"Be still! Be still! thou art by Michael spied!""Be still! Be still! thou art by Michael spied!"
MICHAEL. BELZEBUB. LUCIFERIANS.Michael:Where are we? What great noise arises here?This seems a court of tumult and dispute,Instead of peace, obedience, and faith.Prince Belzebub, what reasons move thee thus,Head of rebellious hordes, to aid a causeSo pregnant with such godless treachery,Against that God the refuge of us all?400Belzebub:Mercy, O Michael! Deem us worthy wordsExplanatory, ere in zealous wrathThou dost thy sentence for God's honor pass.Impute to us no guilt.Michael:Your innocenceEstablish. I shall patiently attend.Belzebub:The assemblage of so many thousand troops,Disturbed by God's command, through Gabriel's trumpetFrom out the Throne of Thrones proclaimed, demandsSome mediation that shall quench this flame;Wherefore I came to gain a better sense410Of the ground of their complaints, to quell as bestI could this mutiny. But they beganWith frantic haste and raving recklessnessTo force their clamorous claims upon me. IThen made attempt their forces to disperse(Let to my faith these faithful choristersTheir witness bear), to counsel that they pourTheir grievances before God's Throne; but 'midThis tumult and this clamor, vain my zeal,As if to calm a sea swollen to the skies.420Let now the Field-marshal lead on; we arePrepared to follow, if he see a wayTo smooth this difference.Michael:Who dares opposeHimself to God and His most holy will?And who so bold these warlike banners thusTo plant within the virgin Realm of peace?If ye through envoys wish to treat on high,For your defence, we will your cause assumeAnd mediate with God that He forgive:Or else beware your heads! This ne'er succeeds.430Luciferians:And wouldst thou then oppress our holy RightBy force of arms? Unto the Field-marshalThey were not given for such purpose dire.We rest alone upon our vested Rights.Most bold and strong is conscious righteousness.Michael:Least righteous he who would rebel 'gainst God.Luciferians:We serve God. He has for His service foundUs ever worthy. Let the Heavens remainIn their first state. Nor let the honored sonsOf the Fatherland celestial thus be placed440Beneath mankind in rank and dignity.For such disgrace the Thrones and Hierarchies,The Powers and Dominations, high and low,Of Spirits, of Angels, and of great Archangels,Shall ne'er endure. Ah! nay, although, forsooth,Thy lightning spear should pierce them, breast on breast,Through their most faithful hearts. From Adam's raceWe never shall such bold defiance brook.Michael:I will that each depart, even as I waveMy hand. He God and Godhead doth oppose.450Who now, forsworn, 'gainst us shall take his stand.Depart unto your posts. That is the dutyOf soldiers and of loyal sons of Heaven.What violence? What impious threat is this?Who wages war, save 'neath my banner bold,Doth fight 'gainst God and doth oppose His Realm.Luciferians:Who wards his Right need fear no violence.Nature made each defender of his Right.Michael:'Tis my command ye lay your weapons down.Such gathering breaks your honor and your oath.460Luciferians:The hosts Angelic are by nature boundIn union strong. They stand or fall together.Not one alone is touched in this dispute,But one and all.Michael:Would ye with weapons thenIn such tumultuousness the Heavens embroil?These were not given you to use 'gainst God.Abuse your power, then fear the Power Supreme.Luciferians:The Stadtholder we hourly here await.In haste he hath been summoned to attend.We'll venture all. 'gainst Gods arraying Gods,470Rather than thus our Rights resign through force.Michael:So great an indiscretion I shall neverFrom Heaven's Stadtholder await.Luciferians:It seemsMore like an indiscretion thus to placeThose older and first born, like servile slaves,Beneath the yoke of him, the youngest-born.But that the Angels now defend their kind,And here against their peers, in rank and stateAnd being, contend, is indiscretion called.Michael:O stiff-necked kind, ye are no longer sons480Of Light; but rather are a bastard race,Which yields not even to God. Ye but provokeThe lightning stroke and wrath implacable.Harden your hearts, lo! what calamityAnd what a fall for you reserved! Ye heedNor counsel nor advice. We'll see what usEnjoined is on high by Voice Supreme.Come, then; I wish now all the choristersAnd hosts yet righteous and yet virtuousTo part, at once, from these rebellious throngs.490Luciferians:Let part who will; but we shall keep together.Michael:Come follow, O ye faithful choristers,God's Field-marshal behind.Luciferians:Depart in peace.BELZEBUB. LUCIFER. LUCIFERIANS.Belzebub:The Field-marshal, in haste, to God hath gone,Bearing complaint. Keep heart: Prince LuciferSpeeds hitherward on winged chariot.Ye should therefore at once deliberate.Helpless the battled host without a chief:As to myself, the post is far too grave.Lucifer:Afar and wide, the Heavens vibrate and shake500With the sound of your disputes. The legions standDivided, split in twain. The tumult winsIncrease. Our great necessity enjoinsMuch prudence here, disaster to prevent.Luciferians:Lord Stadtholder, of all the Spirits brave.Retreat and refuge sure, we hope that thouShalt ne'er, as Michael, doom the neck of the AngelsTo be thrust 'neath the feet of Adam's brood,And then, as he, go gild and bloom this shameAnd insult with the show of equity;510And with thy might sustain the bold ascentOf man, this gross and Earth-born race. To God,By him so seldom seen, what incense brings he?Why stand we charged to serve a worm so base,To bear him on our hands, to heed his voice?Made God the boundless Heavens and Angels thenFor him alone? 