Created him endow'd, with happiness And immortality: that fondly loft,
This other ferv'd but to eternize woe; Till I provided Death; fo Death becomes His final remedy, and after life
Try'd in fharp tribulation, and refin'd
By faith and faithful works, to second life, Wak'd in the renovation of the juft,
Refigns him up with heaven and earth renew'd.
But let us call to fynod all the bless'd
Thro' heaven's wide bounds; from them I will not hide My judgments, how with mankind I proceed,
As how with peccant angels late they faw,
And in their state, tho' firm, stood more confirm'd. He ended, and the Son gave fignal high To the bright minister that watch'd; he blew His trumpet, heard in Oreb fince perhaps When God defcended, and perhaps once more To found at general doom. Th' angelic blaft Fill'd all the regions: from their blissful bowers Of amarantine fhade, fountain or spring,
By the waters of life, where'er they fat
In fellowships of joy, the fons of light Hafted, reforting to the fummons high,
And took their feats; till from his throne fupreme Th' Almighty thus pronounc'd his fovereign will. O Sons, like one of us man is become To know both good and evil, fince his tafte Of that defended fruit; but let him boaft His knowledge of good loft, and evil got; Happier, had it fuffic'd him to have known Good by itself, and evil not at all.
He forrows now, repents, and prays contrite ;
My motions in him: longer than they move, His heart I know, how variable and vain
Self-left. Lelt therefore his now bolder hand Reach alfo of the Tree of Life, and eat, And live for ever, dream at least to live For ever, to remove him I decree, And fend him from the garden forth to till The ground whence he was taken, fitter foil. Michael, this my beheft have thou in charge, Take to thee from among the cherubim Thy choice of flaming warriors, left the fiend, Or in behalf of man, or to invade Vacant poffeffion, fome new trouble raise : Hafte thee, and from the Paradife of God Without remorfe drive out the finful pair, From hallow'd ground th' unholy, and denounce To them and to their progeny from thence Perpetual banishment. Yet left they faint. At the fad fentence rigorously urg'd,
For I behold them foften'd, and with tears Bewailing their excefs, all terror hide. If patiently thy bidding they obey, Difmifs them not difconfolate; reveal To Adam what shall come in future days, As I fhall thee enlighten; intermix My covenant in the woman's feed renew'd; So fend them forth, tho' forrowing, yet in peace: And on the eaft fide of the garden place, Where entrance up from Eden easiest climbs, Cherubic watch, and of a fword the flame Wide waving, all approach far off to fright, And guard all paffage to the Tree of Life: Left Paradife a receptacle prove
To fpirits foul, and all my trees their prey, With whofe ftoll'n fruit man once more to delude. 125
He ceas'd; and th' archangelic power prepar'd For fwift defcent; with him the cohort bright
Of watchful cherubim; four faces each Had, like a double Janus, all their shape Spangled with eyes, more numerous than those 136 Of Argus, and more wakeful than to drowse, Charm'd with Arcadian pipe, the paft'ral reed Of Hermes, or his opiate rod. Mean while, To refalute the world with facred light,
Leucothea wak'd, and with fresh dews imbalm'd 135 The earth, when Adam, and first matron Eve, Had ended now their orifons, and found Strength added from above, new hope to fpring Out of defpair, joy, but with fear yet link'd; Which thus to Eve his welcome words renew'd. 140 Eve, eafily may faith admit, that all
The good which we enjoy from heav'n defcends; But that from us ought should afcend to heav'n, So prevalent as to concern the mind Of God high-blefs'd, or to incline his will, Hard to belief may feem; yet this will prayer, Or one short figh of human breath, upborne Ev'n to the feat of God. For fince I fought By prayer th' offended Deity to' appease, Kneel'd, and before him humbled all my heart, 150 Methought I faw him placable and mild,
Bending his ear; perfuafion in me grew
That I was heard with favour; peace return'd
Home to my breaft, and to my memory
His promife, that thy feed fhall bruife our foe; 155 Which then not minded in difmay, yet now Affures me that the bitterness of death
Is paft, and we fhall live. Whence hail to thee, Eve rightly call'd, mother of all mankind, Mother of all things living, fince by thee Man is to live, and all things live for man. To whom thus Eve with fad demeanour meek.
11 worthy I fuch title fhould belong To me tranfgreffor, who for thee ordain'd A help, became thy fnare; to me reproach Kather belongs, distrust, and all dispraise : But infinite in pardon was my Judge, That I who first brought death on all, am grac'd The fource of life; next favourable thou, Who highly thus to' entitle me vouchfaf't, Far other name deserving, but the field To labour calls us now with fweat impos'd, Tho' after fleepless night; for fee the morn, All unconcern'd with our unreft, begins Her rofy progrefs fmiling; let us forth, I never from thy fide henceforth to stray, Where'er our day's work lies, tho' now injoin'd Laborious, till day droop; while here we dwell, What can be toilfome in thefe pleafant walks? Here let us live, tho' in fall'n ftate, content. 180 So fpake, fo wifh'd much-humbled Eve; but fate Subfcrib'd not: Nature firft gave signs, imprefs'd On bird, beaft, air, air fuddenly eclips'd After fhort blush of morn; nigh in her fight, The bird of Jove, ftoop'd from his airy tour, Two birds of gayeft plume before him drove ; Down from a hill the beast that reigns in woods, First hunter then, purfu'd a gentle brace, Goodliest of all the forest, hart and hind; Direct to th' eaftern gate was bent their flight. 190 Adam obferv'd, and with his eye the chace Pursuing, not unmov'd to Eve thus fpake.
O Eve, fome further change awaits us nigh, Which heav'n by these mute figns in nature shows, Forerunners of his purpose, or to warn Us, haply too fecure of our discharge From penalty, becaufe from death releas'd
Some days; how long, and what till then our life, Who knows, or more than this, that we are dust, And thither muft returo, and be no more? Why elfe this double object in our fight,
Of flight purfu'd in th' air, and o'er the ground, One way the self-fame hour? why in the east Darkness e'er day's mid-course, and morning-light More orient in yon western cloud, that draws 205 O'er the blue firmament a radiant white,
And flow defcends, with fomething heav'nly fraught? He err'd not, for by this the heav'nly bands Down from a fky of jafper lighted now In Paradise, and on a hill made halt; A glorious apparition, had not doubt And carnal fear that day dimm'd Adam's eye. Not that more glorious, when the angels met Jacob in Mahanaim, where he faw
The field pavilion'd with his guardians bright; 215 Nor that which on the flaming mount appear'd
In Dothan, cover'd with a camp of fire,
Against the Syrian king, who to surprise
One man, affaffin-like, had levy'd war, War unproclaim'd. The princely hierarch
In their bright stand there left his pow'rs to feize Poffeffion of the garden; he alone,
To find where Adam fhelter'd, took his way,
Not unperceiv'd of Adam, who to Eve,
While the great vifitant approach'd, thus fpake. 225 Eve, now expect great tidings, which perhaps Of us will foon determine, or impofe New laws to be obferv'd; for I defery, From yonder blazing cloud that veils the hill, One of the heav'nly host, and by his gait None of the meaneft, fome great potentate Or of the Thrones above, fuch majesty
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