The Exaltation of Man"Thou shalt not yet man beholdO'er thee exalted, son that thou shalt fallUpon thy knees, and there, abased, adore,With drooping eyes his lofty eminence."
Lucifer:Indeed, thou sayest well:It is not meet for Dominations grave,Powers well-disposed in state, thus to give upSo loosely their established rights; and sinceThe Supreme Power is by His laws most bound.100To change becomes Him least. Am I a sonOf Light, a ruler of the light, my placeI shall maintain, to no usurper bow,Not even this Arch-usurper. Let all yieldWho will, not one foot shall I e'er retreat.Here is my Fatherland. Nor hardships direNor yet disaster nor anathemasShall me intimidate, or tame. To die,Or to gain port around this dreadful cape,This is my destiny. Doth fate decree110That I must fall, of rank and honors shorn,Then let me fall; but fall with this my crownUpon my brow, this sceptre in my grasp,With my own retinue of faithful troops,And with these many thousands on my side.Aye, thus to fall brings honor and shall shedUnfading glory on my name: besides,To be the first prince in some lower courtIs better than within the Blessed LightTo be the second, or even less. 'Tis thus120I weigh the stroke, nor harm nor hindrance fear.But here, hardby, comes Heaven's InterpreterAnd Herald vigilant, with God's own bookOf mysteries, committed to his care.Most opportune for us his coming hither;For I would question him. I shall accostHim then, and from my chariot descend.GABRIEL. LUCIFER.Gabriel:Lord Stadtholder, how? Whither bound?Lucifer:To thee,O Herald and Interpreter of Heaven.Gabriel:Methinks I read thy purpose on thy brow.130Lucifer:Thou who canst fathom and who canst reveal,Through the deep-searching light of thy mind's eye,The shadowy mysteries of God, relieveMe with thy coming.Gabriel:What doth burden thee?Lucifer:The late decision of the ruling Powers,The new decree made by the Godhead, whoEsteems celestial joys as of less worthThan earthly elements, oppresses Heaven,Even from the low abyss the Earth exaltsAbove the stars, sets man high in the seat140Of the Angels, whom, shorn of primordial powers,He then commands for human happinessTo sweat and slave. The Spirits once consecrateTo service in empyreal palacesShall serve an Earth-worm that from out the dustHath crawled and grown; and on his bidding wait,And see him them excel in rank and numbers.Why doth the endless Mercy us degradeSo soon? What Angel hath forgot to renderDue reverence? How could the Deity150Mingle with base mankind and thus pass byThe nature of His chosen Angels here,While His own nature and His Being He poursInto a body?—thus eternityUnite with its beginning, time, and whatIs highest to what is lowest of the low?—The great Creator to His creature bind?Who can the import glean of this decree?Shall now eternity's bright, quenchless sunSet in the gathering darkness of the world?160Shall we, the Stadtholder of God, thus kneelBefore this shadow power, this puny lord;And see the countless hosts of souls divineAnd incorporeal bow themselves beforeA gross and sluggish element uponWhich God hath stamped His Being and majesty?We Spirits are yet too gross to comprehendThis mystery. Thou, who the key dost guardOf God's rich treasure-house of mysteries,Unlock, if so thou mayest, this secret dark170From out thy sealèd book: unfold to usThe will of Heaven.Gabriel:As much as is to usPermitted to unfold out of God's book:Much knowledge doth not profit one alway;Indeed, may damage bring. The Sovran PowerRevealeth only what He deems most fit.The inner light blinds even Seraphim.The spotless Wisdom would, in part, her willConceal, in part would it disclose. HimselfE'er to submit and to conform unto180A well-established law, this best becomesThe subject, who unto his master's willAnd charge stands bound. The reason why the Lord(Which secret we shall know, when first shall passA lineage of Earth-born generations)Who, in the course of time, both God and manBecome, shall reign,—shall sceptre sway, and rule,Afar and wide, the stars, the sea, the EarthAnd all that live, the Heavens conceal from thee:Time shall divulge the cause. God's trumpet heed:190His will thou now hast heard.Lucifer:Shall then on highA worm, an alien, wield the greatest power?Must they who native are to Heaven thus yieldTo foreign rule? Shall man then found a throneEven o'er the Throne of God?Gabriel:Content thee withThy lot, the rank and state and worthinessOnce granted thee by God. For thee He madeThe head of all the Hierarchies, though notTo envy others' glory or renown.Rebellion flattens both her crown and head,200Whene'er she