quote · Legacy record
God from the Mount of Sinai, whose grey top Shall tremble, He descending, will himself, In thunder, lightning, and loud tempest’s sound, Ordain them laws; part such as appertain To civil justice, part religious rites Of sacrifice, informing them by types And shadows, of that destined Seed to bruise The serpent, by what means He shall achieve Mankind’s deliverance. But the voice of God To mortal ear is dreadful! They beseech That Moses might repeat to them His will, And terror cease. He grants what they besought, Instructed that to God is no access Without Mediator, whose high office now Moses in figure bears, to introduce One greater, of whose day he shall foretell.
God from the Mount of Sinai, whose grey top Shall tremble, He descending, will himself, In thunder, lightning, and loud tempest’s sound, Ordain them laws; part such as appertain To civil justice, part religious rites Of sacrifice, informing them by types And shadows, of that destined Seed to bruise The serpent, by what means He shall achieve Mankind’s deliverance. But the voice of God To mortal ear is dreadful! They beseech That Moses might repeat to them His will, And terror cease. He grants what they besought, Instructed that to God is no access Without Mediator, whose high office now Moses in figure bears, to introduce One greater, of whose day he shall foretell.
Approximate author period: c. 1641 AD · renaissance
Meaning not yet available
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Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- John Milton
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 1641 AD · renaissance
author lifetime midpoint (1608–1674)
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888) (1888 AD)
Page 544 · printed citation: Milton · subject: SINAI
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