Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost

by John Milton


Contents

 Introduction
 Paradise Lost
 BOOK I
 BOOK II
 BOOK III
 BOOK IV
 BOOK V
 BOOK VI
 BOOK VII
 BOOK VIII
 BOOK IX
 BOOK X
 BOOK XI
 BOOK XII




Introduction (one page)


This etext was originally created in 1964-1965 according to Dr. Joseph
Raben of Queens College, NY, to whom it is attributed by Project
Gutenberg. We had heard of this etext for years but it was not until
1991 that we actually managed to track it down to a specific location,
and then it took months to convince people to let us have a copy, then
more months for them actually to do the copying and get it to us. Then
another month to convert to something we could massage with our
favorite 486 in DOS. After that it was only a matter of days to get it
into this shape you will see below. The original was, of course, in
CAPS only, and so were all the other etexts of the 60’s and early 70’s.
Don’t let anyone fool you into thinking any etext with both upper and
lower case is an original; all those original Project Gutenberg etexts
were also in upper case and were translated or rewritten many times to
get them into their current condition. They have been worked on by many
people throughout the world.

In the course of our searches for Professor Raben and his etext we were
never able to determine where copies were or which of a variety of
editions he may have used as a source. We did get a little information
here and there, but even after we received a copy of the etext we were
unwilling to release it without first determining that it was in fact
Public Domain and finding Raben to verify this and get his permission.
Interested enough, in a totally unrelated action to our searches for
him, the professor subscribed to the Project Gutenberg listserver and
we happened, by accident, to notice his name. (We don’t really look at
every subscription request as the computers usually handle them.) The
etext was then properly identified, copyright analyzed, and the current
edition prepared.

To give you an estimation of the difference in the original and what we
have today: the original was probably entered on cards commonly known
at the time as “IBM cards” (Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate) and
probably took in excess of 100,000 of them. A single card could hold 80
characters (hence 80 characters is an accepted standard for so many
computer margins), and the entire original edition we received in all
caps was over 800,000 chars in length, including line enumeration,
symbols for caps and the punctuation marks, etc., since they were not
available keyboard characters at the time (probably the keyboards
operated at baud rates of around 113, meaning the typists had to type
slowly for the keyboard to keep up).

This is the second version of Paradise Lost released by Project
Gutenberg. The first was released as our October, 1991 etext.




Paradise Lost


Book I

Of Man’s first disobedience, and the fruit
Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste
Brought death into the World, and all our woe,
With loss of Eden, till one greater Man
Restore us, and regain the blissful seat,
Sing, Heavenly Muse, that, on the secret top
Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire
That shepherd who first taught the chosen seed
In the beginning how the heavens and earth
Rose out of Chaos: or, if Sion hill
Delight thee more, and Siloa’s brook that flowed
Fast by the oracle of God, I thence
Invoke thy aid to my adventurous song,
That with no middle flight intends to soar
Above th’ Aonian mount, while it pursues
Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme.
And chiefly thou, O Spirit, that dost prefer
Before all temples th’ upright heart and pure,
Instruct me, for thou know’st; thou from the first
Wast present, and, with mighty wings outspread,
Dove-like sat’st brooding on the vast Abyss,
And mad’st it pregnant: what in me is dark
Illumine, what is low raise and support;
That, to the height of this great argument,
I may assert Eternal Providence,
And justify the ways of God to men.
    Say first—for Heaven hides nothing from thy view,
Nor the deep tract of Hell—say first what cause
Moved our grand parents, in that happy state,
Favoured of Heaven so highly, to fall off
From their Creator, and transgress his will
For one restraint, lords of the World besides.
Who first seduced them to that foul revolt?
    Th’ infernal Serpent; he it was whose guile,
Stirred up with envy and revenge, deceived
The mother of mankind, what time his pride
Had cast him out from Heaven, with all his host
Of rebel Angels, by whose aid, aspiring
To set himself in glory above his peers,
He trusted to have equalled the Most High,
If he opposed, and with ambitious aim
Against the throne and monarchy of God,
Raised impious war in Heaven and battle proud,
With vain attempt. Him the Almighty Power
Hurled headlong flaming from th’ ethereal sky,
With hideous ruin and combustion, down
To bottomless perdition, there to dwell
In adamantine chains and penal fire,
Who durst defy th’ Omnipotent to arms.
    Nine times the space that measures day and night
To mortal men, he, with his horrid crew,
Lay vanquished, rolling in the fiery gulf,
Confounded, though immortal.