University of Virginia Library

Now had th' Archangel Trumpet, rais'd sublime
Above the Walls of Heav'n, begun to sound;
All Æther took the Blast, and Hell beneath
Shoke with Celestial Noise; th' Almighty Host
Hot with pursuit, and reaking with the Blood
Of guilty Cherubs smear'd in sulphurous Dust,
Pause at the known Command of sounding Gold;
And first they close the wide Tartarian Gates,
Th' impenetrable Folds on brazen Hinge
Rowl creaking horrible; the Din beneath
O'ercomes the Roar of Flames, and deafens Hell;
Then through the solid Gloom with nimble Wing
They cut their shining Traces up to Light;
Return'd upon the Edge of heavenly Day,
Where thinnest Beams play round the vast obscure,
And with eternal Gleam drive back the Night,
They find the Troops less stubborn, less involv'd
In Crime and Ruine, barr'd the Realms of Peace,
Yet uncondemn'd to baleful Seats of Woe,
Doubtful and suppliant; all the Plumes of Light
Moult from their shuddering Wings, and sickly fear
Shades every Face with Horrour; conscious Guilt
Rowls in the livid Eye-ball, and each Breast
Shakes with the Dread of future Doom unknown.

'Twas there the wide Circumference of Heaven
Opens in two vast Gates, that inward turn
Voluminous, on Jasper Columns hung
By Geometry Divine, they ever glow
With living Sculptures, that arise by turns
T'imboss the shining Leaves, by turns they set
To give succeeding Argument their place;
In holy Hierogliphicks on they move,
The Gaze of journying Angels, as they pass
Oft looking back, and held in deep surprize;
Here stood the Troops distinct; the Cherub Guard
Unbarr'd the splendid Gates, and in they rowl
Harmonious, for a vocal Spirit sits
Within each Hinge, and as they onward drive,
In just Divisions break the num'rous Jarr
With Symphony melodious, such as Spheres
Involv'd in ten-fold Wreaths are said to sound.

Out flows a blaze of Glory; for on high
Tow'ring advanc'd the moving Throne of God,
Vast and Majestick; on each radient side
The pointed Rays slope glittering, at the foot
Glides a full Tide of Day, that onward pours
In liquid Torrents through the black Abyss,
Sparkling among reluctant Shades which thence
Retire confus'd; as when Vesuvio shakes
With inward Torments, and disgorges Flames,
O'er the vast Mountain's Ridge the burning Waves
Drive their refulgent Curls, and on they rowl
Sweeping the glowing Plains down to the Sea;
Th' affrighted Sea leaps back with hideous Roar
To give the Fire its Course: Thus Chaos wild
Hissing recoils to let in Floods of Light.

Above the Throne, th' Ideas heavenly bright
Of past, of present, and of coming time
Fix'd their immov'd abode, and there present
An endless Landskip of created Things
To sight Celestial, where Angelick Eyes
Are lost in Prospect; for the shiny Range
Boundless and various, in its Bosom bears
Millions of full proportion'd Worlds, beheld
With stedfast Eyes, till more arise to view,
And farther inward Scenes start up unknown.

Myriads of Seraphs in long Series wait
About the Throne, and as it moves proceed
In numerous Order to Celestial Song:
Above; the Symphony of mellow Flutes,
And Harps by flying Angels gently touch'd,
Relieve the Trumpet's rage, and fitly blend
The solemn sounds in Harmony divine;
Such as might tune new Worlds, and give the Laws
To Globes on high, and the just Figure guide
Of Planets forming all their airy Dance;
Below; the blazing Wheels drive bounding o'er
The starry Pavement; Stars and Hills of Light
Double their Glories where the Chariot rowls
With rattling sound; and th' Empyræum vast
Down to its stedfast Axis, groans throughout
Under the burning Tracts, till now it rests
Upon the gaping Brink of Heaven; and there
With open Pomp, fills the vast empty space.

Silence ensues; a deep and awful pause
More terrible, all Expectation held
In Horror; now Wrath imminent amaz'd
With dreadful Precipice, to all it seems
More formidable near: Then from the Throne
A vocal Thunder rowl'd the Sence of God,
Majestically long, repugnant all
To Princes Customs here; their Judgments flash
On Guilt, with Words concise, and sudden blaze;
Quite otherwise, the God's enlarged Speech
Sets wide the fate of things; that all around
Might take full Prospects of their coming Doom.