'Twere better far had weNever been made, sooth, had we never been.Oh! pity, Lucifer, do not permitOur Order now so low to be abased,520And, guiltless, to decline, while man, thus madeThe Chief of Angels, e'er shall shine and glowAmid the splendor inaccessible,Before which Seraphim as shadows fade,With dreadful trembling. If thou'lt condescendSo great injustice in this Realm to quell,And shalt maintain our Rights, we swear togetherE'er to support thy mighty arm. Then graspThis battle-axe. Help us our Rights to ward.We swear, by force, in majesty undimmed,530To set thee on the Throne for Adam made.We swear with one accord support. Then graspThis battle-axe. Help us our Rights to ward.Lucifer:My sons, upon whose faith and loyaltyNo stain of treason lies, all that God wills,All He demands of us, is right: I knowNo other law; and stay, as StadtholderOf God, His late decree and His resolveWith all my might. This sceptre which I bear,To my right hand the great Omnipotent540Gave, as a mark of mercy and a signOf His love and affection for us all.Doth now His mind and heart to Adam turn,And doth it please Him now to set mankindIn full dominion us above—them overBoth you and me to crown, though in our chargeWe ne'er grew weary, yet what remedy?Who will oppose such resolution here?Had He to Adam given an equal rank,A nature like unto the Angel world,550It were supportable for all the sonsOf Heaven, sprung from God's lineage; now letThem be displeased, if such displeasure beOn high not counted as a stain. However,There is a danger on each side—to yieldThrough fearfulness, or boldly to oppose.I wish that your resentment He forgive.Luciferians:Lord Stadtholder, aye, grasp this battle-axe.Protect our holy Right. We'll follow thee.We'll follow on. Lead thou with speedy wings:560We'll perish, or triumphant overcome.Lucifer:That breaks our oath and Gabriel's command.Luciferians:That violates God's self, sets man above.Lucifer:Let God His honor, Throne, and majestyHimself preserve.Luciferians:Do thou preserve thy throne.As pillars we will stay thee, and the stateOf the Angel world as well. Mankind shall neverOur crown, the crown of God, tread in the dust.Lucifer:Soon shall the Field-marshal, great Michael, armedWith blessings from on high, 'gainst us appear,570With all his host. His army 'gainst your own—How great the difference!Luciferians:If not one half.At least a third part of the Spirits, thouShalt sweep with thee, when thou shalt join our side.Lucifer:Then shall we venture all, our favor lostTo the oppressors of your lawful Right.Luciferians:Courage, hope, insult, sorrow, and despair,Prudence and injury and vengeance forSuch inequality, not otherwiseComposed: all this, and what on this depends,580Shall nerve our arms to strike the blow.Belzebub:Even nowThe Holy Realm is in our power. WhateverMay be resolved, our weapons shall enforce,Our arms shall soon compel. Once place us hereIn battle rank, and they who waver yet,Soon toward our side shall lean.Lucifer:I trust me, then,This violence with violence to oppose.Belzebub:Mount, then, these steps. O bravest of the brave!Lord Stadtholder, we pray, ascend this throne,That thee we now allegiance may swear.590Lucifer:Prince Belzebub, bear witness; also ye,O Lords illustrious; Apollion,Bear witness thou, and thou, Prince Belial bold,That I, constrainèd by necessityAnd by compulsion, shall advance this cause.Thus to defend God's Realm and to ward offOur own impending ruin.Belzebub:Then bring onOur standard, that we may, beneath its folds.Swear God allegiance and our Morning-star.Luciferians:We swear alike by God and Lucifer.600Belzebub:Now bring the censers on, ye faithful hosts.Faithful to God. Praise Lucifer with bowl.Rich with perfume, and flaming candle-sticks:Him glorify with light and glow and torch.Extol him then with poem, music, song.Trumpet and pipe. It doth behoove us nowHim with such pomp and splendor to attend:Raise, then, sonorous lays to his great crown.Chorus of Luciferians:Forward, O ye hosts, Lucifer's minions;Banners wave!610Marshal now your bands, spread your swift pinions—On, ye brave!Follow your God where his drumbeats command.Guard well your Rights and Fatherland.Help him Michael now hurl to confusion,War, your mood!Fighting 'gainst Heaven for Adam's exclusion.And his brood!Follow this hero to trumpet and drum.Protect our crown, whate'er may come.620See, oh! see now the Morning-star shining!In that lightSoon shall our foe's proud flag be decliningInto night!Now in triumph we crown God Lucifer:Come worship him; revere his star.Chorus of Angels:Strophe.What sad surprises waken.Since Heaven's civil warBurst with divisive jar;And blindly hath been taken630The sword for mad attempt!Who 'mong celestial legions.Or wins or falls, exemptFrom grief, to view in the regionsOf joy such misery'Mong their fellows and their brothers:How some, overcome, would flee,While in exile wander others?O sons of God on high,Where errs your destiny?640Antistrophe.Alas! where now those erringSpirits? What sorceryFrom their dear certaintySeduced them, vainly luringThem from their rank and state?Led them to wicked daring?Our bliss became too great,Too wanton for our bearing;E'en Heaven's altitudeThe Angels were outgrowing;650And then came Envy's brood.Seeds of Rebellion sowingIn the peaceful Fatherland.Who cools War's lurid brand?Epode.Doth not soon some power transcendingWar's fierce flames in bounds enchain,What will unconsumed remain?Treason's horrors are impending:Fires of discord shall profaneHeaven and Earth and sea and plain.660Treason seeks her justifyingIn her triumph; then she wouldGod's own mandates be defying:Treason knows nor God nor blood.664
