Page:Paradise lost by Milton, John.djvu/30

24 Their painful steps o'er the burnt soil; and now Advanced in view they stand, a horrid front Of dreadful length and dazzling arms, in guise Of warriors old, with ordered spear and shield, Awaiting what command their mighty chief Had to impose. He through the armed files Darts his experienced eye, and soon traverse The whole battalion views, their order due, Their visages and statures as of Gods; Their number last he sums. And now his heart Distends with pride, and, hardening in his strength, Glories; for never, since created man, Met such embodied force as named with these Could merit more than that small infantry Warred on by cranes: though all the giant-brood Of Phlegra with the heroic race were joined That fought at Thebes and Ilium, on each side Mixed with auxiliar Gods; and what resounds In fable or romance of Uther's son, Begirt with British and Armoric knights; And all who since, baptized or infidel, Jousted in Aspramont or Montalban, Damasco or Marocco or Trebisond, Or whom Biserta sent from Afric shore, When Charlemain with all his peerage fell By Foutarabbia. Thus far these beyond Compare of mortal prowess, yet observed