1 When Satan saw his rebel host,
His cause, and Heav’n for ever lost,
Malice and wrath his mind possessed,
And fury burned within his breast.

2 He knew how vain th’ attempts to rise,
With impious rage against the skies;
But bent on ill, another way
He turns his arms, and wins the day.

3 ‘Twas in a dark unguarded hour,
That our first parents felt his power;
Soft innocence and virtue fell
An easy prey to death and hell.

4 Ye sons of God, the tempter fly,
Nor the unequal contest try;
By promised bliss the fiend decoys—
First he allures, and then destroys.