GABRIEL. MICHAEL.Gabriel:The whole of Heaven glows with the fierce blazeOf tumult and of treachery. I nowCommand thee, as ambassador from God,And His high Throne, to rise without delayAnd burn out with a glow of fire and zealThese dark, polluting stains in God's great name,And in the name of the unstained Heavens.Prince Lucifer defies with trump and drum.Michael:Has Lucifer, alas! been faithless found?Gabriel:The third part of the Heavens swore but now10The standard of that fickle Morning-starTheir firm allegiance, perfumed his throneWith incense, even as if he were a God;And with the blasphemous sounds of godless musicHim praises sang. Now hitherward they come,Thronging with mighty hordes that threaten all,How terribly! to burst with violenceThe gate that leads unto the armoury.A crash of tempests fierce and wild doth roarOn every side. The lightnings rage and rave.20The thunders, in their travail laboring,Shake even the ponderous pillars of these courts.We hear no Seraphim, nor sounds of praise.Each sits apart, enwrapped in voiceless gloom.Now hushed at once are all the Angel choirs,And then again they cry aloud in griefAnd in their pity o'er this blind revoltOf the blessed Angel world, and o'er the fallOf the Angelic race. Aye, 'tis full timeThat thou perform thy charge, that thou observe30The sacred oath that thou, as Field-marshal,Didst swear upon the lightning's lurid edge,By God's most holy name.
"Each sits apart, enwrapped in voiceless gloom.""Each sits apart, enwrapped in voiceless gloom."
Michael:What, then, doth moveGod's Stadtholder thus to oppose himselfAgainst God, as the impious head and chiefOf mad conspirators?Gabriel:The Heavens knowHow loth I am to make in such a wayDefence of God's most righteous cause. But oh!How terrible the wrath laid up for him!For we can find no means by which to lead40This erring race of blind unfortunatesAlong the road, the high-road of their faith.Myself saw there the radiant joy of GodItself o'ershadow with a gathering cloudOf mournfulness, until, at last. His wrathA flame enkindled in His eyes of light,Ere He, to ward the threatened blow, gave chargeUnto this expedition. I then heardAwhile the plea, how there in equipoiseGod's Mercy stood against His Righteousness,50By weight of reason held. I saw, too, howThe Cherubim, upon their faces fallen.Cried with one voice, "Oh! mercy, mercy. Lord;Not justice give." This dire dispute had thusBeen expiated, yea, almost atoned.—So much seemed God to mercy then inclined.And reconciliation; but as upThe smell of incense rose, the smoke beneathTo Lucifer, from countless censers swung.Amid the sounds of trump and choral praise,60The Heavens their eyes averted from such sightAnd such idolatry, accursed of GodAnd Spirit and all the Hierarchies above:Then Mercy took its flight. Awake to arms!The Godhead summons thee, ere the tumult usSurprise, to tame by thine own arm these fierceBehemoths and Leviathans, who thusMost wickedly conspire.Michael:Come, Uriel, squire!Haste speedily and bring the lightnings here;Also my armor, helm, and shield. Then bring70God's banner on, and blow the trumpet bold.To arms! at once, to arms! ye Thrones and Powers,Who, true and faithful, are with us arrayed.Ye legions, on! each in his place. The HeavensHave given command. Now blow the trumpet boldAnd beat the hollow drum, and summon here,In haste, the countless cohorts of the armed,Blow, then! My armor, I put on; for hereGod's honor is concerned. There's no retreat.Gabriel:This armor fits thy form as if 'twere made80With thee. Behold! our glorious banner comes,From which God's name and ensign grandly beam,While yon high sun doth promise thee success.Here come the chiefs, to greet thee as the headOf the celestial legions that have swornGod's standard to uphold. Take courage, then,Prince Michael, thou shalt battle for thy God.Michael:Aye! aye! Keep thou my place on high. We go.Gabriel:Thy march we'll follow with our thoughts and prayers.LUCIFER. BELZEBUB. LUCIFERIANS.Lucifer:How holds our army? How is it inclined?90Belzebub:The army longs, prepared, 'neath thy command,To plunge at once against Michael's armament.Luciferians:'Tis true; each waits for Lucifer's commandTo haste at once, with speedy wings and arms,To steal away from our great enemyHis air and wind, and, as he lies confusedIn helpless swoon, to chain him forcibly.Lucifer:How many strong our host? Wherein our strength?Belzebub:That grows apace and sweeps on toward us withA rush and roar from every firmament,100Like a vast sea aglow with radiant lights.Indeed, a third part of the Heavens embraceOur side, if not the half; for Michael's tide.On every hand, each moment swiftly ebbs.The half, even of the watch and of the chiefsThat round the palace guard—of every rank.Of every Hierarchy some—have forswornTheir lord. Prince Michael, even as we. BeholdArchangels, Cherubim, and SeraphimOur standards bearing. Even Paradise,110Made mournful by the sounds of woe, grows dimIn hue, and its bright verdure fades. WhereverThe eye doth look, there seem signs of decay;And up above a threatening thunder-cloudDoth seem to hang. This portent bodes our bliss.We need but to begin. Already dothThe crown of Heaven rest upon thy brow.Lucifer:That sound doth please me more than Gabriel's trump.Attend and listen, ye, beneath this throne;Attend, ye chiefs; attend, ye valiant knights,120And hear our charge, in words both clear and brief.Ye know how far in our revengeful course,Against the Ruler of the palacesSupreme, we have advanced: so that it wereFor us but folly to retreat with hopeOf reconciliation; how none daresTo think to purify, through mercy, thisOur stain indelible: necessityMust therefore be our law, a stronghold sure.From which there is no wavering nor retreat.130Defend ye then, ne'er looking back, with allYour might, this standard and my star: in briefThe free-created state all Angels own.Let things proceed howe'er they will, press onWith heart undaunted and with cheerfulness.Not even the Omnipotence on high hath powerCompletely to annihilate the beingThat ye have once, for all eternity.Received. In case ye fiercely shall attackWith your whole force, and pierce with violence140The heart of your great foe, and chance to win:So shall the hated tyranny of HeavenInto a state of freedom then be changed,And Adam's son and