Th' Almighty Victor to spend all his rage, And that must end us; that must be our cure, To be no more? Sad cure; for who would lose, Though full of pain, this intellectual being, Those thoughts that wander through eternity, To perish rather, swallow'd up and lost In the wide womb of uncreated night, Devoid of sense and motion? And who knows, Let this be good, whether our angry Foe Can give it, or will ever? How he can Is doubtful; that he never will is sure. Will he, so wise, let loose at once his ire Belike through impotence, or unaware, To give his enemies their wish, and end Them in his anger, whom his anger saves To punish endless? Wherefore cease we then? Say they who counsel war, we are decreed, Reserved, and destined, to eternal woe; Whatever doing, what can we suffer more, What can we suffer worse? Is this then worst,
Thus sitting, thus consulting, thus in arms?
What when we fled amain, pursued and struck 165 With Heav'n's afflicting thunder, and besought The deep to shelter us? This Hell then seem'd A refuge from those wounds: or when we lay Chain'd on the burning lake? That sure was worse. What if the breath that kindled those grim fires, Awaked should blow them into sev'nfold rage, And plunge us in the flames? Or from above Should intermitted vengeance arm again His red right hand to plague us? What if all Her stores were open'd, and this firmament Of Hell should spout her cataracts of fire, Impendent horrors, threat'ning hideous fall One day upon our heads; while we perhaps Designing or exhorting glorious war, Caught in a fiery tempest, shall be hurl'd Each on his rock, transfix'd, the sport and prey Of wracking whirlwinds, or for ever sunk
156. Impotence is to be understood as the opposite of wisdom, or mental weakness.
174. His red right hand, namely God's, whose vengeance is personified.
Th' Almighty Victor to spend all his rage, And that must end us; that must be our cure, To be no more? Sad cure; for who would lose, Though full of pain, this intellectual being, Those thoughts that wander through eternity, To perish rather, swallow'd up and lost In the wide womb of uncreated night, Devoid of sense and motion? And who knows, Let this be good, whether our angry Foe Can give it, or will ever? How he can Is doubtful; that he never will is sure. Will he, so wise, let loose at once his ire Belike through impotence, or unaware, To give his enemies their wish, and end Them in his anger, whom his anger saves To punish endless? Wherefore cease we then? Say they who counsel war, we are decreed, Reserved, and destined, to eternal woe; Whatever doing, what can we suffer more, What can we suffer worse? Is this then worst, Thus sitting, thus consulting, thus in arms?
What when we fled amain, pursued and struck 165 With Heav'n's afflicting thunder, and besought The deep to shelter us? This Hell then seem'd A refuge from those wounds: or when we lay Chain'd on the burning lake? That sure was worse. What if the breath that kindled those grim fires, Awaked should blow them into sev'nfold rage, And plunge us in the flames? Or from above Should intermitted vengeance arm again His red right hand to plague us? Her stores were open'd, and this firmament Of Hell should spout her cataracts of fire, Impendent horrors, threat'ning hideous fall One day upon our heads; while we perhaps Designing or exhorting glorious war, Caught in a fiery tempest, shall be hurl'd Each on his rock, transfix'd, the sport and prey Of wracking whirlwinds, or for ever sunk
156. Impotence is to be understood as the opposite of wisdom, or mental weakness.
174. His red right hand, namely God's, whose vengeance is personified.
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