To whom the Angel. Son of Heavn ah,
Attend: That thou art happie, owe to God; [ 520 ]
That thou tinust such, owe to thy self,
That is, to thy obedieherein stand.
This was that caution givn thee; be advisd.
God made thee perfet, not immutable;
And good he made thee, but to persevere [ 525 ]
He left it in thy power, ordaind thy will
By nature free, not over-ruld by Fate
Iricable, or striecessity;
Our voluntarie service he requires,
Not our ated, such with him [ 530 ]
Finds no acceptanor find, for how
hearts, not free, be trid whether they serve
Willing or no, who will but what they must
By Destinie, and o other choose?
Myself and all th Angelic Host that stand [ 535 ]
In sight of God enthrond, our happie state
Hold, as you yours, while our obedience holds;
On other surety none; freely we serve
Because we freely love, as in our will
To love or not; in this we stand or fall: [ 540 ]
And Som are falln, to disobedience falln,
And so from Heavn to deepest Hell; O fall
From what high state of bliss into what woe!
To whom reat Progenitor. Thy words
Attentive, and with more delighted eare [ 545 ]
Divine instructer, I have heard, then when
Cherubigs by night from neighb Hills
Aereal Musid: nor knew I not
To be both will and deed created free;
Yet that we never shall fet to love [ 550 ]
Our maker, and obey him whose and
Single, is yet so just, my stant thoughts
Assurd me and still assure: though what thou tellst
Hath past in Heavn, Som doubt within me move,
But more desire to hear, if thou sent, [ 555 ]
The full relation, which must needs be strange,
Worthy of Sacred sileo be heard;
And we have yet large day, for scarce the Sun
Hath finisht half his journey, and scarce begins
His other half in the great Zone of Heavn. [ 560 ]
Thus Adam made request, and Raphael
After short pause assenting, thus began.
High matter thou injoinst me, O prime of men,
Sad task and hard, for how shall I relate
To human seh invisible exploits [ 565 ]
Of warring Spirits; how without remorse
The ruin of so many glorious once
A while they stood; how last unfould
The secrets of another World, perhaps
Not lawful to reveal? yet for thy good [ 570 ]
This is dispenct, and what surmounts the reach
Of human sense, I shall delie so,
By likning spiritual to corporal forms,
As may express them best, though what if Earth
Be but the shaddow of Heavn, and things therein [ 575 ]
Each to other like, more then oh is thought?