seed, crowned us aboveIn honor, with a retinue of EarthAround, shall not then chain your necks untoThe fetters of a slavish bondage thatWould make you sweat for him and pant beneathThe brazen yoke of servitude forever.If now ye own me as the head and chief150Of your free state, even as just now ye sworeWith one full voice beneath this standard bright,So raise that binding oath again together,That we may hear; and swear allegianceAnd loyalty unto our morning-star,Luciferians:We swear alike by God and Lucifer.Belzebub:But see how Rafael with the branch of peace,Astounded and compassionate, flies downTo clasp thy neck, with hope of peace and truce.RAFAEL. LUCIFER.Rafael:Oh! Stadtholder. Voice of the Power Divine,160What thus hath driven thee beyond the pathOf duty? Wouldst thou now thyself opposeTo Him, the source of all thy pomp? Wouldst thouNow rashly waver, and thus change thy faith?I hope this ne'er shall be. Alas! I faintWith grief, and hang upon thy neck oppressedAnd wan.Lucifer:Most righteous Rafael!Rafael:O my joy.My longing, hear me now, I pray.Lucifer:Speak on.So long it pleaseth thee.Rafael:O Lucifer,Be merciful! Oh I save thyself; nor bear170Thy weapons thus 'gainst me, who sadly meltIn tears, and pine in sorrow for thy sake.I come with medicine and mercy's balm,Sprung from the bosom of the Deity,"Who, as within His Council He decreed,Hath made thee chief of myriad crowned Powers,And thee, anointed, placed upon thy throneAs Stadtholder. What folly this, that thusDeprives thee of thy wit? God hath His sealAnd image stamped upon thy hallowed head180And forehead, where all beauty seemed outpoured,With wisdom and benevolence and allThat flows in streams unbounded from the fountOf every precious thing. In Paradise,Before the countenance of God's own sun,Thou shon'st from clouds of dew and roses fresh;Thy festal robes stood stiff with pearl, turquoise.And diamond, ruby, emerald, and fine gold;'Twas thy right hand the weightiest sceptre held;And as soon as thou didst mount into the light,190Throughout the blazing firmament and throughThese shining vaults the sounds began to rollOf trumpet and of drum. And wouldst thou nowSo rashly hurl thyself from thy great throne?—Thus jeopardize thy glory, all this pomp?Wouldst thou thy splendors that the Heavens adornAnd that obscure our glow so heedlesslyNow cause to change into a shapeless lumpAnd complication of all beasts and monstersIn one, with claw of griffin, dragon's head,200And other horrors terrible? And shallThe eyes of Heaven, the stars, see thee so low,Deprived of all thy power, thy honor, worth,And majesty, through perjuring thine oath?Prevent it, O good God, whose countenance,Amid the Blessed Light, I gaze upon,Where we, the hallowed Seven, do Him serve,Before His Throne, and shake and tremble 'neathThat Majesty that on our forehead beams,That quickens, and that life doth give to all210That live and breathe. Lord Stadtholder, let nowMy prayers affect thy heart. Thou know'st my pureIntent, and heart distressed for thee. Tear offThat shining crest so proud, that armor tossAside. The battle-axe cast from this hand,Thy shield then from the other: nay, not thus,Not higher. Oh! throw it now aside. I pray.Oh! cast it down. Let fall thy streaming standardOf thine own free will, also thine outstretched wings,Before God and His splendor, ere He shall220From cut His Throne, the highest firmamentO honor, swoop to grind thee into dust:Yea, so that of the race of Spirits, nor branchNor root, nor life nor even memory,Remain; unless it be a state of woe,Of pain, of death and of despair, the wormEndless remorse, and a gnashing dire of teethShould bear the name of life. Submit thou, then.Cease this attempt. I offer thee God's grace,Even with this olive-branch. Accept, or else230'Twill be too late.Lucifer:Lord Rafael, I nor threatNor wrath deserve. My heroes both by GodAnd Lucifer have sworn, and under oathsTo Heaven have raised this standard thus aloft.Let rumors, therefore, far and wide be spreadThroughout the Heavens: I battle under GodFor the defence of these His choristers,And for the Charter and the Rights which wereTheir lawful heritage ere Adam sawThe rising sun: yea, ere o'er Paradise240The daylight shone. No human power, no yokeOf man, shall plague the necks of Spirits, nor shallThe Angel world, like any servile slave,Support the throne of Adam with its neck,Unfettered now, unless in some abyssThe Heavens shall bury us, together withThe sceptres, crowns, and splendors that to usThe Godhead from His bosom gave, for timeAnd for eternity! Let burst what will,I shall maintain the holy Right, compelled250By high necessity, thus urged at length,Though much against my will, by the complaintsAnd mournful groans of myriad tongues. Go hence,This message bear unto the Father, whomI serve, and under whom I thus unfurlThis warlike standard for our Fatherland.Rafael:O Stadtholder, why thus disguise thy thoughtsBefore the all-seeing Eye? Thy purpose thouCanst not conceal. The rays flashed from His faceLay bare the darkness, the ambition that260Thy pregnant spirit reveals in all its shape.And lo! even now its travail hath begunThis monster to bring forth. Where shall I hideMe in my fright? How rise my hairs with fear!Thou erring Morning-star, oh! spare thyself!Thou canst not satisfy OmniscienceWith such deceit.Lucifer:Ambition? Say me, then,Where hath my duty suffered through neglect?Rafael:What hast thou in thy heart of hearts resolved!—shall mount up from here beneath, through all270The clouds, aye, even above God's galaxies,Into the top of Heaven, like unto GodHimself; nor shall the beams of mercy fallOn any Power, unless before my seatIt kneel in homage down! No majestyShall sceptre dare, nor crown, unless I shallFirst grant it leave out of my towering throne!"Oh! hide thy face. Fall down and fold thy wings.Have care to know a higher Power above.
