NOAH'S FLOOD, OR, THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD. AN OPERA. Dedicated to Her GRACE the DUCHESS OF Monmouth.  
By Edward Ecclestone, Gent.  
Non illo melior quisquam nec amantior aequi  
Vir fuit, aut illâ reverentior ulla Deorum.  Ovid. Metam. 
LONDON: Printed by M. Clark, and sold by B. Tooke, at the Ship in St. Paul's Churchyard, 1679.   

To Her GRACE the DUCHESS OF Monmouth.  
'tIS the greatest and chiefest aim (Madam) of most men, still to choose out the Highest, Loveliest, and Fairest Objects as may best agree with their Intentions; thus the Pious and Devout are in a perpetual contemplation of Heaven, thinking that the fittest place about which they can or aught to busy their Religious thoughts, the Glories of the one running in a just Parallel with the Meditations of the other: Now pardon me (Madam) if the Divine Perfections Providence has bestowod upon You, have made me thus boldly aspire to Dedicate this Poem to Your Grace, as being the only Person with whose Nature such Sacred History best accords; and I must needs allege too, Your Grace deserves the Name of Beautiful, and that not only for the Excellent Proportion and Lineaments of Body, as for the Intrinsic Perfections of Your Mind, and Virtues of Your Soul, which are so sweetly joined, that You may justly Challenge, to Yourself, the Title of a visible Divinity: But my greatest fear is, lest while I address myself to Your Grace, like a mistaken Zealot, I should approach the true Deity with a wrong Worship.— What was said of Greece may be now confirmed here, That all their Beauties there could make but one Venus; You, like that Goddess, bore away the Golden Prize, whilst all the rest stand, neglected, by, and envy at Your Glory; therefore lest any should think I derogate from them, by giving You Your due Commendations, or at lest You Yourself should think I flatter, I must aver thus much in my own Defence, that Your Perfections are so Divinely rare, You exceed the very Name of Flattery, for what is Adulation in others, is but Your real Character; and to diminish what I have said, would rather prove abusive than a fawning Speceh: And I am so far from extinguishing others Lustre by Yours, that like the Sun, You rather distribute Your diffusive Beams on all inferior Lights, than take any Rays from them, and that too without diminution to Yourself. Had Your Grace lived in the Old World, You would not only have made an addition to those that were saved in the Ark, but even have prevented the Destruction of the Whole: For so pious and sincere, so importunate are all Your Devotions, as what was spoke by the two Angels to Lot, would have been said to You, That they could not be destroyed so long as You was there. Or, like Astrea, Your Grace must have been forced to have left the Confines of this World, and in a Cloud of Incense flown to Heaven: Nor need we doubt, but, like her, (being a Star on Earth) You would have made as bright a Constellation there. So sweet and affable is all Your Conversation, so universal is Your Charity and Bounty, and so Charming are Your Smiles, that all who know You must admire You, and bless themselves that You are now alive, though in an Age almost as bad as that. As it was the general Custom amongst the Jews, to present their first Fruits to Heaven; so I hope Your Grace will pardon this Ambition in me, for laying this my First-born fancy on your Altar, for without Your Protection, I may doubt the Insolence of a Censorious Age. But so long as Your Seraphic Form guards the door of the Ark, I need not fear what the malice of a Hell of Critics can do against it: but rather am assured by Your Patronage, to view it safely sailing through all their Storms to the happy Mount, where when they are all securely Landed, I shall not think them more happy than I am in subscribing myself,  
Madam, Your Grace's Most Humble, Most Obedient, and Most Devoted Servant, Edward Ecclestone.   

TO My Worthy and Ingenious Friend, Mr. EDWARD ECCLESTONE, Upon his publishing his OPERA.  

WHILE thy choice Lines I read, Dear Friend, I see  
Pythagoras taught truth; Souls changed be,  
And▪ Cowley's Transmigrated into thee.  
Thy fancy's lofty, quick, and full of sense,  
Thou'rt safe, ●… yet dost reach an Excellence;  
An Art, ' cept Thou and Cowley none attain,  
And which our upstart Wits pursue in vain:  
Who when they labour with some happy thought,  
ere the slow Brat can in to th' World be brought,  
They make such mighty pother, such a ding,  
If not Stillborn, 't proves quite another thing.  
But thou dost, to just bounds, thy flights confine:  
We see an active Soul in every Line,  
And every word is like thy Theme, Divine.  
Dryden will grieve to hear thy Couplets Chime,  
And yield he's foiled at his own Weapon, Rhyme;  
While every Page such sweetness does distil,  
Thy Noah's Ark rests on Parnassus Hill.  
Had Milton lived to see how thou hast writ,  
He'd, for the Charms thou giv'st it, Rhyme admit.  
This Piece is such, so excellently rare,  
'Twere sin of its success; but to Despair,  
Thy Deluge can all Censures down before it bear.  
And thou may'st sit secure within thy Ark,  
No Floods, by Critics raised, can hurt thy Bark;  
While this thy Book (to thy Eternal praise)  
Shall, like the Dove, return within few days,  
And 'stead of Olives, bring thee sprigs of Bays.  
For such a Work, except the ablest Brain,  
None sure, but in a wish▪ could e'er attain.  
Then what vast thanks we to this Opera owe,  
I may conceive, but Verse can't let thee know.   
RICHARD SANDERS.   

To his Worthy and Ingenious Friend, Mr. Edward Ecclestone, upon his Publishing Noah's Flood, or the Destruction of the World.  

MILTON revived, or rather Dryden traced;  
Each step found out and followed, though in haste.  
A second Op'ra to the World is brought,  
Full of quick sense, smooth fancy, subtle thought:  
The struggling Infant from the Womb is thrown,  
To wander in this Critic Age alone;  
No dear fond Parent to support its worth,  
Nor biased Friend to blaze its praises forth:  
Without those aids you let it roam about,  
Fearless of danger, 'mongst the Wits to scout,  
To see whose Genius finds its virtues out.  
If this first Birth so many praises win,  
What merits the whole Mass concealed within;  
Your well-tuned flights, and sweet conceptions show,  
No rugged thoughts did from your fancy flow;  
But smooth as gliding streams in Summer Brooks,  
Are all thy Lines, and every one such sense,  
As if you ever had consulted Books,  
Or writ with all the helps of Providence:  
Nature to thee has these perfections given,  
A sense Divine, a Soul that treats of Heaven.  
What mighty rule Omnipotence doth bear  
Over the Daemons, and the Prince o' th' Air,  
As in a mirror I've discovered here.  
All the black gathering Clouds are passed away,  
And we, through you, behold a Newborn day;  
Those Troops of Atoms which before us flew,  
Scatter and fall as silently as Dew,  
And glorious Wit is once again in view.  
Could I, like thee, take such a noble flight,  
I'd an Octen'ial spend to reach the height.  
On then and prosper, now you're on the wing,  
Flag not behind, but reach Apollo's spring:  
Then to his Temple haste, in th' Tripos sit,  
Inspired by him; there make 'em all submit  
To thy Divine Enthusiastic Wit..   
JOHN LEANERD.   

To his Ingenioms Friend, Mr. Ecclestone, on his Opera.  

— Opus— quod nec Jovis ira nec ignis,  
Nec poterit ferrum nec edax abolere vetustas.   

LET scribbling Foes to Paper, cheat the Town,  
With a French Novel clad in English Gown;  
Or, Botcher-like, to make a perfect Play,  
Bombast, with Farce, some half a score a day,  
And spoil true metal with their false allay:  
Monkey-like, Aping what they find of Wit,  
Flatter themselver with snayling after it,  
Till like a Toad, they swelled with pride, do spit.  
Whilst your inherent and diffusive Rays,  
Lend light to them to usher in their Plays;  
Your learned Op'ra represents the Star  
That brought the Wise-men of the East from far;  
You scorn their dull insipid Sophistry,  
That glory in a Chemic Poetry:  
Thy little Book affords a stock of all  
That we can pleasant or commodious call.  
Here you'll find light, let them be ne'er so dark.  
Thou art our Noah, and this Book the Ark;  
Destined to save the Relics of the Sage  
And Reverend Authors of this tottering Age,  
And bear a World of Books in every Page;  
Nay, when e'en drunk with sloth, our staggering sense,  
Reeling, unmanned us of our sole defence,  
Only for reason left us Impudence:  
Thy pitying Pen revived the expiring Fame,  
Raising up Trophies to thy sacred Name,  
Immortal as the just Records of Fame.  
Thou fear'st no Cynical Philosopher,  
No Nigrum Θ, or an English R;  
No, nor thou needest not, since we plainly see,  
In every individual Line of thee,  
Milton and Dreydon in Epitome.   
JOHN NORTON.   

THE PREFACE.  
THE chiefest motive I have in writing this Epistle, is, not that I have any affectation to scribbling, but to excuse the permission of the preceding Copies of Commendation of my Friends; to whom I must say as the Orator said to Q. Cecilius Hortensius, in the case of Verres, That let them take which side they will, they are sure to make it the best, for by their ingenuity they are able to cause that which is deformed and ugly, to become fair and beautiful; and when I reflect upon my own imperfections (I ingenuously confess) I even blush to read them, and it would be the highest arrogance in the World to acknowledge their Character; like a young coy Maiden, I for a time held out their suit, but their importunities were such, ay, like them, at last gave my consent: And lest that any should Tax me with Ambition in the Publication of the Poem, I shall answer in Mr. Dreydens' Words, That it is impossible almost for any Writer to succeed without it. And make the worst of it, as one pleasantly defines it, it is but a gallant madness; and though I do acknowledge it, 'tis only in the Abstract: For I shall not, like Aesop's Frog, swell till I burst, or like Lucian's Evangelus pipe so long till I fall down dead; nay, this passion is so predominant, that even the Beasts themselves are brought within the List; the Hound in catching of the Hare from his fellow; the Hawk in pouncing of his Prey; and the Horse in running of his Race. These Examples being considered, I am so far from judging it a fault, that I think it almost a sin to be without it; then why should man, that Lordly Creature, be ashamed to acknowledge it, and especially Poets, who are something above the vulgar; nay, so much above them, that they are a medium betwixt God and Man: For as Plato says— Non possunt canere priusquam Deo pleni— i. e. Before they are moved with a Divine rapture.  
But here let me make a small digression, for I do not speak this in reference to myself, but to the Almighty Apollo's of the last, and this present Age; for I might sleep as many years in Parnassus' Mountain as Endymion did in the Cave, before I should reach that Name, though Hesiod and Ennius are reported, but by one nights sleeping therein, to become Poets, and the last, in his sleep, fancied he received into his Body Homer's Soul, and thereupon writ in imitation of him: But how like they were to his, Horace excellently well describes.—  

Ennius, & sapiens, & fortis, & alter Homerus,  
Ut Critici dicunt, leviter curare videtur  
Quo promissa cadunt, & somnia Pythagorea.   
But considering this present Age, and the troublesome times therein, what small advantage, reward, or reputation can be gained thereby, there would be but small contending for the Bays; since too, Apollo and the Muses, who have a long time lived in Tranquillity, may, we know not how soon, be banished by the God of War, and so be forced to throw away the Pen, and like that Worthy Hero, of late Memory, Montross (whose Name wants an Epithet) be forced to write with the point of the Sword, but I hope not in such a Language as his:  

Great, Good and Just, etc.  
Though we may say with Martial.  
Frange leves Calamos, etc.   
As for the Nature of the Poem, which is Holy, though intermixed with Spirits, yet I have not herein trod in an unknown path, but shall procure Authority for what I do; though Doctor Brown declares, In the multiplicity of Writing, Subjects so often discoursed, confine the imagination, and fix our conceptions unto the Notions of fore-writers, and though it may be allowed with him, that buy and barren Themes are best fitted for invention, yet that does not in the least excuse imitation; for Mr. Dreydon's State of Innocency and Fall of Man, is of the same Nature with this, from whose incomparable Piece I drew this rugged draught; and Milton's Paradise Lost is full of the same Adornments: Mr. Cowley too in his Divine Davideis, is so far from being exempted from the same, that he makes them to be the chiefest ornaments of his Poem, in which he does not only cause the Devil to make a Speech, but even God himself, and brings David singing a Love Song to his Lyre under Michols Window, with saveral the like embellishments, which are no more to be found fault with, than the Stars for spangling Heaven. I shall defend but very little of what I have writ, either in vindication of words or phrases or figures, though it is an easy thing to turn Prophet in this case, and anticipate Critical Observations: For this only reason, being I have had but few, and those friends, that have passed their judgements of it, (though I account them the best that find most faults) yet do what one can, their censures will be favourable.  
I must desire the Reader to take notice of these few things, that when he meets with any irregular, or as it may seem careless Lines, that they were not oversights; and likewise in comparisons, where the thing is compared to things that never were: So a Friend finds fault with this Line— And shrink like Parchment in the Fire.— because, says he, there was no such thing as Parchment in the World at that time. Whether there was or no, I shall not here dispute, though without doubt there were many excellent Arts that perished in the Flood, which since, by the ingenuity of Man, and accidents, have been renewed: He might likewise have as well found fault with these, As the word Hermit, Galleyslave, the comparison of the Vineyard betwixt Gabriel and Noah, and many more, which last must be counted as a Prolepsis, though in truth Wine might be before the Flood, for in the fifth Act I follow the bare History of the Scripture, and make him ignorant of the operation of Wine, and Satan himself to teach the Art, though without doubt drunkenness was one of the main sins of that Age, which brought the Deluge, and that too with Wine; yet however I shall authorize it by a few Examples: Thus Mr. Dreyden in his Fall of Man, makes Lucifer compare his Legions, that lay prostrate on the Lake, to scattered Leaves in Autumn.  

