How beauty is excell'd by manly grace
And wisdom, which alone is truly fair,
N Had in her fober livery all Things clad,
WOW came ftill evening on, and twilight gray
Silence accompanied; for beast and bird,
They to their grally couch, thefe to their nefts
Were flunk; all but the wakeful nightingale;
She all night long her amorous defcant fung;
Silence was pleas'd: now glow'd the firmament
With living fapphirs: Helperus, that led
The ftarry hoft, rode brighteft, till the moon
Rifing in clouded majefty, at length
Apparent queen unveil'd her peerless light,
And o'er the dark her flyer mantle threw.
EVE defcribes her HAPPINESS in ADAM's [MILTON.]
ITH thee converfing I forget all time;
All feafons, and their change, all please alike. Sweet is the breath of morn, her rifing fweet, With charm of earlieft birds; pleafant the fun, When firft on this delightful land he fpreads His orient beams, on herb, tree, fruit, and flower, Glift'ring with dew; frágrant the fertile earth After foft fhow'rs; and tweet the coming on Of grateful evening mild; then filent night With this her folemn bird, and this fair moon, And thefe the gems of heav'n, her ftarry train: But neither breath of morn, when the afcends With charm of earlieft birds; nor rifing fun On this delightful land; -nor herb, fruit, flower, Glift'ring with dew; nor fragrance after fhowers; Nor grateful evening mild; nor filent night With this her folemn bird, nor walk by moon, Or glittering ftar-light, without thee is fweet.
RENCOUNTER between GABRIEL and SATAN in PARADISE. [MILTON.]
WHILE thus he fpake, th' angelic squadron
Turn'd fiery red, fharp'ning in mooned horns
Their phalanx, and began to hem him round
With ported fpears, as thick as when a field
Of Ceres ripe for harveft waving bends
Her bearded grove of ears, which way the wind
Sways them; the careful plowman doubting ftands,
Left on the threshing floor his hopeful fheaves
Prove chaff. On th' other fide Satan alarm'd,
Collecting all his might, dilated stood,
Like Teneriff or Atlas unremov'd:
His ftature reach'd the fky, and on his creft
Sat horror plum'd; nor wanted in his grafp
What seem'd both fpear and fhield. Now dreadful deeds
Might have enfued, nor only Paradife
In this commotion, but the ftarry cope
Of Heav'n perhaps, or all the elements,
At least had gone to wrack, disturb'd and torn
With violence of this conflict, had not foon
Th' Eternal, to prevent fuch horrid fray,
Hung forth in Heav'n his golden fcales, yet feen
Betwixt Aftrea and the Scorpion fign,
Wherein all things created firft he weigh'd,
The pendulous round earth with balanc'd air
In counterpoife, now ponders all events,
Battles and realms; in thefe he put two weights,
The fequel each of parting and of fight;
The latter quick up flew, and kick'd the beam.
Which Gabriel fpying, thus befpake the Fiend.
Satan, I know thy ftrength, and thou know'ft mine;
Neither our own, but giv'n; what folly then
To boast what arms can do? fince thine no more
Than Heav'n permits, nor mine, though doubled now
To trample thee as mire: for proof look up,
And read thy lot in yon celeftial fign,
Where thou art weigh'd, and fhown how light, how weak,
If thou refift. The Fiend look'd up, and knew
His mounted fcale aloft: nor more; but fled
Murm'ring, and with him fled the shades of night.
The MORNING HYMN of ADAM. and EVE.
HESE are thy glorious works, Parent of good,
Almighty, thine this univerfal frame,
Thus wondrous fair; thyfelf how wond'rous then!
Unfpeakable, who fitt'ft above thefe Heavens,
To us invifible, or dimly feen
In thefe thy lowest works; yet thefe declare
Thy goodnefs beyond thought, and pow'r divine.
Speak ye who beft can tell, ye fons of light,
Angels; for ye behold him, and with fongs
And choral symphonies, day without night,
Circle his throne rejoicing; ye in Heaven,
On Earth join all ye Creatures to extol
Him firft, him laft, him midft, and without end.
Faireft of ftars, laft in the train of night,
If better thou belong not to the dawn,
Sure pledge of day, that crown'ft the fmiling morn
With thy bright circlet, praife him in thy fphere,
While day arifes, that fweet hour of prime.
Thou fun, of this great world both eye and foul,
Acknowledge him thy greater; found his praife
In thy eternal courfe, both when thou climb'ft,
And when high noon haft gain'd, and when thou fall'it
Moon, that now meet'ft the orient fun, now fly'ft,
With the fix'd ftars, fix'd in their orb that flies;
And ye five other wand'ring fires that move
In myftic dance not without fong, refound
His praife, who out of darknefs call'd up light.
