates of hell Explores his folitary flight; fometimes

He fcours the right hand coaft, fometimes the left,
Now fhaves with level wing the deep, then foars
Up to the fiery concave towering high.
As when far off at fea a fleet defcry'd
Hangs in the clouds, by equinoctial winds
Clofe failing from Bengala, or the ifles

Retire, or talte thy folly, and learn by proof,
Hell-born, not to contend with fp'rits of heav'n.
To whom the goblin full of wrath reply'd:
Art thou that traitor angel, art thou he
Who first broke peace in heav'n and faith, till then
Unbroken, and in proud rebellious arms
Drew after him the third part of heav'n's fons
Conjur'd against the high'ft, for which both thou
And they, outcaft from God, are here condemn'd
To wafte eternal days in woe and pain?
And reckon'st thou thyfelf with fp'rits of heav'n,
Hell-doom'd, and breath'ft defiance here, and fcorn,
Where I reign king, and to enrage thee more,
Thy king and lord? Back to thy punishment,
Falfe fugitive, and to thy speed add wings,
Left with a whip of fcorpions I pursue
Thy ling'ring, or with one stroke of this dart
Strange horror feize thee, and pangs unfelt before.

So fpake the grifly Terror, and in shape, So fpeaking and fo threat'ning, grew ten-fold More dreadful and deform: on th' other fide, Incenf'd with indignation, Satan stood Unterrify'd, and like a comet burn'd, That fires the length of Opiuchus huge In the Arctic sky, and from his horrid hair Shakes peftilence and war. Each at the head Level'd his deadly aim; their fatal hands No fecond stroke, intent, and fuch a frown Each caft at th' other, as when two black clouds, With heav'n's artillery fraught, come rattling on Over the Cafpian, then ftand front to front Hov'ring a space, till winds the signal blow To join their dark encounter in mid air: So frown'd the mighty combatants, that Hell Grew darker at their frown, fo match'd they stood; For never but once more was either like To meet fo great a foe: and now great deeds Had been achiev'd, whereof all Hell had rung, Had not the fnaky forcerefs that fat Eaft by Hell gate, and kept the fatal key, Rif'n, and with hideous outcry rufh'd between. O father, what intends thy hand, she cry'd Against thy only fon? What fury, O fon! Poffeffes thee to bend that mortal dart? Against thy father's head ? and know'ft for whom; For him who fits above and laughs the while At thee ordain'd his drudge, to execute Whate'er his wrath, which he calls Justice, bids; His wrath, which one day will deftroy ye both. She fpake, and her words the hellish pest Forbore. Then these to her Satan return'd.

So ftrange the outcry, and thy words fo ftrange Thou interpofeft, that my fudden hand Prevented spares to tell thee yet by deeds What it intends; till firft I know of thee, What thing thou art, thus double-form'd, and why In this infernal, first met, thou call'ft Me Father, and that phantafm call'ft my Son; I know thee not, nor ever faw till now Sight more deteftable than him and thee. T'whom thus the portrefs of Hell gate reply'd: Haft thou forgot me then, and do I seem Now in thine eye fo foul? once deem'd fo fair In heav'n, when at th' affembly, and in fight Of all the feraphin with thee combin'd In bold confpiracy against Heav'n's King, All on a fudden miferable pain Surprif'd thee, dim thine eyes, and dizzy fwum In darkness, while thy head flames thick and fast Threw forth, till on the left fide opening wide, Likeft to thee in fhape and count'nance bright, Then fhining heav'nly fair, a goddess arm'd Out of thy head I fprung: amafement feif'd All th' haft of Heav'n; back they recoil'd afraid At first, and call'd me Sin, and for a fign Portentous held me; but familiar grown, I pleaf'd, and with attractive graces won The most averie, thee chiefly, who full oft Thyfelf in ine thy perfect image viewing, Becam'ft enamour'd, and fuch joy thou took'st With me in fecret, that my womb conceiv'd A growing burden. Meanwhile war arose,

And fields were fought in Heav'n; wherein remain'd

(For what could elfe?) to our almighty Foe
Clear victory, to our part lofs and rout
Through all the empyrean, down they fell,
Driv'n headlong from the pitch of Heav'n down
Into this deep, and in the general fall

