Page:Paradise lost by Milton, John.djvu/36

30 Nor great Alcairo such magnificence Equalled in all their glories, to enshrine Belus or Serapis their gods, or seat Their kings, when Egypt with Assyria strove In wealth and luxury. The ascending pile Stood, fixed her stately highth, and straight the doors Opening their brazen folds discover wide Within her ample spaces, o'er the smooth And level pavement. From the arched roof Pendent, by subtle magic, many a row Of starry lamps and blazing cressets, fed With naphtha and asphaltus, yielded light As from a sky. The hasty multitude Admiring entered, and the work some praise And some the architect. His hand was known In Heaven by many a towered structure high, Where sceptred Angels held their residence, And sat as princes, whom the supreme King Exalted to such power, and gave to rule, Each in his hierarchy, the orders bright: Nor was his name unheard or unadored In ancient Greese; and in Ausonian land Men called him Mulciber; and how he fell From Heaven they fabled, thrown by angry Jove Sheer o'er the crystal battlements; from morn To noon he fell, from noon to dewy eve, A summer's day; and with the setting sun