Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Paradise Lost Simplified! (Includes Modern Translation, Study Guide, Historical Context, Biography, and Character Index)
    Paradise Lost Simplified! (Includes Modern Translation, Study Guide, Historical Context, Biography, and Character Index)
    Paradise Lost Simplified! (Includes Modern Translation, Study Guide, Historical Context, Biography, and Character Index)
    Ebook820 pages14 hours

    Paradise Lost Simplified! (Includes Modern Translation, Study Guide, Historical Context, Biography, and Character Index)

    By BookCaps

    4/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    How can you appreciate John Milton’s Paradise Lost when you have no idea what it’s saying?! If you’ve ever sat down with the epic poem and found yourself scratching your head then this bundled book is just for you!

    Inside you will find a comprehensive study guide, and a modern retelling (along with the original text) of Paradise Lost.

    Each section of this book may also be purchased individually.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookCaps
    Release dateApr 30, 2013
    ISBN9781301802586
    Paradise Lost Simplified! (Includes Modern Translation, Study Guide, Historical Context, Biography, and Character Index)
    Author

    BookCaps

    We all need refreshers every now and then. Whether you are a student trying to cram for that big final, or someone just trying to understand a book more, BookCaps can help. We are a small, but growing company, and are adding titles every month.Visit www.bookcaps.com to see more of our books, or contact us with any questions.

    Read more from Book Caps

    Related authors

    Related to Paradise Lost Simplified! (Includes Modern Translation, Study Guide, Historical Context, Biography, and Character Index)

    Related ebooks

    Poetry For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Mirror of Erised: On Death, Harry Potter, and Retreating to Childhood Reads

      Aug 16, 2018

      I’d known Monica 20 years when her sister was killed in a hit-and-run motorcycle accident. We spent our childhoods in a tiny Bay Area town that I left at 14. I only went back to visit twice. In the years between, Monica and I sent each other videos,

      4 min read

    • Article

      Something About John Coltrane

      Sep 1, 2021

      Something about a tree in shallow sleepListening for what it wants to remember: The note of a seed, its neck sliding throughDirt and its confusion—nothing cleansed Of struggle. The weight lost after death,A confrontation of death. John Coltrane Even

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Ladder To Heaven

      Sep 1, 2019

      The hastily assembled angel climbedThe ladder God had many times proposedThe prophets build the prophets never built itThe ladder to the sky and Heaven in the skyThe prophets never built it knowing God Was testing them but also teasing themSince all

      4 min read

    • Article

      Two Poems by Rowan Ricardo Phillips

      Jun 15, 2018

      And, after the explosion, made spheres sing,A pure expression of pure poetry,Like rising rain or a nation with noFlag—. Something that whispers as the airDoes just before the lightning comes. A pureExpression of the breaks in the blank lakesOn Neptun

      2 min read

    • Article

      Gjertrud Schnackenberg

      Mar 9, 2021

      Poetry’s “impulse, like electricity, crossing the space, leaves its signature.”—W. S. Graham No wonder that a flash of sparksSpills out from what I touch—the LaserJet, Brimming with static shock,Suspends invisible electron-clouds Across the laser-pap

      3 min read

    • Article

      Ilse Kleyn Prophetic Artist

      Jun 24, 2019

      Ilse Kleyn Prophetic Artist
      7 min read

    • Article

      Final Fantasy Xiv

      Jul 20, 2023

      If my motivation for taking down the principal enemies of the Endwalker expansion was to keep the universe from dying, to make a better world “for those we have lost, for those we can yet save”, my motivation for beating the tar out of the current bi

      3 min read

    • Article

      Brightest Blessings!

      Dec 12, 2021

      Brightest Blessings!
      5 min read

    • Article

      Final Fantasy Xiv

      Aug 8, 2023

      Final Fantasy Xiv
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Mad Men Book Club: ‘The Inferno’

      Sep 7, 2023

      “This is rum. Read labels.”  This, perhaps, is the only time Don Draper emphasizes the importance of literacy to his only daughter, Sally. However, books play a massive role throughout AMC’s much-lauded, often-missed Mad Men. Literature high and low—

      6 min read

    • Article

      from 36 WAYS OF WRITING A VIETNAMESE POEM

      Feb 28, 2023

      You can’t go far wrong with violence.You’ll go far, my boy.You’ll cross oceans, my boy. Start with the Fall, go back or forth,Through bombs or boats,Across all the killing fields of thought. You can’t make it upBecause it’s all yours—by blood.By righ

      4 min read

    • Article

      Circles Of The Damned

      Sep 1, 2021

      For centuries artists have mined Inferno for raw materials, but now in the sweltering days of the Anthropocene we are enacting it. The post Circles of the Damned appeared first on The Millions.

      7 min read

    • Article

      Two Poems

      Jul 1, 2022

      After centuries of deferralto the white sky cloud cover God, who kept me on orange alert,babbling for mercies that were batted away sloppilylike dustballs in the wake of a sock, I turned to the Divine Creatrix,who built the short night, I was convinc

      2 min read

    • Article

      FAMILY TIME with God

      Aug 25, 2023

      FAMILY TIME with God
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Virtues

      Sep 27, 2018

      The Virtues
      11 min read

    • Article

      Spell

      Apr 25, 2018

      Spell
      4 min read

    • Article

      Gaia, the Scientist: What if the first woman scientist was simply the first woman?

      Dec 29, 2021

      Happy Holidays. In this special issue we are reprinting our top stories of the past year. This article first appeared online in our “Universality” issue in April, 2021. There exists a social hierarchy within science that strikes people who are not mi

      7 min read

    • Article

      The Island (catullus 64)

      Mar 1, 2022

      Back then the evergreens tumbled downriverfrom the glaze-white runoff to the boot-stirred puddlesof amber young men who fulfilled our destiny,who clambered into ships, on horses, and in wagonspainting the newfound landscapes ours.Our calling was nobl

      9 min read

    • Article

      Two Poems

      Sep 1, 2023

      This poem is for everyperson who will neverread it either by choiceor circumstance I writeit in silence wherethe most realparts of our liveslive like a shoe lostin an alley or an emptyboat in a black sea butmore like the fallenleaf on the other sideo

      2 min read

    • Article

      Meet Your New Favorite Poet

      Feb 20, 2019

      Meet Your New Favorite Poet
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Parables Of Jesus

      Jul 21, 2023

      In our ‘Parables of Jesus’ article last month, we noted that in one chapter Matthew gathers together seven parables of Jesus about the Kingdom of heaven. Matthew 13 is a “parable instruction manual” as it contains the two parables that Jesus also pro

      3 min read

    • Article

      Five Poems

      Dec 1, 2022

      You have to first Sit in the temple gloom In the mahogany chair & despair. The only glimmer In the temple (being the inlaid bits of The Mother-Of-Pearl shells On the tall, more than humanly tall Chair back, for these These too Are the reputed “Tears

      3 min read

    • Article

      Hark the HERALD

      Jan 19, 2021

      Hark the HERALD
      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Paradise Lost Simplified! (Includes Modern Translation, Study Guide, Historical Context, Biography, and Character Index)

    4/5

    2 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Paradise Lost Simplified! (Includes Modern Translation, Study Guide, Historical Context, Biography, and Character Index) - BookCaps