"Thou erring Morning-star, oh! spare thyself.""Thou erring Morning-star, oh! spare thyself."
Lucifer:How now? Am I not then God's Stadtholder?280Rafael:That art thou, and from the unbounded RealmThou didst receive a power determinate.Thou rulest in His name.Lucifer:Alas! how long?Until Prince Adam shall make us ashamed:When he, placed o'er the Angel world, shall fromThe bounteous bosom of the DeityHis crown receive, and take his seat by God.Rafael:Even though the sovran Lord should thus divideHis power with His inferiors; though He shouldCommand that man upon his head shall place290The brightest crown; him consecrate the ChiefOf Spirits, o'er all that crown or sceptre bear.Or e'er shall bear: learn thou submissivelyTo bow 'neath God's decree.Lucifer:That is the stoneWhereon this battle-axe shall whet its edge.Rafael:Thou'lt whet it rashly for thine own proud neck.Think where we are. The Heavens can bear no stainOf pride, hate, envy, or malevolence.The wrath of Deity doth threaten soonTo wipe this blot away. Here not avails300Dissembling. Oh! that I this blasphemyCould hide from the all-seeing Sun and fromThe all-penetrating Eye. O Lucifer,Where is thy glory now?Lucifer:My glory wasLong since to Adam given, and to his seed.I am no longer called the eldest heir,The son first consecrate.Rafael:Prince Lucifer,Oh! spare thyself: submit unto the wishOf the Most High. Oh! deem us worthy nowTo bear such joyful tidings up above.310Each waits with longing eyes for my return.Before thy splendor I most humbly kneel.Oh! for the sake of God, beware lest thouEncouragement shalt give to mutiny,That on thy will and word doth henceforth turn,As on its axis. Wouldst thou thus, againstThe courts of Heaven, this air so full of peaceAnd holiness, for the first time disturbBy the clash of countless warring myriads?—Thus to the sound of trump and drum unfurl320These battle-banners bold?—Thyself to GodThe matchless wrestler thus oppose?Lucifer:'Tis weThat are opposed. Were unto Adam's raceBut given a rank and throne, even similarTo that the Angels own, 'twere to be borne.Now fly, instead, o'er all the roofs of HeavenThe sparks blown from this burning in the skies.Peace! Angels all, and reverentiallyYour homage bring, for all that you possess,To Adam and his seed. To strive 'gainst man330Is the Godhead to oppose! Oh! how could God,Within His heart, so low, so deep degradeHim whom He for the mightiest sceptre formed:A worthiness once sanctified to rule,So sadly thus abase for one so low,And thus disrobe of all its splendid pomp,And cause it thus to curse the glorious dawnOf its ascent—to wish far rather thatIt had remained a shadow without hue,A nothing without life? For not to be340Is better thousand times than such a fall.Rafael:A vassal's power is no inheritance:It stands free and apart.Lucifer:This power is thenNo boon, if power it may be called.Rafael:Thy placeMaintain: or hast thou then forgot thy charge?Thy place, as Stadtholder, to thee was givenThat in thy wisdom thou mightst keep all thingsIn peace and order here. And dost thou now.The perjured chief of blind conspirators.Put on this coat of mail to fight thy God?350Lucifer:Necessity and self-defence compelledThese arms; nor wished we to engage with God.Reason would speak, even though our arms were dumb.We fight in Freedom's cause, denied this bliss?Rafael:No bliss is glorious, where in one realmThe embattled squadrons of the state must fightAgainst their peers. Most pitiful it is,When brothers of the selfsame order must,At last, even by their brothers be o'ercome.Oh! Stadtholder, for our sake, and for fear360Of God and of His threatened punishment,Send hence thy gathered legions, send them hence.Oh! melt, I pray, beneath my prayers. I hear,'Tis terrible! the chains a-forging now,That thee shall drag, when vanquished and bound,In triumph through the skies. And hark! I hearA din, and see the hosts of Michael drawWith nearing tread. 'Tis time, yea, 'tis high time,Thou cease this mad attempt.Lucifer:What profits itEven though unto the utmost I repent?370Here is no hope of grace.Rafael:But I assureThee mercy; for I now appoint myselfThy mediator up above and asThy hostage there.Lucifer:My star to plunge in shameAnd darkness: yea, to see my enemiesDefiant on my throne?Rafael:O Lucifer,Beware! I see the lake of brimstone downBelow, with opened mouth, gape horribly.Shalt thou, the fairest far of all things everBy God created, henceforth serve as food380For the devouring bowels of Hell's abyss—Flames never satisfied nor quenched? May GodForbid! Oh! oh! yield to our prayers. ReceiveThis branch of peace: we offer thee God's grace.Lucifer:What creature else so wretched is as I?On the one side flicker feeble rays of hope,While on the other yawns a flaming horror.A triumph is most dubious; defeatMost hard to shun. In such uncertainty,God and His banner to oppose?—the first390To be a standard to unfurl 'gainst God,His trump celestial and revealed command?—Of rebels thus to make myself the chief,And 'gainst the law of Heaven another lawTo oppose?—to fall into the dreadful curseOf a most base ingratitude?