Paradise Lost - Milton John - Страница 62

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Within himself unworthie Powers to reign

Over free Reason, God in Judgement just

Subjects him from without to violent Lords;

Who oft as undeservedly enthrall

His outward freedom: Tyrannie must be,

Though to the Tyrant thereby no excuse.

Yet somtimes Nations will decline so low

From vertue, which is reason, that no wrong,

But Justice, and some fatal curse annext

Deprives them of thir outward libertie,

Thir inward lost: Witness th' irreverent Son

Of him who built the Ark, who for the shame

Don to his Father, heard this heavie curse,

SERVANT OF SERVANTS, on his vitious Race.

Thus will this latter, as the former World,

Still tend from bad to worse, till God at last

Wearied with their iniquities, withdraw

His presence from among them, and avert

His holy Eyes; resolving from thenceforth

To leave them to thir own polluted wayes;

And one peculiar Nation to select

From all the rest, of whom to be invok'd,

A Nation from one faithful man to spring:

Him on this side EUPHRATES yet residing,

Bred up in Idol-worship; O that men

(Canst thou believe?) should be so stupid grown,

While yet the Patriark liv'd, who scap'd the Flood,

As to forsake the living God, and fall

To-worship thir own work in Wood and Stone

For Gods! yet him God the most High voutsafes

To call by Vision from his Fathers house,

His kindred and false Gods, into a Land

Which he will shew him, and from him will raise

A mightie Nation, and upon him showre

His benediction so, that in his Seed

All Nations shall be blest; hee straight obeys,

Not knowing to what Land, yet firm believes:

I see him, but thou canst not, with what Faith

He leaves his Gods, his Friends, and native Soile

UR of CHALDAEA, passing now the Ford

To HARAN, after him a cumbrous Train

Of Herds and Flocks, and numerous servitude;

Not wandring poor, but trusting all his wealth

With God, who call'd him, in a land unknown.

CANAAN he now attains, I see his Tents

Pitcht about SECHEM, and the neighbouring Plaine

Of MOREB; there by promise he receaves

Gift to his Progenie of all that Land;

From HAMATH Northward to the Desert South

(Things by thir names I call, though yet unnam'd)

From HERMON East to the great Western Sea,

Mount HERMON, yonder Sea, each place behold

In prospect, as I point them; on the shoare

Mount CARMEL; here the double-founted stream

JORDAN, true limit Eastward; but his Sons

Shall dwell to SENIR, that long ridge of Hills.

This ponder, that all Nations of the Earth

Shall in his Seed be blessed; by that Seed

Is meant thy great deliverer, who shall bruise

The Serpents head; whereof to thee anon

Plainlier shall be reveald. This Patriarch blest,

Whom FAITHFUL ABRAHAM due time shall call,

A Son, and of his Son a Grand-childe leaves,

Like him in faith, in wisdom, and renown;

The Grandchilde with twelve Sons increast, departs

From CANAAN, to a Land hereafter call'd

EGYPT, divided by the River NILE;

See where it flows, disgorging at seaven mouthes

Into the Sea: to sojourn in that Land

He comes invited by a yonger Son

In time of dearth, a Son whose worthy deeds

Raise him to be the second in that Realme

Of PHARAO: there he dies, and leaves his Race

Growing into a Nation, and now grown

Suspected to a sequent King, who seeks

To stop thir overgrowth, as inmate guests

Too numerous; whence of guests he makes them slaves

Inhospitably, and kills thir infant Males:

Till by two brethren (those two brethren call

MOSES and AARON) sent from God to claime

His people from enthralment, they return

With glory and spoile back to thir promis'd Land.

But first the lawless Tyrant, who denies

To know thir God, or message to regard,

Must be compelld by Signes and Judgements dire;

To blood unshed the Rivers must be turnd,

Frogs, Lice and Flies must all his Palace fill

With loath'd intrusion, and fill all the land;

His Cattel must of Rot and Murren die,

Botches and blaines must all his flesh imboss,

And all his people; Thunder mixt with Haile,

Haile mixt with fire must rend th' EGYPTIAN Skie

And wheel on th' Earth, devouring where it rouls;

What it devours not, Herb, or Fruit, or Graine,

A darksom Cloud of Locusts swarming down

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

This River-dragon tam'd at length submits

To let his sojourners depart, and oft

Humbles his stubborn heart, but still as Ice

More hard'nd after thaw, till in his rage

Pursuing whom he late dismissd, the Sea

Swallows him with his Host, but them lets pass

As on drie land between two christal walls,

Aw'd by the rod of MOSES so to stand

Divided, till his rescu'd gain thir shoar:

Such wondrous power God to his Saint will lend,

Though present in his Angel, who shall goe

Before them in a Cloud, and Pillar of Fire,

To guide them in thir journey, and remove

Behinde them, while th' obdurat King pursues:

All night he will pursue, but his approach

Darkness defends between till morning Watch;

Then through the Firey Pillar and the Cloud

God looking forth will trouble all his Host

And craze thir Chariot wheels: when by command

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 CANAAN from the shoar advance

Through the wilde Desert, not the readiest way,

Least entring on the CANAANITE allarmd

Warr terrifie them inexpert, and feare

Return them back to EGYPT, choosing rather

Inglorious life with servitude; for life

To noble and ignoble is more sweet

Untraind in Armes, where rashness leads not on.

This also shall they gain by thir delay

In the wide Wilderness, there they shall found

Thir government, and thir great Senate choose

Through the twelve Tribes, to rule by Laws ordaind:

God from the Mount of SINAI, whose gray top

Shall tremble, he descending, will himself

In Thunder Lightning and loud Trumpets sound

Ordaine them Lawes; part such as appertaine

To civil Justice, part religious Rites

Of sacrifice, informing them, by types

And shadowes, of that destind Seed to bruise

The Serpent, by what meanes he shall achieve

Mankinds deliverance. But the voice of God

To mortal eare is dreadful; they beseech

That MOSES might report to them his will,

And terror cease; he grants them thir desire,

Instructed that to God is no access

Without Mediator, whose high Office now

MOSES in figure beares, to introduce

One greater, of whose day he shall foretell,

And all the Prophets in thir Age the times

Of great MESSIAH shall sing. Thus Laws and Rites

Establisht, such delight hath God in Men

Obedient to his will, that he voutsafes

Among them to set up his Tabernacle,

The holy One with mortal Men to dwell:

By his prescript a Sanctuary is fram'd

Of Cedar, overlaid with Gold, therein

An Ark, and in the Ark his Testimony,

The Records of his Cov'nant, over these

A Mercie-seat of Gold between the wings

Of two bright Cherubim, before him burn

Seaven Lamps as in a Zodiac representing

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