And durable; and now, in little space,
The confines met of empyrean Heaven,
And of this world; and on the left hand, Hell
With long reach interposed; three several ways,
In sight, to each of these three places led.
And now their way to earth they had descry'd,
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 seduced, 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'd
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 wonderous pontifice, unhop'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 increased.
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 divined
(My heart, which, by a secret harmony,
Still moves with thine, join'd in connection sweet,)
That thou on earth hadst prosper'd, which thy looks
Now also evidence, but straight I felt,
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 her bounds,
Nor this unvoyageable gulf obscure

Detain from following thy illustrious track.
Thou hast achieved our liberty, confined
Within Hell-gates till now; thou us empower'd
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 avenged
Our foil in Heaven: here thou shalt monarch reign,
There didst not; there let Him still victor sway,
As battle hath adjudged, 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 grandchild both,
High proof ye now have given to be the race
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,
Mine with this glorious work, and made one realm,
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 earthi
Dominion exercise, and in the air,
Chiefly on Man, sole lord of all declared,
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 exposed by my exploit.
If your joint power prevails, 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 looked wan: And planets, planet-struck, real eclipse

Then suffer'd. The other way Satan went down
The cause-way to Hell-gate: on either side
Disparted Chaos over-built, 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 called,
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 Taurus or Casbin: so these, the late
Heaven-banish'd host, left desert utmost Hell,
Many a dark league, reduced in careful watch,
Round their metropolis, and now, expecting
Each hour their great adventurer, from the search
Of foreign worlds: he, through the midst, unmark'd,
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 placed 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. All amazed,
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 acclaim:
Forth rush'd in haste the great consulting peers,
Raised from the 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
Successful, beyond hope, to lead ye forth,
Triumphant, out of this infernal pit,
Abominable, accursed, the house of woe,
And dungeon of our Tyrant: now possess,
As lords, a spacious world, to our native Heaven
Little inferior, by my adventure hard,

With peril great achieved. Long were to tell
What I have done, what suffer'd; with what pain
Voyag'd the unreal, vast, unbounded deep
Of horrible confusion; over which,
By Sin and Death, a broad way now is paved,
To expedite your glorious march; but I
Toil'd out my uncouth passage, forc'd to ride
The untractable abyss, plung'd in the womb
Of unoriginal Night and Chaos wild,
That, jealous of their secrets, fiercely oppos'd
My journey strange, with clamorous uproar,
Protesting Fate supreme; thence, how I found
The new-created world, which fame in Heaven
Long had foretold, a fabric wonderful,
Of absolute perfection, therein Man
Placed in a Paradise, by our exile
Made happy him, by fraud, I have seduced
From his Creator, and, the more to increase
Your wonder, with an apple. He, thereat
Offended, worth your laughter, hath given 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 ruled.
True is, me also he hath judged; or rather
Me not, but the brute serpent, in whose shape
Man I deceived: 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 set, shall bruise my
head :
A world, who would not purchase with a bruise,
Or much more grievous pain? Ye have the account
Of my performance: what remains, ye gods,
But up, and enter now into full bliss?"

So having said, a while he stood, expecting
Their universal shout, and high applause
To fill his ear; when contrary, he hears
On all sides, from innumerable tongues,

A dismal universal hiss, the sound
Of public scorn; he wondered, but not long
Had leisure, wondering at himself now more:
His visage drawn, he felt, to sharp and spare,
His arms clung to his ribs, his legs entwining
Each other, till supplanted, down he fell,
A monstrous serpent on his belly prone,
Reluctant, but in vain; a greater Power
Now ruled him punish'd in the shape he sinn'd,
According to his doom. He would have spoke,
But hiss for hiss return'd, with forked tongue
To forked tongue; for now were all transform'd
Alike, to serpents; all, as accessories
To his bold riot. Dreadful was the din
Of hissing through the hall, thick swarming now
With complicated monsters, head and tail,
Scorpion and Asp, and Amphisbæna dire,
Cerastes horn'd, Hydrus, and Elops, drear,
And Dipsas (not so thick swarm'd once the soil
Bedropt with blood of Gorgon, or the isle
Ophiusa): but still greatest he the midst,
Now dragon grown, larger than whom the sun
Engender'd in the Pythian vale, on slime,
Huge Python, and his power no less he seem'd
Above the rest, still to retain; they all
Him follow'd, issuing forth to the open field,
Where all yet left of that revolted rout,
Heav'n-fall'n, in station stood, or just array,
Sublime with expectation, when to see,
In triumph issuing forth, their glorious chief;
They saw, but other sight instead, a crowd
Of ugly serpents; horror on them fell,
And horrid sympathy; for what they saw, [arms,
They felt themselves now changing; down their
Down fell both spear & shield, down they as fast,
And the dire hiss renew'd, and the dire form
Catch'd by contagion; like in punishment,
As in their crime. Thus was th' applause they meant
Turn'd to exploding hiss, triumph to shame, [stood

Cast on themselves from their own mouths. There

A grove hard by, sprung up with this their change,
His will who reigns above, to aggravate
Their penance, laden with fruit, like that
Which grew in Paradise, the bait of Eve
Used by the tempter. On that prospect strange
Their earnest eyes they fix'd, imagining
For one forbidden tree, a multitude