—to woundThe mercy, love, and majesty of Him,The Father bountiful, source of all goodThat e'er was given or may yet be received?How have I erred so far from duty's path?400I have abjured my Maker: how can IBefore that Light disguise my blasphemyAnd wickedness? Retreat availeth not.Nay, I have gone too far. What remedy?What best to do amid this hopelessness?The time brooks no delay. One moment's timeIs not enough, if time it may be called,This brevity 'twixt bliss and endless doom.But 'tis too late. No cleansing for my stainIs here. All hope is past. What remedy?410Hark I there I hear God's trumpet blow without,APOLLION. LUCIFER. RAFAEL.Apollion:Lord Stadtholder, awake! not now the timeFor loitering. God's Marshal Michael nears,With all his stars and legions, and defiesThee in the open field. The time demandsThat thou array for battle. Come, advance!Advance with us: we see the battle won.Lucifer:Won? Ah! that is too soon: 'tis not commenced.The heavy bolt of war should not be weighedToo lightly.Apollion:I saw even in Michael's face420The hue of fright, while all his legions paleLooked backwards. Ah! we long. O doubt it not,To humble and destroy them. Lo! here comeThe various chieftains with our streaming standard.Lucifer:Each in his rank! Let each his banner ward.Now let the trump and bugle boldly blow.Apollion:We wait upon thy word.Lucifer:Then follow on,As I this signal give.Rafael:Alas! but nowHe stood in doubt suspended: now, despairIncites him on. In what calamities,430Alas! shall soon the proud Archangel plungeHis followers? Now may he nevermoreIn joy appear on high unless God shallIn His compassion this prevent. Oh! come,Ye Heavenly choristers, and breathe your prayers.It may be that your supplications, rising,May yet avert this dire, impending blow:Oft prayer can break a heart of adamant.CHORUS OF ANGELS. RAFAEL.Chorus:O Father, who no incense, gold,Or hymnal praise dost dearer hold440Than the tranquil trust and soul-reposingCalmness of him who humbly heedsThy word, and where Thy spirit leadsDoth leave himself in Thy disposing:Thou seest. O Author of us all,Our Spirit-Chief his banners tall'Gainst Thee so wickedly unfurling;And how, 'mid roar of trump and drum,On battle-chariot he doth come,So blind, and fierce defiance hurling!450Ah! heed not their wild blasphemy,And save from endless miseryThe thousand thousand ones deluded,Who, weak, and woefully misledBy their proud and rebellious head,Are 'mong his legions now included.Rafael:Spare in Thy mercy, spare, ah! spareThe Stadtholder, who now would wearThy crown of crowns, who, deifyingHimself, would triumph over all:460From such foul stain, oh! where else shallThe cleansing come, him purifying?Chorus:Oh! suffer not that soul to die.The fairest e'er seen by Thine eyeOh I keep the Archangel e'er in Heaven;Let him atone this impious deed.And still retain his rank, we pleadLet not his guilt be unforgiven.468
RAFAEL. URIEL.Rafael:The whole of Heaven, from base to topmost crownOf her chief palaces, resounds with joy,As Michael's trumpets blow and banners wave.The field is won. Our shields shine splendidly,Shaping new suns. From every shield-sun streamsA day triumphant forth. Lo! from the fight,See, Uriel proud, the armor-bearer, comes;And waves the flaming, keen, two-edged sword,That, whet with Heaven's wrath and vengeance, flashed,Amid the fray, through shield and mail and helm10Of diamond, left and right, through all that daredOppose the all-piercing Power, Omnipotence.O armor-bearer, most austere, who artThe executioner on high, and dostWith one strong, righteous stroke compose the WrongThat would rebel against eternal Right,Blest be thy sword and arm, that thus maintainAnd guard the honor of our Angel Realm.What praise reserved for thee by MajestySupreme! Oh! pray relate to us the strife:20Unfold to us the management of this,The first campaign in Heaven. We listen, then,In expectation rapt.Uriel:Your wish inflamesMy spirit to begin, this fearful frayIn calmness to describe, with sequence just,Success the army crowns that fights with God.The Field-marshal, great Michael (being warnedBy the envoy of Heaven, who from aboveFlew downward, downward swifter than a starThat shoots athwart the sky, with the tidings how,30Against the high decree proud LuciferHimself so openly opposed, preparedTo lead his incense-swinging worshippers—All who his standard and his morning-starHad sworn their bold allegiance), quickly donned,At Gabriel's report—that Herald true—His scaly coat of mail, and with firm voiceHe forthwith then gave charge to all his chiefs,His captains, lords, and officers to place,In the name of God, the troops in battle rank,40That, with united forces and with allTheir strength, they might sweep from the airy vastOf purest crystalline this perjured scum:To cast in darkness all those Spirits vile,Ere unawares they us surprise. UponThis charge the legions rapidly deployedThemselves in battle-line, as speedilyAs flies the nimble arrow from the bow.We saw there countless throngs together swarmIn bright array and glowing martial pomp,50Until they formed, in serried rank, one firmTrilateral host that, like a triangle,Thrust out its edges sharp upon the eye.We saw a solid mass, like one dense light,Three-pointed, polished mirror-smooth, even likeTo diamond, and a battle-front advanceBy God more than by Spirit understood.The Field-marshal towered in the army's heart,Full-faced before God's banner, with the glowOf lurid lightnings in his lifted hand.60Who courage would preserve.