John Milton

A gulf profound as that Serbonian bog Betwixt Damiata and Mount Casius old, Where armies whole have sunk: the parching air Burns frore, and cold performs th' effect of fire. Thither by harpy-footed Furies hal'd, At certain revolutions all the damn'd Are brought, and feel by turns the bitter change Of fierce extremes,--extremes by change more fierce; From beds of raging fire to starve in ice Their soft ethereal warmth, and there to pine Immovable, infix'd, and frozen round, Periods of time; thence hurried back to fire.

For contemplation he and valour formed; For softness she and sweet attractive grace, He for God only, she for God in him; His fair large front and eye sublime declare Absolute rule; and hyacinthine locks Round from his parted forelock manly hung Clustering, but not beneath his shoulders broad. Which implied Subjection, but required with gentle sway And by her yielded, by him best received; Yielded with coy submission, modest pride, And sweet reluctant amorous delay. . . . God is thy law, thou mine: to know no more Is woman's happiest knowledge and her praise. . . . For nothing lovelier can be found In woman, than to study household good, And good works in her husband to promote.

Long is the way And hard, that out of hell leads up to light.

Behold now this vast city [London]; a city of refuge, the mansion-house of liberty, encompassed and surrounded with His protection.

Freely we serve, Because we freely love, as in our will To love or not; in this we stand or fall.

Hail wedded love, mysterious law, true source Of human offspring, sole propriety, In Paradise of all things common else. . . .

What thou art is mine; Our state cannot be sever'd, we are one, One flesh; to lose thee were to lose myself.

Chaos umpire sits And by decision more embroils the fray by which he reigns: next him high arbiter Chance governs all.

From Man or Angel the great Architect Did wisely to conceal, and not divulge, His secrets, to be scanned by them who ought Rather admire. Or, if they list to try Conjecture, he his fabric of the Heavens Hath left to their disputes -- perhaps to move His laughter at their quaint opinions wide Hereafter, when they come to model Heaven And calculate the stars: how they will wield The mighty frame: how build, unbuild, contrive To save appearances; how gird the Sphere With Centric and Eccentric scribbled o'er, Cycle and Epicycle, Orb in Orb.

A mind not to be chang'd by place or time. The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.