Servants of God! and Vertues great in Arms!
—W' approve your faithful Works, and you return
Bless'd from the dire pursuit of rebel Foes;
Resolv'd, obdurate, they have try'd the force
Of this Right Hand, and known Almighty Pow'r;
Transfix'd with Lightning down they sunk, they fell
Into the fiery Gulph, and deep they plunge
Below the burning Waves, to hide their Heads
In shelter from my Vengeance bellowing hence,
More fierce and scorching with more dreadful Fires,
There let 'em find their Doom, that durst defy
Omnipotence, and slight his proffer'd Grace;
Rowling in Flames, and ne'er to feel a Dawn
Of heavenly Day; instead, the Mind imbibes
Eternal Gloom, and sign'd with constant Flames
Can find no Ease; while fierce their boiling Rage
Eats through th' impyral Mould, and glows within,
With endless Pain; not one repentant Thought
Shall cool the Breast, but proud in horrid Crime
The Soul anheals and hardens in the Fire.

But you! commission'd by Commands Divine,
Have wisely fill'd your Trust, and clos'd 'em all
Within the fervid Lake, lest any roam
Into the dark Abiss to shun their Doom,
And in the Womb immense of Things unborn
Should seek annihilation; you must rise
Among the shining Virtues, more sublime;
On lofty Thrones preferr'd for lofty Deeds.

For you, ye guilty Throng! that lately joyn'd
In this Sedition, since seduc'd from Good,
And caught in Trains of Guile, by Spirits malign,
Superior in their Order; you accept
Trembling, my heavenly Clemency and Grace.
When the long Æra once has fill'd its Orb,
You shall emerge to Light, and humbly here,
Again shall bow before this favouring Throne,
If your own Virtue second my Decree:
But all must have their Manes first below,
So stands th' eternal Fate, but smoother yours
Than what lost Angels feel; nor can our Reign
Without just Dooms, the Peace of Heav'n secure;
For Forms Celestial new erect in Glory
Wou'd totter, dazl'd with the Heighths of Power,
Did not the Nerves of Justice fix their Sight.

See, where below in Chaos wond'rous deep,
A Speck of Light dawns forth, and thence throughout
The Shades, in many a Wreath my forming Power
There swiftly turns the burning Eddy round,
Absorbing all crude Matter near its Brink;
Which next, with subtle Motions take the Form
I please to stamp, the Seed of Infant Worlds
All now in Embrio, but e'er long shall rise
Variously scatter'd in this vast Expanse,
Involv'd in winding Orbs until the Brims
Of outward Circles brush these heavenly Gates:
The middle Point a Globe of curling Fire
Shall hold, which round it sheds its genial Heat;
Where e'er I kindle Life, the Motion grows
In all the endless Orbs, from this Machine;
And infinite Vicissitudes shall rowl
About this restless Center; for I rear
In those Meanders turn'd, a dusty Ball,
Deform'd all o'er with Woods, whose shaggy Tops
Enclose eternal Mists, and deadly Damps
Hover within their Boughs, to choak the Light;
Impervious Scenes of Horror, 'till reform'd
To Fields, and grassy Dales, and flow'ry Meads,
By your continual Pains: The Torrid Zone
Here frys with constant Heat, the swarthy World;
Parching the Plains where hideous Monsters glare,
And dusty Mountains, tumbl'd by the Winds,
Stretch their uncertain Heaps; no less the Frost
At either end shall rage, and high shall raise
Firm Promontories; vast the Ruins seem
Of desart Nature, and th' eternal Piles
Load all the dreary Coast, and thick in Ice
Arm either Pole, that yearly peeps ascance
On coming Light, but feels no gentle Ray
Unbind the frozen Chain: between these lie
The changeful Clymes, alternately they burn,
And chill again by turns: for both Extremes
Make their Incursions here; and this my Will
Unchangeable, ordains your doleful Seat.