rears her crest 'gainst God's commands.Thy splendor owes its lustre to God's powerAlone.Lucifer:Till now my crown hath bowed to noneBut God.Gabriel:Then also bow before this lastDecree of God, who leadeth all that haveTheir being from naught, yea, all that e'er shall live,Unto their end and certain destiny,Though we may fail to comprehend His plan.Lucifer:Thus to see man into the light of GodExalted, to behold him deified210With God on His high Throne, to see towards himThe censers swinging 'mid the joyous tonesOf thousand thousand holy choristers,With one voice pealing symphonies of praise—Such grandeur doth bedim the lofty splendors,And diamond rays of our own morning-star,That dazzles then no more, while Heaven's joyShall pine in grief away.Gabriel:The highest blissAlone in calm contentment can be foundAnd in agreement with God's will, in full220Compliance with His law.Lucifer:The majestyOf God and of the Godhead is debased,If with the blood of man his nature everUnites, combines, or otherwise is bound.We Spirits to God and His deep nature comeFar closer, as children from one father sprung;And are like Him, if unto us it beAllowed to bring in such similitudeThis inequality of endless powersWith those determinate, of definite might230With might indefinite. Should once the sunErr from his orbit's path, and veil himselfBehind a mist, to light the globe of EarthThrough clouds of smoke and darkling damps, how soonThe joys of Earth would die! How would the raceBelow then want all light and life! How tooThe sun would lack his dazzling majesty,Circling his daily round! I see the skiesPiled up with gloom, the stars confused with fright.Disorders fell and chaos, where now law240And order reign, should once the fount of lightPlunge with its splendors into some dark fen.Think not too harshly then, I do beseechThee, Gabriel, if now thy trumpet's voice,The new-made law given by the High Command,I do resist, or seemingly oppose.We strive for God's own honor, yea, to giveTo God His Right, should I become thus daringAnd wander far beyond the narrow pathOf my obedience.Gabriel:Thou art, indeed,250Most zealous for the glory of God's name;Though truly without weighing well that God,The point wherein His majesty doth lie,Far better knows than we. Cease therefore nowThis inquisition. For when God as manShall have become, He shall this book of HisOwn mysteries, now sealed with seven seals.Himself unseal. To taste the kern withinIs not for thee; thou seest the shell alone.Then of this long concealment we shall learn260The cause and hidden reason, all the whileDeep-gazing; in the unveiled Holy of Holies.It now behooves us ever to obeyAnd to revere this rising dawn, to useOur light with thankfulness until the timeWhen knowledge in her power shall drive all doubtAway, even as the sun the night. Now learnWe gradually, with modest reverence,God's Wisdom to approach. And this to usReveals, by slow degrees, the light of truth270And knowledge, and requires that, on his watch,Each shall submit himself to reason's rule,Lord Stadtholder, be calm. Be foremost, thou,Now to maintain the law. God sends me hence.I must away.Lucifer:I shall observe it well!BELZEBUB. LUCIFER.Belzebub:The Stadtholder now hears the meaning ofThis proclamation grave so proudly blownBy Gabriel's trumpet bold. How well he showedThee God's design! whose purpose thou may'st scent:Thus shall he clip the wings of thy great power.280
"But here hardby comes Heaven's interpreter.""But here hardby comes Heaven's interpreter."
Lucifer:But not so easily: Ah! nay, forsooth;I shall have care this purpose to prevent.Let not a power inferior thus dreamTo rule the Powers above.Belzebub:He maketh threatForthwith to crush Rebellion's head and crown.Lucifer:Now swear I by my crown, upon this chanceTo venture all, to raise my seat amidThe firmament, the spheres, the splendor ofThe stars above. The Heaven of Heavens shall thenMy palace be, the rainbow be my throne,290The starry vast, my court, while, down beneath,The Earth shall be my footstool and support.I shall, then swiftly drawn through air and light,High-seated on a chariot of cloud,With lightning stroke and thunder grind to dustWhate'er above, around, below, doth usOppose, were it God's Marshal grand himself.Yea, e'er we yield, these empyrean vaults.Proud in their towering masonry, shall burstWith all their airy arches and dissolve300Before our eyes: this huge and joint-racked Earth,Like a misshapen monster, lifeless lie;This wondrous universe to chaos fall.And to its primal desolation change.Who dares, who dares defy great Lucifer?We cite Apollion.Belzebub:He