      BOOK I

      THE ARGUMENT

      This first Book proposes, first in brief, the whole Subject, Mans disobedience, and the loss thereupon of Paradise wherein he was plac't: Then touches the prime cause of his fall, the Serpent, or rather Satan in the Serpent; who revolting from God, and drawing to his side many Legions of Angels, was by the command of God driven out of Heaven with all his Crew into the great Deep. Which action past over, the Poem hasts into the midst of things, presenting Satan with his Angels now fallen into Hell, describ'd here, not in the Center (for Heaven and Earth may be suppos'd as yet not made, certainly not yet accurst) but in a place of utter darkness, fitliest call'd Chaos: Here Satan with his Angels lying on the burning Lake, thunder-struck and astonisht, after a certain space recovers, as from confusion, calls up him who next in Order and Dignity lay by him; they confer of thir miserable fall. Satan awakens all his Legions, who lay till then in the same manner confounded; They rise, thir Numbers, array of Battel, thir chief Leaders nam'd, according to the Idols known afterwards in Canaan and the Countries adjoyning. To these Satan directs his Speech, comforts them with hope yet of regaining Heaven, but tells them lastly of a new World and new kind of Creature to be created, according to an ancient Prophesie or report in Heaven; for that Angels were long before this visible Creation, was the opinion of many ancient Fathers. To find out the truth of this Prophesie, and what to determin thereon he refers to a full Councel. What his Associates thence attempt. Pandemonium the Palace of Satan rises, suddenly built out of the Deep: The infernal Peers there sit in Councel.

      This first book introduces, briefly at first, the whole subject of Man’s disobedience, and the loss of Paradise in which he had been placed.Then it touches on the main cause of his fall, the serpent, or rather Satan disguised as a serpent.He rebelled against God, and with the many regiments of Angels he had drawn to his side he was banished from Heaven by God into the great Deep.Passing over this action, the Poem goes straight to the center of things, showing Satan and his Angels fallen into Hell, which is described here, not in the Center of Earth (for it should be imagined that Heaven and Earth have not yet been made, and certainly not cursed) but in a place of utter darkness which has the appropriate name of Chaos.Here Satan and his Angels lie on the burning lake, astonished and stunned.After a while Satan recovers and calls up his leaders and they discuss their miserable fall.Satan wakes his armies, who had been in the same state.They rise up, and their numbers, battle order and the names of their chief leaders (those by which they were known in Canaan and neighboring lands) are listed.Satan speaks to them and comforts them with the hope of recapturing Heaven, but also tells them of a new world and a new kind of Creature which will be created according to an ancient prophesy and rumors in Heaven (because the opinion of many wise men is that Angels existed long before the creation of Earth).To find out the truth of this prophesy, and to decide what to do about it, he calls a full council, which all his confederates attend.Pandemonium, the palace of Satan, is suddenly built out of the pit, and the Lords of Hell meet there in debate.

      Of Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit

      Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal tast

      Brought Death into the World, and all our woe,

      With loss of EDEN, till one greater Man

      Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat,

      Sing Heav'nly Muse, that on the secret top

      Of OREB, or of SINAI, didst inspire

      That Shepherd, who first taught the chosen Seed,

      In the Beginning how the Heav'ns and Earth

      Rose out of CHAOS: Or if SION Hill

      Delight thee more, and SILOA'S Brook that flow'd

      Fast by the Oracle of God; I thence

      Invoke thy aid to my adventrous Song,

      That with no middle flight intends to soar

      Above th' AONIAN Mount, while it pursues

      Things unattempted yet in Prose or Rhime.

      Of the first disobedience of Man, and the fruit

      Of the forbidden tree, the taste of which

      Brought Death and sorrow into the world

      And barred us from Paradise, until a greater Man

      Led us back to the Heavenly lands,

      Sing, sacred Inspiration, you who on the secret mountain

      Of Oreb, or in the Sinai Desert, inspired

      The Shepherd who first taught the chosen people

      How in the beginning Heaven and Earth

      Was created from disorder.Or if Sion Hill,

      Is your chosen spot, or Siloa’s stream which flowed

      Swiftly past God’s messenger; from there

      I call you to help me as I sing my ambitious song,

      Which I don’t intend to take the easy way

      Above the mountain of inspiration, while it tries

      Things never yet seen in either prose or poetry.

      And chiefly Thou O Spirit, that dost prefer

      Before all Temples th' upright heart and pure,

      Instruct me, for Thou know'st; Thou from the first

      Wast present, and with mighty wings outspread

      Dove-like satst brooding on the vast Abyss

      And mad'st it pregnant: What in me is dark

      Illumine, what is low raise and support;

      That to the highth of this great Argument

      I may assert th' Eternal Providence,

      And justifie the wayes of God to men.

      And chiefly, Spirit, which values

      More than temples the pure and honest heart,

      Guide me, for you have the wisdom;from the start

      You were there, and with your great wings spread out

      Sat like a dove, perched over the great gorge

      And bred life from it:shine a light

      Into the darkness inside me, lift up what is low,

      So that I can do justice to this great subject

      And show the actions of God,

      And explain the ways of God to men.

      Say first, for Heav'n hides nothing from thy view

      Nor the deep Tract of Hell, say first what cause

      Mov'd our Grand Parents in that happy State,

      Favour'd of Heav'n so highly, to fall off

      From their Creator, and transgress his Will

      For one restraint, Lords of the World besides?

      Who first seduc'd them to that fowl revolt?

      Th' infernal Serpent; he it was, whose guile

      Stird up with Envy and Revenge, deceiv'd

      The Mother of Mankinde, what time his Pride

      Had cast him out from Heav'n, with all his Host

      Of Rebel Angels, by whose aid aspiring

      To set himself in Glory above his Peers,

      He trusted to have equal'd the most High,

      If he oppos'd; and with ambitious aim

      Against the Throne and Monarchy of God

      Rais'd impious War in Heav'n and Battel proud

      With vain attempt. Him the Almighty Power

      Hurld headlong flaming from th' Ethereal Skie

      With hideous ruine and combustion down

      To bottomless perdition, there to dwell

      In Adamantine Chains and penal Fire,

      Who durst defie th' Omnipotent to Arms.

      Firstly, because you see all that is in Heaven

      And in the deep pit of Hell, say what made

      Our grandparents, living that happy existence,

      So much blessed by Heaven, break away

      From their Creator, and disobey his orders,

      His one law, apart from which they were Lords of the World.

      Who led them into that awful rebellion?

      The hellish snake; it was he whose cunning

      Driven by envy and revenge, tricked

      The Mother of Mankind, after his pride

      Caused him to be thrown out of heaven, with his army

      Of rebel Angels, with whose help he had planned

      To set himself up in heaven as the highest,

      Thinking he could even take on the role of God

      If he fought Him; and driven by ambition

      Against the throne and kingship of God

      Started a blasphemous war in heaven and fought proudly

      But in vain.The Almighty Power threw him

      Down in flames from the skies of Heaven

      With terrible flame and destruction, down

      To the bottomless pit of hell, to live there

      Bound in unbreakable chains, burned with punishing fire,

      For having dared challenge the Almighty to battle.

