Dominion exercise and in the air,
Chiefly on Man, sole lord of all declar'd; 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 wan, And planets, planet-struck, real eclipse
Then suffer'd. The other way Satan went down The causey 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 retir'd, 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 emperour 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 desart utmost Hell Many a dark league, reduc'd 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 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: All 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 acclaim:
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,
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, accurs'd, the house of woe, And dungeon of our tyrant: Now possess, As Lords, a spacious world, to our native Heaven Little inferiour, by my adventure hard
With peril great achiev'd. 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 pav'd, 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 fabrick wonderful
Of absolute perfection! therein Man Plac'd in a Paradise, by our exíle
Made happy: Him by fraud I have seduc'd From his Creator; and, the more to encrease 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 rul'd. True is, me also he hath judg'd, or rather Me not, but the brute serpent in whose shape Man I deceiv'd: 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 publick scorn; he wonder'd, but not long Had leisure, wondering at himself now more ;
His visrge 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 rul'd 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 Amphisbænr 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 Ingender'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, Heaven-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 croud
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