ACT I.
Belzebub:
My Belial hence hath sped on aery wings To see where lingers our Apollion, Whom for such flight most fit Chief Lucifer Hath sent to Earth that he might gain for him A better sense of Adam's bliss, the state, Where placed by Powers Omnipotent he dwells. And lo! the time draws nigh that he return Unto these courts. He cannot now be far. A watchful servant heeds his master's glance And, faithful, stays his throne with neck and shoulder. 10
Belial:
Lord Belzebub, thou Privy Councillor Of Heaven's Stadtholder, he riseth steep And wheels from sphere to sphere into our view; The wind he passes by and leaves a track Of light and splendor in his wake, where cleave, His speedy wings the clouds; and now our air He scents in other day and brighter sun, Whose glow is mirrored in the crystal blue. The heavenly globes beneath behold his flight, As up he mounts, and each with wonder sees 20 His speed and godlike grace. He seems to them No more an Angel but a flying fire. No star so swiftly shoots. Behold him now, Here upwards soaring, and within his hands He bears a golden bough. The steep incline He hath accomplished happily.
Belzebub:
What brings Apollion?
Apollion:
I have, Lord Belzebub, The low terrene observed with keenest eye. And now I offer thee the fruits grown there So far below these heights, 'neath other skies 30 And other sun: now judge thou from the fruit The land and garden which even God Himself Hath blessed and planted for mankind's delight.
Belzebub:
I see the golden leaves, all laden with Ethereal pearls, the sparkling silvery dew. What sweet perfume exhale those radiant leaves Of tint unfading! How alluring glows That pleasant fruit with crimson and with gold! 'Twere pity to pollute it with the hands. The eye doth tempt the mouth. Who would not lust 40 For earthly luxury! He loathes our day And food celestial, who the fruit may pluck Of Earth. One would for Adam's garden curse Our Paradise. The bliss of Angels fades In that of man.
Apollion:
Too true. Lord Belzebub, Though high our Heaven may seem, 'tis far too low, For what I saw with mine own eyes deceives Me not. The world's delights, yea, Eden's fields Alone, our Paradise excel.
Belzebub:
Proceed. We'll hear what thou shalt say. We'll hear together. 50
Apollion:
I'll pass my journey thither by nor tell How downward sweeping through nine spheres I sped. That swift as arrows round their centre whirl. The wheel of sense revolves within our thoughts Not with such speed, as I beneath the moon And clouds dropped down. Where then aloft I hung, On floating pinions, to survey that shore, That Eastern landscape far that marks the face Of that great sphere the flowing ocean rounds, Wherein so many kinds of monsters swarm. 60 Afar I saw a lofty mount emerge, From which a waterfall, fount of four streams, Dashed with a roar into the vale below. Headlong I steered my course oblique, with steep Descent, until I gained the mountain's brow, Whence, resting, all the nether world I viewed, Its happy fields and glowing opulence.
Belzebub:
Now picture us the garden and its shape.
Apollion:
Round is the garden, as the world itself. Above the centre looms the mount from which 70 The fountain gushes that divides in four, And waters all the land, refreshing trees And fields; and flows in unreflective rills Of crystal purity. The streams their rich Alluvion bring and nourish all the ground. Here Onyx gleams and Bdellion doth shine; And bright as Heaven glows with glittering stars; So here Dame Nature sowed her constellations Of stones that pale our stars. Here dazzle veins Of gold; for Nature wished to gather all 80 Her treasures in one lap.
Belzebub:
What of the air That hovers round whereby that creature lives?
Apollion:
No Angel us among, a breath exhales So soft and sweet as the pure draught refreshing That there meets man, that lightly cools his face And with its gentle, vivifying touch All things caresses in its blissful course: There swells the bosom of the fertile field "With herb and hue and bud and branch and bloom And odors manifold, which nightly dews 90 Refresh. The rising and the setting sun Know and observe their proper, measured time And so unto the need of every plant Temper their mighty rays that flower and fruit Are all within the selfsame season found.
Belzebub:
Now tell me of man's features and his form.