      Nine times the Space that measures Day and Night

      To mortal men, he with his horrid crew

      Lay vanquisht, rowling in the fiery Gulfe

      Confounded though immortal: But his doom

      Reserv'd him to more wrath; for now the thought

      Both of lost happiness and lasting pain

      Torments him; round he throws his baleful eyes

      That witness'd huge affliction and dismay

      Mixt with obdurate pride and stedfast hate:

      At once as far as Angels kenn he views

      The dismal Situation waste and wilde,

      A Dungeon horrible, on all sides round

      As one great Furnace flam'd, yet from those flames

      No light, but rather darkness visible

      Serv'd only to discover sights of woe,

      Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace

      And rest can never dwell, hope never comes

      That comes to all; but torture without end

      Still urges, and a fiery Deluge, fed

      With ever-burning Sulphur unconsum'd:

      Such place Eternal Justice had prepar'd

      For those rebellious, here their Prison ordain'd

      In utter darkness, and their portion set

      As far remov'd from God and light of Heav'n

      As from the Center thrice to th' utmost Pole.

      For nine days, as they are measured

      By men, he and his terrible gang

      Lay beaten, thrashing in the fiery sea,

      Defeated though still immortal: But his fate

      Raised further anger in him; for now the thought

      Of the happiness he had lost and the pain he now faces

      Tortures him: he cast around his hate filled eyes

      Which showed great pain and terror

      Mixed with unyielding pride and unmoving hate:

      As far as Angels can see he sees

      The terrible place, bleak and wild,

      A horrible dungeon, whose walls all around

      Burned like one great oven, but from those flames

      There is no light, but a visible darkness

      Which only showed things of sadness,

      Lands of sorrow, miserable shadows, where peace

      And rest are unknown, where the hope that comes to all

      Never comes; endless torture

      Drives on forever, and there is a fiery storm, fed

      By sulphur which burns forever and never runs out:

      This was the place God’s justice had made

      For these rebels, here he had ordered their prison built

      In total darkness, and their allotted place

      Was to be as far away from God and Heaven’s light

      As three times distance from the equator to the Poles.

      O how unlike the place from whence they fell!

      There the companions of his fall, o'rewhelm'd

      With Floods and Whirlwinds of tempestuous fire,

      He soon discerns, and weltring by his side

      One next himself in power, and next in crime,

      Long after known in PALESTINE, and nam'd

      BEELZEBUB. To whom th' Arch-Enemy,

      And thence in Heav'n call'd Satan, with bold words

      Breaking the horrid silence thus began.

      If thou beest he; But O how fall'n! how chang'd

      From him, who in the happy Realms of Light

      Cloth'd with transcendent brightnes didst outshine

      Myriads though bright: If he whom mutual league,

      United thoughts and counsels, equal hope,

      And hazard in the Glorious Enterprize,

      Joynd with me once, now misery hath joynd

      In equal ruin: into what Pit thou seest

      From what highth fal'n, so much the stronger provd

      He with his Thunder: and till then who knew

      The force of those dire Arms? yet not for those

      Nor what the Potent Victor in his rage

      Can else inflict do I repent or change,

      Though chang'd in outward lustre; that fixt mind

      And high disdain, from sence of injur'd merit,

      That with the mightiest rais'd me to contend,

      And to the fierce contention brought along

      Innumerable force of Spirits arm'd

      That durst dislike his reign, and me preferring,

      His utmost power with adverse power oppos'd

      In dubious Battel on the Plains of Heav'n,

      And shook his throne. What though the field be lost?

      All is not lost; the unconquerable Will,

      And study of revenge, immortal hate,

      And courage never to submit or yield:

      And what is else not to be overcome?

      That Glory never shall his wrath or might

      Extort from me. To bow and sue for grace

      With suppliant knee, and deifie his power

      Who from the terrour of this Arm so late

      Doubted his Empire, that were low indeed,

      That were an ignominy and shame beneath

      This downfall; since by Fate the strength of Gods

      And this Empyreal substance cannot fail,

      Since through experience of this great event

      In Arms not worse, in foresight much advanc't,

      We may with more successful hope resolve

      To wage by force or guile eternal Warr

      Irreconcileable, to our grand Foe,

      Who now triumphs, and in th' excess of joy

      Sole reigning holds the Tyranny of Heav'n.

      Oh, how different it was to their former home!

      There those who fell with him, beaten down

      With floods and whirlwinds of stormy flames,

      He soon makes out, and in turmoil by his side

      Is one almost equal in power, as bad in crime,

      Who in later times appeared in Palestine, and his name

      Was Beelzebub.The Arch Enemy,

      Who was now called Satan in Heaven, with bold words

      Breaking through the ghastly silence, spoke to him:

      "Is that you?How you have fallen, how changed you are

      From the one who in the happy Lands of Light,

      Dressed in heavenly brightness outshone

      So many others, though bright themselves.If it’s you

      Who joined with me in thought, plans, hope

      And risk in our great adventure,

      Then now we’re joined again in suffering,

      In our destruction:you see the pit,

      How low we have fallen, which shows how much stronger

      God’s thunder was: but before we fought Him who knew

      Just how strong He was?But for all his strength

      And anything else the winner might do in his anger,

      I have no regret, I won’t change my mind,

      Even though my appearance has changed: I am staying

      True to my hatred, caused by my sense of injustice,

      Which led me to take on the Mighty in battle,

      And to bring along to the fight

      A numberless force of Spirits

      Who also hated His rule, and preferred me.

      We took on the ultimate power with the power of our own,

      In a hard fought battle on the fields of Heaven

      And shook his throne.So what if we lost the battle?

      All is not lost:we shall keep our unquenchable ambition,

      And look out for revenge, hating forever,

      And be brave enough never to give in,

      And so what has He truly won?

      All His strength and anger will never

      Take that away from me.To bow and beg for pardon

      On bended knee, and worship the power

      That so recently feared for his rule in the face

      Of my own power, that would be too low,

      That would be a disgrace and shame far worse

      Than this fall: the Eternal Laws state that our strength

      And this stuff we’re made of cannot be destroyed,

      So our experience in this great battle hasn’t

      Taken our strength and has increased our cunning,

      So we can hope for greater success as we set out

      To fight an everlasting war with strength or cunning,

      Never giving in to our great enemy,

      Who has won, for now, and with great happiness

      Has sole possession of the title of Tyrant of Heaven."

      So spake th' Apostate Angel, though in pain,

      Vaunting aloud, but rackt with deep despare:

      And him thus answer'd soon his bold Compeer.

      O Prince, O Chief of many Throned Powers,

      That led th' imbattelld Seraphim to Warr

      Under thy conduct, and in dreadful deeds

      Fearless, endanger'd Heav'ns perpetual King;

      And put to proof his high Supremacy,

      Whether upheld by strength, or Chance, or Fate,

      Too well I see and rue the dire event,

      That with sad overthrow and foul defeat

      Hath lost us Heav'n, and all this mighty Host

      In horrible destruction laid thus low,

      As far as Gods and Heav'nly Essences

      Can Perish: for the mind and spirit remains

      Invincible, and vigour soon returns,

      Though all our Glory extinct, and happy state

      Here swallow'd up in endless misery.

      But what if he our Conquerour, (whom I now

      Of force believe Almighty, since no less

      Then such could hav orepow'rd such force as ours)

      Have left us this our spirit and strength intire

      Strongly to suffer and support our pains,

      That we may so suffice his vengeful ire,

      Or do him mightier service as his thralls

      By right of Warr, what e're his business be

      Here in the heart of Hell to work in Fire,

      Or do his Errands in the gloomy Deep;

      What can it then avail though yet we feel

      Strength undiminisht, or eternal being

      To undergo eternal punishment?

