But first the lawless Tyrant, who denies
To know thir God, or message tard,
Must be pelld by Signes and Judgements dire; [ 175 ]
To blood uhe Rivers must be turnd,
Frogs, Lid Flies must all his Palace fill
With loathd intrusion, and fill all the land;
His Cattel must of Rot and Murren die,
Botches and blaines must all his flesh imboss, [ 180 ]
And all his people; Thunder mixt with Haile,
Haile mixt with fire must rend th Egyptian Skie
And wheel on th Earth, dev where it rouls;
What it devours not, Herb, or Fruit, raine,
A darksom Cloud of Locusts swarming down [ 185 ]
Must eat, and on the ground leave nothing green:
Darkness must overshadow all his bounds,
Palpable darkness, and blot out three dayes;
Last with one midnight stroke all the first-born
Of Egypt must lie dead. Thus with ten wounds [ 190 ]
The River-dragon tamd at length submits
To let his sojourners depart, and oft
Humbles his stubbor, but still as Ice
More hardnd after thaw, till in his rage
Pursuing whom he late dismissd, the Sea [ 195 ]
Swallows him with his Host, but them lets pass
As on drie laween two christal walls,
Awd by the rod of Moses so to stand
Divided, till his rescud gain thir shoar:
Such wondrous pod to his Saint will lend, [ 200 ]
Though present in his Angel, who shall goe
Before them in a Cloud, and Pillar of Fire,
By day a Cloud, by night a Pillar of Fire,
To guide them in thir journey, and remove
Behihem, while th obdurat King pursues: [ 205 ]
All night he will pursue, but his approach
Darkness defends between till m Watch;
Then through the Firey Pillar and the Cloud
God looking forth will trouble all his Host
And craze thir Chariot wheels: when by and [ 210 ]
Moses once more his potent Rod extends
Over the Sea; the Sea his Rod obeys;
On thir imbattelld ranks the Waves return,
And overwhelm thir Warr: the Race elect
Safe towards aan from the shoar advance [ 215 ]
Through the wilde Desert, not the readiest way,
Least entring on the aanite allarmd
Warr terrifie them i, and feare
Return them back to Egypt, choosing rather
Inglorious life with servitude; for life [ 220 ]
To noble and ignoble is more sweet
Untraind in Armes, where rashness leads not on.