is at hand.APOLLION. LUCIFER. BELZEBUB.Apollion:O Stadtholder of God's unbounded Realm,And Oracle within the Council ofThe Gods subordinate, I offer theeMy service and await thy new commands.310What now the word—what of thy subject wouldThy Majesty?Lucifer:It pleaseth us to hearThy sense and thy opinion of a graveAnd weighty plan that cannot fail to win.Tis our intent to pluck the proudest plumeFrom Michael's wings, that our attempt uponHis mightiness shall not rebound as vain.With his own arm as many oraclesHe founds, as ever God Himself hath hewnFrom deathless diamond with His hand. Behold320Now man exalted to the Heaven of Heavens,Through all the circles of the spheres, then seeThe Spirit world, so deep, so far below,Even 'neath his footcloth there, like feeble wormsAlready crawling in the dust. I joyTo storm this throne with violence, and thusTo hazard by one strong, opposing strokeThe glory of my state and star and crown.Apollion:An undertaking truly to be praised!May it augment your crown and increase gain,330Based on such resolution: so I deemIt honors me thus to advise, 'neath thee,The prosecution of a cause so bold.Let this result for better or for worse,The will is noble, even though it fail.But lest we strive in vain and recklessly,How best shall we begin so bold a plan?How safest meet the point of that resolve?Lucifer:We subtly shall oppose our own resolve.Apollion:Sooth, there is pith in that. But what, pray, is340Our borrowed might, weighed in the scale againstThe Power Omnipotent? Guard well thy crown;For we fall far too light.Belzebub:Yet not so light,But that the matter first shall hang in doubt.Apollion:By whom or how or where this plot begun?Even such intent is treason 'gainst God's Throne.Lucifer:His Throne we'll not disturb; but cautiouslyMount up the steep incline, and those high peaks,Ne'er blazed by path and ne'er ascended, climb.Courage and prudence must, at length, o'ercome350And dare all dangers brave.Apollion:But not the PowerOmnipotent, nor yet His crown: approachThou not too near, or learn in sorrow thatRepentance comes too late. The lesser shouldSubmissively unto the greater yield.Lucifer:The great Omnipotent is far beyondOur aim. Set forces like with like together.Then learn whose sword is weightiest. I seeOur enemies in flight, the Heavens all oursBy one courageous stroke; our legions, too,360O'erladen with the spoil and glorious plunder.Then let us further now deliberate.Apollion.Thou know'st what Michael, God's Field-marshal may:'Neath his command are all God's legions placed.He bears the key of the armoury here on high.To him the watch is trusted, and he keepsA faithful, sleepless eye on all the camps;So that of all the galaxies of HeavenNot even one star, in its celestial march,Dare move itself the least, nor stir without370Its ranks. 'Tis easy to commence; but inSuch warfare to engage exceeds our might,And drags a train of hardships in its wake."What ordnance and what martial engineryCould e'er avail his legions proud to quell?Should Heaven's castle ope its diamond port,Nor stratagem, nor ambush, nor assaultCould bring it fear.Belzebub:But if our bold resolveWe strengthen with the sword, I see uponOur standard, raised aloft, the morning-star380Defiance flashing till all Heaven's stateAnd rulership is changed.Apollion:The Fieldmarshal,The valiant Michael, bears with no less fireAnd pride God's wondrous name amid the fieldOf his great banner, with the sun above.Lucifer:Though writ in lines of light, what boots a name?Heroic deeds, as this, are ne'er achievedWith titles, nor with pomp; not by valor, spirit.And subtle strokes in skill and cunning bred.Thou art a master-wit with craftiness390The Spirits to seduce, them to ensnare,To lead and to incite howe'er thou wilt.Thou canst attaint even those among the watchOf most integrity, and teach even thoseTo waver who had thought to waver never.Begin, we see God's legions in two campsDivided, lords and vassals roused to strifeAnd mutiny. The greatest part even nowAre blind and deaf, save to their own demands;And one and all cry loudly for a chief.400If thou for us a fourth part canst allure,"We'll crown thy craft and dexterous managementWith place and honor. Go, this plot considerWith Belial, for it must be dark indeed,Where he shall lose his way. His countenance,Smooth-varnished with dissimulation's hue,No master in such deep concealment owns.My car I now ascend: think ye this over.The Council hath convened, and now awaitsOur own attendance. We shall call you both410Within, as soon as ye shall come. And thou,Chief Lord, guard with thy trusty