      So the rebel Angel spoke, although he was in pain,

      Boasting out loud, but inside torn with despair,

      And soon his arrogant comrade replied:

      "Oh Prince, the ruler over many thrones,

      Who led the Angels in armor to war

      Under your orders, and with terrible deeds, without

      Fear, challenged the power of Heaven’s eternal King,

      And tested his mighty rule.

      Whether he won through strength, or luck, or fate,

      I can see and regret the terrible result all too well.

      Our terrible loss and casting down

      Has barred us from Heaven, and all this great army

      Has been thrown down in ruin,

      As close to death as Gods and Heavenly forms

      Can come, for the mind and spirit

      Cannot be beaten, and strength will come back, even if

      All our light has been extinguished, and our happiness

      Is drowned here in this endless suffering.

      But what if he who beat us (who I now

      Must acknowledge as Almighty in strength, since only

      Such a one could have beaten our armies)

      Has left our spirit and strength intact

      So that we can better feel pain,

      So He can go on taking his revenge,

      Or carry on serving him as slaves,

      His by right of victory: to order us, whatever he’s up to,

      To work in the fire here in the heart of Hell,

      To do his errands in these gloomy depths;

      In that case how will it help us to feel

      Undiminished strength, or eternal life?

      It’ll just help us to suffer eternal punishment."

      Whereto with speedy words th' Arch-fiend reply'd.

      Fall'n Cherube, to be weak is miserable

      Doing or Suffering: but of this be sure,

      To do ought good never will be our task,

      But ever to do ill our sole delight,

      As being the contrary to his high will

      Whom we resist. If then his Providence

      Out of our evil seek to bring forth good,

      Our labour must be to pervert that end,

      And out of good still to find means of evil;

      Which oft times may succeed, so as perhaps

      Shall grieve him, if I fail not, and disturb

      His inmost counsels from their destind aim.

      But see the angry Victor hath recall'd

      His Ministers of vengeance and pursuit

      Back to the Gates of Heav'n: The Sulphurous Hail

      Shot after us in storm, oreblown hath laid

      The fiery Surge, that from the Precipice

      Of Heav'n receiv'd us falling, and the Thunder,

      Wing'd with red Lightning and impetuous rage,

      Perhaps hath spent his shafts, and ceases now

      To bellow through the vast and boundless Deep.

      Let us not slip th' occasion, whether scorn,

      Or satiate fury yield it from our Foe.

      Seest thou yon dreary Plain, forlorn and wilde,

      The seat of desolation, voyd of light,

      Save what the glimmering of these livid flames

      Casts pale and dreadful? Thither let us tend

      From off the tossing of these fiery waves,

      There rest, if any rest can harbour there,

      And reassembling our afflicted Powers,

      Consult how we may henceforth most offend

      Our Enemy, our own loss how repair,

      How overcome this dire Calamity,

      What reinforcement we may gain from Hope,

      If not what resolution from despare.

      The leader of the demons swiftly replied:

      "Fallen Angel, weakness is a miserable thing,

      In action or in suffering: but I can promise you,

      We will never do anything good.

      To always do harm will be our only pleasure,

      Because it will go against the desires

      Of him we are fighting.If God tries

      To create good from our evil

      Then we must work to twist his goal

      And make sure that evil comes out of good;

      This might happen often, and perhaps

      Cause him grief, if my plans work, and knock

      His most cherished plans off course.

      But look, the furious winner has called back

      His agents of revenge who chased us,

      To the Gates of Heaven: the fiery hail

      That stormed after us has blown out now.

      The wave of fire that followed us

      As we fell from the edge of Heaven, and the thunder,

      Accompanied by red lightning and furious anger

      Has perhaps been exhausted, and has stopped

      Bellowing through this huge and bottomless pit.

      Let’s not miss our chance, whether it is contempt

      Or the end of his anger that makes our enemy give it to us.

      Do you see that miserable plain, abandoned and wild,

      Desolate, without light

      Apart from the flicker which these angry flames

      Give, pale and horrid?Let us go there,

      Away from these waves of fire,

      And rest, if there is any rest to be had there,

      And gather up our damaged forces,

      Debate how from now on we can do most damage

      To our enemy, how we can make up for our loss,

      How we can overcome this terrible disaster,

      How we can get strength from hope,

      Or at least how we can gain determination from despair."

      Thus Satan talking to his neerest Mate

      With Head up-lift above the wave, and Eyes

      That sparkling blaz'd, his other Parts besides

      Prone on the Flood, extended long and large

      Lay floating many a rood, in bulk as huge

      As whom the Fables name of monstrous size,

      TITANIAN, or EARTH-BORN, that warr'd on JOVE,

      BRIARIOS or TYPHON, whom the Den

      By ancient TARSUS held, or that Sea-beast

      LEVIATHAN, which God of all his works

      Created hugest that swim th' Ocean stream:

      Him haply slumbring on the NORWAY foam

      The Pilot of some small night-founder'd Skiff,

      Deeming some Island, oft, as Sea-men tell,

      With fixed Anchor in his skaly rind

      Moors by his side under the Lee, while Night

      Invests the Sea, and wished Morn delayes:

      So stretcht out huge in length the Arch-fiend lay

      Chain'd on the burning Lake, nor ever thence

      Had ris'n or heav'd his head, but that the will

      And high permission of all-ruling Heaven

      Left him at large to his own dark designs,

      That with reiterated crimes he might

      Heap on himself damnation, while he sought

      Evil to others, and enrag'd might see

      How all his malice serv'd but to bring forth

      Infinite goodness, grace and mercy shewn

      On Man by him seduc't, but on himself

      Treble confusion, wrath and vengeance pour'd.

      Forthwith upright he rears from off the Pool

      His mighty Stature; on each hand the flames

      Drivn backward slope their pointing spires, & rowld

      In billows, leave i'th' midst a horrid Vale.

      Then with expanded wings he stears his flight

      Aloft, incumbent on the dusky Air

      That felt unusual weight, till on dry Land

      He lights, if it were Land that ever burn'd

      With solid, as the Lake with liquid fire;

      And such appear'd in hue, as when the force

      Of subterranean wind transports a Hill

      Torn from PELORUS, or the shatter'd side

      Of thundring AETNA, whose combustible

      And fewel'd entrals thence conceiving Fire,

      Sublim'd with Mineral fury, aid the Winds,

      And leave a singed bottom all involv'd

      With stench and smoak: Such resting found the sole

      Of unblest feet. Him followed his next Mate,

      Both glorying to have scap't the STYGIAN flood

      As Gods, and by their own recover'd strength,

      Not by the sufferance of supernal Power.

