More from Paradise Lost:
O shame to men! Devil with devil damned
Firm concord holds, men only disagree
Of creatures rational, though under hope
Of Heav’nly grace: and God proclaiming peace,
Yet live in hatred, enmity, and strife
Among themselves, and levy cruel wars,
Wasting the earth, each other to destroy:
As if (which might induce us to accord)
Man had not Hellish foes enow besides,
That day and night for his destruction wait. (ii 496-505)
This passage comes right after all the fallen angels vote on how best to handle their current situation and whether or not to attempt revenge on God. They all come to an agreement (something truly miraculous, which our government very rarely achieves), deciding to send Satan to the newly created Earth in the hopes of corrupting mankind as revenge. Milton meditates on all the quarrels between people and nations, calling humans the only “creatures rational” that disagree, in spite of being created in God’s image, and in spite of having common enemies (“Hellish foes”).
Where Words Leave Off 