Beft with the beft, the fender, not the fent, Or all at once; more glory will be won, Or lefs be loft. 855 Thy fear, faid Zephon bold, O friends, I hear the tread of nimble feet ; 860 865 870 He fcarce had ended, when those two approach'd, And brief related whom they brought, where found, 875 How bufied, in what form and pofture couch'd. To whom with ftern regard thus Gabriel spake: 880 : 835 Puts me in doubt. Lives there who loves his pain? Who would not, finding way, break loose from hell, Though thither doom'd? Thou wouldst thyfelf, no doubt, And boldly venture to whatever place 891 Fartheft from pain, where thou might'it hope to change Torment with cafe, and fooneft recompenfe Dole with delight, which in this place I fought; To thee no reason, who know'st only good, 895 But evil haft not try'd and wilt object His will who bound us? let him furer bar His iron gates, if he intends our stay In that dark durance: thus much what was ask’d. The rest is true, they found me where they say ; Thus he in fcorn. The warlike angel mov'd,, However, and to fcape his punishment. 905 910 So judge thou ftill, presumptuous! till the wrath, 915 But wherefore thou alone? wherefore with thee 920 925 To which the fiend thus anfwer'd, frowning ftern; Not that I lefs endure, or shrink from pain, Infulting angel; well thou know'ft I ftood 930 A faithful leader, not to hazard all Through ways of danger by himself untry'd : I therefore, I alone firft undertook 935 To wing the desolate abyfs, and spy This new-created world, whereof in hell 940 High up in heav'n, with fongs to hymn his throne, And practis'd diftances to cringe, not fight. 945 To whom the warrior angel foon reply'd: To fay and ftrait unfay, pretending firft. Wife to fly pain, profeffing next the spy, Argues no leader, but a liar trac'd, Satan; and couldft thou faithful add? O name, 950 O facred name of faithfulness profan'd! Faithful to whom? to thy rebellious crew? Army of fiends; fit body to fit head. Was this your discipline, and faith engag'd, Once fawn'd, and cring'd, and fervilely ador'd... 9555 Heav'n's awful Monarch? wherefore, but in hope 960 To difpoffefs him, and thyfelf to reign? But mark what I arreed thee now: Avant! 965 So threaten'd he; but Satan to no threats 970 975 From my prevailing arm; though heav'n's King Like Teneriff or Atlas unremov❜d: 980 98 L. 980. —As thick as when a field, &c.] It is familiar with the poets to compare an army with their fpears and fwords, to a field of standing corn. Homer has a fimile much of the fame nature, comparing the motions of the army, after Agamemnon's speech, the waving of the ears of corn. Iliad II. 147. Newton. to L. 987. Like Teneriff or Atlas unremov'd.] Mr. Hume fays, that the Peak of Teneriff is 15 miles high; and Mr. Richardson afferts, that it is 45 miles perpendicular, if that be not a false print, 45 for 15: But the utmost that we can suppose, is, that it is 15 miles from the very first afcent of the hill, till you come through the various turnings and windings to the top of all; for I have been affured from His ftature reach'd the fky, and on his creft What seem'd both fpear and fhield. Now dreadful deeds In this commotion, but the starry cope Of heav'n perhaps, or all the elements, At least had gone to wrack, difturb'd and torn 991 9955 10009 1005; Satan, I know thy ftrength, and thou know'ft mine ;; Neither our own, but given: what folly then To boaft 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, 1010 [weak, Where thou art weigh'd, and' fhown how light, how Murm'ring, and with him fled the shades of night. 1015. a gentleman who measured it, that the perpendicular height of it is no more than one mile and three quarters. Newton. L. 996. Th' Eterual, to prevent fuch horrid fray.] The breaking off the combat between Gabriel and Satan, by the hanging out of the golden fcales in heaven, is a refinement upon Homer's thought, who tells us, that before the battle between Hector and Achilles, Jupiter weighed the event of it in a pair of fcales. The reader may fee the whole paffage in the 22d. Iliad. Addifen. L. 998. Aftrea.] Lat. i. c. aftar. The daughter of Jupiter and Themis, and goddess of justice. End of Book FOURTH. |