I alfo; at which time this powerful key
Into my hand was giv'n, with charge to keep
Thefe gates for ever fhut, which none can pass
Without my op'ning. Penfive here I fat
Alone, but long I fat not, till my womb,
Pregnant by thee, and now exceffive grown,
Prodigious motion felt and rueful throes.
At last this odious offspring whom thou seest,
Thine own begotten, breaking violent way,
Tore through my entrails, that with fear and pain
Diftorted, all my nether fhape thus grew
Transform'd: but he my inbred enemy
Forth iffued, brandishing his fatal dart
Made to destroy: I fled, and cry'd out Death;
Hell trembled at the hideous name, and figh'd
From all her caves, and back refounded Death,
I fled, but he purfued (though more, it seems,
Inflam'd with luft than rage) and fwifter far,
Me overtook his mother, all difmay'd,
And in embraces forcible and foul
Ingendering with me, of that rape begot
Thefe yelling monsters, that with ceafelefs cry
Surround me, as thou faw'ft, hourly conceiv'd
And hourly born, with forrow infinite
To me; for when they lift, into the womb
That bred them, they return and howl, and gnaw
My bowels, their repaft; then bursting forth
Afresh, with confcious terrors vex me round,
That reft or intermiffion none I find.
Before mine eyes in oppofition fits

Grim Death, my fon and foe, who fets them on,
And me his parent would full foon devour
For want of other prey, but that he knows
His end with mine involv'd; and knows that I
fhould prove a bitter morfel, and his bane,
Whenever that shall be; so Fate pronounc'd.
But thou, O Father, I forewarn thee, fhun
His deadly arrow; neither vainly hope
To be invulnerable in thofe bright arms,
Though temper'd heav'nly, for that mortal dint,
Save he who reigns above, none can resist.

She finish'd; and the fubtle Fiend his lore Soon learn'd, now milder; and thus anfwer'd fmooth:

Dear daughter,fince thou claim'ft me for thy fire,
And my fair fon here show'ft me, the dear pledge
Of dalliance had with thee in Heav'n, and joys
Then fweet, now fad to mention, through dire
change

Befall'n as unforeseen, unthought of; know,
I come no enemy, but to fet free
From out this dark and dismal house of pain,
Both him and thee, and all the heav'nly hoft
Of fpirits that in our just pretences arm'd,
Fell with us from on high: from them I go
This uncouth errand fole, and one for all
Myfelf expofe, with lonely fteps to tread [menfe
Th' unfounded deep, and through the void ime

To fearch with wand'ring quest a place foretold
Should be, and, by concurring figus, e'er now
Created vast and round, a place of blifs
In the pourlieus of Heaven, and therein plac'd
A race of upstart creatures, to supply
Perhaps our vacant room, though more remov'd,
Left Heav'n, surcharg'd with potent multitude,
Might hap to move new broils: be this or ought
Than this more fecret now defign'd, I hafte
To know, and this once known, fhall foon return,
And bring ye to the place where thou and Death
Shall dwell at eafe, and up and down unfeen
Wing filently the buxom air, embalm'd
With odors; there ye shall be fed and fill'd
Immeafurably; all things fhall be your prey.
He ceas'd; for both feem'd highly pleas'd,

and Death.

Grinn'd horrible a ghaftly fmile, to hear
His famine fhould be fill'd, and bleft his inaw
Deftin'd to that good hour: no lefs rejoic'd
His mother bad, and thus befpake her fire:

The key of this infernal pit by due,

And by command of Heav'n's all-powerful King,
I keep, by him forbidden to unlock

These adamantine gates: against all force
Death ready ftands to interpofe his dart,
Fearless to be o'ermatch'd by living might.
But what owe I to his commands above,

Who hates me, and hath hither thrust me down
Into this gloom of Tartarus profound,
To fit in hateful office here confin'd,
Inhabitant of Heav'n, and heav'nly born,
Here in perpetual agony and pain,