——— See on the Lake,  
Our Troops, like scattered leaves in Autumn lie.   
When it is to be supposed the World was not created, or without doubt no Autumn, so that in this case (where they make that which ought to be the comparison the thing compared, (though in no other) in my judgement they may be allowed of: so the Grammar is mistaken in the figure, for it is no Prolepsis to say, Lavinaque venit littora— because the Poet speaks in his own Person, but if he had brought in Aeneas, saying, Lavinaque littora veni, the Figure than would have been: And A. Gellius in 10 L. c. 16. is of the same opinion, and instances another of like kind, Aeneid. L. 6. v. 17. and justifies both this way. But Milton, from whom Mr. Dreydon took it, does not make the Figure, being he does not make any of the Devils, but himself speak it.  

——— He stood and called  
His Legions, Angel forms, who lay entranced,  
Thick as Autumnal Leaves that strew the brooks  
In Vallombrosa.——   
And truly in my opinion it ought to be accounted a fault in all Poetry, were it not in Poems treating of so high an Antiquity, and ranked just as Barbarisms; for as there is no reason for the one, so there is a necessity for the other:— But that which fits my turn best are the words of poor Palinurus.  

Aeneid L. 6. v. 365, 366.  
Eripe me his invicte, malis, aut tu mihi terram  
Injice (namque potes) portusque require Velinos.   
When Velia, the Town that gave name to the Port, was built in the time of Servius Tullus, above 600 years after: so in Seneca's Medea, we find the whole business of Matrimony to be transacted according to the Roman Rites, and all the reflections upon it to be adapted to the Customs and Laws of that place which obtained long after; as v. 113. Festa dicax fundat convicia Fescenninus, and many more of that sort, ver. 488.  

Tibi patria cessit; tibi pater, frater, pudor;  
Hac dote nupsi, red fugienti sua.   
Alluding to the Roman Law, which restored to the divorced Woman her Dowry, if the Divorce were not occasioned by her.— but v. 355. and v. 794. are plainer: Quid! cùm Ausonium dirae pests, etc. The Auson that was Author of this Adjective was Son of Ulysses and Calypso, who could not be born at this time.  

Inque auxilium, Dictynna, tuum  
Preciosa sonent aera Corinthi.   
whereas the Corinthian brass was of much later date. So v. 622, 659, 660. and indeed the whole Chorus of the third Act is full of such Anticipations, so that many good Critics reject a great part of it as supposititious.  
So in the first Scene of Plautus' Amphitryo, we meet Sosia afraid of the Tres Viri Nocturni, who with their Octo Homines, (mentioned there) were a sort of Officers at Rome. as our Constable and Watch with us: So v. 149. He quibbles upon Quintus a Roman Name, and v. 252. He swears by Hercules before he is born or hardly got; besides, that those Slavish Names, Sosia and Davus, were younger by many hundred years than Amphitryo. These, I hope, are vindications enough for Anachronisms; as for Hyperboles I shall only speak this, that the bolder they are so much the better, and he shall gain far more reputation that soars high though in danger, than he that follows that plodding Advice; Medio tutissimus, etc.—  
And though like the Chameleon they can put on almost all colours whatsoever, yet they shall never hit the White. And Horace does as good as encourage this way of Writing, when he says,  

Ubi plura nitent in carmine, non ego paucis  
Offender maculis.—   
for the extravagancy of these Figures, as Hyperboles, Metaphors, Catachreses, etc. are certainly the faults he means, as well as obscene Lines and oversights in Poems.  
That it may find some excuse for its faults, I shall, as several of our Moderns before me, (whom I believe speak truth) declare the time in which the greatest part was writ, for I do faithfully protest, that the first three parts were thought and writ in lesser time than a week, but being disappointed by the Printer, (for it should have come out near a Twelvemonth ago) I since have made a few alterations in it; the fourth was writ at leisure times that I stole from company; with which I did intend to have ended, being it was so full a period: But was persuaded more for the Number-sake than the Subject, to add the fifth, for I really thought (as indeed it was) I undertook to build a Babel, and conceived it almost impossible to raise so many Lines upon so small a Foundation, especially to Lake it o'er with any gloss agreeing with Horace.  

———— Etquae  
Desperes tractata nitescere posse, relinquas.   
Thus much I thought convenient to declare, but not as to blow my own Trumpet, for the profoundrespects I bear Her Grace▪ and the almighty innate Love I owe His Highness were the only incentives of my publication of it, for by this and no other means could I find an opportunity to declare my deep Veneration for both: A Prince who like the Genius of this British Isle bears up the Fate thereof: A Prince who wears more Charms than ever Caesar did, for He does not only come, see, and overcome, Towns, Cities and Countries, but enslaves the very hearts of Men, who are proud too, and triumph in their Chains, accounting it far greator glory to be overcome by Him, than to be Victors themselves of others.   

ERRATA.  
IN the first Copy, Line 5. Read thou'rt safe, and yet, etc. For Satan and Saturn. r. Satan. p. 2. l. 5. for Bel. r. Beel. p. 29. in the Scene, r. a throng of Men, Women, etc. p. 41. at the end of l. 30. r. exit Satan.   

NOAH'S FLOOD, OR, THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORLD.  
The Scene being opened, Hell is represented with Spirits in several postures of Torments, hideous Howlings and Lamentations are heard, and several are flying 'cross the Stage. The Scene on a sudden shifts, and represents Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub, Asmoday, Moloch and Belial, at which, Songs of Joy and Triumph are heard, all advancing from a Rolling Lake of Burning Brimstone.  

ACT the First.  Lucifer. 

BID 'em their Shrieks and Howlings now refrain,  
And let each Soul make Music with his Chain;  
For at this Juncture all from pains are free,  
And Hell itself shall keep a Jubilee.   Bel. 
It shall be done.  Flies swiftly from 'em. Luc. 

—— The happy time is nigh;  
I plainly see't, i'th' Records of the Sky;  
The Characters of Heaven with ease are found:  
Read there.— the Universe shall soon be drowned.   Sat. 

The Watery Planets in Conjunction stand,  
Ready to pour their Vials o'er the Land.   Beel. 

The Sea insulting like a Conq'ting Foe,  
Doth daily many Islands overthrow;  
Still threatening all that does its force withstand:  
And only waits for the All-high's Command.   Asm. 

The little Rivulets run swifter on,  
As with their haste they'd meet the Ocean,  
And add their Force with his, all swell so high;  
They seem the Deluge in Epitome.   Mol. 

The Sea, Springs, Lakes, as with some private heat  
Boil higher up; Each bubble swells so great,  
That every drop seems to push on their Fate.   Luc. 

Thus far with brave success we have prevailed,  
And in out direful Projects never failed;  
You han't forgot how subtly I did win  
The first Formed man, and taught him how to fin:  
How shamefully he from his bliss was driven,  
And banished from his Paradise, his Heaven:  
How since their Off springs toil and live forlorn,  
And know their Race accursed before they're born.  
It was a Deed, so exquisitely great,  
I almost did their lives Anticipate:  
And rather than have lost it, I would bear  
Double Damnation, doubled with despair:  
I saw, that if he fell, the world would fall,  
And in his Ruin I should ruin all.   Sat. 

Your Prophecy is just at hand, Mankind  
Is grown so imp'ous, there's but eight designed,  
To populate the world again,   Mol. 

——— Those few,  
Though from the Deluge saved, we'll in the Ark subdue.   Luc. 
That task, Great Moloch, we design for you.  Mol. 

And with such force I will the Ark invade,  
I'll cause a new Creation to be made,  
For in one day his fix I'll ruinate:  
'Tis easier to Destroy than to Create.   Luc. 

Go Moloch, and observe the ways of man; Moloch flies away.  
We'll bring their period lesser than a span.  
In this brave Action let us all comply.   Beel. 
Who doubts th'event, if possible, should die.  Luc. 

Let every Spirit choose his proper Vice,  
What he can most prevail in, most entice;  
And with your cunningest guiles declare your Art,  
Playing your Engines into every heart,  
For fear the World turn pious, and repent,  
And so this Universal Flood prevent.   Asm. 

By you, Great Sir, was the first Act begun,  
You did the Father Ruin, I the Son:  
At his Devotions, and i'th' midst of Prayer,  
I raised up Envy, and that caused Despair;  
Seeing his Offerings despised, he threw  
The Altars down, and straight his Brother slew;  
So for the deed a Vagabond was made,  
And of each Soul, he met, was so afraid,  
He even feared his Murder from his shade.  
So by one Act I did both Brothers slay:  
Envy alone would the whole World betray;  
This is my Chief Delight, this very sin  
I've culled from all, to be my Concubine.   Sat. 

That which I most affect is dire Despair,  
To fill men's Souls with grief, distrust and fear,  
Horrors, and Furies, seize each vital part,  
And irk some Maladies shall plague the heart.  
In gentle sleep, when their racked Souls repose,  
With dreadful Visions I their rest oppose:  
Nay, at the Altars as they prostrate lie,  
Asking forgiveness of the Deity,  
I make 'em, Atheist-like, high Heaven despise,  
And 'stead of Prayers, they utter Blasphemies:  
With desperate madness they their lives destroy,  
And think in dying they shall Bliss enjoy.  
They long for Death, and Death must be their end,  
To some, the worst of Foes, to them, the happiest Friend.   Beel. 

Pride and Ambition are my darling Joys,  
My Minion Pleasures, and my dear Decoys;  
With those sweet Poisons, I man's Soul inspire,  
Like us, they would be always mounting high;  
None is contented with his proper State,  
But every Slave would be a Potencate:  
Proud in Ambition, all to rule are given,  
Subjects would Monarchs sway, great Monarch's Heaven.  
The Holy Hermits, who all praise defy,  
Do cloak their Pride under Hypocrisy:  
Their seeming Sanctity their hearts reveal,  
And they are proud, in that they Pride conceal.  
This lust of Pride in every Soul is seen,  
She over all the World is Regent Queen.   Luc. 

You've raised my Spirits high, I long to roam  
Lord over all, and view this World in foam:  
To see the Cataracts of Heaven fall.  
And spread its Waters o'er this mighty Ball.  
'Twas well designed of the Great Conqueror,  
And in't he showed his Wisdom and his Power,  
For their hot lust a Deiuge does require,  
And should he stop, the World would be on fire.   Moloch flies down: Mol. 
At length, great Lucifer, the Ark is made.  Luc. 

If that be finished, than the World's betrayed.  
'Tis joyful News, now the great Period's come,  
And all must wallow in the Watery Tomb:  
The Birds and Beasts with man confused must lie,  
And Fish in their own Element shall die.   Sat. 

What has been Ages building we'll destroy,  
In a few days, and in its Ruin joy.   Beel. 

But how it shall be done, I cannot tell,  
For Hosts of Angels will keep sentinel:  
And round the Sanctuary always stay,  
Questioning all who shall advance that way,  
And with strict Guard defend it night and day.   Mol. 

The way is easy, and the passage fair,  
Know from all parts all Creatures do repair,  
And round the Ark reside, waiting the time,  
When to their place of safety they shall climb.  
Then with the rest, I in some borrowed shape  
Will enter in, and so the Guards escape:  
There lurking close, I'll in some Corner lie,  
(Few think of danger when it is most nigh)  
And soon into their private thoughts will pry.  
There at the least advantage I'll fly in,  
And teach this great small World of Eight to sin.  
If this should fail, I'll fill each Soul with rage,  
And all the Ark a Civil-War shall wage;  
The Beast with Fowl, Father shall fight with Son,  
Till with Intestine strife they're all undone.   Luc. 