Apollion:
Who would our state for that of man prefer, When one beholdeth beings, all-surpassing, Beneath whose sway all other beings stand! I saw a hundred thousand creatures move 100 Before me there: all they that tread the earth And they that cleave the clouds, or swim the stream, As is their wont, each in his element. Who should the nature and the attributes Of each one know as Adam! For 'twas he That gave them, one by one, their various names. The mountain-lion wagged his tail and smiled Upon his lord. And, at his sovereign's feet, The tiger, too, his fierceness laid. The bull Bowed low his horns; the elephant, his trunk. 110 The bear forgot his rage. The griffin heard His call; the eagle and the dragon dread, Behemoth and even great Leviathan. Nor shall I tell what praise rings in man's ears, Amid those warbling bowers, replete with songs in many tongues; while zephyrs rustle through The leaves, and brooks purl 'neath their sylvan banks A murmurous harmony that wearies never. Had but Apollion his mission then Accomplished, sooth, in Adam's Paradise 120 He soon had lost all memory of Heaven.
Belzebub:
But what, pray, of the twain thou sawest there?
Apollion:
No creature hath on high mine eye so pleased As those below. Who could so subtly soul With body weave and two-fold Angels form From clay and bone? The body's shapely mould Attests the Maker's art, that in the face, The mirror of the mind, doth best appear. But wonderful! upon the face is stamped The image of the soul. All beauty here 130 Concentres, while a god looks through the eyes. Above the whole the reasoning soul doth hover, And while the dumb and brutish beasts all look Down towards their feet, man proudly lifts alone His head to Heaven, in lofty praise to God.
Belzebub:
His praise is not in vain for gifts so rare.
Apollion:
He rules even like a god whom all must serve. The invisible soul consists of spirit and not Of matter, and it rules in every limb: The brain it makes its seat, and there holds court. 140 It is immortal, nor fears aught of rust, Or other injury. 'Tis past our sense. Knowledge and prudence, virtue and free-will, Are its possessions. Dumb all Spirits stand Before its majesty. Ere long the world Shall teem with men. It waits, from little seed, A harvest rich in souls; and therefore God Did man to woman join.
Belzebub:
Now say me how Thou dost regard his rib--his lovèd spouse?
Apollion:
I covered with my wings mine eyes and face 150 That I might curb my thoughts and deep delight, When erst she filled my gaze, as Adam led her Into their arborous bower with gentle hand: From time to time he stopped, in contemplation; And gazing thus, a holy fire began His pure breast to inflame. And then he kissed His bride and she her bridegroom: thus on joy Their nuptials fed--on feasts of fiery love, Better imagined far than told, a bliss Divine beyond all Angel ken. How poor 160 Our loneliness! For us no union sweet Of two-fold sex, of maiden and of man. Alas! how much of good we miss: we know No mate or happy marriage in a Heaven Devoid of woman.
Belzebub:
Thus in time a world Of men shall be begotten there below?
Apollion:
The love of beauty, fashioned in the brain, Deeply impressèd by the senses keen, This makes their union strong. Their life consists Alone in loving and in being loved-- 170 One sweet, one mutual joy, by them indulged Perpetually, yet e'er unquenchable.
Belzebub:
Now picture me the bride, described from life.
Apollion:
That Nature's pencil needs, nor lesser hues Than sunbeams. Perfect are both man and wife; Of equal beauty they, from head to foot. By right doth Adam Eve excel in strength Of form and majesty of bearing, as One chosen for the sovereignty of Earth: But Eve combines all that her bridegroom joys: 180 A tenderness of limb and softer skin And flesh, a lovelier tint and eyes enchanting, A charming, gracious mouth, a sweeter voice, Whose power lies in a sound more exquisite; Two founts of ivory and what besides No tongue should dare to name, lest Spirits should Be tempted. And though all the Angels now Impress our eyes as beautiful and fair. How ill their forms and faces would appear If seen within the rosy morning-light 190 Of maidenhood!
Belzebub:
It seems that passion for This feminine creature hath thy heart inflamed.
