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Could have assur'd us; and by what best way,
Whether of open war, or covert guile,

We now debate: who can advise, may speak.

He ceas'd; and next him Moloch, scepter'd king,
Stood up the strongest and 'the fiercest spirit
That fought in Heaven, now fiercer by despair:
His trust was with the Eternal to be deem'd
Equal in strength; and rather than be less
Car'd not to be at all; with that care lost
Went all his fear: of God, or Hell, or worse,
He reck'd not, and these words thereafter spake.
My sentence is for open war: of wiles,
More unexpert, I boast not: them let those
Contrive who need, or when they need, not now.
For, while they sit contriving, shall the rest,
Millions that stand in arms, and longing wait
The signal to ascend, sit lingering here,
Heaven's fugitives, and for their dwelling-place
Accept this dark opprobrious den of shame,
The prison of his tyranny who reigns

By our delay? No, let us rather choose,
Arm'd with Hell-flames and fury, all at once,

O'er Heaven's high towers to force resistless way,

Turning our tortures into horrid arms

Against the torturer; when to meet the noise

Of his almighty engine he shall hear

Infernal thunder; and, for lightning, see

Black fire and horror shot with equal rage

Among his angels; and his throne itself

Mix'd with Tartarean sulphur, and strange fire,
His own invented torments.

But perhaps

Ne sicurasse; ma qual via migliore
Seguir, se guerra aperta o chiuso inganno,
Ora trattiam; chi consiglio ha, favelli.

Tacque; e appo lui Molocco re scettrato
S'alzò, il più forte spirto e il più feroce
Che in ciel pugnò, or più fier dal disperare:
L'onor ambia d'inceder coll' Eterno

Pari in poter; e pria che star minore
Volea perir: per voglia tal perdèo
Ogni timor di Dio, d'inferno, o peggio,
Nulla curò, e in tal dir parlò secondo.

"

Aperta guerra è mio parer: le frodi
Io non vanto, le ignoro: quei le trami

Che d'uopo n'ha, quand' uopo n'ha, non ora.
Dunque, mentre ei tramando vanno, gli altri
Che stan sull' armi innumeri e alto chieggono
D'ascendere il segnal, qui fian languenti
Dal ciel fuggiaschi, e a loro asil quest' atra
Accettin d'onta obbrobriosa chiostra
Prigion di quel tiranno che sol regna
Pel tardar nostro? No, di fiamme inferne
Armati e d'ira, tutti insiem sull' alte
Torri del ciel sforziamo invitto varco;
Tornin, le nostre pene in orride armi
Contro il carnefice, e mugghiare incontro
L'onnipossente suo stromento ascolti
L'infernal tuono, e quai baleni miri

Fiamme atre e orror scoppiare tra suoi spirti
Con furia egual; ed il suo trono istesso

Di solfo inferno avvolto e straño foco

Da lui inventati a tormentar.

Ma forse

The way seems difficult, and steep to scale
With upright wings against a higher foe.
Let such bethink them, if the sleepy drench
Of that forgetful lake benumb not still,
That in our proper motion we ascend
Up to our native seat: descent and fall
To us is adverse. Who but felt of late,
When the fierce foe hung on our broken rear
Insulting, aud pursued us through the deep,
With what compulsion and laborious flight
We sunk thus low? The ascent is easy then.
The event is fear'd, should we again provoke
Our stronger, some worse way his wrath may find
To our destruction; if there be in Hell

Fear to be worse destroy'd. What can be worse
Than to dwell here, driven out from bliss, condemn'd
In this abhorred deep to utter woe;

Where pain of unextinguishable fire

Must exercise us, without hope of end,
The vassals of his anger, when the scourge
Inexorably, and the torturing hour

Calls us to penance? More destroy'd than thus,
We shall be quite abolish'd, and expire.

What fear we then? what doubt we to incense
His utmost ire? which, to the height enrag'd,
Will either quite consume us, and reduce
To nothing this essential, happier far
Than miserable to have eternal being:
Or, if our substance be indeed divine,
And cannot cease to be, we are at worst
On this side nothing; and by proof we feel
Our power sufficient to disturb his Heaven,

La via par forte ed a scalar repente
Con ali erette ed oste soprastante.
Tal pensin quei cui l'assonnante beva
Del lago dell'oblio dissenna ancora,
Chè in nostra propria mozïón al seggio
Natio saliam, discendere e cadere

È avverso a noi. Chi nol sentì poc' anzi
Quando il nemico fier su noi sconfitti
Pendea insultando e ne premca all' abisso,
Con qual violenza e volo affaticato
Cademmo giù? Salir è facil dunque.
L'evento è trepido, se osiam quel Forte
Provocare, può via peggior suo sdegno
Trovar a nostri danni, se in inferno
Tema è di mal peggiore. E qual fia stanza
Peggior di quì, spogli del ciel, dannati
In quest' orrendo abisso a piéta estrema;
U' strazio di non mai restinto foco
Senza sperarne un fin daranne affanni,
Mancipi d'ira sua, quando il flagello
Inesorato, e l'ora tormentosa
Appellaci a penar? Per mal più grave
Ci aspetterem distruggimento e morte.

Che temer dunque ? O d' inasprir qual dubbio
Suo sdegno estremo? Od ei nell' alta rabbia
Consumeranne affatto e questa essenza

Nel nulla perderà, e ben più felice
La fia che eterno viva e miseranda:
O se sostanza nostra invero è diva,
Nè d'esser può cessar, non sorte abbiamo
Peggior però; sappiam a prova il nostro
Poter bastante a perturbar suo cielo

And with perpetual inroads to alarm,
Though inaccessible, his fatal throne
Which, if not victory, is yet revenge. »

:

He ended frowning, and his look denounc'd
Desperate revenge, and battle dangerous
To less than gods. On the other side up-rose
Belial, in act more graceful and humane:
A fairer person lost not Heaven; he seem'd
For dignity compos'd, and high exploit:
But all was false and hollow; though his tongue
Dropt manna, and could make the worse appear
The better reason, to perplex and dash
Maturest counsels: for his thoughts were low;
To vice industrious, but to nobler deeds
Tim'rous and slothful: yet he pleas'd the ear,
And with persuasive accent thus began:

« I should be much for open war, O, peers!
As not behind in hate; if what was urg'd
Main reason to persuade immediate war,
Did not dissuade me most, and seem to cast
Ominous conjecture on the whole success;
When he, who most excels in fact of arms,
In what he counsels, and in what excels,
Mistrustful, grounds his courage on despair
And utter dissolution, as the scope

Of all his aim, after some dire revenge.

First, what revenge? The towers of Heaven are fill'd With armed watch, that render all access

Impregnable: oft on the bordering deep

Incamp their legions; or, with obscure wing,
Scout far and wide into the realm of night.

Scorning surprise. Or could we break our vay

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