—would victoryAnd triumph e'er attain.—should first have careTo make sure of and then to gain the heart.Rafael:But where the host accursed that us would storm?Uriel:It came into the field of daring fullWith all its primal faith, obedience,Honor, and oath, and what besides, forgotIn this base and presumptuous attempt'Gainst God, despite our prayers. It swiftly waxed.And pointed like a crescent moon its ends.70It sharpened both its points, and these, even likeTwo horns, closed in upon us, as amidThe Zodiac the Bull doth threaten withHis golden horns the other animalsCelestial and the monsters that revolveAround. Upon the right horn there advancedPrince Belzebub, whose purpose was to clipOur spreading wings, and also to keep guard.The left horn to Prince Belial was assigned.Thus both stood there in shining panoply,80Vying in splendors grand. The Stadtholder,Now Field-marshal 'gainst God, the centre heldOf this array, that he might guard the key,—The point strategic of the legions there.The lofty standard, from whose morning-starThe day did seem to stream, ApollionBehind him bore, as bravely as he could,In his full glory seated high to view.Rafael:Alas! what dares—what dares the great ArchangelAttempt? Oh! if I only could in time90Have brought him to desist. However, nowDescribe to me the aspect of their march,And with what show the Prince his legions led.Uriel:Surrounded by his staff and retinueIn green, he, wickedly impelled by hateIrreconcilable, in golden mail,That brightly shone upon his martial vestOf glowing purple, mounted then his car,Whose golden wheels with rubies were emblazed.The lion and the dragon fell, prepared100For speedy flight, with backs sown full of starsAnd to the chariot joined by pearly traces,Panted for strife, and for destruction flamed.Within his hand a battle-axe he bore,And from his left arm hung a glimmering shield,Wherein his morning-star was artfullyEmbossed: thus stood he poised to venture all.Rafael:O Lucifer, thou shalt this pride repent.Thou phoenix 'mongst God's worshippers on high.How grand thou dost appear amid thy legions,110With helm, head, neck, and shoulders eminent!How gloriously thine armor thee becomes,As if by nature fitted to thy form!Oh! Chief of Spirits, no farther go; turn back.Uriel:Confronted thus they stood embattled, troopBy troop, each in his air and station placed,All ranked by files 'neath their respective chiefs,Both sides arrayed with fairest pomp to view.When furious drum and clarion trumpet sound,Their medley resonance nerves every arm120And sharpens every sword; and mounts on highInto the firmament of the holy LightSupreme, a din whereat a pregnant cloudOf darts doth burst with pealing thunder-showersOf fiery hail, a storm and tempest fierce,That makes afraid the very Heaven and shakesThe pillars of its palaces. The starsAnd spheres, perplexed, from their appointed pathsAnd orbits err, or on their circled watchBewildered stand, not knowing where to turn:130Or East or West, or upwards or below.All that is seen is lightning flash and flame;All that is heard is thunder. What remainsIn its primeval place? That which was onceThe highest now becomes the thing most low.The squadrons, when the deep-vibrating shockOf their artillery's first volleyed roarHas died away, now struggle hand to handWith halberd, sabre, dagger, club, and spear.All stab and slash, that can. All formed by nature140For fell destruction and for greedy spoilNow haste to strike the violating blow.All thoughts of kin and brotherhood have ceased;Nor knoweth any one his fellow more.Above are whirling, like a cloud of dust,Proud crests of pearl with curlèd locks of hair,And plumes and wings refulgent with a gleamDrawn from the singeing lightning's glow. Behold!In rich confusion mingled, blue turquoise,With gold and diamond, necklaces of pearl,150And all that can adorn the hair or head.Wings lopped in twain, and broken arrows, whirlAthwart the sky. A horrid battle-cryRises from out the cohorts clad in green:Their regiments, in danger, are compelledBy our hot onset to retreat. Three timesThe maddened Lucifer the fight renews,And proudly stays his faltering followers,Even as a rock beats back the ocean surgeThat, wave on wave, with foaming rage assails160In vain attempt.Rafael:Indeed, 'tis something this:To fight, armed by despair.Uriel:Then straightway causedThe valiant Michael all the trumps to sound:"Glory to God!" His legions, thus made boldBy this their watchword, and by his command,Begin by circling wheels to soar aloft,To gain the wind-side of their battling foe,Who also rises, but with heavier sail,And finally to leeward slowly drifts:As if one heavenward a falcon saw,170Mounting with pinions bold into the sky.Ere that the drowsing herons are aware.Who in a wood, hard by a pleasant mead,Tremble with fright, when from their lofty nestThey see their dreaded foe. The heron cries,And, fearful of the falcon's direful claw,Awaits him on his beak, thus to impaleHis enemy's soft breast from there beneath,When