My blyssing of ble sall be blending,
And held and fro harme to be hydande,
My body in blys ay abydande,
Une dande withouten any endyng.”
Then, with other grave words, the Lord began the work of Creation. First He brought into existence the angels, summoning them in nine orders of rank and power, each order greater and more powerful than the last. One after another they appeared from a platform at the back of the stage, wearing coats of gilded skin, over which long robes hung to their feet. Golden wings were fastened to their shoulders, and on their foreheads diadems sparkled.
Then, greatest of all, and more beautiful and resplendent than the rest, came Lucifer.
On him the Almighty conferred dignity and honour above all the other spirits He had created. He was the Star of the Morning, the great and splendid archangel.
But Lucifer, filled with pride, soon began to contend before God. He claimed still higher powers than those which had been granted him, trying to make himself the equal of the Almighty.
Then at last God spoke his sentence of banishment, and he and the angels who worshipped him, were cast down from heaven.
“O Lucifer, Star of the Morning, how art thou fallen!” is a beautiful line in the Bible, which alludes to the disgrace and banishment which the audience now saw acted before their eyes.