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So saying, with delight he snuff'd the smell Of mortal change on earth. As when a flock

Of ravenous fowl, though many a league remote,
Against the day of battle, to a field,

Where armies lie encamp'd, come flying, lur'd
With scent of living carcases design'd

For death, the following day, in bloody fight:
So scented the grim feature, and upturn'd
His nostril wide into the murky air;
Sagacious of his quarry from so far,

Then both from out hell-gates, into the waste
Wide anarchy of chaos, damp and dark,

[great,
Flew diverse; and with power, (their power was
Hovering upon the waters, what they met
Solid or slimy, as in raging sea

Tost up and down, together crowded drove,
From each side shoaling towards the mouth of hell,
As when two polar winds, blowing adverse
Upon the Cronian sea, together drive
Mountains of ice, that stop the imagin'd way
Beyond Petsora eastward, to the rich
Cathaian coast. The aggregated soil
Death with his mace petrific, cold and dry,
As with a trident smote, and fix'd as firm
As Delos, floating once; the rest his look
Bound with Gorgonian rigour not to move;
And with asphaltic slime broad as the gate,
Deep to the roots of hell the gather'd beach
They fasten'd, and the mole immense wrought on-
Over the foaming deep high-arch'd, a bridge
Of length prodigious, joining to the wall
Immoveable of this now fenceless world,
Forfeit to death; from hence a passage broad,
Smooth, easy, inoffensive, down to hell.
So, if great things to small may be compar'd,
Xerxes, the liberty of Greece to yoke,
From Susa, his Memnonian palace high,
Came to the sea; and, over Hellespont
Bridging his way, Europe with Asia join'd,

P

And scourg'd with many a stroke the indigna

waves.

Now had they brought the work by wondrous ar
Pontifical, a ridge of pendant rock,

Over the vex'd abyss, following the track
Of Satan to the self-same place where he
First lighted from his wing, and landed safe
From out of chaos, to the outside bare

Of this round world: with pins of adamant
And chains they made all fas, too fast they made
And durable! and now in little space
The confines met of empyréan heaven,
And of this world; and on the left hand, hell
With long reach interpos'd; three several ways
In sight, to each of these three places led.
And now their way to earth they had descried
To Paradise first tending; when, behold!
Satan, in likeness of an angel bright,
Betwixt the Centaur and the Scorpion steering
His zenith, while the sun in Aries rose:
Disguis'd he came; but those his children dear
Their parent soon discern'd, though in disguise
He, after Eve seduc'd, unminded slunk
Into the wood fast by; and, changing shape,
To observe the sequel, saw his guileful act
By Eve, though all unweeting, seconded
Upon her husband; saw their shame that sought
Vain covertures; but when he saw descend
The Son of God to judge them, terrified
He fled; not hoping to escape, but shun
The present; fearing, guilty, what his wrath
Might suddenly inflict; that past, return'á
By night, and listening where the hapless pair
Sat in their sad discourse, and various plaint,
Thence gather'd his own doom; which understood
Not instant, but of future time, with joy
And tidings fraught, to hell he now return'd;
And at the brink of chaos, near the foot
Of this new wondrous pontifice, urlop'd

Met, who to meet him came, his offspring dear.
Great joy was at their meeting, and at sight
Of that stupendous bridge his joy increas'd.
Long he admiring stood, till Sin, his fair
Enchanting daughter, thus the silence broke
"O parent, these are thy magnific deeds,
Thy trophies! which thou view'st as not thine

own;

Thou art their author, and prime architect:
For I no sooner in my heart divin'd,
(My heart, which by a secret harmony

Still moves with thine, join’d in connexion sweet,)
That thou on earth hadst prosper'd, which thy
Now also evidence, but straight I felt, [looks
Though distant from thee worlds between, yet felt
That I must after thee, with this thy son;
Such fatal consequence unites us three!
Hell could no longer hold us in our bounds,
Nor this unvoyageable gulf obscure