Bravely designed; may the whole Ark be cursed,  
And mayst thou prosper as I did at first.  
Whilst you're within Plotting their sudden Fall,  
We'll hover be without, and wait your call:  
Then we'll combine, and at one dreadful blow,  
This remnant of the World we loverthrow.   Asm. 

This will prove hazardous and hard to gain,  
What cost a hundred years to build with pain,  
Was never sure designed to be in vain.   Sat. 

Still with fond Reason you our Acts debate,  
Sure we that won the World may conquer Eight.   Luc. 

To me, methinks, it may with ease be done.  
For scarce above a Century is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,  
And all the World is in Confusion.  
You talk like Fools, such a Cabal as we,  
Are able sure to check Eternity;  
Retrieve our former States, and mount on high,  
Shining all Glorious Monarchs of the Sky.  
Such Storms to plague the deep I will prepare,  
Shall make Omnipotence itself despair:  
Though he be Lord of Heaven, I'm Prince, o'th' Air.   Asm. 

You've raised my drooping Soul from sluggish sleep,  
Methinks I see it sinking in the deep.   Beel. 

If through his anger the great World doth fall,  
We will by his Example drown the small.   Luc. 

With Storms and Whirlwinds we ourselves will man,  
And plunge i'the Gulf this huge Leviathan. Enter Several Pious Men.  
But see those Piqus Men, whose Holy Way  
And Heavenly life false Woman shall betray:  
Their sweet repose of a contented Life  
Shall have an end in that cursed name of Wife.  
Woman! our only Engine to deceive  
Mankind, first taught by Ancient Eve,  
And with such Zeal they do the trade pursue,  
Hanging out sighs, and smiles, and pearls of dew,  
They cheat—  
Not men alone, but even us Devils too.  
They shift so oft, land roll from sin to sin,  
From Pride to Malice, then to Pride again:  
Now in this form they fin, then in that shape,  
Like Water grasped they do our hands escape;  
So if we tempt in Lust, from Lust they fly  
To Rage, from Rage to Jealousy.  
Yet though we miss 'em here we find 'em there,  
And still are sure, although uncertain where;  
Nay, they so fast, so swift, sin's Mazes tread,  
So surely follow our dire clew of thread,  
They're here with us in Hell before they're scarcely dead.  
Behold they do Appear.   Enter divers fair Women dressed in wanton Garments, they pass over the Stage Singing and Dancing. 1. Ret. Man. 

See where they come, each does such charms display,  
My pure Devotions at their sight decay,  
And as they pass, they steal my heart a way.  
I've often seen 'em Dancing hand in hand,  
Yet, with my Zeal, I did their force withstand;  
But now I'm lost, to pray is needless now,  
For whilst I pray to Heaven to them I bow.   2. Rel. Man. 

Oh how I faint, my Vitals melt away,  
And Love, all-conquering Love, has won the day,  
Has entered in, in at these eyes he came,  
With a most swift and most surprising flame:  
And through each part, each vein, such heat doth run,  
It burns more fierce than the Meridian Sun.   3. Rel. Man. 

Devotion, Incense, Sacrifice and Prayer,  
Farewell, you nothing to these Saints compare;  
Adieu dear Books, (once my delight) adien,  
Those Golden leaves must be my study now. pointing to the Women,  
All Arts and Sciences in them appear;  
View but their eyes, Astronomy is there.  
They are that bliss which but to gain we'd die,  
Therefore let's haste, let each to's pleasure fly,  
And so anticipate the Bliss that's given,  
And without Martyrdom obtain our Heaven:  
Let's haste, for when such mighty joys are near,  
One idle Minute lost outvies a Year.   Enter the fair Women singing. 

SONG.  
When Charming Beauty does appear,  
How can you then deny?  
You think the Fruit forbid den here,  
And if you taste, you die.  
Lay your Religion but a side,  
That Cloud which hides your eyes,  
And you'll for ever here abide,  
And call it Paradise.  
You'll fast and mortify no more,  
When once this Fruit you eat;  
For if you taste you'll ne'er give o'er,  
'Tis so Divinely sweet.  
Then boldly venture to enjoy,  
The Bliss of those above;  
This Food doth only Fools destroy,  
That know not how to Love.  
This Heavenly Tree you may ascend,  
With safety and with ease.  
See how the Boughs their Branches bend,  
Desiring still to please.  
Th' immortal Juice when drunk by you,  
Will keep you from all harms,  
But if you die, we will die too,  
In one an others Arms.   1. Rel. Man. 

O Divine sound! see they again appear,  
More pleasant to the eye than to the ear. Advancing to the Women.  
Fair Goddesses, (whose looks are so Divine,)  
We all our hearts do offen at your Shrine;  
And if our Sacrifice successful prove,  
We always shall admire you, always love.   1. Wom. 

In their addresses still they can't forbear, Aside to the rest.  
But they must court in Sacrifice and Prayer:  
Grave Sires, we doubt whether we may, or no,  
Accept of that you should on Heaven bestow;  
Or if we do, you'll still like Flames aspire,  
And mount to'rds Heaven, but not our Charms admire:  
Or when our Loves you should again requite,  
You'll Sacrifice all Day, and Pray all Night,  
And draw Life's Scene without one Ray of Light.   1. Rel. Man. 

Grant us but Love, we'll lay aside our Zeal,  
And though we pray to Heaven, to you we'll kneel;  
You our Devotion are, Religion, Prayer,  
And what we say is true, as you are fair.   1. Wom. 

By these expressions you our fears remove,  
And we may now believe that you can love;  
Unless Religion's path again you tread,  
That perplexed Labyrinth, whose fly winding thread  
Leads you through Thorns and Briars, when you may  
Tread upon Roses, and make sweet your way.   1. Rel. Man. 

'Tis the worst madness for a man to stay  
In darkness, when he might enjoy the day;  
Our eyes thus opened now, we plainly view,  
Our only happiness is placed in you:  
The azure Sky expands its Purple shroud,  
And we behold our Heaven without a Cloud.  
With Fancies Pencil, we before did grave  
Our Heaven, and for a Goddess carved a Slave,  
Chained to a Galley in a stormy Sea,  
Rowing 'gainst Wind and Tide for Liberty,  
But never gains his Port: so had we steered  
Our Course, had not Love's Beacon thus appeared.  
Your eyes those lights are that direct our way,  
Like Heaven, they shine with an Eternal Day,  
And who e'er follows cannot go astray.   1. Wom. 
Now you confirm all what you said before.  1. Rel. Man. 
If you believe not, we will say much more.  1. Wom. 

You've said enough, and we believe you kind,  
You see our Blushes do declare our mind,  
Our Maiden Modesty they do betray,  
As the Sun's Rising does confirm the Day.  
The Banquet's spread, take, eat, and make good cheer,  
There's no resistance nor denials here.   1. Rel. Man. 

Of all these Dainties only you I choose,  
And in Exchange I would the World refuse.   All Men. 

We'll follow you, but each so pleasant is,  
It is impossible to choose amiss.   Each take a Woman. 1. Rel. Man. 

O Joys Divine! O Everlasting Bliss!  
Sure the High Power cannot deny us this. kissing the first Woman's hand.  
To kiss and press these hands, to view those eyes,  
The Starry Harbingers to Paradise,  
If it be sin to be to bliss enslaved,  
No man upon the Earth would e'er be saved.  
Or if it be, what Mortal would not sin,  
If he were sure t'enjoy a Cherubin.   Exeunt Men and Women. Luc. 

From these ill Hymens shall a Race arise,  
Whose Power o'er all the World shall Tyrannize;  
Lead the Earth Captive, and hold Heaven in scorn,  
And Kings and Princes shall their Pomp's adorn:  
Yet though they thus Triumphant Glory get,  
They shall fall prostrate at a Woman's feet:  
Resign their Sceptre but to stop a frown,  
And for a smile they shall present a Crown.  
In these all mischiefs and all sorrows dwell:  
Were't not for Woman we should have no Hell.  
But to his task let every one Repair,  
Be circumspect, and tempt each soul with care:  
Be sure you make 'em all of Heaven despair.  
For the success we hitherto have found;  
Let Hell in Universal Joy abound,  
And as they play we'll here repose a while,  
And midst our Torments strive to gain a smile.   
They lay themselves down, A Song is Sung, expressing the joy they take in destroying the World, and how their pains are lessened, in having made so brave a Revenge. And, in several Figures, Antic Dances are represented; which done, they vanish, and the rest fly out of sight.  
End of the First Act.   

ACT the Second.  The Scene Represents a Glorious Sun in its full▪ Meridian. Enter the Angel Gabriel and Noah, as in Discourse. Noah. 

AND is the time so nigh? Can't Tears obtain  
A little Truce? Are all men's Prayers in vain?  
Will not Oblations his fierce wrath abate?  
Nor Holy Sacrifice drive back his hate?  
The smell of Incense he was wont to love,  
Will not sweet savours mollify, nor move?  
Must all our Altars empty titles bear?  
Can't bended knees prevail, nor fervent Prayer?  
To spotless Souls no Obstacle is given,  
Sincerity will ope' the very Gates of Heaven.   Gabr. 

You argue well, but only you alone,  
That great Prerogative of Love must own;  
A Holy Life has all your Actions crowned,  
Therefore both Grace and Favour you have found:  
To you and yours the Covenant is given,  
All else must die that breath on this side Heaven;  
Therefore prepare with speed, for e'er the Sun  
Hath seven times more, over the Ocean run,  
This fatal Doom must come.—   Noa. 

Immense Divinity, there's none can scan,  
'Tis too mysterious for the thoughts of man:  
Though all the World must perish in the Flood,  
Yet in Destruction he is always Good,  
His way's unsearchable, no bottom have,  
For often he destroys that he may save:  
Strange Contradiction! yet as strangely true,  
From the old World must rise a happier new:  
As in the Vineyards we th' old Branches lop,  
That from their stock may rise a better crop.   Gabr. 

You are the Vintage which such Joys must bring,  
You are, at once, both Priest and Offering;  
And from your Loins shall rise so vast a Birth,  
Your Progeny shall people all the Earth:  
Children, like Branches of the Vine, shall spread,  
And clasping Tendrils shall adorn your Head,  
Clusters of Offsprings from your Stock shall rise,  
And new Create in th' World a Paradise.   Noa. 

For his great Love how can I Tribute give?  
When all's destroyed, to suffer me to Live!  
His tender Love is Excellently high,  
Thus to preserve so mean a Slave as I:  
I do confess, I do his Image bear,  
If that's the Reason he my life doth spare,  
All Mankind else should in his Favour share.   Gab. 

Man first of an unspotted mould he made,  
But with base sin they since his stamp allayed,  
And to his Image they such soils have given,  
The Coin will never current pass in Heaven.   Noa. 
How then shall I escape, since all do sin?  Gabr. 

You with Obedience do your Maker win;  
Leave all the rest to him, and but obey,  
You need not fear the Resurrection Day.  
Then you'll in pleasing Anthems mount on high,  
And Hallelujahs sing throughout the Sky.   Noa. 

You've to my Soul such consolation given,  
Methinks, like Henoch, I am snatched to Heaven.   Gabr. 

Observe the mighty Dictates then in hand,  
And with Obedience finish his Command;  
Be sure yourself, and yours, be ready there,  
And of each Fowl, and of each Beast a pair.  
Of the clean Beasts the Ark must seven contain,  
But of unclean he doth but two ordain:  
Take heed you fail not to perform his Will.   Noa. 
With Joy and Gladness I'll his Acts fulfil.  Gabr. 

Hail best of men, I now must leave you here,  
When the time's nigh I will again appear;  
Be circumspect, and guard your thoughts with Prayer,  
For the Apostate Angels lurki'th Air,  
They'll use all means your tender heart to win,  
And with false pleasures tempt your Soul to fin:  
All Hail.——   Gabriel flies away. Noa. 

All Hail to thee, thou Messenger of Heaven,  
With speed I'll act the charge that thou hast given:  
But see the Monsters come, with furious rage,  
Nor men, nor Angels can their pride assuage,  
For against Heaven and Earth a War they wage.  
Their killing eyes I must with care escape:  
Men monstrous in their natures as their shape.  
These, these are they, who have destroyed the Earth;  
O wicked times! but, O more wicked birth!   Exit. Enter Abaddon and Agon, two Monstrous Giants. The Scene a Hilly Country. Ab. 

How calm's the Air! What, is his Thunder gone?  
Nay then, I'll mount the Sky, and seize his Throne.   Ago. 

The trembling Moon I'll into pieces rent,  
And twist the Stars out of his Firmament.   Ab. 

The Sun himself that doth so bright appear,  
I'll drag about the Sky by's golden Hair,  
Then spurn him in the Sea, and quench him there.   Ago. 

