With hideous ruin and combustion down
To bottomless perdition, there to dwell
In Adamantine Chains and penal Fire,
Who durst defy th Omnipotent to Arms.
Nine times the Space that measures Day and Night
To mortal men, hee with his horrid crew
Lay vanquisht, rolling in the fiery Gulf
Confounded though immortal: But his doom
Reservd him more wrath; for now the thought
Both of lost happiness and lasting pain
Torments him; round he throws his baleful eyes
That witnessd huge affliction and dismay
Mixt with obdurate pride, and steadfast hate:
At once as far as Angels ken he views
The dismal Situation waste and wild,
A dungeon horrible, on all sides round
As one great Furnace flamd, yet from these flames
No light, but rather darkness visible
Servd only to discover sights of woe,
Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace
And rest can never dwell, hope never comes
That comes to all, but torture without end
Still urges, and a fiery Deluge, fed
With ever-burning Sulphur unconsumd;
Such place Eternal Justice had prepard
For those rebellious, here thir Prison ordained
In utter darkness, and their portion set
As far removd from God and light of Heavns
As from the Center thrice to th utmost Pole
O how unlike the place from whence they fell!
Like Dante, Milton pictured Satan as the ruler of Hell, attributing to him this infamous statement
about his reign:
To reign is worth ambition though in Hell:
Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heavn.
These authors did much to popularize the notion that contrary to Scripture, Satan is the CEO that
administers the affairs of Hell.