Inveils him coming; yet not terrible,
That I fhould fear; nor fociably mild, As Raphaël, that I should much confide; But folemn and fublime, whom not to' offend, With reverence I must meet, and thou retire.
He ended; and th' archangel foon drew nigh, Not in his shape celeftial, but as man Clad to meet man; over his lucid arms A military veft of purple flow'd, Livelier than Melibean, or the grain
Of Sarra, worn by kings and heroes old In time of truce; Iris had dipp'd the woof; His tarry helm unbuckled show'd him prime In manhood, where youth ended; by his fide, As in a glift'ring zodiac, hung the sword, Satan's dire dread, and in his hand the spear. Adam bow'd low; he kingly from his state Inclin'd not, but his coming thus declar'd.
Adam, heaven's high behest no preface needs: Sufficient that thy prayers are heard, and death, Then due by fentence when thou didft tranfgrefs, Defeated of his feifure many days
Giv'n thee of grace, wherein thou mayft repent, 255 And one bad act with many deeds well done Mayft cover; well may then thy Lord appeas'd Redeem thee quite from Death's rapacious claim; But longer in this Paradife to dwell
Permits not; to remove thee I am come, And fend thee from the garden forth to till The ground whence thou waft taken, fitter foil. He added not; for Adam at the news Heart-ftruck with chilling gripe of forrow ftood, That all his fenfes bound: Eve, who unfeen Yet all had heard, with audible lament Discover'd foon the place of her retire.
O unexpected ftroke, worse than of death! Muft I thus leave thee, Paradife! thus leave Thee, native foil, these happy walks and shades, 270 Fit haunt of gods? where I had hope to spend, Quiet though fad, the refpite of that day
That must be mortal to us both? O flowers, That never will in other climate grow, My early vifitation, and my laft
At ev'n, which I bred up with tender hand From the first op'ning bud, and gave ye names, Who now fhall rear ye to the fun, or rank Your tribes, and water from th' ambrofial fount? Thee laftly, nuptial bower, by me adorn'd 280 With what to fight or fmell was fweet, from thee How fhall I part, and whither wander down Into a lower world, to this obfcure
And wild? how fhall we breathe in other air
Lefs pure, accuffom'd to immortal fruits? Whom thus the angel interrupted mild. Lament not, Eve, but patiently refign What juftly thou haft loft; nor fet thy heart, Thus over-fond, on that which is not thine: Thy going is not lonely; with thee goes Thy husband; him to follow thou art bound; Where he abides, think there thy native foil.
Adam by this from the cold fudden damp Recovering, and his scatter'd spi'rits return'd, To Michael thus his humble words address'd.
Celestial, whether among the thrones, or nam'd Of them the high'eft, for fnch of fhape may feem Prince above princes, gently haft thou told Thy meffage, which might elfe in telling wound, And in performing end us; what befides Of forrow, and dejection, and defpair,
Our frailty can fuftain, thy tidings bring,
Nor knowing us nor known; and if by prayer Inceffant I could hope to change the will Of him who all things can, I would not ceafe To weary him with my affiduous cries: But prayer against his abfolute decree
Departure from this happy place, our sweet
Recefs, and only confolation left
Familiar to our eyes; all places elfe Inhospitable' appear, and defolate,
No more avails than breath against the wind, Blown ftifling back on him that breathes it forth : Therefore to his great bidding I fubmit,
This moft afflicts me, that departing hence, As from his face I fhall be hid, depriv'd His bleffed count'nance; here I could frequent With worship place by place where he vouchfaf'd Prefence divine, and to my fons relate,
On this mount he appear'd, under this tree
Stood vifible, among these pines his voice
I heard, here with him at this fountain talk'd;
So many grateful altars I would rear
Of graffy turf, and pile up every stone
Of luftre from the brook, in memory,
Or monument to ages, and thereon
Offer sweet smelling gums, and fruits, and flowers: In yonder nether world where fhall I feek His bright appearances, or footstep trace? For though I fled him angry, yet recall'd To life prolong'd and promis'd race, I now Gladly behold though but his utmost skirts Of glory, and far off his fteps adore.
To whom thus Michael with regard benign, Adam, thou know'ft heav'n his, and all the earth," Not this rock only'; his omniprefence fills Land, fea, and air, and every kind that lives,
Fomented by his virtual power and warm'd:
All th' earth he gave thee to possess and rule, No defpicable gift; furmife not then
His presence to these narrow bounds confin'd
Of Paradife or Eden; this had been,
Perhaps, thy capital feat, from whence had spread All generations, and had hither come
From all the ends of th' earth, to celebrate And reverence thee their great progenitor.
But this præeminence thou' haft loft, brought down To dwell on even ground now with thy fons: Yet doubt not but in valley and in plain God is as here, and will be found alike Prefent, and of his prefence many a fign Still following thee, ftill compaffing thee round With goodness and paternal love, his face Exprefs, and of his fteps the track divine. Which that thou mayft believe, and be confirm'd 355 Ere thou from hence depart, know I am fent To fhow thee what fhall come in future days To thee and to thy offspring; good with bad Expect to hear, fupernal grace contending With finfulness of men; thereby to learn True patience, and to temper joy with fear And pious forrow, equally inur'd
By moderation either state to bear,
Profperous or adverfe: fo fhalt thou lead Safeft thy life, and beft prepar'd endure- Thy mortal paffage when it comes
This hill; let Eve (for I have drench'd her eyes) Here fleep below, while thou to forefight wak'st; As once thou flepft, while fhe to life was form’d. To whom thus Adam gratefully reply'd Afcend, I follow thee, fafe guide, the path Thou lead't me', and to the hand of heav'n fubmit,
However chaft'ning, to the evil turn
My obvious breaft, arming to overcome
By fuffering, and earn reft from labour won, 375 If fo I may attain. So both afcend
In the vifions of God: It was a hill Of Paradife the higheft, from whofe top The hemifphere of earth in cleareft ken Stretch'd out to th' ampleft reach of profpect lay. 380 Not high'er that hill, nor wider looking round, Whereon for different cause the tempter fet
Our fecond Adam in the wilderness,
To fhow him all earth's kingdoms, and their glory'. His eye might there command wherever ftood 385 City of old or modern fame, the feat
Of mightiest empire, from the destin'd walls Of Cambalu, feat of Cathaian Can,
And Samarchand by Oxus, Temir's throne, To Paquin of Sinean kings, and thence To Agra and Lahor of great Mogul, Down to the golden Cherfonefe, or where The Perfian in Ecbatan fat, or fince
In Ifpahan, or where the Ruffian Czar In Mofco, or the Sultan in Bizance,
Turcheftan-born; nor could his eye not ken
Th' empire of Negus to his utmost port Ercoco, and the less maritime kings, Mombaza, and Quiloa, and Melind, And Sofala, thought Ophir, to the realm Of Congo, and Angola farthest fouth; Or thence from Niger flood to Atlas mount, The kingdoms of Almanzor, Fez, and Sus, Morocco and Algiers, and Tremisen ;
On Europe thence, and where Rome was to fway The world in fpi'rit perhaps he alfo faw
Rich Mexico the feat of Montezume,
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