Not against God, against thyself alone,
Thou raisest wrath, and wounding woundst thyself.

Sink into shade misguided, wretched spirit!

Utterly void of all angelic light!

Be blind in gazing on that heav'nly lustre

To me imparted by the lord of light,
The dazzler of the sun!

Fly, ye infected crew!

Ye enemies of God!

Nor let the breathing whirlwind

With blast from hell the yet unruin'd life

Of man o'erwhelm with deeper shades of darkness! No more thy fatal hiss thou snake of hell

Shall by its discord stun;

Since pierc'd and panting now

Thou faintest, poison'd by thy own contagion.

Lucifer. Heav'n's talking minister

With rays more loaded, than inspir'd with courage;

Soft creature of the sky

Thou angel of repose

In solemn indolence,

Humility's calm nest, a seat of peace,

A warrior but in name!

Whose countenance is fear, whose heart confusion. Spread, spread thy pinions for the arms of God;

. Take refuge there, and there be confident, For too unequal would the combat be, Twixt cowardice and valour,

The warrior and the slave,

Infirmity and strength! and let me say
Betwixt vile Michael, and brave Lucifer.
But if such daring can inflame thy heart,
As now to rescue from this warlike arm
That man, mere flesh and clay !

That animated dust! I warn thee well

Of mortal conflict sharp! where thou shalt see
By this avenging hand

All the large family of God extinguish'd.

Michael. Such mournful victory

O Belial in thy frenzy desperate,

As once in heav'n thou 'gainst, now with mankind Subduing the deceiv'd,

And hence the conquer'd conquers :

Freed is the captive, and thyself ensnar'd;
Now be it manifest

What palms of victory tis thine to raise.

Behold against thee, thou unfaithful spirit,

Michael become compassionately cruel.

Lucifer. If at the early sound of war the first Encounter of our arms

'Twas given a mighty warrior to destroy A third part of the stars,

See in what brief assault

I can demolish the great seat of God!
Be dazzled now before this warlike blaze,
That from the brow of death I now diffuse!

Whirling in bloody circle

From my high front these death denouncing comets!

Behold, behold at length

Heav'n yields no more a refuge to its angels!

Since to a fate more joyous

A happy pass expands, and seems to say

Begone! at length begone

Ye frighten'd angels! now relinquish heav'n

The warrior doom'd to hell

Becomes the blessed lord of these bright seats.

Michael. Why longer pause to crush the proud loquacity

Of this presumptuous, and insulting rebel?

Soon with a pen of adamant, with striking

Dread characters of blood,

Within the volume of eternal woe

The glory shall be blazon'd

Of thy lost victory:

To arms! at length to arms,

To spread dismay thro' hell!

Joy man! smile heav'n! and Tartarus lament!
Lucifer. Seldom upon the vaunting

Of a proud tongue too hold

Boldness of hand attends: to arms! to arms!

Thou fight with me; and you my followers all
Unconquerable warriors!

Transperse, and put to flight this abject crew,
The timid Partisans

Of an unwarlike leader!

Ah! him who favors brief, and endless shame,
Possess'd in heav'n, and now on earth display'd,
Great fortitude, but with unequal force,

Him, a celestial stroke,

Now drives confounded to the blind abyss;
And justice here decrees

That he who lost the fight, should lose the sun.
Angel, and God at length ye are triumphant
Now, now is Lucifer

O'er whelm'd, and all his legion

Sinks from the light of day, to endless night!

Michael. Fall thou at length, fall wounded, and subdued

Fierce monster of the shades

To deaths deep horrors! there be doom'd to die
By an immortal death!

Nor hope thy wings to heav'n

Ever to spread again! that wish, too bold
For thee, so desperate and unrepenting,
Thou'rt fall'n, at length thou'rt fall'n!
Most arrogant of monsters!

In pain thou sink'st as low,

As high in joy it was thy hope to soar!

Again thou learn'st to fall,

Transfixt with thunder, to the drear abyss !

Fool! thou hast wish'd to take this man thy captive,

And thou alone hast plung'd

Within the deepest gulph :
Hence pierc'd and overwhelm'd,
Sinking to Tartarus,

The flame of wrath eternal,

Bore thee to hell, the hell of hottest fires!
A spotless angel, O thou prince of falshood!
Thy folly hop'd to put to flight and wound:
But thou, oppos'd to him

Hast yielded, plying thy winged feet in haste.
Thou too hast hop'd to turn the spacious world,
In hostile flame, to ashes,

And at thy ardent blast, and baleful breathing

Clouds, lightning, and tempestuous bursts of thun

der,

With rattling deadly bolts of arrowy flame

Roll'd thro' the air, whence all the mountains shook, And all the vales re-echoed in convulsion!

And yet, behold! in heaven

The spheres move round more musical then ever ;

And all the azure sky

The lucid sun with brighter beam adorns ;
Behold the ocean, tremulously placid,
And from his persian gulph

In gay abundance scattering pearl and coral;
Nor weary are the sportive fish, in gliding

Along the trembling saphire.

Behold! what verdant, and what flowery brows,

These pleasant vales in exultation raise;