Book 1.
Paradiſe loſt.
Equal'd in all thir glories, to inſhrine
Belus or Serapis thir Gods, or ſeat 720
Thir Kings, when Ægypt with Aſſyria ſtrove
In wealth and luxurie. Th' aſcending pile
Stood fixt her ſtately highth, and ſtrait the dores
Op'ning thir brazen foulds diſcover wide
Within, her ample ſpaces, o're the ſmooth
And level pavement: from the arched roof
Pendent by ſuttle Magic many a row
Of Starry Lamps and blazing Creſſets fed
With Naphtha and Aſphaltus yeilded light
As from a sky. The haſty multitude 730
Admiring enter'd, and the work ſome praiſe
And ſome the Architect: his hand was known
In Heav'n by many a Towred ſtructure high,
Where Scepter'd Angels held their reſidence,
And ſat as Princes, whom the ſupreme King
Exalted to ſuch power, and gave to rule,
Each in his Herarchie, the Orders bright.
Nor was his name unheard or unador'd
In ancient Greece; and in Auſonian land
Men call'd him Mulciber; and how he fell 740
From Heav'n, they fabl'd, thrown by angry Jove
Sheer o're the Chryſtal Battlements: from Morn
To Noon he fell, from Noon to dewy Eve,
A Summers day; and with the ſetting Sun
Dropt from the Zenith like a falling Star,
On Lemnos th' Ægæan Ile: thus they relate,
Erring; for he with this rebellious rout
Fell long before; nor aught avail'd him now
To have built in Heav'n high Towrs; nor did he ſcape
By all his Engins, but was headlong ſent 750
Belus or Serapis thir Gods, or ſeat 720
Thir Kings, when Ægypt with Aſſyria ſtrove
In wealth and luxurie. Th' aſcending pile
Stood fixt her ſtately highth, and ſtrait the dores
Op'ning thir brazen foulds diſcover wide
Within, her ample ſpaces, o're the ſmooth
And level pavement: from the arched roof
Pendent by ſuttle Magic many a row
Of Starry Lamps and blazing Creſſets fed
With Naphtha and Aſphaltus yeilded light
As from a sky. The haſty multitude 730
Admiring enter'd, and the work ſome praiſe
And ſome the Architect: his hand was known
In Heav'n by many a Towred ſtructure high,
Where Scepter'd Angels held their reſidence,
And ſat as Princes, whom the ſupreme King
Exalted to ſuch power, and gave to rule,
Each in his Herarchie, the Orders bright.
Nor was his name unheard or unador'd
In ancient Greece; and in Auſonian land
Men call'd him Mulciber; and how he fell 740
From Heav'n, they fabl'd, thrown by angry Jove
Sheer o're the Chryſtal Battlements: from Morn
To Noon he fell, from Noon to dewy Eve,
A Summers day; and with the ſetting Sun
Dropt from the Zenith like a falling Star,
On Lemnos th' Ægæan Ile: thus they relate,
Erring; for he with this rebellious rout
Fell long before; nor aught avail'd him now
To have built in Heav'n high Towrs; nor did he ſcape
By all his Engins, but was headlong ſent 750
With
