THE ARGUMENT. God, sitting on his throne, sees Satan flying towards this world, then newly created; shows him to the Son, who sat at his right hand; foretelis the success of Satan in perverting mankind; clears his own justice and wisdom from all imputation, having ercated man free, and able enough to have withstood his tempter; yet declares his purpose of grace towards him, in regard he fell not of his own malice, as did Satan, but by him seduced. The Son of God renders praises to his Father for the manifestation of his gracious purpose towards man; but God again declares, that grace cannot be extended towards man without the satisfaction of divine justice; man bath offended the majesty of God by aspiring to godhead, and, therefore, with all his progeny, devoted to death, must die, unless some one can be found sufficient to answer for his offence, and undergo his punishment. The Son of God freely offers hims If a ransom for man: the Father accepts him, ordains his incarnation, pronounces his exaltation above all names in Heaven and Earth; commands all the angels to adore him; they obey, and, hymning to their harps in full quire, celebrate the Father and the Son. Meanwhile Satan alights upon the bare convex of this world's outermost orb; where wandering, he first finds a place, since called the Limbo of Vanity: what persons and things fly up thither; thence comes to the gate of Heaven, described ascending by stairs, and the waters above the firmament that flow about it: his passage thence to the orb of the sun; he finds there Uriel, the regent of that orb, but first changes himself into the shape of a meaner angel; and, pretending a zealous desire to behold the new creation, and man whom God had placed here, inquires of him the place of his habitation, and is directed: alights first on mount Niphates. PARADISE LOST. BOOK III. HAIL, holy Light! offspring of Heav'n first born! May I express thee' unblam'd? since God is light, Thee I re-visit now with bolder wing, Escap'd the Stygian pool, though long detain'd 10 5 15 Through utter and through middle darkness borne, 20 Taught by the heav'nly Muse to venture down Smit with the love of sacred song; but chief Day, or the sweet approach of ev'n or morn, 30 35 40 45 Of nature's works, to me expung'd and raz'd, Now had th' almighty Father from above, High thron'd above all height, bent down his eye, His own works and their works at once to view: About him all the sanctities of Heaven 50 55 60 Stood thick as stars, and from his sight receiv'd The radiant image of his glory sat, His only Son; on earth he first beheld 65 Uninterrupted joy, unrivalled love, In blissful solitude; he then survey'd Hell and the gulf between, and Satan there To stoop, with wearied wings, and willing feet, 70 75 "Only begotten Son, seest thou what rage Transports our adversary? whom no bounds Prescrib'd, no bars of Hell, nor all the chains Heap'd on him there, nor yet the main abyss Wide interrupt can hold; so bent he seems On desperate revenge, that shall redound Upon his own rebellious head. And now, Through all restraint broke loose. he wings his way Not far off Heav'n, in the precincts of light, Directly towards the new created world, And man there plac'd, with purpose to assay If him by force he can destroy, or, worse, By some false guile pervert; and shall pervert; For man will hearken to his glozing lies, And easily transgress the sole command, Sole pledge of his obedience: so will fall He and his faithless progeny: whose fault? Whose but his own? Ingrate, he had of me 80 85 90 95 All he could have; I made him just and right, 100 And spirits, both them who stood and them who fail'd; |