Thunder nor Lightning shall my passage stay,  
Angels, nay, Gods shall fall that stop my way.  
If Clouds met Clouds, and Storm met Storms, I'd through,  
This hand of mine should their whole force subdue:  
Whirlwinds shall back upon themselves be driven,  
And such Assaults shall to their Guards be given,  
They shall be forced to yield, to us, their Heaven.   Ab. 

Let us th'advantage take, while Heaven is fair;  
And all these little Mountains let's prepare,  
To raise Olympus high, methinks the Sun  
Leans on the top o'th' Hill, let's haste and run,  
And as he rests surprise him there.   By this time the Sun hath got over the top of the Hill. Ago. 

———— 'Tis vain,  
For when we're there, he's as far off again.   Ab. 
Then on the Hills we must more Mountains rear.  Ago. 
This Mountain than you to the top must bear.  Ab. 

With ease I will perform it, mighty Brother,  
That in this Arm, and under this another.   Ago. 

You mighty Mountain I myself, will bring,  
And on Olympus to with ease I'll fling.   Ab. 
But see the light o'th' Glorious Sun decays.  Here the Sun is all o'er darkened with a Cloud. Ago. 

He hears us, and for fear draws in his Ray;  
We Hills on Hills will raise, till we're so high,  
That from their tops we'll step into the Sky,  
And all their mighty Godheads tumble down,  
Placing upon ourselves th' Imperial Crown:  
But see our valiant Brothers hither throng,  
We'll make Heaven tremble as we march along.   
As they advance towards them; great flashes of Lightning are seen breaking from the Cloud that covers the Sun, after which dreadful claps of Thunder are heard, the Cloud breaks in two, and a shower of fire falls on 'em and destroys 'em: The Sun on a sudden recovers his light, than Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub, Asmoday and Belial, rise out of the Earth.  Luc. 

See where the Trophies of our Triumphs lie,  
This is a way makes sure of Victory,  
To make 'em first curse God, then cursing die.   Sat. 

There's no Redemption for that wicked state,  
Where they sin high, and do repent too late;  
And now the World is brought to such a Fate.   Beel. 

They're hardened now, and do their Fates defy,  
Despising the great power of the most High.   Asm. 

They're passed repentance, and each strives to be  
Crowned the most famous man for Infamy:  
But see Despair comes melancholy in,  
Our surest aim, and man's most dangerous sin.   Enter Despair melancholy, walking with his Arms a cross. Desp. 

What have I done that I must thus be driven,  
And banished from the glorious light of Heaven?  
Bankrupt of hope, I must a prisoner stay,  
The World itself cannot my forfeits pay:  
What have I done! Let all strange mischiefs be  
Summed up, that wait on man, and they're in me;  
Whoredom, Pride, Murder, Blasphemy and Lust,  
Ambition, Rape, and Envy: all the worst  
Ingredients of sin to make me cursed.  
And cursed I am, in all I do or say,  
Fiends stop my mouth when I'd devoutly pray;  
I'd think of Heaven, but they those thoughts expel,  
And in its glorious room present me Hell.  
Horrors, confusions, all the Plagues that are  
Reckoned in Hell, are harboured in despair;  
Legions of Devils do my mind possess,  
And rob my Soul of its true happiness:  
I'm sure I'm damned, what need I then take care  
Whither I go, since Hell is every where?  
Than to live thus, 'tis better far to die,  
And end this endless plague of misery,  
All is but Hell, and this shall set me free.   Stabs himself and die. Enter a Man-Lover. Lov. 

Rejected Love who can with patience bear?  
She bids me, though I prostrate fall, despair,  
The angry Goddess scorns to hear my Prayer.  
Lovers forsook, death before Treasures crave,  
And think no Spouse so happy as a Grave,  
Then farewell Love, farewell my sweet desire,  
Surely these Waves will quench my raging fire.   Throws himself from a precipice into the Sea. Enter a Woman-Lover. Wom. Lov. 

First to contract, then basely to depart!  
Was too too cruel for my tender heart;  
For since he's gone I do myself disdain,  
I'm turned a Reprobate and Heaven profane,  
Run mad with rage, with this I'll ease my pain.   Drinks a Cup of Poison and dies. Luc. 

But see Ambition on great Pride attends,  
Seldom asunder, and yet seldom friends.   Enter Pride and Ambition. Pride. 

You're too ambitious and too saucy grown,  
Thus to intrude when I would be alone.   Amb. 

Most mighty Queen, let me your wrath appease,  
I ne'er approach you but on bended knees;  
See at your feet where your offender lies,  
And for his fault, when e'er you please, he dies:  
You are the Saint to whom I always pray,  
It is for you I languish night and day,  
And at your Shrine my Soul doth pine away.   Pride. 

Such flattery, such a deluding Art,  
Attends all Courts, but ne'er shall win my heart;  
Your sighs, and groans, and prayer's, are all in vain,  
And all these Adulations are profane:  
You're an Impostor, and with fraud beguile,  
But know, none but great Kings shall gain a smile.   Amb. 

That you may look serene, such force I'll bring,  
I'll in an instant crown myself a King;  
Nay, I'll be more, for with my mighty power,  
I'll over all the World reign Emperor:  
The petty Kings shall all their Crowns submit,  
And lay their Sceptres at your Royal feet:  
The plenteous World her dainties shall afford,  
And choice varieties shall spread your board,  
There's not a sense but shall such pleasures find,  
When they combine they shall entrance the mind:  
I'll ransack Nature's Wardrobe, and adorn  
You far more brighter than the rising morn.   Pride. 

These I enjoy already, I am Queen,  
Of all rich Nature's richest Magazeen;  
Kings with their Sceptres at my feet lie down,  
And every Conqueror presents a Crown.   Amb. 

Since no content, to you, on Earth is given,  
I'll change my thoughts, and will advance to Heaven;  
Where you for Jewels glittering Stars shall wear,  
And streaming Lights shall guild your radiant hair,  
The Sun shall for us his bright mantle spread,  
And we will sleep in sweet Aurora's Bed,  
Where, like to them, each other we'll embrace,  
Raising your maiden blushes in your face;  
With eager zeal lie panting by your side,  
A loving Bridegroom, you a willing Bride;  
Free to enjoy, expanding all your Charms,  
Throwing yourself and love into my Arms,  
Where in close twine through the Air we'll fly,  
And all the Gods that do our Actions spy,  
Shall envy us for our Mortality.  
Then if again we would to earth repair,  
We'll gently glide through the soft yielding Air,  
Dissolving both into a falling Star.   Pride. 

Your mind soars high, but I have thoughts much higher,  
God like Ideas do my soul inspire,  
And I breathe nothing now but Heavenly fire.  
Seraphs, and Cherubs, shall companious be,  
And the bright Angels all shall wait on me:  
I scorn all Kings, and their base earth's abode,  
None shall enjoy my love beneath a God;  
And you, Earth's Galleyslave, thus to aspire  
To raise your thoughts on me! Vile wretch retire,  
And in some dirty Creek o'th' Earth forlorn,  
Expire as basely as you're basely born.   Exit Pride. Amb. 

I'll follow thee where ever thou dost fly,  
I must enjoy, or in pursuit I'll die.   Exit Amb. The Scene opens, and discovers several horrid Murders, drinking to Excess, Quarrels, Broils, Rapes, etc. Luc. 

Behold whole Troops of sins the fields surround,  
In each dividual sin they so abound,  
And with such boldness they all bliss defy,  
They'd act their sins though Angels should stand by.  
Without allurements they to sin are brought,  
Performing crimes we scarce ourselves e'er thought:  
Those are the chief great Agent sins which we  
With Triumph view, but Heaven does weep to see.   Sat. 

Yet still we will pursue their direful fall,  
'Tis true State-Policy to conquer all,  
And not let one survive.——   Luc. 

This Gallant deed  
Outvies our Labours past, if it succeed:  
I'll manage this affair myself, and all  
This Holy Tribe into my snare shall fall.   Mol. 

The brave by fortune are in Triumph lead:  
A glorious Halo does surround your head;  
True Omen of success.—   Luc. 

Hear then the way— before the mighty Rain  
Shall fall, the Angel will appear again;  
As they discoursed, I, hovering in the Air,  
Heard all they said: he bid him have a care  
Of us; by which precaution we may know,  
He's not impossible to overthrow.  
I'll shake off all these shagged shades of Night,  
And will adorn myself with Robes of Light,  
Appearing, like to him, all Fair and Bright.  
Then with a fawning, smooth, delusive Tale,  
I on his tender Conscience shall prevail;  
I'll tell him, that the pious Prayers he sent  
To Heaven, does the World's fall prevent,  
And that a longer date is now decreed,  
Before the mighty Judgement will proceed:  
Persuading him, this concourse of the Earth  
Must be dispersed, each to their place of Birth;  
That when the fatal Deluge shall be nigh,  
All, unprovided, in the Flood may die.   Asm. 

This proposition you have stated well,  
A thought, fit only for the Prince of Hell.   Luc. 

In the mean time, lest we should idle be,  
I'th' Holy Tribe, let's raise up Jealousy;  
And on true Love we'll stamp so base a shape,  
They shall mistake embraces for a Rape.   Sat. 

Though they are free from each dividual sin,  
We need not fear, if we with this begin;  
For with suspicion Legions enter in:  
Fear, hate, revenge, all plagues within 'em dwell,  
A Jealous Lover is possessed with Hell.   Luc. 

Now to our Gloomy Caverns let us go,  
Carrying glad tidings to our States below:  
Since all we act prevails with such success,  
We, even in Hell itself, find happiness.   
They all sink; as they vanish, great Flashes of Fire are seen, and horrid Acclamations of Joy are heard. The Scene on a sudden changes, and represents Hell, where sundry Devils are flying up and down, and others in extravagant postures dancing for joy, etc.  
End of the second Act.   

ACT the Third.  Scene a pleasant Garden adorned with various Walks, and close Bowers, and Enamelled with Purling Rivulets; a Shower of Rain is seen to fall: the Sky on a sudden clears up, and a glorious Sun appears. Enter Sem, and Philothea, Japhets' Wife. Phil. 

SUre Brother, the sad time is drawing nigh,  
And this same Scene th' event doth Prophecy;  
Such a bright Morn, before, sure ne'er did rise  
From such a boisterous night, such Gloomy Skies:  
Yet still the fragrant Flowers raise up their Heads,  
That were beat down by the swift falling Shower,  
With lively Grace deck their Ennameld Beds,  
And smell far sweeter than they did before.   Sem. 

The proposition you propound is well,  
This Stormy Night may the great Flood foretell.  
It is so long since any Rain did fall,  
That it seems now a Prodigy to all;  
And though the Storm was great, yet view around,  
The Earth has but its due refreshment found:  
And rather doth the Vales adorn, than spoil,  
Making the Meadows seem with Joy to smile.  
So we by this sad Emblem may express,  
Our present state, and future happiness;  
The World's destruction in the Tempest born,  
And our felicity in th' rising Morn:  
The Sun's bright Beams do promise to requite,  
With joyful Rays, this Tragedy of Night,  
Decking the Day with his Transcendent Light.   Phil. 

Like to himself, his mighty Blessings rise,  
Both Infinite, and none can them comprise.   Sem. 

We Heca tombs of Sacrifices owe,  
Which on his Holy Altars soon we'll rair,  
And in thanksgiving we our zeal will show,  
For all his Favours, in an humble Prayer.  
Yet for the blessed Talon we receive,  
Our Stewardship can't satisfaction give.   Phil. 

He ne'er requires returns for what he lends,  
So that we manage it for happy ends;  
He bestows Grace, which grace if we accept,  
In the acceptance we discharge the Debt.   Sem. 

Than the receiving, something more is due,  
We must increase, and multiply it too:  
For barely to accept the Grace that's given,  
Is not the ready way to mount to Heaven.   Phil. 

Grace is the Centre where all virtues fall,  
And having that we do embrace 'em all:  
As in the body of one single Grain,  
The species of several more remain.   Sem. 

As each dividual Grain its numerous birth,  
And its increase owes to the fertile Earth,  
So we for Grace indebted are to Heaven,  
Of which a just account must once be given.  
Or like neglectful husbandmen, our Crops  
Will blasted be, and rob us of our hopes:  
So we heavens' Harvest must with care get in,  
Or what's a virtue soon will turn a sin.  
But this discourse defer, and let us praise  
And magnify th' eternity of Days.  
Come, Sister, to the Altar let's repair,  
And the small time we have we'll spend in Prayer;  
With all sincerity we'll him adore,  
Mankind can ask, and He'll exact no more:  
When to th' All-high there's such a Victim given,  
Bright Angels wait to carry't up to Heaven.   Phil. 

