The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems by John Milton, Burton Raffel Page B

2205 things,
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Abominable, inutterable, and worse
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Than fables yet have feigned 2206 or fear conceived,
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Gorgons, 2207 and Hydras, 2208 and Chimeras 2209 dire.
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    Meanwhile the adversary of God and man,
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Satan, with thoughts inflamed of highest design, 2210
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Puts on 2211 swift wings, and toward the gates of Hell
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Explores 2212 his solitary flight. Sometimes
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He scours 2213 the right-hand coast, sometimes the left,
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Now shaves 2214 with le
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Up to the fiery concave 2215 towering high.
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As when far off at sea a fleet descried 2216
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Hangs in the clouds, by 2217 equinoctial 2218 winds
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Close sailing 2219 from Bengala, 2220 or the isles
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Of Ternate and Tidore, 2221 whence merchants bring
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Their spicy drugs—they on the trading 2222 flood, 2223
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Through the wide Ethiopian 2224 to the Cape 2225
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Ply 2226 stemming 2227 nightly toward the pole: 2228 so seemed
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Far off the flying fiend. At last appear
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Hell-bounds, 2229 high reaching to the horrid roof,
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And thrice threefold the gates. Three folds 2230 were brass,
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Three iron, three of adamantine rock,
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Impenetrable, impaled 2231 with circling fire,
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Yet unconsumed. Before the gates there sat
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On either side a formidable 2232 shape.
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The one seemed woman to the waist, and fair,
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But ended foul in many a scaly fold,
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Voluminous and vast—a serpent armed
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With mortal sting. About her middle round
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A cry 2233 of Hell-hounds never-ceasing barked
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With wide Cerberean mouths full loud, and rung
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A hideous peal, 2234 yet when they list, 2235 would creep,
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If aught disturbed their noise, into her womb,
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And kennel 2236 there, yet there still barked and howled
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Within unseen. Far less abhorred than these
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Vexed 2237 Scylla, 2238 bathing in the sea that parts
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Calabria 2239 from the hoarse 2240 Trinacrian 2241 shore.
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Nor uglier follow 2242 the night-hag, 2243 when called
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In secret, riding through the air she comes,
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Lured with the smell of infant blood, to dance
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With Lapland 2244 witches, while the laboring moon 2245
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Eclipses at 2246 their charms. The other shape
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If shape it might be called, that shape had none
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Distinguishable in member, 2247 joint, or limb,
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Or substance might be called that shadow seemed, 2248
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For each seemed either—black it stood as Night,
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Fierce as ten Furies, terrible as Hell,
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And shook a dreadful dart. 2249 What seemed his head
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The likeness of a kingly crown had on.
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Satan was now at hand, and from his seat
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The monster moving onward came as fast 2250
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With horrid strides. Hell trembled as he strode.
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Th’ undaunted fiend what this might be admired— 2251
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Admired, not feared (God and His Son except,
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Created thing naught valued 2252 he nor shunned), 2253
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And with disdainful look thus first began:
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    “Whence and what art thou, execrable 2254 shape,
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That dar’st, though grim 2255 and terrible, advance
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Thy miscreated 2256 front 2257 athwart 2258 my way
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To yonder gates? Through them I mean to pass,
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That be assured, without leave asked of thee.
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Retire, or taste thy folly, and learn by