The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems (140 page)

The End

PARADISE REGAINED

1671

BOOK I

I, who erewhile
⁶⁴⁷⁹
the happy Garden sung

By one man’s disobedience lost, now sing

Recovered Paradise to all mankind,

By one man’s firm obedience fully tried
⁶⁴⁸⁰

Through all temptation, and the Tempter foiled

In all his wiles, defeated and repulsed,

And Eden raised in the waste wilderness.

Thou Spirit, who led’st this glorious Eremite
⁶⁴⁸¹

Into the desert, his victorious field

Against the spiritual foe, and brought’st him thence

By proof th’ undoubted Son of God, inspire,

As thou art wont,
⁶⁴⁸²
my prompted
⁶⁴⁸³
song, else mute,

And bear through height or depth of Nature’s bounds,

With prosperous
⁶⁴⁸⁴
wing full summed,
⁶⁴⁸⁵
to tell of deeds

Above
⁶⁴⁸⁶
heroic, though in secret done,

And unrecorded left through many an age—

Worthy t’ have not remained so long unsung.

Now had the great Proclaimer,
⁶⁴⁸⁷
with a voice

More awful
⁶⁴⁸⁸
than the sound of trumpet, cried

“Repentance, and Heav’n’s kingdom nigh at hand

To all baptized!” To his great baptism flocked

With awe
⁶⁴⁸⁹
the regions round, and with them came

From Nazareth, the son of Joseph deemed,
⁶⁴⁹⁰

To the flood Jordan—came as then obscure,

Unmarked,
⁶⁴⁹¹
unknown. But him the Baptist soon

Descried,
⁶⁴⁹²
divinely warned, and witness bore

As to his worthier,
⁶⁴⁹³
and would have resigned

To him his Heav’nly office. Nor was long

His witness unconfirmed: on him
⁶⁴⁹⁴
baptized

Heav’n opened, and in likeness of a dove

The Spirit descended, while the Father’s voice

From Heav’n pronounced him His belovèd Son.

That heard the Adversary,
⁶⁴⁹⁵
who roving still

About the world, at that assembly famed
⁶⁴⁹⁶

Would not be last, and with the voice divine

Nigh thunder-struck,
⁶⁴⁹⁷
th’ exalted man to whom

Such high attest was giv’n a while surveyed
⁶⁴⁹⁸

With wonder. Then with envy fraught,
⁶⁴⁹⁹
and rage,

Flies to his place,
⁶⁵⁰⁰
nor rests, but in mid air

To council summons all his mighty Peers,
⁶⁵⁰¹

Within thick clouds and dark tenfold involved,
⁶⁵⁰²

A gloomy consistory,
⁶⁵⁰³
and them amidst,

With looks aghast
⁶⁵⁰⁴
and sad,
⁶⁵⁰⁵
he thus bespoke:

“O ancient Powers of air and this wide world

(For much more willingly I mention air,

This our old conquest, than remember Hell,

Our hated habitation), well ye know

How many ages, as
⁶⁵⁰⁶
the years of men,

This universe
⁶⁵⁰⁷
we have possessed, and ruled

In manner at our will th’ affairs of earth,

Since Adam and his facile
⁶⁵⁰⁸
consort Eve

Lost Paradise, deceived by me, though since

With dread attending
⁶⁵⁰⁹
when that fatal wound

Shall
⁶⁵¹⁰
be inflicted by the seed of Eve

Upon my head. Long the decrees of Heav’n

Delay, for longest time to Him is short.

And now, too soon for us, the circling hours

This dreaded time have compassed,
⁶⁵¹¹
wherein we

Must bide
⁶⁵¹²
the stroke of that long-threat’ned wound

(At least, if so we can, and by the head

Broken
⁶⁵¹³
be not intended all our power

To be infringed,
⁶⁵¹⁴
our freedom and our being

In this fair empire won of earth and air),

For this ill news I bring: the woman’s seed,

Destined to this, is late of woman born.

His birth to our just fear gave no small cause,

But his growth now to youth’s full flow’r, displaying

All virtue, grace and wisdom to achieve

Things highest, greatest, multiplies my fear.

Before him a great prophet, to proclaim

His coming, is sent harbinger,
⁶⁵¹⁵
who all

Invites, and in the consecrated stream

Pretends
⁶⁵¹⁶
to wash off sin, and fit them so

Purified to receive him pure, or rather

To do him honor as their King. All come,

And he
⁶⁵¹⁷
himself among them was baptized—

Not thence to be more pure, but to receive

The testimony of Heav’n, that who he is

Thenceforth the nations may not doubt. I saw

The prophet do him reverence. On him, rising

Out of the water, Heav’n above the clouds

Unfold her crystal doors, thence on his head

A perfect dove descend (whate’er it meant),

And out of Heav’n the sov’reign voice I heard,

‘This is my Son beloved—in him am pleased. ’

His mother, then, is mortal, but his sire

He
⁶⁵¹⁸
who obtains
⁶⁵¹⁹
the monarchy of Heav’n,

And what will He not do t’ advance His Son?

His first-begot we know,
⁶⁵²⁰
and sore have felt,

When his fierce thunder drove us to the deep.

Who this is we must learn, for man he seems

In all his lineaments,
⁶⁵²¹
though in his face

The glimpses of his Father’s glory shine.

Ye see our danger on the utmost edge

Of hazard,
⁶⁵²²
which admits
⁶⁵²³
no long debate,

But must with something sudden be opposed

(Not force, but well-couched
⁶⁵²⁴
fraud, well-woven snares),

Ere in the head
⁶⁵²⁵
of nations he appear,

Their king, their leader, and supreme on earth.

I, when no other durst, sole undertook

The dismal
⁶⁵²⁶
expedition
⁶⁵²⁷
to find out

And ruin Adam, and the exploit performed

Successfully. A calmer voyage now

Will waft
⁶⁵²⁸
me, and the way found prosperous once