And Dungeon of our Tyrant: Now poffefs,
As Lords, a fpacious World, to our native Heaven
Little inferior, by my adventure hard
With peril great atchiev'd. Long were to tell
What I have done, what fuffer'd, with what pain
Voyag'd th' unreal, vaft, unbounded deep
Of horrible confufion, over which
By Sin and Death a broad way now is pav'd
To expedite your glorious march; but I
Toil'd out my uncouth paffage, forc'd to ride
Th' untractable Abyfs, plung'd in the womb
Of unoriginal Night and Chaos wild,
That jealous of their fecrets, fiercely oppos'd
My journey ftrange, with clamorous uproar
Protefting Fate fupream; thence how I found
Offended, worth your laughter, hath giv❜n up
Both his beloved Man, and all his World,
To Sin and Death a prey, and so to us,
Without our hazard, labour, or alarm,
To range in, and to dwell, and over Man
To rule, as over all he should have rul'd.
True is, Me alfo he hath judg'd, or rather
Me not, but the brute Serpent in whose shape
Man I deceiv'd: that which to me belongs,
Is enmity, which he will put between
Me and Mankind; I am to bruise his heel;
His Seed, when is not fet, fhall bruise my head:
A World who would not purchase with a bruife,
Or much more grievous pain? Ye have th' account
Of my performance: What remains, ye Gods,
But up, and enter now into full blifs.
So having faid, a while he ftood, expecting
Their univerfal shout and high applause
To fill his ear, when contrary he hears
On all fides, from innumerable tongues
A difmal univerfal Hifs, the found
Of public Scorn; he wonder'd, but not long
Had leifure, wondring at himself now more ;
His vifage drawn he felt to sharp and spare,
His Arms clung to his Ribs, his Legs entwining
Each other, till fupplanted down he fell
A monftrous Serpent on his Belly prone,
Reluctant, but in vain; a greater power
Now rul'd him, punisht in the shape he fin'd,
According to his doom: he would have spoke,
But hifs for hifs return'd with forked tongue
To forked tongue, for now were all transform'd
Alike to Serpents, all as acceffories
To his bold Riot, Dreadful was the din
Of hiffing through the Hall, thick swarming now
With complicated monfters head and tail,
Scorpion and Afp, and Amphisbana dire,
Ceraftes horn'd, Hydrus, and Ellops drear,
And Dipfas (not fo thick fwarm'd once the Soil
Bedrop'd with blood of Gorgon, or the Isle
Ophiufa) but ftill greatest He the midft,
Now Dragon grown, larger than whom the Sun
Ingender'd in the Pythian Vale on flime,
Huge Python, and his Power no lefs he seem'd
Above the reft ftill to retain; they all
Him follow'd iffuing forth to th' open Field,
Where all yet left of that revolted Rout
Heav'n-fall'n, in ftation ftood or just array,
Sublime with expectation when to fee
In Triumph iffuing forth their glorious Chief.
They faw, but other fight instead, a crowd
Of ugly Serpents; horror on them fell,
And horrid fympathy; for what they saw,
They felt themselves now changing; down their arms,
Down fell both Spear and Shield, down they as fast,
And the dire hifs renew'd, and the dire form
Catcht by Contagion, like in punishment,
As in their crime. Thus was th' applause they meant,
Turn'd to exploding hiss, triumph to shame [ftood
Caft on themselves from their own mouths. There
A Grove hard by, fprang up with this their change,
His will who reigns above, to aggravatę
Their patience, laden with Fruit, like that
Which grew in Paradife, the bait of Eve
Us'd by the Tempter: on that prospect strange
Their earnest Eyes they fix'd, imagining
For one forbidden Tree a multitude
Now ris'n, to work them further woe or fhame;
Yet parcht with fcalding thirst and hunger fierce,
Though to delude them fent, could not abstain,
But on they roll'd in heaps, and up the Trees
Climbing, fate thicker than the fnaky locks
That curl'd Megara: greedily they pluck'd
The Frutage fair to fight, like that which grew
Near that bituminous Lake where Sodom flam'd;
This more delufive, not the touch, but tafte
Deceiv'd; they fondly thinking to allay
Their appetite with guft, inftead of Fruit
Chew'd bitter Afhes, which th' offended tafte
With fpattering noise rejected: oft they assay'd,
Hunger and thirst constraining, drug'd as oft,
With hatefulleft difrelish writh'd their jaws
With foot and cinders fill'd; fo oft they fell
Into the fame illufion, not as Man
Whom they triumph'd once lapft. Thus were they
And worn with famine, long and ceafless hifs
Till their loft shape permitted, they refum'd;
Yearly enjoin'd, fome fay, to undergo
This Annual humbling certain number'd days,
To dafh their pride, and joy for Man feduc'd.
