Me some inferior angel, I had stood
on lost hap- Then happy; no unbounded hope had rais'd Ambition. Yet why not? some other pow'r
As great might have aspir'd, and me, though mean,
Drawn to his part. But other pow'rs as great
Fell not, but stand unshaken, from within,
Or from without, to all temptations arm'd.
Hadst thou the same free-will, and pow'r to stand? Thou hadst: whom hast thou, then, or what t'accuse, But heav'n's free love dealt equally to all? Blasphemy. Be then his love accurs'd! since love or hate, To me alike it deals eternal woe.
Nay, curs'd be thou; since against his, thy will
demnation. Chose freely what it now so justly rues.
Desperation Me miserable! which way shall I fly
Infinite wrath, and infinite despair?
Which way I fly is hell; myself am hell;
And in the lowest deep, a lower deep
Still threat'ning to devour me, opens wide,
To which the hell I suffer, seems a heav'n
Oh, then, at last, relent. Is there no place
Left for repentance? None for pardon left?
None left, but by submission; and that word
Disdain forbids me, and my dread of shame
Among the spirits beneath, whom I seduc'd
With other promises, and other vaunts
Than to submit; boasting I could subdue
Th' Omnipotent. Ah, me! they little know
How dearly I abide that boast so vain;
Under what torments inwardly I groan,
While they adore me on the throne of hell,
With diadem and sceptre high advanc'd,
The lower still I fall, only supreme
In misery; such joy ambition finds.
But say I could repent, and could obtain,
By act of grace, my former state; how soon
Would height recall high thoughts, how soon unsay
What feign'd submission swore? Ease would recant
Vows made in pain, as violent and void.
For never can true reconcilement grow
Where wounds of deadly hate have pierc'd so deep:
Which would but lead me to a worse relapse,
And heavier fall: so should I purchase dear
Short intermission bought with double smart.
This knows my Punisher, therefore as far
From granting he, as I from begging peace:
All hope excluded thus, behold instead
of us outcast, exild, his new delight,
Mankind created, and for them this world.
So farewell, hope; and with hope farewell fear;
Farewell, remorse; all good to me is lost;
Evil, be thou my good; by thee at least
Divided empire with heav'n's King I hold;
By thee, and more than half, perhaps, shall reign,
As man, ere long, and this new world shall know.
The speech of Satan, in his infernal palace of Pandemonium, in which he proposes to the consideration of his angels, in what manner it would be proper to proceed, in consequence of their defeat and fall.-Milton.
Pow'rs and dominions! deities of heav'n!
For since no deep within her gulf can hold
Immortal vigour, though oppress'd and fall'n
I give not heav'n for lost. From this descent
Celestial virtues rising will appear
More glorious, and more dread, than from no fall,
And trust themselves to fear no second fate.
Me though just right, and the fix'd laws of heav'n, Authority.
Did first create your leader, next free choice,
With what besides, in council, or in fight,
Ian een enter d of merit; vet this loss
***us far, in least, recover d hath much more
aa are, menvied throne,
Killded vita il consent. The happier state
Ca que vnica follows igitu, might draw
key rem caca afertur: but who here
VIL Jury whom he triest nace exposes
Geremust to stand against the Thunderer's aim
curaruri, ami comiemns to greatest share
With this uruntage then
20 yerel ve 120 age: Loch, veiting the infernal
Arm'd with hell flames and fury, all at once
O'er heav'n's high tow'rs to force resistless way,
Turning our tortures into horrid arms
Against our torturer. When to meet the noise
Of his terrific engine, he shall hear
Infernal thunder, and for lightning see
Black fire, and horror, shot with equal rage
Amongst his angels; and his throne itself
Mix'd with Tartarean sulphur and strange fire,
His own invented torments.-But perhaps
The way seems difficult, and steep to scale
With upright wing against a higher foe.-
Let such bethink them, if the sleepy drench
Of that forgetful lake benumb not still,
That, in our proper motion, we ascend
Up to our native seat. Descent and fall
To us is adverse. Who but felt of late,
When our fierce foe hung on our broken rere,
Insulting, and pursu'd us through the deep;
With what compulsion, and laborious flight
We sunk thus low?-Th' ascent is easy then.-
Th' event is fear'd.-Should we again provoke
Our stronger, some worse way his wrath may find
To our destruction; if there be in hell
Fear to be worse destroy'd.—What can be worse
Than to dwell here, driv'n out from bliss, condemn'd
In this abhorred deep to utter woe,
Where pain of unextinguishable fire
Must exercise us without hope of end,
The vassals of his anger, when the scourge
Inexorable, and the torturing hour
Calls us to penance ?—More destroy'd than thus
We must be quite abolish'd, and expire.
What fear we then?-What doubt we to incense Fierceness. His utmost ire? which, to the height enrag'd,
Will either quite consume us, and reduce
Hath been achiev'd of merit; yet this loss
Thus far, at least, recover'd hath much more
Establish'd in a safe, unenvied throne,
Yielded with full consent. The happier state
In heav'n, which follows dignity, might draw
Apprehen- Envy from each inferior; but who here
Will envy whom the highest place exposes
Foremost to stand against the Thunderer's aim
Your bulwark, and condemns to greatest share
Of endless pain? With this advantage then
To union, and firm faith, and firm accord,
More than can be in heav'n, we now return
To claim our just inheritance of old,
Surer to prosper, than prosperity
Confidence. Could have assur'd us; and by what best way,
Whether of open war, or covert guile,
We now debate. Who can advise may speak.
XXVII. FIERCENESS-DESPERATION.
The speech of the fallen angel Moloch, exciting the infernal crew to renew the war against heaven.
My sentence is for open war.
a Contempt. More inexpert, I boast not.
a Of wiles,
Them let those
Contrive, who need; or when they need—not now. For while they sit contriving, shall the rest, Millions that stand in arms, and longing wait The signal to ascend, sit ling'ring here Heav'ns fugitives, and for their dwelling-place Accept this dark opprobrious den of shame, The prison of his tyranny, who reigns Fierceness. By our delay?—No!-let us rather choose,
"No, let us," &c., to "But perhaps," can hardly be spoken too energetically, if the dignity of the speaker be kept up in pronouncing the passage. At the words, "But perhaps," &c., the speaker composes himself again.
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