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

in what shape they choose
429
      
Dilated 1637 or condensed, bright or obscure
430
      
Can execute their airy purposes
431
      
And works of love or enmity 1638 fulfil
432
      
For those the race of Israel oft forsook
433
      
Their Living Strength, and unfrequented 1639 left
434
      
His righteous altar, bowing lowly down
435
      
To bestial gods, for which their heads as low
436
      
Bowed down in battle, sunk before the spear
437
      
Of despicable 1640 foes.
    With these in troop
438
      
Came Astoreth, 1641 w
439
      
Astarté, queen of heaven, with crescent horns
440
      
To whose bright image nightly by the moon
441
      
Sidonian 1642 virgins paid their vows and songs
442
      
In Sion 1643 also not unsung, where stood
443
      
Her temple on th’ offensive 1644 mountain, built
444
      
By that uxorious 1645 king 1646 whose heart, though large
445
      
Beguiled by fair idolatresses, fell
446
      
To idols foul.
    Thammuz 1647 came next behind
447
      
Whose annual wound in Lebanon allured
448
      
The Syrian damsels to lament his fate
449
      
In amorous ditties all a summer’s day
450
      
While smooth Adonis 1648 from his native rock
451
      
Ran purple to the sea, supposed with blood
452
      
Of Thammuz yearly wounded. The love-tale
453
      
Infected Sion’s daughters with like heat
454
      
Whose wanton passions in the sacred porch 1649
455
      
Ezekiel 1650 saw, when by the vision led
456
      
His eye surveyed the dark idolatries
457
      
Of alienated Judah. 1651
    Next came one
458
      
Who mourned in earnest, when the captive ark 1652
459
      
Maimed his brute image, head and hands lopped off
460
      
In his own temple, 1653 on the grunsel-edge, 1654
461
      
Where he fell flat and shamed his worshippers
462
      
Dagon his name, sea-monster, upward man
463
      
And downward fish, yet 1655 had his temple high
464
      
Reared in Azotus, 1656 dreaded through the coast
465
      
Of Palestine, in Gath 1657 and Ascalon, 1658
466
      
And Accaron 1659 and Gaza’s 1660 frontier bounds
467
      
    Him followed Rimmon, 1661 whose delightful seat
468
      
Was fair Damascus, on the fertile banks
469
      
Of Abbana 1662 , 1663 lucid 1664 streams. 1665
470
      
He also against the house of God was bold
471
      
A leper 1666 once he lost, and gained a king
472
      
Ahaz, 1667 his 1668 sottish 1669 conqueror, whom he drew 1670
473
      
God’s altar to disparage and displace
474
      
For one of Syrian mode, whereon to burn
475
      
His odious offerings, and adore the gods
476
      
Whom he 1671 had vanquished.
    After these appeared
477
      
A crew who, under names of old renown
478
      
Osiris, Isis, Orus, and their train— 1672
479
      
With monstrous shapes and sorceries abused 1673
480
      
Fanatic Egypt and her priests to seek
481
      
Their wand’ring gods disguised in brutish forms
482
      
Rather than human. Nor did Israel scape
483
      
Th’ infection, when their borrowed gold composed 1674
484
      
The calf 1675 in Oreb, 1676 and the rebel king 1677
485
      
Doubled that sin in Bethel 1678 and in Dan, 1679
486
      
Lik’ning his Maker to the grazèd ox— 1680
487
      
Jehovah, who in one night, when he 1681 passed
488
      
From Egypt marching, equalled 1682 with one stroke 1683
489
      
Both her first-born and all her bleating gods
490
      
    Belial 1684 came last, than whom a Spirit more lewd
491
      
Fell not from Heaven, or more gross 1685 to love
492
      
Vice for itself. To him no temple