BOOK ELEVENTH
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��Of tears and sorrow a flood thee also
drowned, And sunk thee as thy sons; till, gently
reared By the Angel, on thy feet thou stood'st at
last, Though comfortless, as when a father
mourns 760
His children, all in view destroyed at once, And scarce to the Angel utter'dst thus thy
plaint:
" O Visions ill foreseen ! Better had I Lived ignorant of future so had borne My part of evil only, each day's lot Enough to bear. Those now that were dis- pensed
The burden of many ages on me light At once, by my foreknowledge gaining
birth
Abortive, to torment me, ere their being, With thought that they must be. Let no
man seek 770
Henceforth to be foretold what shall befall Him or his children evil, he may be
sure,
Which neither his foreknowing can pre- vent,
And he the future evil shall no less In apprehension than in substance feel Grievous to bear. But that care now is
past;
Man is not whom to warn; those few es- caped
Famine and anguish will at last consume, Wandering that watery desert. I had
hope, When violence was ceased and war on
Earth, 780
All would have then gone well, peace would
have crowned With length of happy days the race of
Man;
But I was far deceived, for now I see Peace to corrupt no less than war to waste. How comes it thus ? Unfold, Celestial
Guide, And whether here the race of Man will
end." To whom thus Michael: " Those whom
last thou saw'st
In triumph and luxurious wealth are they First seen in acts of prowess eminent And great exploits, but of true virtue void; Who, having spilt much blood, and done
much waste, 791
��Subduing nations, and achieved thereby Fame in the world, high titles, and rich
prey, Shall change their course to pleasure, ease,
and sloth,
Surfeit, and lust, till wantonness and pride Raise out of friendship hostile deeds in
peace.
The conquered, also, and enslaved by war, Shall, with their freedom lost, all virtue
lose, And fear of God from whom their piety
feigned
In sharp contest of battle found no aid 800 Against invaders; therefore, cooled in zeal, Thenceforth shall practise how to live se- cure,
Worldly or dissolute, on what their lords Shall leave them to enjoy; for the Earth
shall bear More than enough, that temperance may
be tried.
So all shall turn degenerate, all depraved, Justice and temperance, truth and faith,
forgot;
One man except, the only son of light In a dark age, against example good, 809 Against allurement, custom, and a world Offended. Fearless of reproach and scorn, Or violence, he of their wicked ways Shall them admonish, and before them set The paths of righteousness, how much more
safe And full of peace, denouncing wrauth to
come
On their impenitence, and shall return Of them derided, but of God observed The one just man alive: by his command Shall build a wondrous Ark, as thou be-
held'st, 819
To save himself and household from amidst A world devote to universal wrack. No sooner he, with them of man and beast Select for life, shall in the ark be lodged And sheltered round, but all the cataracts Of Heaven set open on the Earth shall pour Rain day and night; all fountains of the
deep,
Broke up, shall heave the ocean to usurp Beyond all bounds, till inundation rise Above the highest hills. Then shall this
Mount 829
Of Paradise by might of waves be moved Out of his place, pushed by the horned
flood,
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