followersThis mighty gate that to the palace leads.BELIAL. APOLLION.Belial:God's Stadtholder doth serve himself with usOn high.Apollion:We fly together from his bowLike speeding arrows.Belial:And both aimèd areEven at one mark, though perilous to reach.Apollion:Ere long the Heavens shall crack 'neath our tempt.Belial:Let crack what will, the matter must proceed.Apollion:How then this cause to best advantage grasp?420Belial:The weapons favor us: we first must gainThe guard.Apollion:The chieftains first, and with them weThe bravest troops must then succeed in winning.Belial:Through something specious, 'neath some seeming 'guised.Apollion:Name thou this thing. Come, say what thou shalt call it.Belial:Our Angel Realm must be maintained, its state,Its honor, and its privilege, so chooseA chief, on whom each can reliance place.Apollion:Thou comprehendest well: no better causeI wish as seed for mutiny, to set430The court against its subjects, throng 'gainst throng.For each among us is inclined to guardThat honor, rank, and lawful privilegeUnto him given by the OmnipotentEre He created man, an after-thought.The celestial palace is our heritage.To the Spirits, who above float on their wings,Who, incorporeal, therefore, ne'er can sink,This place is more adapt than to the raceOf Earth, too sluggish far to choose against440Their nature these clear bows. Here shines the dayToo bright, too strong. Their eyes cannot endureThat splendid light, upon whose glow we gaze.Then let man keep in his native element,As other creatures do. Let him sufficeThe bounds of his terrestrial Paradise,Where the rising and the setting of the sunAnd moon divide the months and form the year.Let him observe, in their wide-circling round,The crystal spheres. Let Eden's pleasant fruits450Content him, and its flowers that breathe perfume.To range from East to West, from North to South:Let this his pastime be. What needs he more?We'll ne'er bring homage to an earthly lord.Thus I resolve. Canst thou more briefly yetThis meaning state?Belial:For all eternity,Mankind to lock without the gate of Heaven.Apollion:That tinkles well in the Angelic ear.That flashes like a flame from choir to choirThrough Orders nine and all the Hierarchies.460Belial:So shall we best a pining slowness feign;Though all our bliss and our deliveranceOn speed and expedition hang.Apollion:Not lessOn dexterous management depends, nor lessOn courage and on bravery.Belial:That shallIncrease, as countless bannered bands accede.Apollion:They even now are murmuring: then weShould act with secrecy, share in their hopes,And nourish their complaints.Belial:And then it wereMost opportune that Belzebub, a chief470Of power and eminence, should tender themHis seal, to force their vested Rights and gainRedress of grievances.Apollion:Not all at once,But gradually, as if by by-paths won.Belial:Then let the Stadtholder himself approach,And in support of such a proud resolveOffer his mighty arm.Apollion:We soon shall hear,When in the Council, his opinionAnd his intent: then let him for a whileHis thoughts dissemble and, at last, spur on480The maddened throng, embarrassed for a head.Belial:Upon the head depends the whole affair.Whatever thy promises, without a chiefThey'll ne'er commence so hazardous a cause.Apollion:What hath been wonk no need to win again!Who most hath lost in glory and in state,Him doth it most concern. Let him precede,And beat the measure for a myriad feet.Belial:Both equity and reason would demandHe wear the crown; though, ere we deeper go,490Let us all dangers weigh and nothing doUnless all Councillors affix their seals.Chorus of Angels:Strophe.How glares the noble front of Heaven!Why streams the holy light so redUpon our face, overspreadWith mournful mists from darkness driven?What sad cloud hath profanedThat pure and never-stainedClear sapphire, wondrous bright.The fire, the flame, the light500Of the resplendent Power,Omnipotence? Why doth that glowOf God as black as blood thus growThat in our aery bowerSo pleased our eyes? O Angels, sayThe cause of this deep gloom now dimmingYour radiance? O'er Adam's swayOn choral raptures ye were swimming,On Spirit breath, amid a glowThat vault and choir and court below510And towers and battlements o'erfloodedWith showers of gold, while joys uncloudedSmiled from the brows of all that live:Who is it can the reason give?Chorus of Angels.Antistrophe.When Gabriel's trumpet, richly sounding,Inflamed our souls till a new songOf praise burst forth amongThose dales, with roses fair abounding,'Mid the celestial bowersOf Paradise, whose flowers520Did ope, joyed by such dewOf praise, then upwards throughThe vast seemed Envy stealing.A countless host of Spirits dumb.And wan and pale and sad and grum,In crowds, dire woe revealing,Crept slowly past, with drooping eye,And forehead smooth now frowning rimple.The doves of Heaven here on high,Once innocent and pure and simple,530Began to sigh, and seemed to grieveAs if e'en Heaven they did believeToo small since Adam was created,And man for such a crown was fated.This stain offends the Eye of Light:It flames the face of the Infinite.In love we would yet mingle in their ranks:Again to calm this restless discontent.538