However fome tradition they difpers'd
Among the Heathen of their purchase got,
And Fabl'd how the Serpent, whom they call'd
Ophion with Eurynome, the wide
Encroaching Eve perhaps, had first the rule
Of high Olympus, thence by Saturn driv’n
And Ops, ere yet Dictaan Jove was born.
Mean while in Paradise the hellish pair
Too foon arriv'd, Sin there in power before,
Once actual, now in body, and to dwell
Habitual habitant; behind her Death,
Close following pace for pace, not mounted yet
On his pale Horfe: to whom Sin thus began.
Second of Satan fprung, all-conquering Death, What think'ft thou of our Empire now, tho' earn'd With travel difficult, not better far
Than ftill at Hell's dark threshold to have fate watch, Unnam'd, undreaded, and thy felf halfftarv'd?
Whom thus the Sin-born Monfter anfwer'd foon. To me, who with eternal Famine pine,
Alike is Hell, or Paradife, or Heav'n,
There beft, where most with ravin I may meet;
Which here, tho' plenteous, all too little feems
To stuff this Maw, this vaft unhide-bound Corps.
To whom th' inceftuous Mother thus reply'd. Thou therefore on these Herbs, and Fruits, and Flours Feed first, on each Beaft next, and Fish, and Fowl, No homely morfels, and whatever thing The Scithe of Time mowes down, devour unspar'd,
Till I in Man refiding through the Race
His thoughts, his looks, words, actions all infect,
And feafon him thy laft and sweetest prey.
This said, they both betook them several ways,
Both to destroy, or unimmortal make
All kinds, and for deftruction to mature
Sooner or later; which th' Almighty seeing,
From his tranfcendent Seat the Saints among,
To those bright Orders utter'd thus his voice.
See with what heat thefe Dogs of Hell advance
To wafte and havoc yonder World, which I
So fair and good created, and had still
Kept in that State, had not the folly of Man
Let in those wafteful Furies, who impute
Folly to me; fo doth the Prince of Hell
And his Adherents, that with so much ease
I fuffer them to enter and poffefs
To gratifie my scornful Enemies
A place fo heav'nly, and conniving seem
That laugh, as if, transported with some fit
Of Paffion, Ito them had quitted all,
At random yielded up to their misrule;
And know not that I call'd and drew them thither
My Hell-hounds, to lick up the draff and filth
Which Man's polluting Sin with taint had shed
On what was pure; till cramm'd and gorg'd, nigh burk With fuckt and glutted offal, at one sling
Of thy victorious Arm, well-plealing Son,
Both Sin, and Death, and yawning Grave at last
Through Chaos hurl'd, obftru&t the mouth of Hell
For ever, and feal up his ravenous Jaws.
Then Heav'n and Earth renew'd fhall be made pure
To fan&tity that fhall receive no ftain:
Till then the Curse pronounc'd on both precedes. 640
He ended, and the heav'nly Audience loud
Sung Hallelujah, as the sound of Seas,
Through multitude that fung: Juft are thy ways,
Righteous are thy Decrees on all thy Works;
Who can extenuate thee? Next, to the Sop,
Deftin'd reftorer of Mankind, by whom
New Heav'n and Earth shall to the Ages rife,
Or down from Heav'n defcend. Such was their fong,
While the Creator calling forth by name
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