Beneath; mishapen Chaos, and the Field
Of fighting Atoms, where hot, moist and dry,
Wage an eternal War with dismal Roar;
The dismal Roar breaks smoothly on the Ground,
Sacred to horror, and eternal Night:
Here Silence sits, whose visionary Shape
In Folds of wreathy mantling sinks obscure
And in dark Fumes reclines his drowsy head;
An Urn he holds, from whence a Lake proceeds,
Wide, flowing gently, smooth, and Lethe nam'd:
Hither compell'd, each Soul must drink long Draughts
Of those forgetful Streams, 'till Forms within,
And all the great Ideas fade and die:
For if vast Thoughts shou'd play about a Mind
Inclos'd in Flesh, and dregging cumbrous Life,
Fluttering and beating in the mournful Cage,
It soon wou'd break its Grates and wing away:
'Tis therefore my Decree, the Soul return
Naked from off this Beach and perfect Blank,
To visit the New World; and strait to feel
Itself, in crude consistence closely shut,
The dreadful Monument of just Revenge;
Immur'd by Heaven's own Hand, and plac'd erect
On fleeting Matter, all imprison'd round
With Walls of Clay; th' Æthereal Mould shall bear
The Chain of Members, deafen'd with an Ear,
Blinded by Eyes, and manacl'd in Hands.
Here Anger, vast Ambition, and Disdain,
And all the haughty Movements rise and fall,
As Storms of neighbouring Atoms tear the Soul;
And Hope, and Love, and all the calmer turns
Of easy Hours, in their gay gilded Shapes,
With sudden run, skin o'er deluded Minds,
As matter leads the Dance; but one Desire
Unsatisfied, shall marr ten thousand Joys.

The Rank of Beings that shall first advance,
Drink deep of Human Life, and long shall stay
On this great Scene of Cares; from all the rest,
That longer for the destin'd Body wait,
Less Penance I expect; and short abode
In those pale dreary Kingdoms will content:
Each has his lamentable Lot, and all
On different Racks, abide the Pains of Life.

The pensive Spirit takes the lonely Grove,
Nightly he visits all the Sylvan Scenes,
Where far remote, a melancholly Moon
Raising her Head, serene and shorn of Beams,
Throws here and there her Glimmerings through the Trees,
To make more awful Darkness; starry Lights
Hung up on high, shed round 'em as they burn
A Pale sad influence, and they gild the Plains
With doubtful Rays, which strike within the Shades
A trembling Lustre and uncertain Light.

The Sage shall haunt this solitary Ground,
And view the dismal Landskip, limn'd within
In horrid Shades mix'd with imperfect Light;
Here Judgment, blinded by delusive Sence
Contracted through the Cranny of an Eye,
Shoots up faint languid Beams, to that dark Seat
Wherein the Soul, bereav'd of native Fire,
Sits intricate in misty Clouds obscur'd,
Ev'n from itself conceal'd, and there presides
O'er jarring Images with Reason's sway,
Which by his ordering more confounds their Form;
And by decisions more imbroyls the Fray:
The more he strives t'appease, the more he feels
The strugling Surges of the darksome Void
Impetuous, and the thick revolving Thoughts
Encountring Thoughts, Image on Image turn'd,
A Chaos of wild Science, where sometimes
The clashing Notions strike out casual Light;
Which soon must perish and be lost again
In the thick Darkness round it: Now, he trys
With all his Might to raise some weighty Thought,
Of Me, of Fate, or of th' eternal Round,
Which but recoils to crush the labouring Mind:
High are his Reasonings, but the feeble Clue
Of fleeting Images he draws in vain
To wondrous length; (for still the turning Maze
Eludes his Art,) its end flies far away,
And leaves him tracing round the toilsome Path,
Returning oft on the same beaten Thought.
For much of Good he talks, and Life serene,
Of Happiness deny'd, the dismal waste
Of Wisdom's Privilege, and th' obdurate Breast,
Stubborn in Anguish; idle Wisdom, all
Weak Sorcery to charm a real Pain;
Distasting Crowds and Business, thus he seeks
Diversion in himself, but with deep Thoughts
He kindles doubt; and while he strives to blow
The Ashes off, revives the brand of Care.