      Thus Satan spoke to his lieutentant,

      With his head lifted above the waves, and his eyes

      Burning with fire, the rest of him

      Laid out on the lake of fire, stretching far and wide

      Over many acres, as huge

      As the one named in legends as being of monstrous size,

      Titan, or The one born of earth, who battled Jupiter,

      Briaros and Typhon, who lurked in his cave

      By ancient Tarsus, or the sea monster

      Leviathan, the biggest thing God created

      Which swims in the oceans’ currents:

      When he might be sleeping in the Norwegian Sea

      The sailors say often the pilot of some small craft,

      Caught out at night, thinks that he’s an island

      And fixes an anchor in his scaly skin,

      Ties up in the shelter of his side while night

      Rules the sea and keeps off the hoped for morning:

      So the chief demon lay, his great length stretched out,

      Chained to the burning lake from which

      He could never have arisen, except that the will

      And permission of all powerful Heaven

      Left him to carry on his own evil plans,

      So that by repeating his crimes he might

      Draw further punishment down on himself as he tried

      To do wrong to others, and to his fury he would see

      How his evil only brought out

      Infinite goodness, grace and mercy given

      To the Man he tried to pervert, but on himself

      A triple dose of horror, anger and vengeance was poured.

      He pulls his great bulk upright from the pool;

      On either side the flames,

      With their leaping points blown backwards,

      Rolled away in waves, leaving a horrid valley in the center.

      Then with his wings outstretched he took off

      Into the dark air,

      Which felt unusually heavy, until he came to dry land

      And landed, if it could be called land that burned

      With a solid fire just as the lake burned with liquid fire.

      In color it was like a hill when

      The force of underground winds move it,

      Tears it away from Pelorus, or from the broken slopes

      Of thunderous Mount Etna, whose burning

      And powerful innards kindle fire,

      Fuelled by dissolved minerals, and leave

      The lands around burnt

      And wrapped in stench and smoke; such was the land

      The soles of the cursed feet found.His lieutenant followed,

      Both of them happy to have escaped the hellish flood

      Like Gods, and having done it under their own steam.

      Not with the permission of the Divine Power.

      Is this the Region, this the Soil, the Clime,

      Said then the lost Arch Angel, this the seat

      That we must change for Heav'n, this mournful gloom

      For that celestial light? Be it so, since hee

      Who now is Sovran can dispose and bid

      What shall be right: fardest from him is best

      Whom reason hath equald, force hath made supream

      Above his equals. Farewel happy Fields

      Where Joy for ever dwells: Hail horrours, hail

      Infernal world, and thou profoundest Hell

      Receive thy new Possessor: One who brings

      A mind not to be chang'd by Place or Time.

      The mind is its own place, and in it self

      Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n.

      What matter where, if I be still the same,

      And what I should be, all but less then hee

      Whom Thunder hath made greater? Here at least

      We shall be free; th' Almighty hath not built

      Here for his envy, will not drive us hence:

      Here we may reign secure, and in my choyce

      To reign is worth ambition though in Hell:

      Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav'n.

      But wherefore let we then our faithful friends,

      Th' associates and copartners of our loss

      Lye thus astonisht on th' oblivious Pool,

      And call them not to share with us their part

      In this unhappy Mansion, or once more

      With rallied Arms to try what may be yet

      Regaind in Heav'n, or what more lost in Hell?

      "Is this the country, the land, the atmosphere,"

      Said the fallen Archangel, "Is this the place

      That we must swap for Heaven, this mournful gloom

      For that heavenly light?So be it, because he

      Who rules can now order

      Things as He wishes.It’s best to be farthest from Him

      Whose genius is equal to, and whose force is greater

      Than, others.Farewell to the happy fields,

      Where joy lives forever: welcome horrors, welcome

      The world of devils, and you, deepest Hell,

      Welcome your new Master: One who brings

      A mind that will not be changed by its place or by time.

      The mind is a place in itself, and inside it one

      Can turn Heaven into Hell or Hell into Heaven.

      Who cares where I am, if I’m still the same,

      And why should I be any different just because

      He was made greater by force?Here we will

      Be free at least: God didn’t build this place for himself,

      He won’t make us leave:

      Here we shall rule undisturbed, and in my opinion,

      To rule is something worth wanting, even in Hell:

      It’s better to rule in Hell than be a servant in Heaven.

      But why are we letting our trusty friends,

      Our comrades and sharers in our loss,

      Lie so shocked on the uncaring lake,

      Why are we not calling them to take their place

      In this cursed house, and telling them

      To gather up their strength and see what might still

      Be taken back from Heaven, or lost in Hell?"

      So SATAN spake, and him BEELZEBUB

      Thus answer'd. Leader of those Armies bright,

      Which but th' Omnipotent none could have foyld,

      If once they hear that voyce, their liveliest pledge

      Of hope in fears and dangers, heard so oft

      In worst extreams, and on the perilous edge

      Of battel when it rag'd, in all assaults

      Their surest signal, they will soon resume

      New courage and revive, though now they lye

      Groveling and prostrate on yon Lake of Fire,

      As we erewhile, astounded and amaz'd,

      No wonder, fall'n such a pernicious highth.

      This was how Satan spoke, and Beelzebub answered him:

      "Leader of those bright armies,

      Which only the Almighty could have beaten,

      If they could just hear that voice

      Which gave them hope in fear and danger, heard so often

      When things were blackest, and on the fearful edge

      Of the raging battle, in all their attacks

      It was their greatest hope, if they hear it now they will soon

      Get new hope and rise up, even though at the moment

      They’re lying groveling on that lake of fire,

      As we were a short while ago, stunned and shocked,

      And no wonder, after falling from such a terrible height."

      He scarce had ceas't when the superiour Fiend

      Was moving toward the shore; his ponderous shield

      Ethereal temper, massy, large and round,

      Behind him cast; the broad circumference

      Hung on his shoulders like the Moon, whose Orb

      Through Optic Glass the TUSCAN Artist views

      At Ev'ning from the top of FESOLE,

      Or in VALDARNO, to descry new Lands,

      Rivers or Mountains in her spotty Globe.

      His Spear, to equal which the tallest Pine

      Hewn on NORWEGIAN hills, to be the Mast

      Of some great Ammiral, were but a wand,

      He walkt with to support uneasie steps

      Over the burning Marle, not like those steps

      On Heavens Azure, and the torrid Clime

      Smote on him sore besides, vaulted with Fire;

      Nathless he so endur'd, till on the Beach

      Of that inflamed Sea, he stood and call'd

      His Legions, Angel Forms, who lay intrans't

      Thick as Autumnal Leaves that strow the Brooks

      In VALLOMBROSA, where th' ETRURIAN shades

      High overarch't imbowr; or scatterd sedge

      Afloat, when with fierce Winds ORION arm'd

      Hath vext the Red-Sea Coast, whose waves orethrew

      BUSIRIS and his MEMPHIAN Chivalrie,

      VVhile with perfidious hatred they pursu'd

      The Sojourners of GOSHEN, who beheld

      From the safe shore their floating Carkases

      And broken Chariot Wheels, so thick bestrown

      Abject and lost lay these, covering the Flood,

      Under amazement of their hideous change.

      He’d hardly finished when the senior Devil

      Started off to the shore, his great shield,

      Forged in Heaven, heavy, large and round.

      Slung on his back: the great circle

      Hung on his shoulders like the Moon, the ball

      Which Galileo watches through his telescope

      In the evening from the hill town of Fesole,

      Or from the Arno Valley, seeking out new lands,

      Rivers, or mountains in her spotted globe.

      His spear, which was equal in height to the tallest pine

      Cut down in the hills of Norway to make a mast

      For the ship of some great Admiral, was just a stick

      He leaned on to help his cautious steps

      Over the burning clay, not like the steps he took

      In the blue of Heaven, and the oppressive atmosphere

      Beat him down as well, surrounded by fire.