By all th' endearments of a Royal mind,  
I love you more than man; so sweet, so kind  
Are all your mellowed words, that I rejoice,  
And think, when e'er you speak, I hear an Angel's voice.   As they are going out Japhet Enters. Japh. 

And I a Devil's tongue. Oh Heavens! that she  
Should be so kind to him, so false to me.  
To love him more than man! Oh tortured heart!  
Sure Jealousy has shot me with her Dart.  
What a strange fancy does my mind surprise,  
Her Soul, me thought, flew to him, from her eyes,  
A glowing heat did in her face appear,  
Showing, at once, her passion and her fear.  
But I'll observe and watch where they repair,  
For now's the time for Sacrifice and Prayer.  
And if they should prove false, they both shall die,  
And fall a Victim for Idolatry,  
For bowing to that Idol in the Eye.   Exit. 
The Scene opens, and represents several Altars with Sacrifices on them, the Sacrificers devoutly kneeling before them. A Cloud of Fire Descends on the Altars, and consumes the Sacrifices, then Ascend. A Song is sung all the while the Cloud rises, expressing the acceptation of their Sacrifice, and then the Sense changes to the Garden.  Enter Noah. Noa. 

What unaccustomed miracle is this,  
That Heavenly fire should burn our Sacrifice?  
How like a Meteor it trilled through the Air,  
As swiftly down as upward went our Prayer.  
The Omen's good, for by the token given,  
Our Prayers and Victims both are gone to Heaven:  
But see, from far a Messenger is sent,  
Seeming to bear some news of vast portent;  
For by his swiftness he outflies the Wind,  
Outstrips the Lightning, and leaves time behind:  
And he's already here.———   Enter Lucifer in Robes of Light. Luc. 

——— Hail mighty Prince,  
The news I bring will much amaze your sense;  
For by your Holy Prayers, and Pious Zeal,  
You the Destruction of the World repeal:  
You call back Fate, which does so swiftly move,  
So strong's your Mighty Faith, so good heavens' Love,  
Mankind is saved, you need not now embark  
Yourselves, nor Beasts, for all the World's an Ark.  
Salvation to you all I must declare,  
For Heaven, against the World, proclaims no War.  
All wrath's deferred, and now your mighty train  
Of Birds and Beasts, must be dispersed again;  
Each to their homes, the Beasts to Woods and Brakes,  
The Fowl to Meadows, Woods, Springs, Ponds and Lakes:  
To confirm which, if you a sign require,  
Instead of rain shall fall a Shower of Fire.   A Shower of Fire falls down. Noa. 

I something doubted what was said by you,  
But now this token doth confirm it true,  
For the All-high doth seldom speak in vain,  
Nor cancels that which he doth Pre-ordain;  
This very day too, is the last of all,  
That he designed before the Rain should fall:  
But pardon me, if I mistrustful was,  
The strictness of my Duty was the cause,  
And the great charge that I received before,  
To act his Will, increased it something more.  
Besides, our Granaries are full of store;  
The Ark's so furnished too, we need no more:  
Yet your Commands I shall with speed obey,  
They shall be scattered all by break of Day.  
To what the goodness of th' All-High doth tend,  
I must admire, but cannot comprehend.   Exit Noah. Luc. 

The deed is done; now if heavens' eye prove blind,  
They too shall die, as well as all Mankind.  
How frail is man! How brittle Nature's Frame!  
Their Sense and Judgement bears an empty name;  
Their Reason, like their Natures, too are small,  
One false Idea can delude 'em all.  
So Eve, and the first man I did betray;  
Now Noah, second Adam, lead astray:  
With a false show, and with a Robe of Light,  
I have Eclipsed his reason, stopped his sight,  
That he mistakes me for an Angel Bright.  
But hold, I brag too soon, from yonder Sky,  
The mighty Angel, Gabriel, I espy:  
At sight of him my Burnished Rays decay,  
My glittering Robes do melt and fade away,  
And all the Fiend that's in me doth betray.  
I fain would sink and hide me from his face,  
But he hath chained me to this very place:  
I dread to hear heavens' direful Thunder fall,  
That was the Engine first destroyed us all,  
That does my Soul and Spirits too confound,  
That makes me prostrate fall upon the ground,  
And lie here grovelling to receive the wound.   A Clap of Thunder is heard, at which, Noah and the rest return as frighted, Gabriel flies down, and Lucifer sinks at the same time. And immediately Lucifer rises in his horrid shape. Gabr. 

Cursed Impostor! dost thou think the eyes,  
Of the All-High can't see thy false disguise?  
That he should be by a Fantastic Shade  
Deceived, and cous'ned, who the substance made?  
No, thy Impostumed fancy is as vain,  
As when you fought with Heaven, in Heaven to Reign  
Supreme, and th' Empyrean Crown to sway,  
Then, then, how soon you fell, and lost the Day.  
Think how you rolled into Eternal pain,  
With all your numerous astonished Train;  
Think but of that, you'll ne'er project again.  
But for this deed thou shalt heavens' Vengeance feel,  
And on thy Head shall fall its pointed steel,  
And sink thee down into the deep Abyss;  
Where whirling headlong with a direful Hiss,  
The damned themselves shall wonder how you fell,  
And you in Hell shall: find a hotter Hell:  
For you such Torments shall endure, even all  
Hell's mighty pains shall show to yours but small.   Luc. 

Since you upbraid me, know, that I defy  
The mighty Thunders of your Potent Sky;  
For being Prince of all the Heavenly train  
That fell, I therefore have the greatest pain:  
So b'ing enured to Tortures, I can bear  
All the Extremities you can prepare,  
And still rejoice, I can so far deceive,  
As with my guiles to make 'em all believe.  
From me that dismal Sentence first began,  
That made th' All-High wish he had ne'er framed man:  
So to perform't, I did their lives pursue.  
That I might have a Newborn World t'undo.   Gabr. 

These horrid Blasphemies your hate doth vent,  
Shall be revenged with direful punishment;  
And since you can dispense with pains, prepare  
To entertain heavens' Thunderbolts of War. Lightning and Thunder falls down upon Lucifer, with which he sinks, after which, a horrid noise is heard.  
So now all's safe, you must with care proceed,  
To get all Creatures in the Ark with speed,  
For e'er the Eastern Sun salutes the Skies,  
The Fountains of the mighty Deep shall rise,  
The great Floodgates of Heaven shall open wide  
Their Sluice, and fall like an impetuous Tide;  
But e'er I part, I will each Creature mark,  
For fear some Fiend should get into the Ark  
In a Beasts borrowed shape: then shall begin  
The Rain, and then I'll come and shut you in.   Exit Gabriel. Noa. 

Into what dangerous perils had we fell,  
By this Delusion of the Prince of Hell!  
Had not the eye of Heaven Protector been,  
And saved us all from this unpardoned sin:  
For this great Love we'll all thanksgiving pay,  
In memory of this sad, yet joyful day,  
And ne'er desist till time shall fade away.  
In Holocausts, Sin-Offerings, and Flame,  
In Holy Anthems, we'll his praise proclaim,  
And magnify, throughout the World, his Name.   Exit. Enter Moloch in the shape of a Beast. Mol. 

Cursed be his cunning search; can there no shape,  
No Plot, the piercing eye of Heaven escape?  
I in this Beastly form, thought I was safe,  
And often to myself did smile and laugh,  
To think how soon, wise Heaven I might beguile,  
And all its tedious undertakings spoil;  
When Lo, I heard an Angels my stick Charm,  
That did my Soul and Spirits both alarm:  
Thus roused, I quickly from his presence flew,  
As swift as thought, yet still as falling Dew:  
The very sense of what he did declare,  
Does pierce me deeper, than his Thunder, far.  
And I'm ashamed I came so tame away,  
And blush to think I durst not disobey;  
That my great will's controlled, there lies my pain;  
That makes my Hell, and links my direful Chain.  
When the great charm is heard i'th' Deep below,  
We, blushing, gaze about, then weep our woe,  
Grieve for what's past, then vex for being so.  
When most in mischief, than we most are well;  
Thoughts of Repentance make our greatest Hell.  
To desperate Souls, when the last Trumpet sounds  
The word for Ever, Everlasting wounds;  
So desperation 'tis our Souls confounds:  
But since by Stratagem, nor Ambuscade,  
We can't the mighty Force of Heaven invade,  
By strength alone, our Force we must declare,  
And 'gainst the Ark proclaim an open War:  
We'll the whole power of the four Winds let go,  
They East, and West, and North and South shall blow,  
Till, by their blasts, the Ark they overthrew.  
Then we'll rejoice over this conquered Ball,  
With dreadful Hollows Triumph in its Fall.   Sinks down. 
End of the Third Act.   

ACT the Fourth.  Scene the Deluge, representing Men and Beasts, of all sorts, promiscuously swimming together, only one Hill remaining above the Waves. The Ark is discovered on the Surface of the Waters. Enter some few Men as escaped from the lower parts. 1. Man. 

OH wretched State of Man! where shall I fly?  
Where e'er I look, a thousand Deaths I spy!  
Yet by one cause it is all Creatures die;  
So Pestilential Air men's veins does burn,  
And all Diseases to the Plague do turn:  
Agues and Fevers, all the numerous throng  
Of Maladies, that to Mankind belong:  
Old Age, and Infancy, and all must have,  
For their sure Remedy, one certain Grave,  
A floating Tomb formed of a swelling Wave.   2. Man. 

In vain, ourselves, we title Lords of all,  
And with the names of Mighty, Puissant, call.  
Great Kingdoms, Nations, Monarchies and Powers,  
With idle flattery we say all's ours:  
Since every Insect, every Creature can,  
This great Plenipotentiary unman;  
Nay, through our veins such killing poisons pass,  
Each small Distemper breaks the brittle Glass.  
But these we fear not, though pernicious they,  
Too often take our precious Lives away:  
A greater Plague is come, a Draught that will,  
Not only Man and Beast, but even Nature kill.   3. Man. 

Vain misbelieving Man! Can't death be found,  
Nor learned, but when he's striking of the Wound?  
Can't we believe his mighty piercing Steel,  
Nor know his Dart before its point we feel?  
But now, too late, we see our dreadful Foe,  
And strive to shun what we are sure to know;  
He stalks along with a Majestic pace,  
With direful Desolation in his Face:  
Castles and towers, Rocks, Mountains, all are vain,  
All are o'erwhelmed, all covered by the Rain,  
And only this doth 'bove the Waves remain.  
Too late we now believe our Reverend Sire,  
Too late we know his truths, and worth admire:  
Now his Prophetic raging judgement's come,  
And in the rapid Waves we find our Tomb.  
In vain he preached, in vain good manners taught,  
Him and his Precepts both we set at naught,  
Which has this dire Destruction on us brought.   Exeunt. Enter a Woman with several Children hanging about her, some in her Arms, etc. 1. Chil. 
O my dear Mother, how the Waves do roar.  Moth. 

My aid, Dear Children, you in vain implore;  
I've given you all, and now can give no more:  
Unless I do anticipate your fears,  
And Drown you all in Deluges of Tears:  
Like to a harmless Herd that hasts away,  
From a fierce Tiger that would on 'em prey;  
And to some safe retiring Covert fly,  
Where they in vain their small Defiance try,  
Till the poor Dams do with their young ones die.  
But I'm afraid, so faint my Spirits grow,  
And grief's so great, I shall prevent the blow.   2. Chil. 

Will you then die, and leave us here alone,  
To all things, but to misery, unknown?  
Strangers to all, where e'er we walk or go,  
Companions only to sad grief and woe;  
We their acquaintance in all places find,  
Marching before, or tracing us behind.   3. Chil. 

What shall we do? if we stay here we die;  
To yonder higher Mountain let us fly,  
It is some ease to prolong misery.   Moth. 

Cheer up, my Infants, since no hopes remain,  
But that together we must all be slain,  
And in one Dismal Grave Entombed must lie;  
Thus hand in hand we will prepare to die,  
And launch from hence into Eternity.   1. Chil. 
Here I will grasp.——  Hangs on the Mother 2. Chil. 

——— Here I'll for ever stay,  
Till Desolation hurries me away.   Moth. 

Thus then let's go, let each one take their hold,  
And Miser-like, I'll perish with my Gold.  
So desperate Souls that on their Death's bed lie,  
Take their last Cordial, and then faint and die.   Exeunt. 
The Scene changes, and discovers a throng of men, Women, and Children on the highest Mountains, who on a sudden are all overwhelmed with the Waves. The Scene changes again, and represents Hell, with Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub, Asmoday and Belial, sitting in Council in their Pandaemonium; Moloch swiftly flying down to them.  Mol. 