Hence far remov'd, a different noisie Race
In Cities full and frequent take their Seat,
Where Honour's crush'd, and Gratitude oppress'd,
With swelling hopes of Gain, that raise within
A Tempest, and drove onward by Success,
Can find no Bounds; for Creatures of a Day
Stretch their wide Cares to Ages; full increase
Starves the penurious Soul, while empty sound
Fills th' Ambitious; that shall ever shrink,
Pining with endless Cares, whilst this shall swell
To Tympany enormous. Bright in Arms
Here shines the Hero, out he fiercely leads
A martial Throng, his Instruments of Rage,
To fill the World with Death, and thin Mankind.
Ambition drives, and round the World he roams,
Marking his Way with Blood; the dreadful noise
Begets a Fame; and all the Breath he leaves
Is spent in his false Praise, and vainly bloats
The Tyrant's Soul; while high his Kingdoms rise
In fleeting Pomp, hovering their gawdy Wings
Around the servile Globe, that tamely bends
Beneath his haughty Reign; and all his Slaves
Under his Yoke shall groan, and scarce shall groan
Without a Crime: Here torturing Engines roar
With human voice disguiss'd; Earth, Water, Fire,
Are made (dire Elements of Cruelty!)
Subservient to his Lust, and Power to kill;
Yet shall the Herd endure, and dare not break
United their imaginary Chain;
While their great Monarch chills with equal Fears,
No less a Slave than they; each Rumour shakes
The haughty Purple; dark and cloudy Cares
Involve the awful Throne, that stands erect,
Balanc'd on the wild People's temper'd Rage,
And fortify'd with dangerous Arts of Power:
But Death shall shift those Scenes of Misery;
Then doubtful Titles kindle up new Wars,
And urge on ling'ring Fate; the Ensigns blaze
About the Camp, and Drums and Trumpets sound,
Prepare a solemn Way to grizly War:
Javelins and bearded Spears in ghastly Ranks
Erect their shining Heads, and round the Field
A Harvest's seen of formidable Death;
Then joins the horrid Shock, whose bellowing Burst
Torments the shatter'd Air, and drowns the Groans
Of Men below that rowl in certain Death:
These are the mortal Sports, and tragick Plays,
By Man himself embroil'd; the dire Debate
Makes the waste Desart seem serene and mild,
Where savage Nature in one Common lies,
By homely Cots possess'd; all squalid wild,
And despicably poor, they range the Field,
And feel their share of Hunger, Care and Pain,
Cheated by flying Prey; and now they tear
Their panting Flesh; and now with Nails unclean
They tug their shaggy Beards; and deeply quaff
Of humane Woe, even when they rudely sip
The flowing Stream, or chew the savory Pulp
Of Nature's freshest Viands; fragrant Fruits
Enjoy'd with trembling, and in danger sought.

But where th' appointed limits of a Law,
Fences the general safety of the World,
No greater quiet Reigns; for wanton Man,
In giddy frolick, easily leaps o'er
His own invented Bounds; hence Rapine, Fraud,
Revenge and Lust, and all the hideous Train
Of nameless Ills, distort the meagre Mind
To endless Shapes of Woe. Here Misers mourn
Departed Gold, and there defrauded Heirs
Dire Perjuries complain; the blended Loads
Of Punishment and Crime, deform the World,
And give no rest to Man; with Pangs and Throws
He enters on the Stage; prophetick Tears
And Infant Cries prelude his future Woes;
And all is one continu'd Scene of Grief,
Till the sad sable Curtain falls in Death.

But that last Act shall in one Moment close
Of doubt and darkness; Pain shall crack the Strings
Of Life decay'd; no less the Soul convuls'd
Trembles in anxious Cares, and shuddering stands,
Afraid to leap into the opening Gulph
Of future Fate, till all the Banks of Clay
Fall from beneath his Feet; in vain he grasps
The shatter'd Reeds that cheat his easie Wish:
Reason is now no more; that narrow Lamp
(Which with its sickly Fires wou'd shoot its Beams
To Distances unknown, and stretch its Rays
Ascance my Paths, in deepest darkness veil'd)
Is sunk into its Socket; inly there
It burns a dismal Light; th' expiring Flame
Is choak'd in Fumes, and parts in various Doubt.

Then the gay Glories of the living World
Shall cast their empty Varnish, and retire
Out of his feeble view; and rising shade
Sits hovering o'er all Nature's various Face:
Musick shall cease, and Instruments of Joy
Shall fail that sullen Hour; nor can the Mind
Attend their Sounds, when Fancies swim in Death
Confus'd and crush'd, with Cares; for long shall seem
The dreary Road, and melancholy dark
That leads he knows not where; here empty space
Gapes horrible, and threatens to absorp
All Being; yonder sooty Demons glare,
And dolorous Spectres grin; the shapeless Rout
Of wild Imagination, dance and play
Before his Eyes obscure; till all in Death
Shall vanish, and the Prisoner now enlarg'd,
Regains the flaming Borders of the Sky.

He ended. Peals of Thunder rend the Heavens,
And Chaos, from the bottom turn'd, resounds
The mighty Clangor: All the heavenly Host
Approve the high Decree, and loud they sing
Eternal Justice; while the guilty Troops,
Sad with their Doom, but sad without Despair,
Fall fluttering down to Lethe's Lake, and there
For Penance, and the destin'd Body wait.