LUCIFERIANS. CHORUS OF ANGELS.Luciferians:How oft belief proves but delusive hope!Alas! how things have changed. We deemed no rankThan ours more happy in this rising Realm,—Yea, thought our state even like unto God's own,More blessed than Earth and e'er unchangeable.—Till Gabriel met us with his trumpet bold,And from the golden port the hosts astoundedWith this new-made decree, that shall depriveThe Angels of the good, the highest good,First from the Godhead's breast to them outpoured.10How is our glory dimmed! We now beholdThe beauty and the dazzling radianceThat streamed so proudly from our ancient splendorIn darkness quenched. We see the HierarchiesOf Heaven thrown into confusion strange,And man to such a rank, to such proud heightExalted, that we tremble even as slavesBeneath his sway. O unexpected blowAnd change of lot! Ah! comrades in one grief.Ah! come and gather round in groups and sigh20And weep with us together here. Tis timeTo rend this shining raiment, meet for feasts,To voice our plaints; for none can this forbid.Our gladness fades and our first sorrow dawns.Alas! alas! ye choristers of Heaven,O brothers, tear those garlands from your browsAnd change the blithesome livery of joyFor sorrow's gruesome garb. Oh! droop your eyes.Seek shadows even as we; for sorrow shunsThe light. Let each one raise his voice to ours30And utter fearful plaints. Drown in your grief;Sink down in mournful thought. To voice your woe,The burdened heart relieves. Now joy to groan:For groaning heals the smart. Now shout aloud,As with one voice, and follow these our woes:Alas! alas! where is our bliss departed?Chorus of Angels.What plaint arises here, unpleasant sound?The Heavens shrink back in fright. This air on highHath not been wont to hear the wail of woeOn sad notes sobbing through these joyful vaults.40Nay, wreaths and palms and loud triumphal songAnd tuneful harps are far more meet for us.What can this be? Who crouches here with headDown-hanging, sad, forlorn, and needlesslyOppressed? Who gave them food for grief? Who canThe reason guess? O fellow choristers,Come then, 'tis needful that we ask the causeOf their lament and this dark cloud of woe,That robs our splendor of its radianceAnd dims and dulls the bright translucent glow50Of the eternal feast. Heaven is a courtWhere joy and peace and all delights abound.Grief never nestled 'neath these lucid eaves,Nor woeful pain. Ah! fellow choristers.Oh! come, console them in their heaviness.Luciferian:Alas! alas! where is our bliss departed?Chorus:Companions dear in our high happiness.Oh! brothers, why? Oh! sons of the glad Light,Why thus depressed at heart? Who gave you causeThus to complain and thus to mourn? Ye had60Begun to lift your heads aloft to Heaven,To bloom amid the day, whose lustre streamsFrom God's deep glow. The Heavens brought you forthTo mount in rapid flight from firmamentTo firmament beyond, from court to court;To flit amid the shadeless light content,In one delightful life, an endless feast;And e'er to taste the heavenly manna sweetOf God's eternity, among your friendsIn peaceful joys. Oh! why? This is not meet70For dwellers of the Spirit world. Oh! nay.Nor meet for Dominations, Powers, and Thrones,Nor for the ruling Heavens. Ye gorge your grief,And sit perplexed and dumb. Give voice to yourNecessity: reveal it to your friends.Reveal your heart-sore, that we may relieve.
"Alas! alas! where is our bliss departed?""Alas! alas! where is our bliss departed?"