      Nonetheless he suffered it, until upon the shore

      Of the burning sea he stood, and called

      His armies, the angelic forms which lay unconscious,

      As thick as the leaves of autumn which lie on the streams

      Of Vallambrosa, where the Tuscan shade

      Covers over all; or like the scattered seaweed

      Floating, when the storms of Orion

      Has attacked the Red Sea coast with the waves

      Which overthrew the Pharaoh and his Egyptian cavalry,

      Who with wicked hatred chased

      The Israelites, who saw from the safety of the shore

      Their floating corpses

      And broken chariot wheels.This was how thick they lay,

      The pitiful and lost who covered the surface,

      Stunned by the terrible thing that had happened to them.

      He call'd so loud, that all the hollow Deep

      Of Hell resounded. Princes, Potentates,

      Warriers, the Flowr of Heav'n, once yours, now lost,

      If such astonishment as this can sieze

      Eternal spirits; or have ye chos'n this place

      After the toyl of Battel to repose

      Your wearied vertue, for the ease you find

      To slumber here, as in the Vales of Heav'n?

      Or in this abject posture have ye sworn

      To adore the Conquerour? who now beholds

      Cherube and Seraph rowling in the Flood

      With scatter'd Arms and Ensigns, till anon

      His swift pursuers from Heav'n Gates discern

      Th' advantage, and descending tread us down

      Thus drooping, or with linked Thunderbolts

      Transfix us to the bottom of this Gulfe.

      Awake, arise, or be for ever fall'n.

      He called out so loudly that the whole pit

      Of Hell echoed with it: "Princes, Rulers,

      Warriors who were once the pride of the Heaven we’ve lost,

      Can this sort of amazement overcome

      Eternal Spirits?Or have you decided this is the place,

      After the efforts of battle, to rest

      Your tired strength, as if it was as easy

      To sleep here as it was in the Vales of Heaven?

      Or have you promised to lie down like this

      To worship the one who beat you?The one who now sees

      Cherubim and Seraphim rolling around in the flood,

      With all their weapons and flags scattered, so that soon

      Those who chased us from Heaven’s gate will see

      They have the upper hand, and coming closer smash us

      As we rest here, or with bolts of lightning

      Pin us to the floor of this pit.

      Wake up, get up, or you’ll be lost forever."

      They heard, and were abasht, and up they sprung

      Upon the wing, as when men wont to watch

      On duty, sleeping found by whom they dread,

      Rouse and bestir themselves ere well awake.

      Nor did they not perceave the evil plight

      In which they were, or the fierce pains not feel;

      Yet to their Generals Voyce they soon obeyd

      Innumerable. As when the potent Rod

      Of AMRAMS Son in EGYPTS evill day

      Wav'd round the Coast, up call'd a pitchy cloud

      Of LOCUSTS, warping on the Eastern Wind,

      That ore the Realm of impious PHAROAH hung

      Like Night, and darken'd all the Land of NILE:

      So numberless were those bad Angels seen

      Hovering on wing under the Cope of Hell

      'Twixt upper, nether, and surrounding Fires;

      Till, as a signal giv'n, th' uplifted Spear

      Of their great Sultan waving to direct

      Thir course, in even ballance down they light

      On the firm brimstone, and fill all the Plain;

      A multitude, like which the populous North

      Pour'd never from her frozen loyns, to pass

      RHENE or the DANAW, when her barbarous Sons

      Came like a Deluge on the South, and spread

      Beneath GIBRALTAR to the LYBIAN sands.

      Forthwith from every Squadron and each Band

      The Heads and Leaders thither hast where stood

      Their great Commander; Godlike shapes and forms

      Excelling human, Princely Dignities,

      And Powers that earst in Heaven sat on Thrones;

      Though of their Names in heav'nly Records now

      Be no memorial, blotted out and ras'd

      By thir Rebellion, from the Books of Life.

      They heard and were ashamed, and they leapt up

      Into the air, like men on Sentry duty,

      Caught sleeping by their Sergeant,

      Who get moving before they’re properly awake.

      It was not as though they were blind to the terrible

      Situation they were in, or not feel the awful pains,

      But they obeyed their commander’s voice,

      Flocking in their multitudes.Like when the wand

      Of Moses, in the bad times in Eygpt,

      Waved round the shores and summoned a dark cloud

      Of locusts, sailing on the east wind,

      That hung over the kingdom of the unholy Pharoah

      Like night, and darkened all the lands of the Nile:

      This was how numberless was the crowd of fallen angels,

      Hovering on their wings under the roof of Hell,

      Between the fires above, below and all around,

      Until, like a beacon, the upraised spear

      Of their great ruler led them

      On their journey, and they landed

      On the firm brimstone, and covered the plain;

      Such a crowd the well populated Northern lands

      Never poured from her frozen loins,

      Crossing the Rhine or the Danube, when her barbarian sons

      Crashed like a flood upon Southern Europe, spreading

      From Gibraltar to the Libyan deserts.

      At once every platoon and company

      Sent their leaders quickly up to where

      Their great Commander stood; they were shaped like Gods,

      Far grander than humans and their princes,

      These powers that had sat on thrones in Heaven;

      Though in the records of Heaven their names

      Were not remembered now, scratched and erased

      From the Books of Life by their rebellion.

      Nor had they yet among the Sons of EVE

      Got them new Names, till wandring ore the Earth,

      Through Gods high sufferance for the tryal of man,

      By falsities and lyes the greatest part

      Of Mankind they corrupted to forsake

      God their Creator, and th' invisible

      Glory of him, that made them, to transform

      Oft to the Image of a Brute, adorn'd

      With gay Religions full of Pomp and Gold,

      And Devils to adore for Deities:

      Then were they known to men by various Names,

      And various Idols through the Heathen World.

      Say, Muse, their Names then known, who first, who last,

      Rous'd from the slumber, on that fiery Couch,

      At thir great Emperors call, as next in worth

      Came singly where he stood on the bare strand,

      While the promiscuous croud stood yet aloof?

      Nor had they from Mankind

      Yet been given new names, until, as they roamed the Earth,

      By great God’s allowance, in order to test Mankind,

      With lies and deceit they managed, with most

      Of Mankind, to corrupt them and persuade them

      To abandon God their creator, and the invisible

      Glory of the one who made them, to change

      Often into animals, dressed up

      With bright Religions full of ceremony and luxury,

      Worshipping Devils as their Gods:

      Then the devils were known to men by various names,

      And worshipped as idols throughout the Godless world.

      Divine inspiration, what are their names, first and last,

      Who awoke from that bed of fire

      At the call of their great Emperor and came to him

      Where he stood on the bare shore as the next in rank

      While the thronging crowd stood back?

      The chief were those who from the Pit of Hell

      Roaming to seek their prey on earth, durst fix

      Their Seats long after next the Seat of God,

      Their Altars by his Altar, Gods ador'd

      Among the Nations round, and durst abide

      JEHOVAH thundring out of SION, thron'd

      Between the Cherubim; yea, often plac'd

      Within his Sanctuary it self their Shrines,

      Abominations; and with cursed things

      His holy Rites, and solemn Feasts profan'd,

      And with their darkness durst affront his light.