Apollion:
In that delightful blaze, my great wing-plumes I singed. Most hard it was for me to rise And wheel my way to this our high abode. I parted, though with pain, and thrice turned back My gaze. There shines no Seraph in the courts Celestial, here on high, as she amid Her hanging hair, that forms a golden niche Of sunbeams that in beauteous waves roll down 200 From her fair head, and flow along her back. So, even as from a light, she comes to view, And day rejoices with her radiant face. Though pearl and mother-o'-pearl seem purity, Her whiteness even theirs surpasses far.
Belzebub:
What profits human glory, if even as A flower of the field it fades and dies?
Apollion:
So long their garden fruit doth give, shall this Most happy pair live by an apple sweet, Grown on the central tree, that nurture finds 210 Beside the stream that laves its tender roots. This wondrous tree is called the tree of life. 'Tis incorruptible, and through it man Joys life eterne and all immortal things, While of his Angel brothers he becomes The peer, yea, and shall in the end surpass Them all, until his power and sway and realm Spread over all. For who can clip his wings? No Angel hath the power to multiply His being a thousand thousand times, in swarms 220 Innumerable. Now do thou calculate What shall from this, in time, the outcome be.
Belzebub:
Great is man's might, that thus even ours out-grows!
Apollion:
Soon shall his increase frighten and astound. Though now his sway stoops lower than the moon, And though 'tis now determinate, he shall Yet higher rise and place himself upon The highest seat in Heaven. If God prevent Not this, how then can we prevent it? For God loves man well and for him made all things. 230
Belzebub:
What hear I there? A trumpet? Surely then A voice will follow. Go, see, while we here Await.
Apollion:
The Archangel Gabriel is at hand, And in his wake the choristers of Heaven, In the name of Him, the Highest, to unfold, As Herald from the towering Throne of Thrones, What there him was enjoined.
Belzebub:
We please to hear Whatever the Archangel shall command.
GABRIEL. CHORUS OF ANGELS.
Gabriel:
Give ear, ye Angels all; give ear, ye hosts Of Heaven. The highest Goodness, from whose breast 240 Flow all things good and all things holy, who Of His beneficence ne'er wearied grows And of whose teeming grace the riches never Shall know decrease; whose might and Being transcend The comprehension of His creatures all: This Goodness, in the image of Himself, Formed man, also the Angels that they might Together here with Him securely hold The Realm eterne--the good ne'er-comprehended. Having the while with faithfulness maintained 250 His firm prescribed law. He also built This wondrous universe, the world below Made manifest, and meet for God and man, That in this garden man might rule and there Might multiply; acknowledge God with all His seed; Him ever serve and e'er revere, And thus mount up, by the stairway of the world, The firmament of beatific light Within, into the ne'er-created glow. Though Spirits may seem pre-eminent, above 260 All other beings, yet God hath decreed, Even from eternity, that man shall high Exalted be, even o'er the Angel world; Him destined for a glory and a crown Of splendor not inferior to His own. Ye shall behold the eternal Word above, When clad in flesh and bone, anointed Lord And Chief and Judge, mete justice to the hosts Of Spirits, to Angels and to men alike, From His high seat, in His unshadowed Realm. 270 There in the centre stands the holy Throne Already consecrate. Let all the hosts Angelic then have care to worship Him, When He shall ride in triumph in, who hath The human form exalted o'er our own. Then dimly shines the bright translucent flame Of Seraphim, beside this light of man, This glow and radiance divine. The rays Of Mercy shall all Nature's splendors drown. 'Tis fated thus--and stands irrevocable. 280
Chorus.
All that the Heavens ordain shall please God's hosts.