With terrors and with clamors compafs'd round
Of mine own brood, that on my bowels feed?
Thou art my father, thou my author; thou
My being gav'it me; whom fhould I obey
But thee, whom follow? thou wilt bring me foon
To that new world of light and blifs, among
The gods who live at cafe, where I fhall reign
At thy right hand voluptuous, as befeems
Thy daughter and thy darling, without end.
Thus faying, from her fide the fatal key,
Sad inftrument of all our woe, fhe took;
And tow'rds the gate rolling her beftial train,
Forthwith the huge portcullis high up drew,
Which but herself, not all the Stygian powers
Could once have mov'd; then in the key-hole turns
Th' intricate wards, and every bolt and bar
Of mafly ir'n or folid rock, with cafe
Unfaftens on a fudden open fly,
With impetuous recoil and jarring found,
Th' infernal doors, and on their hinges grate
Harsh thunder, that the lowest bottom shook
Of Erebus. She open'd, but to fhut
Fxcell'd her pow'r; the gates wide open flood,
That with extended wings a banner'd hoft
Underspread enfigus marching might pass through,
With horie and chariots rank'd in docle array;
So wide they ftood, and like a furnace mouth
Caft forth redounding fmoke and ruddy flame.
Before their eyes in fudden view appear
The fecrets of the hoary deep, a dark,
Illimitable ocean without Lound,
Without dimention, where length, breadth," and

[height,

And time, and place, are loft; where eldest Night And Chaos, anceitor of Nature, hold

Eternal anarchy, amidst the noise

Of endless wars, and by confufion ftand.
For hot, cold, moilt, and dry, four champions
fierce,

Strive here for mastry, and to battle bring
Their embryon atoms; they around the flag
Of each his faction, in their feveral clans,
Light-arm'd or heavy, sharp, fimooth, fwitt or flow,
Swarm populous, unnumber'd as the fands
Of Barca or Cyrenae's torrid foil,

Levied to fide with warring winds, and poife
Their lighter wings. To whom thefe moit adhere,
1e rules a moment; Chaos umpire fits,
And by decifion more embroils the fray
By which he reigns: next him high arbiter
Chance governs all. Into this wild abyfs
The womb of Nature, and perhaps her grave,
Of neither fea, nor fhore, nor air, nor fire,
But all thefe in their pregnant caufes mix'd
Confus'dly, and which thus muft ever fight,
Unlefs th' almighty Maker them ordain
His dark materials to create more worlds:
Into this wild abyis the wary Fiend
Stood on the brink of Hell, and look'd a while,
Pond'ring his voyage; for no narrow frith
He had to crofs. Nor was his ear lefs peal'd
With noifes loud and ruinous (to compare
Great things with (mall) than when Bellona forms,
With all her battering engines, bent to raze
Some capital city; or lefs than if this frame
Of Heav'n were falling, and thefe elements
In mutiny had from her axle torn

The ftedfaft Earth. At laft his fail-broad vans
He fpreads for flight, and in the furging smoke
Uplifted fparns the ground; thence many a league,
As in a cloudy chair, afcending rides

Audacious; but that feat foon failing, meets
A vaft vacuity: all unawares,

Fluttering his pinions vain, plumb down he drops
Ten thoufand fathom deep, and to this hour
Down had been falling, had not by ill chance
The ftrong rebuff of fome tumultuous cloud,
Inftinct with fire and nitre, hurried him
As many miles aloft: that fury stay'd,
Quench'd in a boggy fyrtis, neither fea,
Nor good dry land : nigh founder'd, on he fares,'
Treading the crude coniiftence, half on foot,
Half flying; behoves him now both oar and fail,
As when a gryphon through the wilderness
With winged courfe, o'er hill or moory dale,
Purfues the Arimafpian, who by ftealth
Had from his wakeful cuftody purloin'd
The guarded gold: fo eagerly the Fiend
O'er bog, or iteep, through strait, rough, dense,

or rare,

| With head, hands, wings, or fect, purfucs his way, And iwims, or finks, or wades, or creeps, or flies: At length an univerfal hubbub wild

Of stunning founds and voices all confuf'd,
Borne through the hollow dark, affaults his car
With loudeft vehice: thither he plies,
Undaunted, to me there whatever power
Or ípirit of the helmet abyfs