      First MOLOCH, horrid King besmear'd with blood

      Of human sacrifice, and parents tears,

      Though for the noyse of Drums and Timbrels loud

      Their childrens cries unheard, that past through fire

      To his grim Idol. Him the AMMONITE

      Worshipt in RABBA and her watry Plain,

      In ARGOB and in BASAN, to the stream

      Of utmost ARNON. Nor content with such

      Audacious neighbourhood, the wisest heart

      Of SOLOMON he led by fraud to build

      His Temple right against the Temple of God

      On that opprobrious Hill, and made his Grove

      The pleasant Vally of HINNOM, TOPHET thence

      And black GEHENNA call'd, the Type of Hell.

      Next CHEMOS, th' obscene dread of MOABS Sons,

      From AROER to NEBO, and the wild

      Of Southmost ABARIM; in HESEBON

      And HERONAIM, SEONS Realm, beyond

      The flowry Dale of SIBMA clad with Vines,

      And ELEALE to th' ASPHALTICK Pool.

      PEOR his other Name, when he entic'd

      ISRAEL in SITTIM on their march from NILE

      To do him wanton rites, which cost them woe.

      These were the leaders who, from the pit of Hell,

      Roaming the earth to look for their prey on Earth, dared

      To set their thrones up next to the throne of God,

      Their altars next to his altar and became Gods loved

      Amongst all the Nations, and dared defy

      Jehovah thundering out of Israel, on his throne

      Amongst his angels; they often even put

      Their shrines within His holy places,

      Foul objects; and with evil things

      They polluted His holy ritual and sacred feasts,

      Daring to insult His light with their darkness.

      First there is Moloch, horrible King covered with the blood

      Of human sacrifice and also with parents’ tears,

      Who through the noise of the drums and tambourines

      Couldn’t hear their children’s cries as they were burnt

      In front of his foul statue.It was him the Ammonites

      Worshipped in Rabba on her flooded plains,

      In Argob and in Basan, as far as the river

      Of far away Arnon.Not content with such

      A daring invasion he tricked the wisest man,

      Solomon, into building

      His Temple right next to the Temple of God

      On the Hill of Corruption, and invaded

      The lovely valley of Hinnom, which afterwards was called

      Tophet and Gehenna, the Valley of the Damned.

      Next came Chemos, the foul curse of the sons of Moab

      Who stretched his rule from Aroer to Nebo, and the wilds

      Of southerly Abarim; to Hesebon

      And Heronaim in the land of Sihon, beyond

      The fruitful valley of Sibma, dressed in vines,

      And from Eleale to the Dead Sea.

      He was also called Peor, when he tempted

      The Israelites, stopped in Sittim on the march from the Nile,

      To worship him with obscene ceremonies, for which they were punished.

      Yet thence his lustful Orgies he enlarg'd

      Even to that Hill of scandal, by the Grove

      Of MOLOCH homicide, lust hard by hate;

      Till good JOSIAH drove them thence to Hell.

      With these came they, who from the bordring flood

      Of old EUPHRATES to the Brook that parts

      EGYPT from SYRIAN ground, had general Names

      Of BAALIM and ASHTAROTH, those male,

      These Feminine. For Spirits when they please

      Can either Sex assume, or both; so soft

      And uncompounded is their Essence pure,

      Not ti'd or manacl'd with joynt or limb,

      Nor founded on the brittle strength of bones,

      Like cumbrous flesh; but in what shape they choose

      Dilated or condens't, bright or obscure,

      Can execute their aerie purposes,

      And works of love or enmity fulfill.

      For those the Race of ISRAEL oft forsook

      Their living strength, and unfrequented left

      His righteous Altar, bowing lowly down

      To bestial Gods; for which their heads as low

      Bow'd down in Battel, sunk before the Spear

      Of despicable foes. With these in troop

      Came ASTORETH, whom the PHOENICIANS call'd

      ASTARTE, Queen of Heav'n, with crescent Horns;

      To whose bright Image nightly by the Moon

      SIDONIAN Virgins paid their Vows and Songs,

      In SION also not unsung, where stood

      Her Temple on th' offensive Mountain, built

      By that uxorious King, whose heart though large,

      Beguil'd by fair Idolatresses, fell

      To Idols foul. THAMMUZ came next behind,

      Whose annual wound in LEBANON allur'd

      The SYRIAN Damsels to lament his fate

      In amorous dittyes all a Summers day,

      While smooth ADONIS from his native Rock

      Ran purple to the Sea, suppos'd with blood

      Of THAMMUZ yearly wounded: the Love-tale

      Infected SIONS daughters with like heat,

      Whose wanton passions in the sacred Porch

      EZEKIEL saw, when by the Vision led

      His eye survay'd the dark Idolatries

      Of alienated JUDAH. Next came one

      Who mourn'd in earnest, when the Captive Ark

      Maim'd his brute Image, head and hands lopt off

      In his own Temple, on the grunsel edge,

      Where he fell flat, and sham'd his Worshipers:

      DAGON his Name, Sea Monster, upward Man

      And downward Fish: yet had his Temple high

      Rear'd in AZOTUS, dreaded through the Coast

      Of PALESTINE, in GATH and ASCALON,

      And ACCARON and GAZA's frontier bounds.

      From there he spread his foul orgies

      Even to the Mount of Olives, next to Moloch’s

      Murderous valley, putting lust next door to hate,

      Until the good man Josiah drove them back into Hell.

      Along with them came the ones known, in the lands

      Between the Euphrates and the river which separates

      Egypt and Syria, by the general names

      Of Baalim and Ashtaroth, the one male,

      The other female.For when Spirits wish to they can

      Be either man or woman, or both; their essential substance

      Is so soft and moldable,

      Not chained to joints or limbs

      Or relying on the fragile strength of bones

      And heavy flesh; but choosing whatever shape they wish,

      Expanded or contracted, bright or dark,

      They can carry out their supernatural missions,

      Completing their work of love or evil.

      The people of Israel often rejected

      Him who gave them their power, and left empty

      His true altar, bowing down low

      To these filthy Gods; as punishment they were bowed down just as low

      In battle, sinking under the spears

      Of despicable enemies.Along with these

      Came Astoreth, called by the Phoenicians

      Astarte, Queen of Heaven, with her curved horns;

      Her to whose statue every night under the moonlight

      Sidonian Virgins gave her their promises and songs,

      Which were also sung in Israel, where she had

      Her temple on the Mount of Olives, built

      By the often married King Solomon, who though he had a great heart,

      Was led astray by beautiful idol worshippers and became

      An idolater himself.Thammuz was the next in line,

      Whose death in Lebanon drew, each year,

      The Syrian ladies to bewail his fate

      With songs of love on a summer’s day,

      While the river Adonis ran from his home mountain

      To the sea, colored purple, supposedly with the blood

      Of Thammuz newly wounded each year: the romantic story

      Infected the daughters of Israel with similar desire,

      And their abandoned behaviour in the sacred doorway of the Temple

      Was seen by Ezekiel, when they were under the influence of the vision,

      And he saw with his eyes the evil idolatry

      Of Judah, separated from God.Next came the one

      Who mourned deeply when the captured Ark

      Damaged his brutish statue, with its head and hands broken off

      In his own Temple, on the edge of the threshold,

      Where it fell flat on its face, and embarrassed his worshippers.

      Dagon was his name, a sea monster with a man’s torso

      And a fish’s tail: but he had his Temple venerated

      In Azotus, he was feared all along the coast

      Of Palestine as well as in Gath and Ascalon,

      And in Accaron and on the frontiers of Gaza.