Hell and Damnation seize this mystic sense,  
And Curse upon the eye of Providence;  
Such a design, so close, so surely laid,  
One should have thought, would all heavens' watch evade;  
Hid even to all but Gabriels searching eyes,  
Who soon discovered me through this Disguise:  
Those piercing eyes that penetrate all bars,  
And shine far brighter than the clearest Stars;  
From his Transcendent Beams I stole away,  
And swift as wind I dived beneath the day,  
But his more swifter eyes traced all my way.  
I grinning turned me round, and saw the Door  
Of th' Ark made fast, he standing just before,  
With his bright Flaming sword; so now we are  
Compelled by Force to proclaim open War.  
By this time too, the Waters so prevail,  
They o'er the tops o'th' highest Mountains scale;  
That fifteen Cubits 'bove the Earth they rise,  
And by their height they seem to touch the Skies.  
So to our War, a stop may soon be given,  
Unless we hast, the Ark so high is driven,  
I fear, before we go, 'twill sail to Heaven.   Luc. 

Then let us haste, with all our Banners spread,  
Blazoned with all the Trophies of the Dead;  
With a large Deluge that to Heaven does flow,  
A Shipwrecked Ark, half sinking down below,  
And all our Legions following their blow.  
Thus let us pass, and through the Deluge glide,  
Springing, like thought, above the swelling Tide.   They all fly out of fight. 
The Scene changes, Representing all destroyed but the Ark, which is swimming on the Surface of the Waters. All the Devils appear again.  Luc. 

Ho Moloch! loose the Eastern Wind, let go,  
Belial, the West, both shall together blow,  
You, Asmoday, must rule the Southern Wind,  
Ho Beelzebub! the stubborn North unbind,  
Whilst I and Satan, like two mighty Whales,  
Toss up the Ark, with our impetuous Tails;  
And beat and bandy it from Wave to Wave,  
Till 'tis impossible for Heaven to save.  
Let us all Charge, and with one dreadful Shock,  
Sink down this floating World, this swimming Rock;  
Which though through Dangers it doth safely ride,  
And boldly with its Prow doth sweep the Tide,  
Yet not so safe, but that no doubt we may  
Make it a brave and a Triumphant day.   
Here they all assault the Ark, and almost overturn it. Several Flaming Chariots full of Angels fly down, from whence breaks Thunder and Lightning, which drives them headlong into the Deep. The Scene changes, and represents Noah in the Ark.  Noah. 

What dreadful noise and roar round us move,  
Far be't that we have sinned to lose heavens' Love,  
To feel his Wrath, making our bliss become  
A Curse, our Sanctuary turn our Tomb.  
Escaping Rocks and Shipwrecks, now to find  
His Goodness Infinite to be unkind;  
But far be't too, I should his Love mistrust,  
Who is all Mercy, all Divine, all Just,  
Who from his word doth never go away;  
His Covenant is Eternal, as the Day.  
For he protecting, Rocks, nor Gulfs avail,  
Through Seas of Storms we shall in safety sail.   Exit. Enter Sin and Death, Sin appearing upward like a fair Beautiful Woman, but ending in a Serpentine Scaly Tail, Death wearing a Crown of Gold upon his Head. Sin. 

What glorious Trophies ought t' adorn my Head,  
Since I have Crowned you Lord o'er all the Dead.   Dea. 

It was from you that I did first begin,  
My Father Satan, but my Mother Sin:  
So for my b'ing, I'm ready to obey,  
And wait your strict Commands both Night and Day;  
Where e'er you go, I will your train attend,  
To see your Enemies or dearest Friend.   Sin. 

For thy great Love I've had thee to the Court,  
My chief delight, where all my Friends resort;  
Envy, Ambition, Malice, Hatred, Pride,  
Lust, Flattery, and all the rest beside,  
Too tedious to account: by whose sly ways  
And guiles, we've gained ourselves Immortal praise.   Dea. 

There I did first grow great, I was before  
Naked, and starved, and miserably poor:  
When I on Plants and Herbs did feed, and all  
That e'er the tedious Scyth of Time did fall.  
When I in Towns and Cottages did live,  
All that I had would no contentment give.  
So lean and thin I looked, 'twas only than  
I got the name of Sceleton from men;  
But since, at Court, I've filled this Ravenous Jaw,  
And with sweet Dainties crammed and gorged my Maw,  
That now I am grown so vigorous at heart,  
I dare encounter Armies with my Dart.   Sin. 

Nay, more, your mighty Empire spreads so far,  
It's boundless circuit does admit no Bar:  
So Monarch-like you Reign o'er every thing,  
Except the Ark, you're Universal King.  
That Ark, which like the World, if it should be  
O'erthrown, you, next to that, will ruin me.  
Then shall your Empire end, so soon as I  
Do leave this World, you too, yourself, must die.   Dea. 

Since I have had such plenty, and such store  
Of all varieties, what need I more:  
Therefore ne'er fear I will Mankind pursue,  
So far, as to be forced to prey on you:  
You are forbidden Fruit, and if I try,  
To taste of you, ay, when I taste, must die,  
And lose this Earthly Paradise, and be  
For ever lost in vast Eternity.  
So for your sake, the Ark shall safely sail,  
And o'er the Waves, as they o'er all, prevail;  
So Heavenly is your face, you shall be seen,  
In future Ages, a most Glorious Queen:  
You shall be decked in such deluding Charms,  
That Kings shall wish to die between your Arms;  
Lie panting on your Breast, and with one smile,  
You Universal Nature shall beguile.  
A Talon but to touch, or glance, or toy,  
A thousand for a kiss, the World t' enjoy.  
Nay, men your company shall like so well,  
Within your Tents they shall desire to dwell,  
And for your Love shall pawn their Souls to Hell.   Sin. 

You cheer my Spirits now, and I presage  
I shall grow mighty in th' ensuing Age,  
As I have been in this, but that the fall  
And price of sin won't be so general:  
From Noah's Vineyard, I already spy  
Him drunk with Wine, and naked to the eye:  
His laughing Son does a sad Curse obtain,  
Such are th' effects of a distempered Brain.  
A Curse which will for ever last, and be  
A sad remembrance to Posterity.  
Hence Curses, Murders, Whoredom, Rapes, proceeds,  
Incest, Blasphemous words, and desperate Deeds;  
Hence do most mischiefs rise, therefore my Son,  
I call this sin my lovely Paragon:  
From whence to you shall many Trophies fly,  
By Surfeits, Fevers, Broils, do most men die.   Dea. 

This sin to me is a most welcome guest,  
For every Day it yields a plenteous Feast. The Dove with an Olive Branch flies cross the Stage.  
But see the Dove with an indulgent care,  
Hasts to the Ark, through the mild peaceful Air,  
And in his beak an Olive Branch doth bear:  
Emblem of Peace, white Parley Flag, which he,  
The Ensign waves, to set the Monarch free;  
Penned up in th' Ark, which on the Mount doth stand,  
In safety now upon the stable Land:  
Such joy will from this Embassage be given,  
As dying Saints, in Vision, view their Heaven.  
Therefore with haste you thither must repair,  
With sly Temptations bring them to your snare:  
I'll follow you, and whilst you make the set,  
I, over all, will draw the fatal Net.   Sin. 

Come, Son, like Ice I will to all appear,  
Where they slide swiftly on, and never fear;  
Seldom look back, to see what does pursue,  
But boldly venture, and ne'er think of you:  
Until at last they hear the dreadful crack,  
In vain they then repent, in vain look back.   Exeunt. The Scene changes, and discovers Noah in the Ark, the Angel Gabriel appearing to him. Gabr. 

Hail Earth's preserver, Heaven remembers thee▪  
And all thy Creatures, all thy Family;  
For on the Earth he's caused a Wind to blow,  
Has struck the Flood; and made it sink below:  
Th' Almighty Word no sooner heard, but they  
With hasty zeal march forward to obey,  
And to their utmost Thule swiftly ran,  
Sinking i'th' Deep, from whence they first began.  
The Earth her shroud of Waters throws away,  
And all appears most pleasant, sweet, and gay:  
It seems to be Earth's Coronation day.  
A Newborn Light springs from the Torrid Flood,  
And Heaven again declares that it is good:  
He is all Peace, and now sends his Command,  
You from the Ark depart to Till the Land;  
You, and all yours must to the Earth repair,  
Each creeping thing, all Beasts and Birds of th' Air:  
For he this Blessing doth bequeath once more,  
Increase and Multiply the World with store.  
Hail, and Farewell.—   Exit. Noah turning to his Family. Noa. 

You hear th' Ambrosial Words Divinely sweet,  
Like Harmony, when Concord's jointly meet.  
This immense Goodness, like th' All High, doth prove,  
Almighty Merciful, Almighty Love;  
The Sun to th' Earth is reconciled again,  
And Heaven reiterates his Grace to men:  
Therefore his Name we will with praise extol,  
And on th' Omnipotent, th' Immortal, call,  
Even all the Ark shall with one voice declare  
Their Love, and sound his Praises through the Air.  
So let our thanks for these great Blessings rise  
In Hallelujahs, Echoing through the Skies.   Exeunt. After some Harmony is heard, the Scene changes, and represents them descending from the Ark. Noa. 

But hark, what sweet Hosannas fill the Air,  
And charming Notes our happiness prepare;  
And in my Breast a secret Joy doth rise,  
Whose Symphonies my very Soul surprise:  
By this I know the Earth has found his Grace,  
He doth the Prodigal again embrace,  
And clothes her all in an embroidered dress  
Of many thousand Colours, to express  
The mighty work of Nature, and her Art,  
Enamelling the Earth in every part  
With such Embellished streams, in such a hue,  
They speak their own and Maker's glory too:  
With silent Oratory they declare  
His Praise, but we in Sacrifice and Prayer.  
So in Burnt Offerings, and Holy Fire,  
Our Tributary thanks shall t' Heaven aspire,  
And touch the sense of him and all his Holy Quire.   Exit. The Scene changes, and represents them offering up a Sacrifice of Thanksgiving. Noa. 

Since the All-High doth now again restore  
The World, I hope he will destroy't no more;  
And that his Ancient Love he will renew,  
And man no more with such dire wrath pursue.  
But on the wicked let thy fury fly,  
Let Reprobates with the polluted die;  
But let the Innocent thy Grace enjoy;  
Let not one Gangrened Limb the whole destroy:  
Accept this Sacrifice, which is designed  
In thanks, for preservation of Mankind.  
Suffer not time to shake our Glass too soon,  
Nor let our Age's Sunshine set at Noon;  
But to our Patriarchs years let them abound,  
Then fall, like shedding Roses, to the ground:  
That like the Rose, though withered, parched and dry,  
We may fall sweet, and in perfumes may die.   The Angel Gabriel flies down to them. Gabr. 

With your Oblations Heaven is pleased so well,  
He, from the Earth, does a sweet savour smell;  
And with the World a Covenant doth make,  
He will no more destroy it for Man's sake.  
So if again great Storms and Floods appear,  
No Deluge shall surprise the World with fear;  
He keeps in awe the Cataracts of Rain,  
And the vast Sea does to its Channel chain.  
As you are Lords of all, and made above  
All other Creatures, so must be your Love;  
In Love and Quiet Reign, and ever be  
From cruel Murders, and Manslaughters free:  
For who e'er spills the Blood of Man, shall fall  
A bloody Victim to his Funeral.  
He is heavens' Tyrant, and the Earth's disgrace,  
And stabs his Maker in his Creatures Face:  
The Earth, Sea, Air, and all the things that grow,  
Heaven does for food, and for your use bestow;  
Only the blood of Beasts you must refrain,  
Since that doth both the Life and Soul contain:  
So to confirm his promise, he hath bowed  
His Royal Signet in yond rorrid Cloud. The Rainbow appears.  
In such a form the painted Arch appears,  
As mourning Heaven, seems even to smile, in Tears.   Noa. 

But in such pleasant mourning, such a shroud,  
It seems to be an Hieroglyphic Cloud,  
Of Grief and Joy, and intermixed so fine,  
The Artist, Nature, shows her Work's Divine;  
And in the Bow no Shaft nor Arrow's seen,  
But the whole scene is peaceful and serene.  
With wonder, and amazement, I behold  
Those streaks of Light, so mixed with streams of Gold,  
It an Enameled Amulet doth seem,  
To preserve Man, and all his Race redeem:  
Hung on the bosom of the Sky, to be  
A charm to keep the World from Tempests free.   Gabr. 

