Vondel's Lucifer

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.

[Illustration: "I see golden leaves, all laden with Ethereal pearls, the sparkling silvery dew."]

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!

[Illustration: "Perfect are both man and wife; Of equal beauty they from head to foot."]

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?

[Illustration: "Who is it on His Throne, high-seated?"]

_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

Act II.

Lucifer. BELZEBUB.

Lucifer. Ye speedy Spirits, stay our chariot now, God's Morning-star in its full zenith stands; Its height is reached; and lo! the moment comes When Lucifer must set before this star, This double star that rises from below And seeks the way above, to tarnish Heaven With earthly glow. No more should ye adorn Proud Lucifer's apparel with glittering crowns, Nor gild his forehead with the glorious dawn Of morning-star, to which Archangels kneel. 10 Another splendor sweeps into the light Of God, whose radiance drowns our vaunted glory. As to the eyes of man, below, the sun, By day, puts out the stars. The shades of night Bedim the Angels and the suns of Heaven: For man hath won the heart of the Most High, Within his new-created Paradise. He is the friend of Heaven. Our slavery Even now begins. Go hence, rejoice and serve And honor this new race like servile slaves. 20 For God was man created; we, for him. Let then the Angels bend their necks beneath His feet. Let each one now upon him wait And bear him even unto the highest Thrones On hands or wings: for our inheritance Shall pass to him, the chosen son of God. We, the first-born, shall suffer in this Realm. The son, born on that day, the sixth, and made In the image of the Father, shall attain The crown. And rightly unto him was given 30 The mighty sceptre, which shall cause even us, The ones first born, to tremble and to shake. Here holds no contradiction now: ye heard What Gabriel's trump spake at the golden port?

Belzebub. O! Stadtholder of God's superior Powers, Alas! we hear too well, amid the praise Of choristers, a discord that makes sad The feast eterne. The charge of Gabriel Is clear. It needs no tongue of Cherubim To unfold its sense. Nor was there need to send 40 Apollion below, a nearer view To gain of Adam's realm beneath the moon. How gloriously the Godhead dealt with him Doth well appear. He hath, for his defence, Even given a life-guard, many thousands strong, While He supports his rank and dignity, As if he were the supreme Chief of Spirits. The massive gate of Heaven stands ajar For Adam's seed. An earth-worm that hath crawled Out of the dust--out of a clod of clay 50 Defies thy power. Thou shalt yet man behold O'er thee exalted, so that thou shalt fall Upon thy knees and there, abased, adore, With drooping eyes, his lofty eminence, His power and high authority. He shall, When glorified by the Omnipotent, Yet seat himself, even by the side of God, Empowered to reign beyond the farthest rounds And endless circles of eternity. That, from the bounds of time and space set free, 60 Revolve unceasingly around one God, Who is their centre and circumference. What clearer proof need we to see that God Shall glorify mankind, and us degrade? For we were born to serve, and man, to rule. Then henceforth put the sceptre from thy hand: There is another one below, who reigns, Or soon shall reign. Put off thy morning rays And wreaths of light before this sun, or else Have care to bring him in with songs of joy 70 And triumph and with honors full divine. We soon shall see the Heavens changed in state. Behold! the stars look out and from their paths Retreat, aglow with longing to receive With reverence this new and coming light.

Lucifer. That shall I thwart, if in my power it be.

Belzebub. There hear I Lucifer and him behold. Who from Heaven's face can drive the night away. Where he appears, day's glory dawns anew. His crescent light, the first and nighest God, 80 Shall ne'er grow dim. His word is stern command; His will and nod a law by none transgressed. The Godhead is in him obeyed and served, Praised, honored, and adored. Should then a voice More faint than his now thunder from God's Throne? Than his be more obeyed? Should God exalt A younger son, begot of Adam's loins, Even over him? That would most violate The heirship of the eldest-born and rob His splendor of its rays. 'Neath God Himself 90 None is so great as thou. The Godhead once Set thee the first in glory at His feet. Then let not man dare thus our order great Profane, nor thus cast down these vested Rights "Without a cause, or all of Heaven shall spring To arms 'gainst one.

[Illustration: "Thou shalt not yet man behold O'er thee exalted, son that thou shalt fall Upon thy knees, and there, abased, adore, With drooping eyes his lofty eminence."]

