Therefore eternal silence be their doom.

And now, their mightiest quelled, the battle swerved,

With many an inroad gored; deformed rout

Entered, and foul disorder; all the ground

With shivered armour strown, and on a heap

Chariot and charioteer lay overturned,

And fiery-foaming steeds; what stood, recoiled

O’er-wearied, through the faint Satanic host

Defensive scarce, or with pale fear surprised,

Then first with fear surprised, and sense of pain,

Fled ignominious, to such evil brought

By sin of disobedience; till that hour

Not liable to fear, or flight, or pain.

Far otherwise the inviolable Saints,

In cubic phalanx firm, advanced entire,

Invulnerable, impenetrably armed;

Such high advantages their innocence

Gave them above their foes; not to have sinned,

Not to have disobeyed; in fight they stood

Unwearied, unobnoxious to be pained

By wound, though from their place by violence moved,

Now Night her course began, and, over Heaven

Inducing darkness, grateful truce imposed,

And silence on the odious din of war:

Under her cloudy covert both retired,

Victor and vanquished: On the foughten field

Michael and his Angels prevalent

Encamping, placed in guard their watches round,

Cherubic waving fires: On the other part,

Satan with his rebellious disappeared,

Far in the dark dislodged; and, void of rest,

His potentates to council called by night;

And in the midst thus undismayed began.

‘O now in danger tried, now known in arms

Not to be overpowered, Companions dear,

Found worthy not of liberty alone,

Too mean pretence! but what we more affect,

Honour, dominion, glory, and renown;

Who have sustained one day in doubtful fight,

(And if one day, why not eternal days?)

What Heaven’s Lord had powerfullest to send

Against us from about his throne, and judged

Sufficient to subdue us to his will,

But proves not so: Then fallible, it seems,

Of future we may deem him, though till now

Omniscient thought. True is, less firmly armed,

Some disadvantage we endured and pain,

Till now not known, but, known, as soon contemned;

Since now we find this our empyreal form

Incapable of mortal injury,

Imperishable, and, though pierced with wound,

Soon closing, and by native vigour healed.

Of evil then so small as easy think

The remedy; perhaps more valid arms,

Weapons more violent, when next we meet,

May serve to better us, and worse our foes,

Or equal what between us made the odds,

In nature none: If other hidden cause

Left them superior, while we can preserve

Unhurt our minds, and understanding sound,

Due search and consultation will disclose.’

He sat; and in the assembly next upstood

Nisroch, of Principalities the prime;

As one he stood escaped from cruel fight,

Sore toiled, his riven arms to havock hewn,

And cloudy in aspect thus answering spake.

‘Deliverer from new Lords, leader to free

Enjoyment of our right as Gods; yet hard

For Gods, and too unequal work we find,

Against unequal arms to fight in pain,

Against unpained, impassive; from which evil