Detain from following thy illustrious track:
Thou hast achiev'd our liberty, confin'd
Within hell gates till now; thou us empower'
To fortify thus far, and overlay,

With this portentous bridge, the dark abyss.
Thine now is all this world; thy virtue hath won
What thy hands builded not; thy wisdom gain'd
With odds what war hath lost, and fully aveng'd
Our foil in heaven; here thou shalt monarch reign,
There didst not; there let him still victor sway
As battle hath adjudg'd; from this new world
Retiring, by his own doom alienated;
And henceforth monarchy with thee divide
Of all things, parted by the empyreal bounds,
His quadrature, from thy orbicular world;
Or try thee now more dangerous to his throne.”
Whom thus the Prince of Darkness answer'd
glad:
"Fair daughter, and thou son and grandezila.
High proof ye now have given to be the race

[both

Of Satan, (for I glory in the name,
Antagonist of heaven's almighty King,)
Amply have merited of me, of all

The infernal empire, that so near heaven's door
Triumphal with triumphal act have met, [realm,
Mine, with this glorious work; and made one
Hell and this world, one realm, one continent
Of easy thoroughfare. Therefore, while I
Descend through darkness, on your road with ease,
To my associate powers, them to acquaint
With these successes, and with them rejoice;
You two this way, among these numerous orbs,
All yours, right down to Paradise descend;
There dwell, and reign in bliss; thence on the earth
Dominion exercise and in the air,

Chiefly on man, sole lord of all declar'a ;
Him first make sure your thrall, and lastly kill.
My substitutes I send ye, and create
Plenipotent on earth, of matchless might
Issuing from me: on your joint vigour now
My hold of this new kingdom all depends,
Through Sin to Death. expos'd by my exploit.
If your joint power prevail, the affairs of hell
No detriment need fear; go, and be strong."

So saying, he dismiss'd them; they with speed
Their course through thickest constellations held,
Spreading their bane; the blasted stars look d
And planets, planet-struck, real eclipse [wan,
Then suffer'd. The other way Satan went down
The causey to hell-gate: on either side
Disparted chaos overbuilt exclaim'd,

And with rebounding surge the bars assail'd,
That scorn'd his indignation: through the gate,
Wide open and unguarded, Satan pass'd,
And all about found desolate; for those,
Appointed to sit there, had left their charge,
Flown to the upper world; the rest were all
Far to the inland retired, about the walls
Of Pandemonium; city and proud seat

of Lucifer, so by allusion call'd
Of that bright star to Satan paragon'd:
There kept their watch the legions, while the grand
In council sat, solicitous what chance

Might intercept their emperor sent; so he
Departing gave command, and they observ'd,
As when the Tartar from his Russian foe,
By Astracan, over the snowy plains,
Retires; or Bactrian Sophi, from the horns
Of Turkish crescent, leaves all waste beyond
The realm of Aladule, in his retreat,

To Tauris or Casbeen so these, the late
Heaven-banish'd host, left desert utmost hell
Many a dark league, reduc'd in careful watch
Round their metropolis; and now expecting
Each hour their great adventurer, from the searct
Of foreign worlds: he through the midst unmark'ų,
In show plebeian angel militant

Of lowest order, pass'd; and from the door
Of that Plutonian hall, invisible

Ascended his high throne; which, under state
Of richest texture spread, at the upper end
Was plac'd in regal lustre. Down a while

He sat, and round about him saw, unseen;
At last, as from a cloud, his fulgent head
And shape star-bright appear'd, or brighter; clad
With what permissive glory since his fall
Was left him, or false glitter: ail amaz'd
At that so sudden blaze, the Stygian throng
Bent their aspect, and whom they wish'd beheld,
Their mighty chief return'd: loud was the ac-
claim :

Forth rush'd in haste the great consulting peers
Rais'd from their dark divan, and with like joy
Congratulant approach'd him; who with hand
Silence, and with these words attention, won :

Thrones, dominations, princedoms, virtues,
powers;

For in possession such, not only of right,
I call ye, and declare ye now; return'd

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