Asm. Though heaven be shut, that world, if it be made,
As nearest heaven, lies open to invade: 
Man therefore must be known, his strength, his state,
And by what tenure he holds all of fate. 
Him let us then seduce, or overthrow;
The first is easiest, and makes heaven his foe. 
Advise, if this attempt be worth our care.

Belial. Great is the advantage, great the hazards are. 
Some one (but who that task dares undertake?)
Of this new creature must discovery make. 
Hell’s brazen gates he first must break, then far
Must wander through old night, and through the war
Of antique chaos; and, when these are past,
Meet heaven’s out-guards, who scout upon the waste: 
At every station must be bid to stand,
And forced to answer every strict demand.

Mol. This glorious enterprise—­ [Rising up.

Lucif. Rash angel, stay;
                         [Rising, and laying his sceptre on MOLOCH’S
                          head.
That palm is mine, which none shall take away. 
Hot braves, like thee, may fight; but know not well
To manage this, the last great stake of hell. 
Why am I ranked in state above the rest,
If, while I stand of sovereign power possest,
Another dares, in danger, farther go? 
Kings are not made for ease, and pageant-show. 
Who would be conqueror, must venture all: 
He merits not to rise, who dares not fall.

Asm. The praise, and danger, then, be all your own.

Lucif. On this foundation I erect my throne: 
Through brazen gates, vast chaos, and old night,
I’ll force my way, and upwards steer my flight;
Discover this new world, and newer Man;
Make him my footstep to mount heaven again: 
Then, in the clemency of upward air,
We’ll scour our spots, and the dire thunder scar,
With all the remnants of the unlucky war,
And once again grow bright, and once again grow fair.

Asm. Meantime the youth of hell strict guard may keep,
And set their centries to the utmost deep,
That no etherial parasite may come
To spy our ills, and tell glad tales at home.

Lucif. Before yon brimstone lake thrice ebb and flow,
(Alas, that we must measure time by woe!)
I shall return, (my mind presages well)
And outward lead the colonies of hell. 
Your care I much approve; what time remains,
Seek to forget, at least divert your pains
With sports and music, in the vales and fields,
And whate’erjoy so sad a climate yields.

Betwixt the first Act and the second, while the Chiefs sit in the palace, may be expressed the sports of the Devils; as flights, and dancing in grotesque figures:  And a song, expressing the change of their condition; what they enjoyed before, and how they fell bravely in battle, having deserved victory by their valour, and what they would have done if they had conquered.

ACT II.