Lucifer. Indeed, thou sayest well: It is not meet for Dominations grave, Powers well-disposed in state, thus to give up So loosely their established rights; and since The Supreme Power is by His laws most bound. 100 To change becomes Him least. Am I a son Of Light, a ruler of the light, my place I shall maintain, to no usurper bow, Not even this Arch-usurper. Let all yield Who will, not one foot shall I e'er retreat. Here is my Fatherland. Nor hardships dire Nor yet disaster nor anathemas Shall me intimidate, or tame. To die, Or to gain port around this dreadful cape, This is my destiny. Doth fate decree 110 That I must fall, of rank and honors shorn, Then let me fall; but fall with this my crown Upon my brow, this sceptre in my grasp, With my own retinue of faithful troops, And with these many thousands on my side. Aye, thus to fall brings honor and shall shed Unfading glory on my name: besides, To be the first prince in some lower court Is better than within the Blessed Light To be the second, or even less. 'Tis thus 120 I weigh the stroke, nor harm nor hindrance fear. But here, hardby, comes Heaven's Interpreter And Herald vigilant, with God's own book Of mysteries, committed to his care. Most opportune for us his coming hither; For I would question him. I shall accost Him then, and from my chariot descend.

Gabriel. LUCIFER.

Gabriel. Lord Stadtholder, how? Whither bound?

Lucifer. To thee, O Herald and Interpreter of Heaven.

Gabriel. Methinks I read thy purpose on thy brow. 130

Lucifer. Thou who canst fathom and who canst reveal, Through the deep-searching light of thy mind's eye, The shadowy mysteries of God, relieve Me with thy coming.

Gabriel. What doth burden thee?

Lucifer. The late decision of the ruling Powers, The new decree made by the Godhead, who Esteems celestial joys as of less worth Than earthly elements, oppresses Heaven, Even from the low abyss the Earth exalts Above the stars, sets man high in the seat 140 Of the Angels, whom, shorn of primordial powers, He then commands for human happiness To sweat and slave. The Spirits once consecrate To service in empyreal palaces Shall serve an Earth-worm that from out the dust Hath crawled and grown; and on his bidding wait, And see him them excel in rank and numbers. Why doth the endless Mercy us degrade So soon? What Angel hath forgot to render Due reverence? How could the Deity 150 Mingle with base mankind and thus pass by The nature of His chosen Angels here, While His own nature and His Being He pours Into a body?--thus eternity Unite with its beginning, time, and what Is highest to what is lowest of the low? --The great Creator to His creature bind? Who can the import glean of this decree? Shall now eternity's bright, quenchless sun Set in the gathering darkness of the world? 160 Shall we, the Stadtholder of God, thus kneel Before this shadow power, this puny lord; And see the countless hosts of souls divine And incorporeal bow themselves before A gross and sluggish element upon Which God hath stamped His Being and majesty? We Spirits are yet too gross to comprehend This mystery. Thou, who the key dost guard Of God's rich treasure-house of mysteries, Unlock, if so thou mayest, this secret dark 170 From out thy sealèd book: unfold to us The will of Heaven.

Gabriel. As much as is to us Permitted to unfold out of God's book: Much knowledge doth not profit one alway; Indeed, may damage bring. The Sovran Power Revealeth only what He deems most fit. The inner light blinds even Seraphim. The spotless Wisdom would, in part, her will Conceal, in part would it disclose. Himself E'er to submit and to conform unto 180 A well-established law, this best becomes The subject, who unto his master's will And charge stands bound. The reason why the Lord (Which secret we shall know, when first shall pass A lineage of Earth-born generations) Who, in the course of time, both God and man Become, shall reign,--shall sceptre sway, and rule, Afar and wide, the stars, the sea, the Earth And all that live, the Heavens conceal from thee: Time shall divulge the cause. God's trumpet heed: 190 His will thou now hast heard.

Lucifer. Shall then on high A worm, an alien, wield the greatest power? Must they who native are to Heaven thus yield To foreign rule? Shall man then found a throne Even o'er the Throne of God?

Gabriel. Content thee with Thy lot, the rank and state and worthiness Once granted thee by God. For thee He made The head of all the Hierarchies, though not To envy others' glory or renown. Rebellion flattens both her crown and head, 200 Whene'er she rears her crest 'gainst God's commands. Thy splendor owes its lustre to God's power Alone.

Lucifer. Till now my crown hath bowed to none But God.

Gabriel. Then also bow before this last Decree of God, who leadeth all that have Their being from naught, yea, all that e'er shall live, Unto their end and certain destiny, Though we may fail to comprehend His plan.