swoops the falcon with unerring wingsUpon his prey.Rafael:O Lucifer, for thee180What remedy? It seems most terrible!Now art thou in the open field, where portNor wall defend. A horrid whirlwind soonShall suddenly swoop down and bury theeDeep in some gulf and bottomless abyss.Uriel:What fair perspective it was, thus to viewA hemisphere or crescent moon beneath,And up above a point trilateral:To see the legions, that upon the wordOf their commanding chiefs close in their ranks,190Or them deploy, in their battalions standAs firm as walls of iron, as if they,With all their ordnance, dumb artillery,And martial engines, there in equipoiseWere placed, full-weighted 'gainst the balanced air!They hang suspended like a silent cloud,A cloud whereon the sun doth pour his beams,And which he paints with shade and varied hueAnd airy rainbows. So then, steeply flownAloft, the bold celestial eagle sees200God's foe, the hawk, circling his flight beneath.He strikes his wings together valiantly;But brooks awhile the hawk's wild wheeling there,And vain defiance, while he flames ere longTo swoop upon his feathered back and pluckHis glossy plumes: when, in the aery vast,"With curvèd beak and talons he shall seizeHis prey, or drive it, with the wind behind,Far from his eyes. Thus they precipitateThemselves, and stream down from their place on high.210Even like some inland lake, or waterfall.In some far, Northern wild, that from the cliffsDashes with thundering resonance that frightsThe beasts and monsters in deep-hidden dells;Where from the precipice, rocks, loosened, fall,With massive torrents and uprooted treesIn countless numbers, that in their fierce plungeCrush and destroy all that the violenceOf stream and stone and wood cannot withstand.The point of the advancing column strikes220The crescent's centre with assault most fellOf brimstone, red and blue, and flames, with strokeOn stroke and quick-succeeding thunderboltsA piercing cry ascends. Their army's heart,Endangered, now begins, by slow degrees,To fail support of the accursèd one.The half-moon's bow, beneath the strain, beginsTo crack and break (for the ends together curve);So that they who the centre hold, must yieldBefore that onset fierce, and flee, if soon230Deliverance be not brought from their distress.Prince Lucifer, swift-driven here and there,Approaches at this cry, and fearlesslyHimself exposes on his car, to showHis valor in this crisis dire. This givesNew heart unto the faltering ones. Then, fromThe foaming bit of his now furious team.He wards the feilest blows and fiercest strokes.The lion and the dragon blue, enraged,Leap forward at his word with fearful strides:240One bellows, bites, and rends, while poison shootsOut from the other's forkèd tongue, who thusA pest provokes, and, raving, fills the airWith smoke blown from his nostrils far and wide.Rafael:Now will the burning strike him from on high?Uriel:He waves his battle-axe aloft to fellGod's banner, that, descending, darts the beamsAnd fairer radiance of God's name intoHis glowing face. Oh! think what envy thenHim filled, to see this portent on our side.250With battle-axe in hand, now here, now there,He parries every stroke, or breaks their forceUpon his shield, till Michael comes beforeHim, clad in glittering armor, like a GodAmid a ring of suns: "Cease, Lucifer;Give God the victory. Lay down your armsAnd standard; yield to God. Come, lead awayThis wicked crew, this impious horde. Or else,Beware thy head!" Thus shouts he from on high.The Grand Foe of God's name, stiff-necked, unmoved,260And more defiant at these words, renewsThe fight with haste precipitate, and thriceWith war-axe strives to cleave the diamond shieldWhere glowed God's holy name. But who provokesThe Deity shall feel His wrath. The axeThe holy diamond strikes, but lo! rebounds,And shivers into fragments. Then aloftHis right hand Michael lifts, and through the helmAnd head of that rebellious one he smites,Helped by the great Omnipotent, his lightnings,270Cleaving unto his eyes with violenceSo great that he falls backward, and is hurledDown from his chariot, that forthwith followsHim, whirling round and round in its descent;Thus lion, dragon, driver, all plunge down.The standard of the Star doth cease to shine,When feels Apollion my flaming sword.Whereon his banner, straightway, he doth leaveAs plunder in my hands; while in fierce swarmsTumultuous their warring myriads280Attempt, in vain, to stay the falling ChiefOf all the hosts infernal, and to saveHim from this fate and great calamity.Here fights Prince Belzebub, and there opposedStands Belial. Thus their squadrons are confused:And with the Stadtholder's important fallThe crescent's bow soon into shivers breaks.Then comes Apollion into the field,With all the monsters from the firmament.The giant Orion shrieks, until the sound290The very air makes faint; then with his clubHe strives to crush the head of our assault,That, heedless of Orion or his club,Moves grandly on. The Northern Bears rear backUpon their haunches, that their brutish strengthMay blindly us oppose. The Hydra gapesWith fifty throats, that vomit poison forth.I view a gallery of battle-scenes,All happening in the fray, as far as eyeCan see.