Luciferians:O brothers, can ye ask with earnestnessWhy we thus grieve? Did ye also not hearWhat Gabriel's trump revealed: how we through thisNew-given command, down from our state are thrust80Into a slavery of Earth and ofAs many souls as from a little bloodAnd seed may haply spring? What have we doneAmiss? how erred, that God a water-bubble,Blown full of vapid air, exalts. His sons,The Angels, to abase?—a bastardyExalts, formed out of clay and dust? But nowWe stood as trusty pillars, consecrateUnto His court, adorned our various placeAs faithful members of His Realm; and now,90In one brief hour, we are expelled and shornOf all our dignity,—oppressed, alas!Too sternly and with too much heaviness.The charter and the primal privilegeReceived from God are now by Him repealed.And there where we had thought to rule with GodAnd under God, shall now this Adam reign,Triumphant in his seed and blood forever.The sun of Spirits hath set for them too soon.Ah I comrades, hear our sorrow and our woes.100Alas! alas! where is our bliss departed?Chorus:And doth the charge that Gabriel brought from GodYou thus disturb? This but a frenzy seems.Who dares to reprehend the high command?Who so presumptuous himself againstThe Godhead to oppose? To give to GodHis honor and His Right, to rest uponHis law, this is our bounden charge. Who daresTo enter here with God's OmnipotenceIn such dispute? His word and nod and will110Serve as our law and pace and precept firm.Who contradiction breathes doth break the sealOf the Most High. Obedience doth pleaseThe Ruler of this Realm far more than smellOf incense or divinest harmonies.Ye are (oh! be ye not so vain, we pray,Of boasted lineage) created moreFor such subjection than for rulership.O brothers, cease this wailing and lament.And bow beneath the yoke of the Power Supreme.120Luciferians:Say rather 'neath the yoke of swarming ants.Chorus:Whene'er it pleases Him, ye should submit.Luciferians:What have we done amiss? The reasons tell.Chorus:Amiss? Impatience doth God's crown offend.Luciferians:Through sorrow we complain, through discontent.Chorus:Ye should instead your will resign to God.Luciferians:We rest upon the Rights given us by law.Chorus:Subject to God your Rights and law remain.Luciferians:How can the greater to the lesser yield?Chorus:Who is resigned—to serve God is to rule.130Luciferians:Most freely, let but man rule there below.Chorus:Though small his lot, man lives in sweet content.Luciferians:But man is destined for a higher lot.Chorus:Ages shall come and go ere this shall be.Luciferians:An age below is but an instant here.Chorus:Thus be it, if it be command supreme.Luciferians:Far better were this mystery ne'er disclosed.Chorus:God in His kindness thus reveals His heart.Luciferians:Yet kinder towards mankind, now placed above.Chorus:Allied with God's own nature, wonderful!140Luciferians:O Angels, would that God did pair with you!Chorus:What pleases God is ever rightly praised.Luciferians:How could He thus exalt mankind so high?Chorus:Whatever God does, or yet may do, is well.Luciferians:How man shall dim the crown the Angels wear!Chorus:All Angels shall the God incarnate praise.Luciferians:And worship clay and dust down in the dust?Chorus:And praise God's name with odors and with song.Luciferians:And praise mankind, constrained by higher Powers?APOLLION. BELIAL. CHORUS.Apollion:What murmur this? Dost hear a strife of tongues?150Belial:What throngs lament here, plunged in sable hue.With veils girt round the breast and loins? None wouldBelieve that one among the Spirits, amidThe joys unending and the feast eterne,Could mourn, did we not see this wretched throngCast down in woeful grief. What great misfortune,What dire disaster them disturbs? Oh! how?O brothers, what doth cause this sad lament?Who hath offended you? Your Rights we'll guard.O brothers, speak. Why miserable? the cause?160Chorus:They make complaint of man's approaching stateAnd triumph, as proclaimed by Gabriel's trumpet;That he outranks the Angels and that GodShall join His Being to Adam's—all the SpiritsThus made subordinate unto man's sway.This briefly, clearly, states their sorrow's cause.Apollion:'Tis hard such inequality to bear.Belial:It almost goes beyond our utmost strength.Chorus:We pray your aid this difference to compose.Apollion:What remedy? How can we them appease?170They rest secure upon their lawful Rights.Chorus:What Rights? The same power that ordaineth lawsHath might to abrogate those laws as well.Apollion:How thus can Justice unjust verdicts speak?Chorus:Correct God's verdicts, thou! Write thou His laws!Belial:The child doth follow in his father's steps.Chorus:To walk where He hath trod is Him to heed.Apollion:The change in God's own will doth cause this strife.Chorus:While one He setteth on a throne. He castsAnother down: the one least worthy must180Unto the son more favored then submit.Belial:Equality of grace would best becomeThe Godhead. Now the darkness dares to dimThe light celestial, while the sons of nightDefy the day itself.Chorus:Whatever doth breatheMay rightly the Creator praises bring,Who each his being gave and unto eachGave his degree. Whene'er