That lie beftrown, unfightly and unfmooth,
Ask riddance, if we mean to tread with ease:
Mean while, as Nature wills, night bids us reft.
To whom thus Eve, with perfect beauty' adorn'd,
My author and difpofer, what thou bid'st
Unargu'd I obey; fo God ordains;
God is thy law, thou mine: to know no more
Is woman's happiest knowledge and her praise.
With thee converfing I forget all time;
All feasons and their change, all please alike.
Sweet is the breath of morn, her rising sweet
With charm of earliest birds; pleafant the fun,
When first on this delightful land he spreads
His orient beams, on herb, tree, fruit, and flow'r,
Glift'ring with dew; fragrant the fertile earth 645
After soft show'rs; and sweet the coming on
Of grateful ev'ning mild; then filent night
With this her folemn bird, and this fair moon,
And these the gems of heav'n, her starry train:
But neither breath of morn, when she afcends
With charm of earliest birds; nor rifing fun
On this delightful land; nor herb, fruit, flow'r,
Glift'ring with dew; nor fragrance after show'rs;
Nor grateful ev'ning mild; nor filent night,
With this her folemn bird, nor walk by moon, 655
Or glitt'ring ftar-light without thee is sweet.
But wherefore all night long fhine these? for whom
This glorious fight, when fleep hath shut all eyes?
To whom our general ancestor reply'd.
Daughter of God and man, accomplish'd Eve, 660
These have their courfe to finish round the earth
By morrow ev'ning, and from land to land
In order, though to nations yet unborn,
Minift'ring light prepar'd, they fet and rife;
Left total darkness fhould by night regain
H 6
Her old poffeffion, and extinguish life
In nature and all things; which thefe foft fires
Not only' enlighten, but with kindly heat
Of various influence foment and warm,
Temper or nourish, or in part fhed down
Their ftellar virtue on all kinds that grow
On earth, made hereby apter to receive
Perfection from the fun's more potent ray.
Thefe then, tho' unbeheld in deep of night,
Shine not in vain; nor think, tho' men were none,
That heav'n would want fpectators, God want praise;
Millions of fpiritual ereatures walk the earth
Unfeen, both when we wake and when we fleep:
All these with ceafelefs praife his works behold
Both day and night: how often, from the fteep 680
Of echoing hill or thicket, have we heard
Celeftial voices to the midnight air,
Sole or refponfive to each others note,
Singing their great Creator? oft in bands
While they keep watch, or nightly rounding walk,
With heav'nly touch of inftrumental founds
In full harmonic number join'd, their fongs
Divide the night, and lift our thoughts to heav'n.
Thus talking, hand in hand alone they pafs'd
On to their blissful bow'r; it was a place
Chos'n by the fov'reign Planter, when he fram'd
All things to man's delightful ufe; the roof
Of thickest covert was inwoven fhade
Lanrel and myrtle, and what higher grew
Of firm and fragrant leaf; on either fide
Acanthus, and each odorous bufhy fhrub,
Fenc'd up the verdant wall; each beauteous flow'r,
Iris all hues, rofes and jeffamine,
Rear'd high their flourish'd heads between, and wrought Mofaic; underfoot the violet,
Crocus and hyacinth, with rich inlay
Broider'd the ground, more colour'd than with stone
Of costlieft emblem: other creature here,
Beast, bird, infect, or worm, durft enter none,
Such was their awe of man. In fhadier bow'r
More facred and fequefter'd, tho' but feign'd,
Pan or Sylvanus never flept, nor nymph
Nor Faunus haunted. Here, in clofs recefs,
With flowers, garlands, and fweet-fmelling herbs
Efpoufed Eve deck'd first her nuptial bed,
And heav'nly quires the hymenaan fung,
What day the genial angel to our fire,
Brought her, in naked beauty m-re adorn'd;
More lovely than Pandora, whom the gods
Endow'd with all their gifts, and O too like
In fad event, when to th' unwifer fon
Of Japhet brought by Hermes, the infnar'd
Mankind with her fair looks, to be aveng'd
On him who had ftole Jove's authentic fire.
