Page:Paradise lost by Milton, John.djvu/195

Rh To darken all the hill, and smoke to roll In dusky wreaths reluctant flames, the sign Of wrath awaked; nor with less dread the loud Ethereal trumpet from on high gan blow: At which command the Powers militant, That stood for Heaven, in mighty quadrate joined Of union irresistible, moved on In silence their bright legions, to the sound Of instrumental harmony, that breathed Heroic ardor to adventurous deeds, Under their godlike leaders, in the cause Of God and his Messiah. On they move Indissolubly firm; nor obvious hill, Nor straitening vale, nor wood, nor stream divides Their perfect ranks; for high above the ground Their march was, and the passive air up-bore Their nimble tread: as when the total kind Of birds, in orderly array on wing, Came, summoned over Eden, to receive Their names of thee. So over many a tract Of Heaven they marched, and many a province wide, Tenfold the length of this terrene. At last, Far in the horizon to the north, appeared From skirt to skirt a fiery region stretched In battailous aspect; and, nearer view, Bristled with upright beams innumerable Of rigid spears, and helmets thronged, and shields