Weltering in the tempestuous flames by his side, Satan saw Beelzebub - who was his peer in leading the host of fallen angels. Satan saw his companions-in-arms overwhelmed by the tempestuous fires. How unlike Hell was from Heaven, from whence they fell! Here, they would eternally remain in darkness, as far away from God and the light of Heaven as 3X the distance from Earth to the far reaches of the universe. Such was the place that Eternal Justice had prepared for the rebellious. The torment fed the flames, urging the fire on for eternity. Hope would never come here, but instead came endless torture. Hell was a place where peace and rest would never dwell. This palpable darkness illuminated sights of woe, regions of sorrow, and doleful shades. Hell was like a gigantic furnace with raging fires - but instead of giving off light, the flames emitted darkness visible. Hell dismally stretched as far as his immortal eye could see. Dismay and affliction, stubborn pride and steadfast hate were palpable in all he saw. Satan's doom made him angrier, because he had not only lost the happiness of Heaven, but he now must endure eternal suffering instead. the celestial demons spent nine days and nights lying vanquished in the fiery gulfs of Hell. But God hurled Satan and his rebels from Heaven - headlong, like fiery meteors bound in unbreakable chains - to crash ruinously into Hell. Because Satan thought he was equal to his Lord God, he and his host of rebels had warred against Heaven in a vain attempt to place Satan above his peers. It happened after Satan's pride had cast him and his rebel angels out of Heaven.

Paradise lost book 9 summary