Thus at their fhady lodge arriv'd, both ftood, 720
Both turn'd, and under open sky ador'd
The God that made both sky, air, earth and heav'n,
Which they beheld, the moon's refplendent globe,
And starry pole: Thou alfo mad't the night,
Maker Omnipotent, and thou the day,
Which we in our appointed work employ'd
Have finish'd, happy in our mutual help,
And mutual love, the crown of all our blifs
Ordain'd by thee; and this delicious place,
For us too large, where thy abundance wants
Partakers, and uncropt falls to the ground.
But thou haft promis'd from us two a race
To fill the earth, who fhall with us extol
Thy goodness infinite, both when we wake,
And when we feek, as now, thy gift of fleep.
This faid unanimous, and other rites
Obferving none, but adoration pure,
Which God likes beft, into their inmost bow'r
Handed they went; and eas'd the putting off
These troublesome disguises which we wear,
Strait fide by fide were laid; nor turn'd, I ween,
Adam from his fair spouse, nor Eve the rites
Myfterious of connubial love refus'd:
Whatever hypocrites aufterely talk
Of purity, and place, and innocence,
Defaming as impure what God declares
Pure, and commands to fome, leaves free to all.
Our Maker bids increase; who bids abstain
But our destroyer, foe to God and man?
Hail, wedded love! mysterious law, true fource 750
Of human offspring, fole propriety
In Paradise of all things common else.
By thee adult'rous luft was driv'n from men
Among the beftial herds to range; by thee
Founded in reafon, loyal, juft, and pure,
Relations dear, and all the charities
Of father, fon, and brother, first were known.
Far be' it, that I fhould write thee fin or blame,
Or think thee unbefitting holiest place,
Perpetual fountain of domeftic fweets,
Whofe bed is undefil'd and chafte pronounc'd,
Prefent, or paft, as faints and patriarchs us'd.
Here Love his golden fhafts employs, here lights
His conftant lamp, and waves his purple wings,
Reigns here and revels; not in the bought smile 765
Of harlots, lovelefs, joylefs, unendear'd,
Cafual fruition; nor in court-amours,
Mix'd dance, or wanton mafque, or midnight ball,
Or ferenate, which the starv'd lover fings
To his proud fair, beft quitted with difdain,
Thefe, lull'd by nightingales, embracing flept,
And on their naked limbs the flow'ry roof
Shower'd rofes, which the morn repair'd. Sleep on,
Bleft pair; and O yet happiest, if ye feek
No happier state, and know to know no more.
Now had night measur'd with her fhadowy cone
Half way up hill this vast fublunar vault,
And from their ivory port the cherubim,
Forth iffuing at th' accustom'd hour, stood arm'd
To their night-watches in warlike parade,
When Gabriel to his next in power thus fpake.
Uzziel, half these draw off, and coaft the south
With strictest watch; these other wheel the north;
Our circuit meets full weft.
As flame they part,
Half wheeling to the fhield, half to the fpear. 785
From these two strong and subtle spi'rits he call'd
That near him stood, and gave them thus in charge.
Ithuriel and Zephon, with wing'd speed
Search thro' this garden, leave unfearch'd no nook;
But chiefly where thofe two fair creatures lodge, 790
Now laid perhaps afleep, fecure of harm.
This evening from the fun's decline arriv'd
Who tells of fome infernal spirit seen
Hitherward bent (who could have thought?) escap'd
The bars of hell, on errand bad no doubt:
Such where ye find seize fast. and hither bring.
So faying, on he led his radiant files,
Dazzling the moon; these to the bow'r direct
In fearch of whom they fought: him there they found Squat like a toad, clofe at the ear of Eve,
Affaying by his devilish art to reach
The organs of her fancy', and with them forge
Illufions as he lift, phantafms and dreams;
Or if, infpiring venom, he might taint
Th' animal fpirits, that from pure blood arife
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