Well dost thou Judge, henceforth shall heat and cold,  
Seedtime, and Harvest, their due Seasons hold:  
Winter and Summer shall their Course maintain,  
And Day and Night shall never err again;  
Till Time and Nature too shall both decay,  
And the last Trumpet summon all away:  
That dreadful sound shall make the Earth to quake,  
The Stars fall down, and Heaven itself to shake;  
The Sun turn black, the Moon all Blood; till then  
Shall all these Blessings be showered down on men:  
All Hail Mankind, and when this sign you view,  
Think of the Covenant sealed 'twixt Heaven and you.   Exeunt. 
End of the Fourth Act.   

ACT the Fifth.  The Scene represents a Vineyard, and all sort of Fruit-Trees. Noah Enters. Noah. 

LIKE the six days Creation Earth appears,  
And all the glorious Pomp of Heaven it wears;  
With a transplendent glory every thing  
Doth shine, and shows a newborn Infant Spring:  
View but each Plant, each Tree, how fair they stand,  
Like Trees of Life, each tempt the willing hand,  
And every Prospect seems an Eden Land.  
View the embroidered Liv'ries of the Flowers,  
The Eglantine and Jess'min wreathed in bowers;  
Observe the flavours that from each do rise,  
How through the Air the Balmy Odour flies;  
One would in Transport say—  
The Earth, in joy, with Heaven doth sympathize.  
The Divine Orange whose Immortal Fruit,  
With the Omnipotence of Heaven doth suit;  
Her fertile growth is in Eternal Bloom,  
And Emblems forth Eternity to come.  
But, above all, view the rich pregnant Vine,  
How with enamelled clusters it doth shine,  
Sure this, if any, must be termed Divine.  
I'll go and taste the Fruit that seems so fair,  
And yet my private thoughts bid me, beware.  
Fancy prescribes new Arts, new Methods shows,  
And says, the Vine her Fruit thus ill bestows,  
And that for higher, nobler ends it grows:  
So ere the Sun with his all-parching Ray,  
Distils the juice of th' uddered Grapes away,  
I will the Dictates of my mind obey.  
Between two Planks the liquid juice I'll squeeze,  
Then drain it forth, and clear it from the Lees:  
The Project's good, I'll haste and try the way,  
'Tis pity that this thought should lose a day.   Exit. Enter Shem and Japhet, as from work, with fruit. Shem. 
How mighty hot does the Sun dart his Beams.  Japh. 

Let's haste to yonder Crystal purling Streams,  
Where there's an Arbour framed by Nature's hand,  
And on each side with pleasant gales 'tis fanned;  
There let's repose from the fierce scorching heat,  
Repast a while, then to our task retreat.   Shem. 

And as we go I'll a strange thing relate,  
That bears some hidden Mystery of Fate.  
ere the bright Sun his Eastern course begun,  
And o'er the World his purple mantle flung;  
By dawn of day, ere he his portion drew  
Through his Alembick heat of pearly Dew,  
In yonder Mead, as to my task I went,  
I saw (strange sight!) the Aged Elephant.  
Who for his knowledge, (since the World began)  
Excels the whole Creation, except Man:  
I saw this Beast, with greedy appetite,  
Feed on a poisonous Berry, black as night,  
And in its Nature baneful. 'Tis heavens' Will  
The outward form should show the inward still;  
As Toads are ugly made 'cause they're in Nature ill.   Japh. 

'Tis strange, a Creature of so vast a sense,  
Should choose out food of such dire consequence,  
Since every simple Beast, by instinct, can  
Feed on what's good, and what is bad refrain.   Shem. 

He had not long fed on this fatal Food,  
But that his Eyes grew dim, he trembling stood;  
His Legs like Pillars that might even Tower's bear,  
Were, like a Bulrush, wavered by the Air:  
His nimble Trunk that cooked him all his meat,  
Hung dangling down, and trailed beneath his feet:  
On's Ivory Teeth he leaned his drowsy Head,  
Then on a sudden reeled, and fell down dead.   Japh. 

Last night in th' Eve, when in the Western Bay  
The Sun had stopped the swift carrier of Day,  
And in the Ocean cooled his fiery Steeds,  
As strange a thing I saw in yonder Meads;  
One of the straggling Herd strayed to a rill,  
Hid with luxuriant Grass, there drank his fill:  
He swilled so much, I thought he would have burst,  
And at the sight I even quenched my thirst;  
But as he strove to turn his head aside,  
Some Megrim seized his Brain, and he in th' Water died.   Shem. 

Let's to our Father haste, to know th' events,  
For these are something more than accidents.   Exeunt. Enter Ham with a Bough of Fruit bleeding in his hand. Ham. 

What Prodigy is this! Wood drops forth Blood!  
Sure I've not erred in gathering my Food;  
And sure there's no forbidden Fruit again:  
Heaven has each thing that grows bestowed on Man,  
If so, within these Mystic drops, I see,  
Lies some Prophetickill that aims at me;  
My Soul Prognostics so, Heaven change my Fate,  
Oh Heavens! This does my wonder more create,  
That a pure crimson hue should die a black, all his hand turns black.  
And make my ruddy Skin a sable take:  
Such a strange change never before befell  
To any, but to th' Arch-Angels Host in Hell,  
And that my Fate, as theirs, should prove severe,  
Does 'bove my wonder far increase my fear.  
To learn the truth, I'll to my Father's Tent,  
He'll soon expound what by this riddle's meant:  
For he who could foretell the mighty Rain,  
Small Oracles of Heaven can sure explain.   Exit. Enter Satan. Sat. 

The godly Man who was so just and good,  
Who like a Cedar in th' World's forest stood,  
Who 'gainst sins blasts, and Hurricanes prevailed,  
At length, behold, is fallen.—  
The Guardian senses were surprised by sin,  
She undermined the Tower, then entered in,  
And seized on mighty Reason's Magazine.  
Hell silence kept, when she her Speech began,  
And all rejoiced this second fall of Man;  
I was, myself, struck with amazement too,  
And I am glad I find the Scene prove true:  
But why should I admire that he should be  
So much o'reseen, since 'twas the same with me,  
Drunk with Ambition, down from Heaven I fell,  
And like a Blazing Comet shot to Hell.—  
This sin must surely pleasant be, like mine,  
That should o'ercome a Man so much Divine;  
The Art I will promote, I plainly see,  
'Tis good, without the gift of Prophecy:  
Mankind most Novelties desires to know,  
Therefore in method I this way will show:  
First to compound from Simples, then to make  
The Compound stronger, they strong drugs shall take,  
Then teach to Still; which they shall Spirits call,  
A liquour that shall fatal prove to all,  
Nay, some shall drink at their own Funeral.  
This Art I'll raise so high, till men aspire  
Like us, to drink up Liquid Flames of Fire.  
But whilst he sleeps, I'll to his fancy show,  
What direful Tragedies from hence shall flow.  
Hence shall such deeds proceed shall Nature fright,  
Make her start back, and sicken at the sight;  
Hence shall the Father with his Offsprings lie.  
Pollute the intestine Veils of Chastity:  
Incest itself is here too good a sound,  
We want a word should with its accent wound.  
Hence shall the Child all bonds of duty shun,  
The Mother shall be ravished by the Son;  
In carnal act lie twined within her bed,  
Nay, this lewd Sin shall such contagion spread,  
The Living shall enjoy the very Dead.  
With unchaste looks, the Mother shall behold  
Her Virgin child, and learn him to be bold;  
With her false Charms she shall his Soul betray,  
To stain the sacred Temple where he lay,  
And soil the sheets of Nature's secret frame:  
But conscious of his guilt and Mother's shame,  
He shall, at once, both Murder and Defile,  
And on th' adulterate Bed his Mother kill:  
But when he shall behold her panting bleed,  
He shall cry out, Oh cursed Matricide!  
Was't not enough thy Mother to pollute,  
But thy cursed Hands must add her Murder to't!  
Then in despair, like Death, shall ghastly stand,  
Grasping his bloody Dagger in his hand;  
Then stab his heart, let out the crimson flood,  
And doubly stain his Mother with his blood.  
This dismal Prologue shall be spoke by Sin,  
She shall with Death the Tragic Mask begin,  
And to his slumbering fancy draw the Scene.   Enter Ham as out of his Fathers Tent. The Scene the Vineyard, with diversity of Fruit-Trees. Ham. 

In vain I come the Prophet's Art to try,  
He and his Soul are in a Lethargy;  
Visions and Dreams the Magic Charmers are,  
That to the World these wondrous things declare:  
But his enchanted Soul is chained in sleep.  
To wake him, the loud roar of the Deep,  
And Thunders of the Sky, would prove in vain,  
So stupid is his Soul, so senseless is his brain:  
Some conjuring spell has seized upon his mind,  
His sense is blasted with a mildew wind.  
But see, here stands the Necromantic bowl,  
Has drowned the active Spirits of his Soul.  
It is a Maxim that proves always true,  
Inventions do th' inventor still undo;  
Yet what to him doth poisonous prove, may be,  
To future times, a Sovereign remedy:  
But such a Project few would ever try,  
To kill themselves to learn the way to die;  
And how ridiculous 'twould prove, to see  
One drown himself, to know the depth of th' Sea.  
To tell this news, I'll to my Brother's haste.  
But see they're here.   Enter Japhet and Shem. Shem. 
Whither away so fast?  Ham. 
To tell you a strange miracle of Fate.  Japh. 
To free us of our fears the thing relate.  Ham. 

Our Father, as I guess, by what I find,  
Hath a new Art discovered to Mankind;  
It is an excellent and rare device,  
A new-found way how you should Sacrifice.  
But not of Oxen, nor of tender Lambs,  
Not of male Kids, young Heifers, nor of Rams;  
No, no, he scorns the common path that's trod,  
Wine is his Sacrifice, and he's the God:  
And when he'd offered what he did require,  
The Sacrifice did set the Priest on fire.   Shem. 

This intricate discourse that you declare,  
Shows you a base and vile contemner are;  
Therefore expound this strange Aenigma right.   Ham. 

Then View him drunk and naked to your sight. Going to draw the Curtain of the Tent.  
Come, and behold how strange his eyes are swollen,  
His blubbered face with bloated rubies grown:  
See how his head hangs drooping to the ground,  
Like foundered Vessels ready to be drowned.   Shem. 

Hold back your impious hands, rather than I  
Would view this sight, I would this minute die.   Japh. 

It is as dangerous as Heaven's decree,  
That Man shall die who does his Maker see.   Ham. 

'Tis folly all, and grand stupidity.  
As in a Maze I round the Vineyard went,  
And little thought to find him here in's Tent,  
I wondered where he was, for e'er 'twas Noon,  
He used the Vines luxuriant Springs to Prune;  
And he has Pruned 'em fair! Look, look, and see,  
They're in the same disorder, just as he:  
They sympathise with him, look dull, and are  
Even drunk themselves with their own juice they bear.   Shem. 

Is this the duty of a Son? you ought  
Rather to pity him than judged a fault;  
To laugh and jeer at Man's misfortunes, is,  
An ill Prognostic to a future Bliss;  
To mock at others harms, deserves a curse,  
Then to deride a Father sure is worse:  
And though the Wine his senses drowsy makes,  
His Visionary Soul within awakes;  
Therefore take heed, for that views all that's done,  
And will remember a contemning Son.   Ham. 

Away, away, with this Philosophy,  
You talk as you were drunk as well as he.  
All danger I despise, Eve, though she saw,  
The Tree of Knowledge, never broke the Law  
Until she eat, that did contract the crime,  
If any than's in fault, it must be him.   Shem. 

Be your own judge, and you'll be guilty made,  
For as you saw, you likewise did upbraid.   Ham. 

To view th' unseemly posture he is in,  
Would make an Angel sure commit the sin,  
If't be a sin to laugh:— but see the Sun,  
Unto the Zenith of the World hath run;  
And like to him I will my task pursue,  
And leave our Holy Father here with you:  
Who with the World a mighty Name will gain,  
For the contrivance of a subtle brain.  
When all his Offsprings shall like Pilgrims come,  
To see the superscription of his Tomb,  
Oh praise! His Epitaph must thus begin,  
Here lies the Aged Monument of sin.   Exit. Shem. 

And on your Tomb these Lines engraved may be,  
Here lies one cursed all his Posterity.   Japh. 

Come, Brother, to his Tent let's backward go,  
And o'er his Nakedness this Garment throw,  
By which we shall our Love and Duty show.   They go backward into the Tent and cover him, than return. Shem. 