Lucifer. Thus to see man into the light of God Exalted, to behold him deified 210 With God on His high Throne, to see towards him The censers swinging 'mid the joyous tones Of thousand thousand holy choristers, With one voice pealing symphonies of praise-- Such grandeur doth bedim the lofty splendors, And diamond rays of our own morning-star, That dazzles then no more, while Heaven's joy Shall pine in grief away.

Gabriel. The highest bliss Alone in calm contentment can be found And in agreement with God's will, in full 220 Compliance with His law.

Lucifer. The majesty Of God and of the Godhead is debased, If with the blood of man his nature ever Unites, combines, or otherwise is bound. We Spirits to God and His deep nature come Far closer, as children from one father sprung; And are like Him, if unto us it be Allowed to bring in such similitude This inequality of endless powers With those determinate, of definite might 230 With might indefinite. Should once the sun Err from his orbit's path, and veil himself Behind a mist, to light the globe of Earth Through clouds of smoke and darkling damps, how soon The joys of Earth would die! How would the race Below then want all light and life! How too The sun would lack his dazzling majesty, Circling his daily round! I see the skies Piled up with gloom, the stars confused with fright. Disorders fell and chaos, where now law 240 And order reign, should once the fount of light Plunge with its splendors into some dark fen. Think not too harshly then, I do beseech Thee, Gabriel, if now thy trumpet's voice, The new-made law given by the High Command, I do resist, or seemingly oppose. We strive for God's own honor, yea, to give To God His Right, should I become thus daring And wander far beyond the narrow path Of my obedience.

Gabriel. Thou art, indeed, 250 Most zealous for the glory of God's name; Though truly without weighing well that God, The point wherein His majesty doth lie, Far better knows than we. Cease therefore now This inquisition. For when God as man Shall have become, He shall this book of His Own mysteries, now sealed with seven seals. Himself unseal. To taste the kern within Is not for thee; thou seest the shell alone. Then of this long concealment we shall learn 260 The cause and hidden reason, all the while Deep-gazing; in the unveiled Holy of Holies. It now behooves us ever to obey And to revere this rising dawn, to use Our light with thankfulness until the time When knowledge in her power shall drive all doubt Away, even as the sun the night. Now learn We gradually, with modest reverence, God's Wisdom to approach. And this to us Reveals, by slow degrees, the light of truth 270 And knowledge, and requires that, on his watch, Each shall submit himself to reason's rule, Lord Stadtholder, be calm. Be foremost, thou, Now to maintain the law. God sends me hence. I must away.

Lucifer. I shall observe it well!

Belzebub. LUCIFER.

Belzebub. The Stadtholder now hears the meaning of This proclamation grave so proudly blown By Gabriel's trumpet bold. How well he showed Thee God's design! whose purpose thou may'st scent: Thus shall he clip the wings of thy great power. 280

[Illustration: "But here hardby comes Heaven's interpreter."]

Lucifer. But not so easily: Ah! nay, forsooth; I shall have care this purpose to prevent. Let not a power inferior thus dream To rule the Powers above.

Belzebub. He maketh threat Forthwith to crush Rebellion's head and crown.

Lucifer. Now swear I by my crown, upon this chance To venture all, to raise my seat amid The firmament, the spheres, the splendor of The stars above. The Heaven of Heavens shall then My palace be, the rainbow be my throne, 290 The starry vast, my court, while, down beneath, The Earth shall be my foot-stool and support. I shall, then swiftly drawn through air and light, High-seated on a chariot of cloud, With lightning stroke and thunder grind to dust Whate'er above, around, below, doth us Oppose, were it God's Marshal grand himself. Yea, e'er we yield, these empyrean vaults. Proud in their towering masonry, shall burst With all their airy arches and dissolve 300 Before our eyes: this huge and joint-racked Earth, Like a misshapen monster, lifeless lie; This wondrous universe to chaos fall. And to its primal desolation change. Who dares, who dares defy great Lucifer? We cite Apollion.

Belzebub. He is at hand.

Apollion. LUCIFER. BELZEBUB.

Apollion. O Stadtholder of God's unbounded Realm, And Oracle within the Council of The Gods subordinate, I offer thee My service and await thy new commands. 310 What now the word--what of thy subject would Thy Majesty?