Air, and ye Elements, the eldest birth
Of Nature's womb, that in quaternion run
Perpetual circle, multiform; and mix
And nourish all things; let your ceafelefs change
Vary to our great Maker ftill new praife.
Ye Mifts and Exhalations that now rife
From hill or ftreaming lake, dufky or gray,
Till the fun paint your fleecy fkirts with gold,
In honour to the world's great Author rife,
Whether to deck with clouds th' uncolour'd fky,
Or wet the thirsty earth with falling fhowers,
Rifing or falling ftill advance his praife.
His praife, ye Winds, that from four quarters blow,
Breathe foft or loud; and wave your tops, ye Pines,
With every plant, in fign of worship wave.
Fountains, and ye, that warble, as ye flow,
Melodious murmurs, warbling tune his praife."
Join voices all ye living Souls; ye Birds,
That finging up to Heaven-gate afcend,
Bear on your wings, and in your notes his praife."
Ye that in waters glide, and ye that walk
The earth, and ftately tread, or lowly creep;
Witness if I be filent, morn or even,
To hill, or valley, fountain, or frefh fhade,
Made vocal by my fong, and taught his praife.
Hail univerfal Lord, be bounteous ftill
To give us only good; and if the night
Have gather'd aught of evil, or conceal'd,
Difperfe it, as now light difpels the dark.
RAPHAEL's Defcent from HEAVEN to PARADISE, [MILTON.]
Sfpake th' eternal Father, and fulfill'd
All juftice: nor delay'd the winged Saint.
After his charge receiv'd; but from among
Thousand celeftial Ardors, where he stood
Veil'd with his gorgeous wings, up fpringing light
Flew through the midft of Heav'n; th' angelic quires,
On each hand parting, to his fpeed gave way
Through all th' empyreal road, till at the gate
Of Heav'n arriv'd, the gate felf-open'd wide
On golden hinges turning, as by work
Divine the fov'reign Architect had fram'd.
From hence, no cloud, or, to obftruct his fight,
Star interpos'd, however fmall, he fees,
Not unconform to other flining globes,
Earth and the gard'n of God, with cedars crown'd
Above all hills. As when by night the glass
Of Galileo, lefs affur'd, obferves
Imagin'd lands, and regions in the moon:
Or pilot, from amidst the Cyclades,
Delos or Samos first appearing, kens
A cloudy fpot. Down thither prone in flight
He fpeeds, and through the yaft ethereal fky
Sails between worlds and worlds, with fteddy wing
Now on the polar winds, then with quick fan
Winnows the buxom air; till within foar
Of tow'ring eagles, to' all the fowls he seems
A Phoenix, gaz'd by all, as that fole bird,
When to infhrine his reliques in the fun's
Bright temple, to Eyptian Thebes he flies.
At once on th' eaftern cliff of Paradife
He lights, and to his proper fhape returns,
A Seraph wing'd: fix wings he wore, to fhade
His lineaments divine; the pair, that clad:
Each fhoulder broad, came mantling o'er his breast
With regal ornament; the middle pair
Girt like a starry zone his waift, and round
Skirted his loins and thighs with downy gold,
And colours dipt in Heav'n; the third his feetsb
Shadow'd from either heel with feather'd mail, ni
Sky-tinctur'd grain. Like Maia's fon he ftood,
And fhook his plumes, that heav'nly fragrance fill d
The circuit wide. Strait knew him all the bands mi bak
Of angels under watch; and to his ftate,un bebouoloži
And to his meffage high, in honour riferit Dall
For on fome meffage high they guefs'd him bound.
Their glittring tents he pafs'd, and now is coine) D710
Into the blisful field, through groves of myrrh,
And flow'ring odours, caffia, nard, and balm;
A wilderness of fweets; for Nature here
Wanton'd as in her prime, and play'd at will
Her virgin fancies, pouring forth more fweet,
Wild above rule or art; enormous blifs. 11
rall ENCOUNTER between ABDIEL and SATAN, Ber ginning of the firft BATTLE of the ANGELS.
[MILTON.]a drabbal of
Saying, a noble ftroke he lifted high.
Which hung not, but fo fwift with tempeft fell On the proud creft of Satan, that no fight, Nor motion of fwift thought, lefs could his field Such ruin intercept: ten paces huge He back recoil'd; the tenth on bended knee do 10 it grisi stof baÀ His maffy fpear upftay'd; as if on earthica 18:10 Winds under ground, or waters forcing wait som A Sidelong had pufh'd a mountain from his, feat T Half funk with all his pines. Amazement feiz, 10 The rebel Thrones, but greater rage, to fee
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