Now to our Labours let us haste away,  
The Sun's already past Meridian day,  
And make an end of th' Task we have begun,  
And finish all with the declining Sun.   Exeunt. 
Here a sumptuous Banquet of all sort of Fruits, especially of Grapes, rise up out of the Earth. Sin Enters in a rich gaudy loose Attire, and after her several Devils in the shapes of Men and Women, who make their obeisance to her, then greet one another with profound Salutations; after which a symphony of Music is heard, to which they all dance:— after which, a fair Vineyard arises loaden with beautiful Grapes: Being all placed round the Banquet, and Sin at the upper end,  She Sings. Sin. 

Behold a Vineyard big with juice Divine,  
Like to the Fir and stately Pine,  
Drops forth its Balmy juice:  
As Nature silently should say,  
This was the only way  
To make it fit for use.   1. Man. 

Since than Nature doth show,  
Which may we must go,  
We'll squeeze out the liquour, and call the Juice Wine:   Sin. 

Though flat on the Grape, though thick on the Vine,  
See here it doth sparkle, see here it doth shine.   Shows a cup of Wine, then drinks, they all pledge her. 1. Man. 

How dull and insipid would every man be,  
If it were not for this to make the heart free;  
It doth ravish the Soul, and transport the mind,  
It teacheth to love, to be gentle and kind:  
It doth sharpen our wits, and our fancies refine,  
Then how pleasant, how pleasant's the Juice of the Vine.   Chorus. 
— It doth sharpen, etc.  Sin. 

Here's a Palm for those Souls,  
That drink off most Bowls;  
And so let the Goblet go round:  
For he that drinks most,  
Shall the Victory boast,  
When his head with this Garland is crowned.  
Encircled with Charms, holds forth a Garland in her hand.  
He shall lie in my Arms,  
And his Head in my Bosom I'll lay;  
We'll sport all the Night,  
In joys and delight,  
But in Drink we'll carouse all the day,   Chorus. 
— We'll sport, etc.  
After several Healths are gone round, they all quarrel for the Garland. The Women vanish away. Death rises with a Dart in his hand, moving it, by turns, at every one of them. They all draw and fight, and mortally wound each other; then reel to several places, and on a sudden sink. Death and the Banquet sinks presently after them: Sin takes the Garland, and places it on her own Head. Music is heard, to which she Dances; then vanisheth away.—  Noah awaking from sleep comes out of his Tent. Noah. 

In what deep Visions gloomy Scene I've lain!  
A kind of Death has seiued my Opiate Brain.  
Where have I been! methinks I've slept an Age,  
And in my sleep have been a Pilgrimage;  
Rapt in the Spirit, over all I flew,  
Did Sea and Land, Rocks, Mountains, Deserts view,  
Surveyed the World, each Covert, and each Cell,  
And as I think too, I have traversed Hell;  
Sure 'twas no Heavenly ravishment (for I  
Bright Heaven in my vast progress could not spy)  
But an Infernal Vision that arose  
From the black sums of sin.—  
There, in a Pageant Mask, I did behold,  
A Vineyard rise with Grapes that shone like Gold;  
Nay, they so beautiful, so fair did seem,  
Methoughts I took and eat 'em in my Dream:  
Then a bright Maid, did, of the juice, begin  
A Health to th' rest, I judged her to be Sin.  
For the effects, the causes do declare,  
Among themselves began a Civil War;  
For on a sudden each his Weapon drew,  
And in the fatal feud each other flew:  
And what confirms that she was there, her Son,  
Grim Death appeared before the broil begun;  
Though in his Looks a deadly paleness lies,  
Yet I, methoughts, saw bloodshots in his eyes.  
He grimly glared around, I judge, to see  
Whether he'd made a perfect Victory;  
Then, gazing round again, he found out me,  
And, with a ghastly Visage shook his Dart,  
And, as I guest, 'twas leveled at my heart.  
But as he went to strike, I gave a groan,  
Leapt up amazed, and found myself alone.  
I looked to view the Tragic Scene, but they  
Vanished, like Night, at the approaching Day.  
My eyes, those Harbingers of th' mind, can spy  
Things only present, or a Landscape nigh:  
But my Prophetic Soul foresees the Doom,  
And all these direful mischiefs are to come.  
But what doth rack my tortured Soul, 'tis I  
Must be the Author of this Misery;  
Posterity will curse my Art, my name confound,  
Wishing I were in th' Drink, or Deluge, drowned.  
But pardon me, O future Age! for you,  
Mayn't only learn the sin, but danger too,  
And how to shun that which I never knew.  
A trembling terror does my heart surround,  
And I am loath the Spirit to expound;  
It is a Curse against my younger Son,  
For his contempt, and his derision:  
Servant of Servants, a most wretched Slave,  
He shall for ever live, so pass to's Grave,  
And like a Pestilence this Curse shall be,  
Spreading Infection through his Progeny.  
But blessed be Shem, his Race shall be Divine,  
For from his Stock shall spring the Holy Line;  
And blessed be Japhet's Offspring. Heaven will them  
Enlarge, and they shall live in th' Tents with Shem:  
Now may my Age in rest and peace repose,  
And fall like dew upon an Evening Rose.   Exit. Enter Shem and Japhet. Shem. 

Like heavens' Inhabitants my Life appears,  
replete with joys, and free from cares and fears.  
Some Cherub sure does in my soul reside,  
And to Seraphic Bliss my Spirit guide;  
For such transporting ecstasies I find,  
Does to immortal Glory lead my mind:  
I on an Angel's Wing do clip my way,  
Leaving the dregs of Life, this clod of Clay,  
And mount to Heaven, to an Eternal Day.   Japh. 

Like you, a mighty joy does through me run;  
But all my Bliss is by reflection,  
As the Moon's Light is borrowed of the Sun:  
So would my Life wear an Eternal shroud,  
But that your Beams do gild the sable Cloud.  
So in your Tent I shall desire to stay,  
And in soft peace to pass my time away;  
That when my circled years have gone their round,  
I may, like Fleecy Snow, fall gently to the ground.   Exeunt. Enter Ham. Ham. 

Since I am cursed, and cursed a Slave to be,  
I'll reign a Royal one with Majesty;  
He is a Slave that hath an abject Soul,  
That dares not fortunes frowns with frowns control.  
I do despise her, and contemn my Fate,  
'Tis brave to live Magnificently great;  
So though a Slave, yet I will rule in State.  
There's no such thing as Slavery can be,  
I'm under them, they under him, and he  
Is unto Heaven as great a Slave as we.  
We all pay Homage, and who Homage give,  
Is marked a Slave to that Prerogative;  
So we must all as Slaves or Equals be,  
Or else each man alone's a Monarchy:  
But since nor one nor t'other it implies,  
That he that dares do most should highest rise;  
By which it follows, that the bravest Man,  
Should be, on Earth, a Land- Leviathan,  
And over all maintain Supremacy:  
But if a greater rise on Earth than he,  
He must resign to him his Sovereignty.  
This is my Rule, and shall my Maxim be,  
I'll Conquer all, or all shall Conquer me;  
And if in th'enterprise I fail and die,  
I'll, in my thoughts, mount Monarch to the Sky. Exit. The Scene changes and represents a vast multitude of People, then shuts. An Angel Enters.  
From Heaven to Earth, on a swift pinioned ray  
Of the Sun's darting Beams, I've winged my way,  
T' inform Mankind they should themselves divide,  
And into some remoter parts reside;  
For from so vast a Multitude will rise  
A multitude of endless miseries:  
Innumerable Plagues will fall on Man,  
From Multitudes all discords first began,  
As many winds do form a Hurricane.  
So to prevent these ills, Heaven doth ordain,  
They in far parts, in Colonies shall reign;  
Both Peace and Plenty from this Spring will run,  
From distance, sure, friendship ne'er first begun,  
Yet the Moon's nearness does Eclipse the Sun.  
If Men this Moral would observe but right,  
Of the embellished Suns dismantled Light,  
They would, like him, good deeds for ill requite;  
Though robbed of all his Glory, all his Beams,  
He guilds her tawny face with silver Streams:  
But hark, I'm called, I must with speed away,  
Quick as my flight, my Duty does obey.   Ascends swiftly out of fight. Enter Nimrod, Joctan, Saphane, with an innumerable Host. The Scene the plain of Shinar. Nim. 

Tell us no more we must this place resign,  
Spoke by false Visions, or what fools Divine;  
Let me an Angel see, not Dream I do,  
And then, perhaps, I may believe it true.  
Where can we gather a more plenteous store?  
We are too rich, and Heaven would make us poor.  
Where better Live? What place so fair as this?  
Where every thing paints forth a Paradise.  
This is a trick of Heaven, I understand,  
To banish us unto some Foreign Land,  
Where we in Woods, and Rocks, and wild's, shall be  
Devoured by Famine, Sickness, Poverty;  
So when all's gone, we then too late shall see,  
We Masters only are of Slavery▪  
That we may call our own, and may, perchance,  
Entail it too on our Inheritance.  
Considering this, and all our future Lives,  
How weak our Children, how unapt our Wives  
To travel are, 'tis best we here reside,  
And in this Plain of Shinar all abide;  
Heaven knows we're strong, and able to resist,  
But when dispersed, He'll rule us as he list:  
The Body Politic, like ours, should be  
Knit close together in joint Unity,  
And not with one another disagree.  
'Tis the same case with us, therefore, with speed,  
We ought to some great Action to proceed.  
My suffrage is, that we a City rear,  
For strength impregnable, for beauty fair;  
And lest another Deluge should ensue,  
We'll build a Tower that shall preserve us too:  
A Pyramid which we will raise so high,  
The top thereof shall peep into the Sky,  
By which we may even Heaven itself defy.   Joct. 

By which we too shall gain Eternal Fame,  
And through the World blaze our Immortal Name.   Nim. 

These are my thoughts, and as I judge, 'tis fit  
That every Man to th' judgement should submit;  
But if you can a better way declare,  
Speak how it shall be done, and when, and where.   Saph. 

We all agree to what you say, and you  
Shall be our Leader and Commander too.   Nim. 

Then let us haste to th' Work, this very hour  
We will begin to build this mighty Tower;  
So many hands will make the Work seem small,  
And in an instant we shall raise it all:  
The World's great Fabric we will imitate,  
In bigness and in swiftness too like that,  
Built only with a LET IT BE by Fate;  
That, when 'tis done, we may all stand amazed,  
At the Prodigious Work our hands have raised.   Joct. 

We Storms and Tempests than may fear no more,  
And hear, beneath our feet, heavens' Thunder roar.   Saph. 

It's top with Diamonds, with burnished Gold,  
And Crystal glittering, shall shine so fair;  
When Travellers from far the sight behold,  
They shall mistake it for the Morning Star.   Nim. 

No, from the Earth its Glory shall be seen,  
Not like a Star, (that fancy is too mean)  
But like another bright Heaven hung between.   Exeunt. 
The Scene shifts, and represents the building of Babel, some digging, others making of Brick, and tempering of Mortar, Nimrod, Joctan, and Saphane giving them directions.—  An Angel flies down, and hovers Perpendicularly over the Tower.— Angel. 

To visit Man once more, from Heaven I'm come,  
To dash their Pride, and to pronounce their Doom.  
See with what frantic madness they rush on,  
And with the Tower build their destruction;  
For raising that but pulls fate faster down.  
Like Icy Mountains they this structure Scale;  
When near the top their feet then soonest fail:  
Such a preposterous zeal was never seen,  
They reach at Heaven whilst their feet tread on sin.  
In their Clay frames they would their Souls refine,  
As Eve in th' Apple thought to be Divine;  
But they, like her, their Eden shall forego,  
And wander Vagabonds in th' World below:  
The Hunter shall himself be made a Prey,  
His Subjects shall rebel and disobey.  
Thus o'er the Tower I wave this Sacred Wand,  
And on Mankind I lay heavens' great Command,  
Their Native Language none shall understand;  
Each Man a several Spirit shall possess,  
And in strange words his stranger sense express:  
And though in Tongues they have increased their store,  
Yet, Miser-like, they're 'midst their plenty poor.  
Such horrid jangling of a Hideous noise,  
Shall be expressed by each partic'lar voice;  
They hoarse with gambling, silently shall go  
To Foreign parts, their unknown Fate to know:  
And to their wish they shall a Name obtain,  
Which to the end of all things shall remain.  
But like the dreadful latter end, their Fate  
Shall stand a ghast, and for confusion wait:  
Their proud Imperial Tower shall by heavens' ire  
Fall down, and shrink like Parchment in the Fire.  
Once more my fatal Wand I wave around;  
Thunder and Lightning fall and crush it to the ground:  
Their Babel with their Language shall expire,  
What they thought safe from floods shall be destroyed by fire.   
They all disperse themselves to several parts of the Earth, but as they go, with amazement they look back on their Tower surrounded with bellowing Thunder, and flakes of Lightning.—  The Angel flies to Heaven.  
FINIS.