Lucifer. It pleaseth us to hear Thy sense and thy opinion of a grave And weighty plan that cannot fail to win. Tis our intent to pluck the proudest plume From Michael's wings, that our attempt upon His mightiness shall not rebound as vain. With his own arm as many oracles He founds, as ever God Himself hath hewn From deathless diamond with His hand. Behold 320 Now man exalted to the Heaven of Heavens, Through all the circles of the spheres, then see The Spirit world, so deep, so far below, Even 'neath his footcloth there, like feeble worms Already crawling in the dust. I joy To storm this throne with violence, and thus To hazard by one strong, opposing stroke The glory of my state and star and crown.

Apollion. An undertaking truly to be praised! May it augment your crown and increase gain, 330 Based on such resolution: so I deem It honors me thus to advise, 'neath thee, The prosecution of a cause so bold. Let this result for better or for worse, The will is noble, even though it fail. But lest we strive in vain and recklessly, How best shall we begin so bold a plan? How safest meet the point of that resolve?

Lucifer. We subtly shall oppose our own resolve.

Apollion. Sooth, there is pith in that. But what, pray, is 340 Our borrowed might, weighed in the scale against The Power Omnipotent? Guard well thy crown; For we fall far too light.

Belzebub. Yet not so light, But that the matter first shall hang in doubt.

Apollion. By whom or how or where this plot begun? Even such intent is treason 'gainst God's Throne.

Lucifer. His Throne we'll not disturb; but cautiously Mount up the steep incline, and those high peaks, Ne'er blazed by path and ne'er ascended, climb. Courage and prudence must, at length, o'ercome 350 And dare all dangers brave.

Apollion. But not the Power Omnipotent, nor yet His crown: approach Thou not too near, or learn in sorrow that Repentance comes too late. The lesser should Submissively unto the greater yield.

Lucifer. The great Omnipotent is far beyond Our aim. Set forces like with like together. Then learn whose sword is weightiest. I see Our enemies in flight, the Heavens all ours By one courageous stroke; our legions, too, 360 O'erladen with the spoil and glorious plunder. Then let us further now deliberate.

Apollion. Thou know'st what Michael, God's Field-marshal may: 'Neath his command are all God's legions placed. He bears the key of the armoury here on high. To him the watch is trusted, and he keeps A faithful, sleepless eye on all the camps; So that of all the galaxies of Heaven Not even one star, in its celestial march, Dare move itself the least, nor stir without 370 Its ranks. 'Tis easy to commence; but in Such warfare to engage exceeds our might, And drags a train of hardships in its wake. "What ordnance and what martial enginery Could e'er avail his legions proud to quell? Should Heaven's castle ope its diamond port, Nor stratagem, nor ambush, nor assault Could bring it fear.

Belzebub. But if our bold resolve We strengthen with the sword, I see upon Our standard, raised aloft, the morning-star 380 Defiance flashing till all Heaven's state And rulership is changed.

Apollion. The Fieldmarshal, The valiant Michael, bears with no less fire And pride God's wondrous name amid the field Of his great banner, with the sun above.

Lucifer. Though writ in lines of light, what boots a name? Heroic deeds, as this, are ne'er achieved With titles, nor with pomp; not by valor, spirit. And subtle strokes in skill and cunning bred. Thou art a master-wit with craftiness 390 The Spirits to seduce, them to ensnare, To lead and to incite howe'er thou wilt. Thou canst attaint even those among the watch Of most integrity, and teach even those To waver who had thought to waver never. Begin, we see God's legions in two camps Divided, lords and vassals roused to strife And mutiny. The greatest part even now Are blind and deaf, save to their own demands; And one and all cry loudly for a chief. 400 If thou for us a fourth part canst allure, "We'll crown thy craft and dexterous management With place and honor. Go, this plot consider With Belial, for it must be dark indeed, Where he shall lose his way. His countenance, Smooth-varnished with dissimulation's hue, No master in such deep concealment owns. My car I now ascend: think ye this over. The Council hath convened, and now awaits Our own attendance. We shall call you both 410 Within, as soon as ye shall come. And thou, Chief Lord, guard with thy trusty followers This mighty gate that to the palace leads.

Belial. APOLLION.

Belial. God's Stadtholder doth serve himself with us On high.

Apollion. We fly together from his bow Like speeding arrows.

Belial. And both aimèd are Even at one mark, though perilous to reach.

Apollion. Ere long the Heavens shall crack 'neath our tempt.

Belial. Let crack what will, the matter must proceed.

Apollion. How then this cause to best advantage grasp? 420

Belial. The weapons favor us: we first must gain The guard.