it pleaseth Him,The element of earth shall change to air,To water, or to fire; the Heaven itself,190To Earth; an Angel, to a beast; mankind,To Angels or to something new and strange.One Power rules over all, and thus can makeThe proudest tower become the humblest base.The least received is in pure money given.Here is no choice. Here wit and knowledge fail.In such unlikeness doth God's glory lie.So see we with things lightest weighed those thingsOf greatest weight, which thus e'en heavier grow:Thus beauty fairer glows o'er beauty glossed,200Hue cast o'er hue, the diamond splendor overThe blue turquoise; so see 'gainst odors odors,The light intense against the glimmer dim,The galaxies unto the stars opposed.Our place within the universal planThus to disturb, into confusion allThings throwing that once God did there disposeAnd place; and all the creature may arrange:This is mis-shapen to the inmost joint.Cease, then, this murmuring. The Godhead can210The state of Angels miss; nor aided isBy others' service; for the glorious RealmEterne nor music needs, nor incense, norThese odors swung, nor harmonies of praise.Ungrateful Spirits, be still: your base tongues curb.Ye know not God's design. Be ye contentWith your established lot, and unto GodAnd Gabriel's decree yourselves submit.Apollion:Is then the high state of the ruling SpiritsSo changeable? They stand on slippery ground,220How pitiable their lot! how miserable!Chorus:Because a lesser in this Realm shall reign?We shall remain as now: how are we wronged?Belial:They are the nighest God, their refuge sureAnd Father: they upon His breast have lain:Now lies a lesser one more close than they.Chorus:For one to grieve o'er others' bliss shows lackOf love, and scents of envy and of pride.Let not this stain upon the purityAnd brightness of the Angels thus remain.230To strive in concord, love, and faithfulness.The one against the other here, doth pleaseThe Father, who all things in ranks ordained.Belial:So they maintain the rank the Heavens them gave;But hardly can endure man's slave to be.Chorus:That's disobedience, and from their rankThey thus shall fall away. Thou seest how, too,The hosts of Heaven, in golden armor cladAnd in appointed ranks arrayed, keep watch,Each in his turn; how this star sets and that240Ascends; and how not one of all on highThe lustre dulls of others there more clear,Nor yet of those more dim; how some stars, too,A greater, others lesser orbits trace:Those nearest to Heaven most swift and those beyondMore slowly turn: yet midst this all, amongThese inequalities of light, degree,And rank, of orbit, kind, and pace, thou seestNo discord, envy, strife. The Voice of HimWho ruleth all this measured cadence leads,250That listens and Him faithfully obeys.Belial:The firmament remains, as God decreed.Had it not pleased Him thus to disarrangeThe state of Angels, they would not, as now,Awake the stars from their harmonious peace,Nor thus disturb with plaints these quiet courts,Chorus:Beware lest thou this discontent shouldst flame.Apollion:We would this low'ring cloud might leave our skyBefore it bursts and sets the vast expanseOf Heaven in flames. They grow in numbers.Who260Shall them appease? Who cometh hitherward?LUCIFERIANS. BELZEBUB. CHORUS.Luciferians:Alas! alas! where is our bliss departed?Belzebub:All goeth well: we gain increase. In griefThe Angels now assemble, and in woeTheir heads they droop together. What doth moveYou. Angel hosts, with sighs and groans to mourn?Can, then, the bloom of happiness thus fade?In peace all to possess that Spirit can wishFrom God, the Giver—doth even this contentYou not? Ye therefore stand in your own light.270And cherish mournfulness, whose cause I canNor fathom nor discern. Come, cease your groans,Nor longer tear your standards and your robesWithout a cause; but clear your clouded faceAnd darkened forehead with new radiance,O children of the Light! The voices shrill.Whose deep-resounding songs the Godhead praise,Grow faint, displeased that ye should mingle withTheir godlike melody such spurious soundsAnd bastard tones. Your bitter moan doth mar280The rhythm of the celestial palace tillThese vaults re-echo with your woe. The wailOf sorrow through the highest arches rolls.From sphere to sphere: nor without crime can yeBy such sad discord thus the growth disturbOf God's great name and glorious majesty.Luciferians:Chief Lord, whose potent word unnumbered bandsWould call to arms, thou comest most opportuneTo soothe our misery and to preventBy thy great power this threatened injury290And undeserved disgrace. Shall GabrielThe sacred crown of the holy Angels placeOn Adam's head: through Adam's son and heirCrush God's first-born? 