5 Satan exalted sat, by merit raised To that bad eminence; and, from despair Beyond thus high, insatiate to pursue Vain war with Heaven, and, by success untaught, 10 "Powers and Dominions, Deities of Heaven! For, since no deep within her gulf can hold 15 More glorious and more dread than from no fall, And trust themselves to fear no second fate. Me, though just right, and the fixed laws of Heaven, Did first create your leader, next, free choice, 20 With what besides, in council or in fight, 25 30 9. Success, the outcome: not necessarily, as to-day, fortunate. 11. Powers and Dominions. For these angelic titles see Introd., p. 14. Give... for lost, not give up as lost, but consider as lost. 15. Virtues is another title. Celestial Virtues then means powers of heaven. 27. In this line, and 1. 32, Satan is not candid; i. 263 expresses his real mind. Will covet more. With this advantage then t To union, and firm faith, and firm accord, 35 Could have assured us; and, by what best way, 40 He ceased; and next him Moloch, sceptered king, 66 Contrive who need, or when they need, not now. 45 50 55 35-40. The art with which Satan covers over the logical conclusions of his own remarks is worthy of a political speaker of the present day. He has already shown that in the war they would now undertake they must lose this advantage they now possess, in other words that the better they succeed the less sure are they to prosper. 43 and following. These speeches are extremely characteristic. If possible the student should study the more extended notes, pp. 94-97. That of Moloch is quite in keeping with what has been already said of him, i. 392-405. Compare 46-48 with i. 402. 46. With the Eternal. The Hebrew word Jehovah means "the eternal one." The Greek translators, however, used the word иúprоs, which means Lord, in which they were followed by the English translators. The French Bible has l'Eternel. 51, 52. Moloch is, as he says, merely a fierce warrior without skill in schemes or speech. Accept this dark, opprobrious den of shame, By our delay? No! let us rather choose, 60 O'er Heaven's high towers to force resistless way, Against the Torturer; when, to meet the noise Of his almighty engine, he shall hear 65 Infernal thunder, and for lightning see Black fire and horror shot with equal rage Among his angels, and his throne itself Mixed with Tartarean sulphur and strange fire, 70 75 80 65. Engine; the word was used in a very general way for any mechanical device. 67. Black fire, a bold conception, something like darkness visible, i. 64. 69. Tartarean. the dead. Tartarus was the classic name for the abode of 75. Proper motion, that which belongs to us, our own rightful motion. 82. Event, outcome. We still say "in any event." 83. Our stronger; our betters, our inferiors are more familiar examples of this use of a comparative adjective. Fear to be worse destroyed. What can be worse 85 Than to dwell here, driven out from bliss, condemned In this abhorrèd deep to utter woe; Where pain of unextinguishable fire Must exercise us, without hope of end, The vassals of his anger, when the scourge 90 Inexorably, and the torturing hour, Calls us to penance? More destroyed than thus, What fear we then? what doubt we to incense 95 100 105 He ended frowning, and his look denounced Desperate revenge, and battle dangerous. To less than gods. On the other side up rose 110 But all was false and hollow; though his tongue 89. Must exercise us, afflict us. 94. What doubt we to incense. The syntax is irregular. Milton may have had the preceding clause in mind. 97. Essential, of the character of essence, spiritual. 107. Desperate, hopeless. 109. Humane; not in the sense common to-day, but with the meaning, polished and scholarly. Maturest counsels for his thoughts were low, 115 "I should be much for open war, O Peers! Of all his aim, after some dire revenge. First, what revenge? The towers of Heaven are filled 120 125. 130 135 140 119. Belial is throughout the polished rhetorician; his first effort is to turn to himself the minds already affected by the words of Moloch. 131. Impregnable. nable, not the access. In reality it is the towers that are impreg 135, 136. Belial is not so much in earnest on this theme as Moloch; these lines fall short of the vigor of 11. 60-70. |