      Him follow'd RIMMON, whose delightful Seat

      Was fair DAMASCUS, on the fertil Banks

      Of ABBANA and PHARPHAR, lucid streams.

      He also against the house of God was bold:

      A Leper once he lost and gain'd a King,

      AHAZ his sottish Conquerour, whom he drew

      Gods Altar to disparage and displace

      For one of SYRIAN mode, whereon to burn

      His odious offrings, and adore the Gods

      Whom he had vanquisht. After these appear'd

      A crew who under Names of old Renown,

      OSIRIS, ISIS, ORUS and their Train

      With monstrous shapes and sorceries abus'd

      Fanatic EGYPT and her Priests, to seek

      Thir wandring Gods disguis'd in brutish forms

      Rather then human. Nor did ISRAEL scape

      Th' infection when their borrow'd Gold compos'd

      The Calf in OREB: and the Rebel King

      Doubl'd that sin in BETHEL and in DAN,

      Lik'ning his Maker to the Grazed Ox,

      JEHOVAH, who in one Night when he pass'd

      From EGYPT marching, equal'd with one stroke

      Both her first born and all her bleating Gods.

      BELIAL came last, then whom a Spirit more lewd

      Fell not from Heaven, or more gross to love

      Vice for it self: To him no Temple stood

      Or Altar smoak'd; yet who more oft then hee

      In Temples and at Altars, when the Priest

      Turns Atheist, as did ELY'S Sons, who fill'd

      With lust and violence the house of God.

      In Courts and Palaces he also Reigns

      And in luxurious Cities, where the noyse

      Of riot ascends above thir loftiest Towrs,

      And injury and outrage: And when Night

      Darkens the Streets, then wander forth the Sons

      Of BELIAL, flown with insolence and wine.

      Witness the Streets of SODOM, and that night

      In GIBEAH, when hospitable Dores

      Yielded thir Matrons to prevent worse rape.

      These were the prime in order and in might;

      The rest were long to tell, though far renown'd,

      Following him came Rimmon, whose beautiful home

      Was lovely Damascus, on the fertile banks

      Of the shining streams of Abbana and Pharphar.

      He also was a fighter of the house of God:

      He once lost a leper as a worshipper but gained a king,

      Ahaz his drunken ruler, whom he persuaded

      To disrespect and replace God’s altar

      With one of the Syrian type, on which he could burn

      His revolting sacrifices, and worship the Gods

      Whom he had beaten.After these came

      A group who, under their ancient famous names,

      Osiris, Isis, Orus and their followers,

      With terrible appearances and magic forced

      The raving Egypt and her priests to look

      For their Gods in brutish characters

      Rather than in the shape of a Man.Nor did Israel escape

      Their madness when their borrowed gold was made

      Into the calf idol in Oreb: and Jereboam the rebel King

      Made that sin twice as bad in Bethel and in Dan,

      Comparing his creator to an ox in the field,

      Jehovah, who on one night as he passed

      Through Egypt, destroyed with a single bow

      Both her first born children and all her bleating Gods.

      Last came Belial, who had no rival in his obscenity

      In all who fell from Heaven, none had such a disgusting love

      Of vice for its own sake:no Temple was built for him, and

      No fires were lit on altars; and yet who was more often present than him

      In Temples and at altars, as when the Priest

      Becomes an unbeliever, as Eli’s sons did, who filled

      The House of God with lust and violence.

      He also rules in Courts and Palaces,

      And in the rich cities, where the noise

      Of the riotous behavior rises above their tallest towers,

      As does the sound of fighting and outrages: and when night

      Darkens the streets, then the sons of Belial

      Come out, driven by arrogance and drunkenness.

      This was seen in the streets of Sodom, and that night

      In Gibeah, when the house which had given hospitality

      Surrendered their women to save the men from rape.

      These were the main devils, greatest in power;

      There were too many others to name, although they were worshipped far and wide:

      Th' IONIAN Gods, of JAVANS Issue held

      Gods, yet confest later then Heav'n and Earth

      Thir boasted Parents; TITAN Heav'ns first born

      With his enormous brood, and birthright seis'd

      By younger SATURN, he from mightier JOVE

      His own and RHEA'S Son like measure found;

      So JOVE usurping reign'd: these first in CREET

      And IDA known, thence on the Snowy top

      Of cold OLYMPUS rul'd the middle Air

      Thir highest Heav'n; or on the DELPHIAN Cliff,

      Or in DODONA, and through all the bounds

      Of DORIC Land; or who with SATURN old

      Fled over ADRIA to th' HESPERIAN Fields,

      And ore the CELTIC roam'd the utmost Isles.

      The Greek Gods, believed to be descended from Javan

      And worshipped as Gods in a later time than Heaven and Earth,

      Their alleged parents: Titan, the first child of Heaven

      With his massive offspring, his inheritance stolen

      By the younger Saturn, who from his own son with Rhea,

      Mighty Jupiter, got the same treatment;

      So Jupiter ruled as the usurper: these Gods were first known

      To the Creteans and to Ida, then on the snowy summit

      Of cold Olympus they ruled the skies,

      The highest Heaven they knew; and they also ruled in Delphi

      And in Dodona and all through the lands

      Of Greece, and with ancient Saturn

      Spread over the Adriatic to Italy

      And were worshipped by the Celts in the British islands.

      All these and more came flocking; but with looks

      Down cast and damp, yet such wherein appear'd

      Obscure som glimps of joy, to have found thir chief

      Not in despair, to have found themselves not lost

      In loss it self; which on his count'nance cast

      Like doubtful hue: but he his wonted pride

      Soon recollecting, with high words, that bore

      Semblance of worth not substance, gently rais'd

      Their fainted courage, and dispel'd their fears.

      Then strait commands that at the warlike sound

      Of Trumpets loud and Clarions be upreard

      His mighty Standard; that proud honour claim'd

      AZAZEL as his right, a Cherube tall:

      Who forthwith from the glittering Staff unfurld

      Th' Imperial Ensign, which full high advanc't

      Shon like a Meteor streaming to the Wind

      With Gemms and Golden lustre rich imblaz'd,

      Seraphic arms and Trophies: all the while

      Sonorous mettal blowing Martial sounds:

      All of these and others gathered round, but they looked

      Depressed and damp, though there were some who showed

      Some little signs of happiness, to find that their leader

      Was not downcast and to find that all

      Was not completely lost, though on his face

      The same emotion showed: but he soon summoned up

      His usual arrogance and with elevated speech which had

      Apparent value but held no substance, gently encouraged

      Their weakened strength, and banished their fears.

      Then he commands at once that to the warlike sound

      Of loud trumpets and bugles they should raise

      His mighty flag;the honor of doing that was claimed

      By Azrael, a tall Cherub, as his right:

      Straight away he unfurled from the shining pole

      The Emperor’s banner, which waving on high

      Shone like a meteor, flapping in the wind,

      Covered in jewels and embroidered in rich gold

      With the Seraph’s insignia and signs: all the time

      The trumpets were blowing warlike calls:

      At which the universal Host upsent

      A shout that tore Hells Concave, and beyond

      Frighted the Reign of CHAOS and old Night.

      All in a moment through the gloom were seen

      Ten thousand Banners rise into the Air

      With Orient Colours waving: with

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1