'Twere better far had weNot been made ere the splendor-dazzling sunHis chariot mounted and in Heaven shone.The Godhead chose in vain the Spirits as guardsOf these immobile courts, if thus He shall.Against their vested Rights, Himself oppose;Who guiltless to resistance are provoked300By dire impatience and necessity.We were rejoicing here, enraptured withThe praise to God outpoured, were bowing lowIn deep humility, and worshipping'Mid burning censers with devotion flamed:—All-quivering with the rippling notes, the Heavens,From choir to choir, unto the sound gave ear—Yea, melted slowly in delicious joy,With song and harp enchanted—when the trumpOf Gabriel 'mid the rising harmony310Blew that decree, and midst the glory fellThis sudden thunderbolt of night. There layWe all amazed, dispersed, with gloom depressed.The gladness died away. Hushed were the throatsPregnant with praise. The youngest son was givenThe crown, the sceptre, and the blessing, whileThe eldest-born, thus disinherited,By Majesty Supreme, marked as a slaveRemains. That is the part obedience,Devotion, love, and faithfulness receive320From God's rich treasury, that mourning brings;That wrath enkindles, and thoughts of revenge,Grown out of righteous hate, to smother inHis blood this upstart man, ere he shall crushThe Angels in their state; and they be forced,As base and craven slaves, with fetters bound,To run before his lash and at his will,Even as he keeps the beasts beneath in awe.Chief Lord, thou canst prevent our fall, and byOur charter yet preserve our Rights: protect330Us by thy power. We are prepared even nowTo follow 'neath thy standard and command,To be thy troops. Lead on. 'Tis gloriousTo battle for one's honor, crown, and Right.Belzebub:Methinks that thou art wrong. O King of Lords,'Twere better to avert this. Give no causeFor mutiny or discord: give no causeWhereby Rebellion grows. What remedy?How reconcile you with the MajestySupreme?Luciferians:He doth transgress the holy Right340Once to the Angels given.Belzebub:The lawful RightsOf subjects to transgress can them inflame,And fires enkindle that the very airWould soon consume. How poor a recompenseFor stainless faith! How shall we best conductOurselves amid this mournful hopelessness?Luciferians:'Twill comfort us one bold attempt to make.Belzebub:What venture this? Adopt a softer pace.Luciferians:This violence needs, compulsion, and revenge.Belzebub:We might, mayhap, a safer method choose.350Luciferians:Delay would bring us here not gain, but loss.Belzebub:One should his wrong with reason understand.Luciferians:Reason doth publish here: we are oppressed.Belzebub:With prayers ye first and best might gain your end.Luciferians:This plot to bare would foil its execution.Belzebub:Scarce can such plot be hidden from the light.Luciferians:We're gaining fast, and stand in equipoise.Belzebub:Their chance is best who with God's Marshal fight.Luciferians:This can be righted ne'er by fright nor moan.Belzebub:But what say Belial and Apollion?360Luciferians:Both are with us, and strengthen our array.Belzebub:How gained ye them? 'Tis far, indeed, progressed.Luciferians:The Heavens flow toward us now with teeming floods.Belzebub:Trust not in armies formed of wavering throngs.Luciferians:Even now advantage towers, and danger flees.Belzebub:Who rashly dares should not advantage claim.Luciferians:All on the issue hangs. Before the eventAll judgment errs. The gathered hosts demandThee as their leader and their sovran chiefIn this our expedition.Belzebub:But who could370Be so bereft of wit as to defendYour righteous cause, and by such course provokeThe battled hosts of Heaven? Aye, to yourselvesBe ye more merciful. Exempt me fromThis charge. I choose to hold a neutral place.Deliberation will yet make things right.Chorus:O! brothers, hear. Through mediators takeUnto God's Throne your supplications sad.More ground is won by mediation thanRebellion's steep ascent. With coolness act:380With reason and deliberation weigh.We will on high your Rights defend. Be calmYe offend the crown of God, the Lord of Lords.Luciferians:And ye, our vested Right: be ye less bold.Lord Belzebub, advance our lawful claim.Place all the legions now in battle line.We'll follow thee together.Belzebub:Stay, O think,Ye flaming zealots, think, I pray you, farther.I will precede you to the palace grand,Unto the Throne, and there our Rights obtain390Through peaceful means and mutual covenants,Made voluntarily and uncompelled.Chorus:Be still! be still! thou art by Michael spied.