Apollion. The chieftains first, and with them we The bravest troops must then succeed in winning.

Belial. Through something specious, 'neath some seeming 'guised.

Apollion. Name thou this thing. Come, say what thou shalt call it.

Belial. Our Angel Realm must be maintained, its state, Its honor, and its privilege, so choose A chief, on whom each can reliance place.

Apollion. Thou comprehendest well: no better cause I wish as seed for mutiny, to set 430 The court against its subjects, throng 'gainst throng. For each among us is inclined to guard That honor, rank, and lawful privilege Unto him given by the Omnipotent Ere He created man, an after-thought. The celestial palace is our heritage. To the Spirits, who above float on their wings, Who, incorporeal, therefore, ne'er can sink, This place is more adapt than to the race Of Earth, too sluggish far to choose against 440 Their nature these clear bows. Here shines the day Too bright, too strong. Their eyes cannot endure That splendid light, upon whose glow we gaze. Then let man keep in his native element, As other creatures do. Let him suffice The bounds of his terrestrial Paradise, Where the rising and the setting of the sun And moon divide the months and form the year. Let him observe, in their wide-circling round, The crystal spheres. Let Eden's pleasant fruits 450 Content him, and its flowers that breathe perfume. To range from East to West, from North to South: Let this his pastime be. What needs he more? We'll ne'er bring homage to an earthly lord. Thus I resolve. Canst thou more briefly yet This meaning state?

Belial. For all eternity. Mankind to lock without the gate of Heaven.

Apollion. That tinkles well in the Angelic ear. That flashes like a flame from choir to choir Through Orders nine and all the Hierarchies. 460

Belial. So shall we best a pining slowness feign; Though all our bliss and our deliverance On speed and expedition hang.

Apollion. Not less On dexterous management depends, nor less On courage and on bravery.

Belial. That shall Increase, as countless bannered bands accede.

Apollion. They even now are murmuring: then we Should act with secrecy, share in their hopes, And nourish their complaints.

Belial. And then it were Most opportune that Belzebub, a chief 470 Of power and eminence, should tender them His seal, to force their vested Rights and gain Redress of grievances.

Apollion. Not all at once, But gradually, as if by by-paths won.

Belial. Then let the Stadtholder himself approach, And in support of such a proud resolve Offer his mighty arm.

Apollion. We soon shall hear, When in the Council, his opinion And his intent: then let him for a while His thoughts dissemble and, at last, spur on 480 The maddened throng, embarrassed for a head.

Belial. Upon the head depends the whole affair. Whatever thy promises, without a chief They'll ne'er commence so hazardous a cause.

Apollion. What hath been wonk no need to win again! Who most hath lost in glory and in state, Him doth it most concern. Let him precede, And beat the measure for a myriad feet.

Belial. Both equity and reason would demand He wear the crown; though, ere we deeper go, 490 Let us all dangers weigh and nothing do Unless all Councillors affix their seals.

Chorus of Angels:

_Strophe_.

How glares the noble front of Heaven! Why streams the holy light so red Upon our face, overspread With mournful mists from darkness driven? What sad cloud hath profaned That pure and never-stained Clear sapphire, wondrous bright. The fire, the flame, the light 500 Of the resplendent Power, Omnipotence? Why doth that glow Of God as black as blood thus grow That in our aery bower So pleased our eyes? O Angels, say The cause of this deep gloom now dimming Your radiance? O'er Adam's sway On choral raptures ye were swimming, On Spirit breath, amid a glow That vault and choir and court below 510 And towers and battlements o'erflooded With showers of gold, while joys unclouded Smiled from the brows of all that live: Who is it can the reason give?

Chorus of Angels.

_Antistrophe_.

When Gabriel's trumpet, richly sounding, Inflamed our souls till a new song Of praise burst forth among Those dales, with roses fair abounding, 'Mid the celestial bowers Of Paradise, whose flowers 520 Did ope, joyed by such dew Of praise, then upwards through The vast seemed Envy stealing. A countless host of Spirits dumb. And wan and pale and sad and grum, In crowds, dire woe revealing, Crept slowly past, with drooping eye, And forehead smooth now frowning rimple. The doves of Heaven here on high, Once innocent and pure and simple, 530 Began to sigh, and seemed to grieve As if e'en Heaven they did believe Too small since Adam was created, And man for such a crown was fated. This stain offends the Eye of Light: It flames the face of the Infinite.

In love we would yet mingle in their ranks: Again to calm this restless discontent. 538