The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems (50 page)

Read The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems Online

Authors: John Milton,Burton Raffel

Tags: #Fiction, #General, #Literary Collections, #Poetry, #Classics, #English; Irish; Scottish; Welsh, #English poetry

BOOK: The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems
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457

      

Dissolved on earth, fleet
2586
hither, and in vain,

458

      

Till final dissolution, wander here,

459

      

Not in the neighboring moon, as some have dreamed.

460

      

Those argent
2587
fields’ more likely habitants,

461

      

Translated
2588
Saints,
2589
or middle Spirits hold

462

      

Betwixt th’ angelical and human kind.

463

      

Hither of ill-joined sons and daughters born

464

      

First from the ancient world those giants came,

465

      

With many a vain exploit, though then renowned.

466

      

The builders next of Babel on the plain

467

      

Of Sennaär,
2590
and still with vain design,

468

      

New Babels, had
2591
they wherewithal,
2592
would build.

469

      

Others came single:
2593
he,
2594
who to be deemed
2595

470

      

A god, leaped fondly
2596
into Aetna’s flames,

471

      

Empedocles; and he,
2597
who to enjoy

472

      

Plato’s Elysium,
2598
leaped into the sea,

473

      

Cleombrotus; and many more too long,
2599

474

      

Embryos and idiots, eremites,
2600
and friars

475

      

White,
2601
black,
2602
and gray,
2603
with all their trumpery.
2604

476

      

Here pilgrims roam, that strayed so far to seek

477

      

In Golgotha
2605
him dead who lives in Heav’n,

478

      

And they who to be sure of Paradise,

479

      

Dying, put on the weeds
2606
of Dominick,
2607

480

      

Or in Franciscan
2608
think to pass disguised.

481

      

They pass the planets seven, and pass the fixed,

482

      

And that crystalline sphere whose balance weighs

483

      

The trepidation talked,
2609
and that first moved.
2610

484

      

And now Saint Peter at Heav’n’s wicket
2611
seems

485

      

To wait
2612
them with his keys, and now at foot

486

      

Of Heav’n’s ascent they lift their feet, when lo!

487

      

A violent
2613
cross wind from either coast

488

      

Blows them transverse,
2614
ten thousand leagues
2615
awry
2616

489

      

Into the devious
2617
air. Then might ye see

490

      

Cowls, hoods, and habits, with their wearers, tossed

491

      

And fluttered into rags, then relics, beads,

492

      

Indulgences, dispenses,
2618
pardons, bulls,

493

      

The sport of winds. All these, upwhirled aloft,

494

      

Fly o’er the backside
2619
of the world far off

495

      

Into a limbo large and broad, since called

496

      

The Paradise of Fools, to few unknown

497

      

Long after, now unpeopled, and untrod.

498

      

   
All this dark globe the fiend found as he passed,

499

      

And long he wandered, till at last a gleam

500

      

Of dawning light
2620
turned thitherward in haste

501

      

His travelled steps. Far distant he descries,
2621

502

      

Ascending by degrees
2622
magnificent

503

      

Up to the wall of Heav’n, a structure high

504

      

At top whereof, but far more rich, appeared

505

      

The work as of a kingly palace-gate,

506

      

With frontispiece
2623
of diamond and gold

507

      

Embellished. Thick with sparkling orient
2624
gems

508

      

The portal
2625
shone, inimitable on earth

509

      

By model or by shading
2626
pencil drawn.

510

      

These stairs were such as whereon Jacob saw

511

      

Angels ascending and descending, bands

512

      

Of guardians bright, when he from Esau fled

513

      

To Padan-Aram,
2627
in the field of Luz,
2628

514

      

Dreaming by night under the open sky

515

      

And waking cried, “This is the gate of Heav’n!

516

      

Each stair mysteriously
2629
was meant, nor stood

517

      

There always, but drawn up
2630
to Heav’n sometimes,

518

      

Viewless.
2631
And underneath a bright sea flowed

519

      

Of jasper, or of liquid pearl, whereon

520

      

Who after came from earth, sailing arrived,

521

      

Wafted by Angels, or flew o’er the lake

522

      

Rapt
2632
in a chariot drawn by fiery steeds.

523

      

The stairs were then let down, whether to dare

524

      

The fiend by easy ascent, or aggravate
2633

525

      

His sad exclusion from the doors of bliss,

526

      

Direct against which opened from beneath,

527

      

Just o’er the blissful seat of Paradise,

528

      

A passage down to th’ earth, a passage wide,

529

      

Wider by far than that of after-times

530

      

Over Mount Sion and, though that were large,

531

      

Over the Promised Land, to God so dear,

532

      

By which, to visit oft those happy tribes,

533

      

On high behests
2634
His Angels to and fro

534

      

Passed frequent, and His eye with choice regard
2635

535

      

From Paneas,
2636
the fount
2637
of Jordan’s flood,
2638

536

      

To Beersaba,
2639
where the Holy Land

537

      

Borders on Egypt and th’Arabian shore.

538

      

So wide the op’ning seemed, where bounds were set

539

      

To darkness, such as bound the ocean wave.

540

      

Satan from hence, now on the lower stair

541

      

That scaled by steps of gold to Heav’n-gate,

542

      

Looks down with wonder at the sudden view

543

      

Of all this world at once. As when a scout,
2640

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