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And ignominy, yet to glory' aspires
Vain-glorious, and through infamy feeks fame:
Therefore eternal filence be their doom.

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And now their mightiest quell'd, the battel swerv'd, With many an inroad gor'd; deformed rout Enter'd, and foul disorder; all the ground With shiver'd armour strown, and on a heap Chariot and charioteer lay overturn'd, And fiery foaming steeds; what stood, recoil'd O'er-wearied, through the faint Satanic hoft Defenfive scarce, or with pale fear furpriz'd, Then first with fear furpriz'd and fenfe of pain, Fled ignominious, to such evil brought

By fin of disobedience, till that hour

Not liable to fear or flight or pain.
Far otherwise th' inviolable Saints
In cubic phalanx firm advanced entire,
Invulnerable, impenetrably arm'd;
Such high advantages their innocence
Gave them above their foes; not to have finn'd,
Not to have difobey'd; in fight they stood

Unwearied, unobnoxious to be pain'd

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By wound, though from their place by violence mov'd.
Now night her course began, and over Heaven

Inducing darkness, grateful truce impos'd,
And filence on the odious din of war:
Under her cloudy covert both retir'd,
Victor and vanquish'd: on the foughten field
Michaël, and his Angels prevalent

Incamping, plac'd in guard their watches round,

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Cherubic

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:

Cherubic waving fires: on th' other part
Satan with his rebellious disappear'd,
Far in the dark diflodg'd: and void of rest,
His potentates to council call'd by night;
And in the midst thus undismay'd began.
O now in danger try'd, now known in arms
Not to be overpow'r'd, Companions dear,
Found worthy not of liberty alone,
Too mean pretence, but what we more affect,
Honor, dominion, glory and renown;
Who have sustain'd one day in doubtful fight
(And if one day, why not eternal days?)
What Heaven's Lord had pow'rfullest to send
Against us from about his throne, and judg'd
Sufficient to fubdue us to his will,
But proves not so: then fallible, it feems,
Of future we may deem him, though till now
Omniscient thought. True is, less firmly arm'd, 430
Some difadvantage we indur'd and pain,
Till now not known, but known as foon contemn'd;
Since now we find this our empyreal form

Incapable of mortal injury,

Imperishable, and though pierc'd with wound,
Soon clofing, and by native vigor heal'd.
Of evil then so small as easy think
The remedy; perhaps more valid arms,
Weapons more violent, when next we meet,

!

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May serve to better us, and worse our foes,
Or equal what between us made the odds,
In nature none: if other hidden cause

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Left

Left them fuperior, while we can preserve
Unhurt our minds and understanding found,
Due search and confultation will disclofe.

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He fat; and in th' assembly next upstood
Nifroch, of Principalities the prime;
As one he stood escap'd from cruel fight,
Sore toil'd, his riven arms to havoc hewn,
And cloudy in aspéct thus answ'ring spake.
Deliverer from new Lords, leader to free
Enjoyment of our right as Gods; yet hard
For Gods, and too unequal work we find,
Against unequal arms to fight in pain,
Against unpain'd, impassive; from which evil

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Ruin must needs ensue; for what avails

Valor or strength, though matchless, quell'd with pain
Which all fubdues, and makes remiss the hands
Of mightieft? Sense of pleasure we may well

Spare out of life perhaps, and not repine,
But live content, which is the calmest life:

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But pain is perfect misery, the worst
Of evils, and excessive, overturns

All patience. He who therefore can invent

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With what more forcible we may offend
Our yet unwounded enemies, or arm
Ourselves with like defenfe, to me deferves
No less than for deliverance what we owe.

Whereto with look compos'd Satan reply'd.
Not uninvented that, which thou aright
Believ'st so main to our success, I bring.
Which of us who beholds the bright furface

:

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of

Of this ethereous mold whereon we stand,
This continent of spacious Heav'n, adorn'd
With plant, fruit, flow'r ambrosial, gems and gold;
Whose eye so superficially surveys

:

These things, as not to mind from whence they grow
Deep under ground, materials dark and crude,
Of spiritous and fiery spume, till touch'd
With Heaven's ray, and temper'd they shoot forth 480
So beauteous, opening to the ambient light ?
These in their dark nativity the deep
Shall yield us pregnant with infernal flame;
Which into hollow engins long and round
Thick-ramm'd, at th' other bore with touch of fire
Dilated and infuriate, shall fend forth
From far with thund'ring noise among our foes
Such implements of mischief, as shall dash
To pieces, and o'erwhelm whatever stands
Adverse, that they shall fear we have difarm'd
The Thund'rer of his only dreaded bolt.
Nor long shall be our labor; yet ere dawn,
Effect shall end our wish. Mean while revive;
Abandon fear; to strength and counsel join'd
Think nothing hard, much less to be despair'd.
He ended, and his words their drooping chear
Inlighten'd, and their languish'd hope reviv'd.
Th' invention all admir'd, and each, how he
To be th' inventor miss'd; so easy' it seem'd
Once found, which yet unfound most would have thought
Impossible: yet haply of thy race
In future days, if malice should abound,

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Some

Some one intent on mischief, or infpir'd
With devilish machination, might devise
Like instrument to plague the fons of men
For fin, on war and mutual flaughter bent.
Forthwith from council to the work they flew:

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None arguing stood; innumerable hands

Were ready; in a moment up they turn'd

Wide the celestial foil, and faw beneath

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Th' originals of nature in their crude

Conception; fulphurous and nitrous foam
They found, they mingled, and with fubtle art,

Concocted and adufted they reduc'd

To blackest grain, and into store convey'd:
Part hidden veins digg'd up (nor hath this earth
Entrails unlike) of mineral and stone,
Whereof to found their engins and their balls

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Of misfive ruin; part incentive reed
Provide, pernicious with one touch to fire.
So all ere day-spring, under confcious night,

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Secret they finish'd, and in order set,
With filent circumspection unespy'd.

Now when fair morn orient in Heav'n appear'd,

Up rose the victor Angels, and to arms
The matin trumpet sung: in arms they stood
Of golden panoply, refulgent hoft,

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Soon banded; others from the dawning hills
Look'd round, and scouts each coast light-armed scour,

Each quarter, to descry the distant foe,

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Where lodg'd, or whither fled, or if for fight,
In motion or in halt; him foon they met

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