Gabriel:
So be ye faithful, ever rendering thus Both God and man your service: since mankind So well belovèd are by God Himself. Who honors Adam wins his Father's heart. And men and Angels, issuing from one stem. Are brothers and companions, chosen for One lot, the sons and heirs of the Most High, A stainless line. One undivided will, One undivided love, be this your law. 290 Ye know how all the Angel hosts into Three Hierarchies and lesser Orders nine Are duly separate: of Seraphim And Cherubim and Thrones, the highest, they Who form God's inmost Council and confirm All His commands; the second Hierarchy, Of Dominations. Virtues. Powers, that on The mandates of God's secret Council wait And minister to man's well-being and bliss. The third and lowest Hierarchy, composed 300 Of Principalities and all Archangels And Angels, is unto the middle rank Subordinate, and service finds beneath The sphere of purest crystalline, in their Particular charge, that wide is as the vault Of starry space. And when the world shall spread Its widening bounds without, shall unto each Of these some province there allotted be, Or he shall know what town or house or being Is to his care committed, to the praise 310 And honor of God's crown. Ye faithful ones, Ye Gods immortal, go then and obey Chief Lucifer, bound by your God's commands. Bring glory to high Heaven in serving man, Each in his own retreat, each on his watch. Let some before the Godhead incense burn And lay before His towering Throne their prayers, Their wishes and their offerings for mankind, Singing the Godhead praise until the sounds Re-echo through the corridors of Heaven, 320 In endless jubilation. Let some whirl The constellations and the globes of Heaven, Or open wide the skies, or pile them high With pregnant clouds, to bless the mount below With sunshine, or with soft, refreshing showers Of manna and of pure mellifluous dews; Where God is by the happy pair adored, The primal innocence 'mid Eden's bowers. Let those that air and fire and earth and sea O'er range, each, in his element, his pace 330 So moderate, as Adam may require; Or chain in bands the lightnings, curb the storm, Or break the ocean's fury on the strand. Let others make a charge of man himself. Even to a hair the sovran Deity Knoweth the hairs upon his head. Then bear Him gently on your hands, lest he should dash His foot against a stone. Let one now as Ambassador from the Omnipotent Be sent below to Adam. King of Earth. 340 That he perform his bounden charge. I voice The orders to my trump on high enjoined. To these the Godhead holds you firmly bound.
Chorus of Angels:
_Strophe_.
Who is it on His Throne, high-seated, So deep in boundless realms of light, Whose measure, space nor time hath meted, Nor e'en eternity; whose might, Supportless, yet itself maintaineth, Floating on pinions of repose; Who, in His mightiness ordaineth 350 What round and in Him changeless flows And what revolves and what is driven Around Him, centre of His plan; The sun of suns, the spirit-leaven Of space; the soul of all we can Conceive, and of the unconceivèd, The heart, the life, the fount, the sea, And source of all things here perceivèd, That from Him spring, that His decree Omnipotent and Mercy flowing 360 And Wisdom from naught did evoke, Ere this full-crownèd palace glowing, The Heaven of Heavens, the darkness broke? Where o'er our eyes our wings extending To veil His dazzling Majesty, 'Mid harmonies to Him ascending, We fall before Him tremblingly And kneel, confused, in awe together. Who is it? Name, or picture then His Being with a Seraph's feather. 370 Or is't beyond your tongue and ken?
_Antistrophe_.
'Tis God: Being infinite, eternal, Of everything that being has. Forgive us, O! Thou Power supernal, By all that is and ever was Ne'er fully praised, ne'er to be spoken; Forgive us, nor incensed depart, Since no imagining, tongue nor token Can Thee proclaim. Thou wert. Thou art Fore'er the same. All Angel praising 380 And knowledge is but faint and tame. 'Tis but foul sacrilege, their phrasing; For each bears his peculiar name Save Thee. And who can by declaring Reveal Thy name? And who make known Thine oracles? Who is so daring? He who Thou art Thou art alone. Save Thee none knows Thy power transcendent. Who grasps Thy full divinity? Who dares to face Thy Throne resplendent, 390 The fierce glow of eternity? To whom the light of light revealèd? What's hid behind Thy sacred veil, From us Thy Mercy hath concealèd. Such bliss transcends the narrow pale Of our weak might. Our life is waning; But Thine, Lord, shall know endless days. Our being in Thine finds its sustaining! Exalt the Godhead! Sing His praise!
_Epode_.
Holy! holy! once more holy! 400 Three times holy! Honor God! Without Him is nothing holy! Holy is His mighty nod! Strong in mystery He reigneth! His commands our tongues compel To proclaim what He ordaineth, What the faithful Gabriel With his trumpet came expounding. Praise of man to God redounding! All that pleaseth God is well. 410