And fhame, and perturbation, and despair,
Anger, and obftinacy', and hate, and guile.
Whence Adam faultring long, thus answer'd brief. 115
I heard thee in the gard'n, and of thy voice
Afraid, being naked, hid myself. To whom
The gracious Judge without revile reply'd.
My voice thou oft hast heard, and haft not fear'd,
But still rejoic'd; how is it now become

So dreadful to thee? that thou art naked, who
Hath told thee? haft thou eaten of the tree,
Whereof I gave thee charge thou shouldft not eat?

To whom thus Adam fore befet reply'd.

O Heav'n! in evil ftrait this day I stand
Before my judge, either to undergo
Myself the total crime, or to accuse

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My other felf, the partner of my life;

Whofe failing, while her faith to me remains,

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I should conceal, and not expose to blame
By my complaint; but ftrict neceffity
Subdues me, and calamitous constraint,
Left on my head both fin and punishment,
However infupportable, be all

Devolv'd; though should I hold my peace, yet thou
Wouldft easily detect what I conceal.

This Woman, whom thou mad'ft to be my help,

And gav'ft me as thy perfect gift, so good,

So fit, fo acceptable, fo divine,

That from her hand I could fufpect no ill,
And what she did, whatever in itself,
Her doing feem'd to juftify the deed;

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She

She gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

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To whom the fovran Prefence thus reply'd. Was the thy God, that her thou didst obey Before his voice, or was she made thy guide, Superior, or but equal, that to her Thou didft refign thy manhood, and the place Wherein God set thee' above her made of thee, And for thee, whofe perfection far excell'd Hers in all real dignity? Adorn'd She was indeed, and lovely to attract Thy love, not thy fubjection; and her gifts Were fuch as under government well seem'd, Unfeemly to bear rule, which was thy part And perfon, hadft thou known thyself aright. So having faid, he thus to Eve in few. Say Woman, what is this which thou haft done? To whom fad Eve with fhame nigh overwhelm'd, Confeffing foon, yet not before her judge Bold or loquacious, thus abash'd reply'd. The Serpent me beguil'd, and I did eat. Which when the Lord God heard, without delay To judgment he proceeded on th' accus'd Serpent though brute, unable to transfer The guilt on him who made him inftrument Of mischief, and polluted from the end Of his creation; juftly then accnrs'd, As vitiated in nature: more to know

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Concern'd not Man (fince he no further knew)
Nor alter'd his offence; yet God at last

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To Satan firft in fin his doom apply'd,

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Though

Though in mysterious terms, judg'd as then beft:
And on the Serpent thus his curse let fall.
Because thou haft done this, thou art accurs'd
Above all cattel, each beaft of the field;
Upon thy belly groveling thou shalt go,
And duft shalt eat all the days of thy life.
Between thee and the Woman I will put
Enmity, and between thine and her feed;

Her feed shall bruise thy head, thou bruise his heel.
So fpake this oracle, then verify'd

When Jesus son of Mary, fecond Eve,

Saw Satan fall like lightning down from Heaven,
Prince of the air; then rifing from his grave
Spoil'd Principalities and Pow'rs, triumph'd
In open show, and with afcenfion bright
Captivity led captive through the air,
The realm itself of Satan long ufurp'd,
Whom he shall tread at last under our feet;
Ev'n he who now foretold his fatal bruife,
And to the Woman thus his 'fentence turn'd.
Thy forrow I will greatly multiply
By thy conception; children thou shalt bring
In forrow forth; and to thy husband's will
Thine shall fubmit; he over thee shall rule.

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On Adam last thus judgment he pronounc'd. Because thou' haft hearken'd to the' voice of thy wife, And eaten of the tree, concerning which

I charg'd thee, fay'ing, Thou shalt not eat thereof: Curs'd is the ground for thy fake; thou in forrow Shalt eat thereof all the days of thy life;

Thorns alfo' and thistles it shall bring thee forth
Unbid; and thou shalt eat th' herb of the field,
In the fweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,
Till thou return unto the ground; for thou
Out of the ground was taken, know thy birth,
For duft thou art, and shalt to duft return.

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So judg'd he Man, both judge and faviour fent,
And th' inftant stroke of death denounc'd that day 210
Remov'd far off; then pitying how they flood
Before him naked to the air, that now
Must suffer change, disdain'd not to begin
Thenceforth the form of fervant to affume,
As when he wash'd his fervants feet, fo now
As father of his family he clad

Their nakedness with skins of beafts, or flain,
Or as the snake with youthful coat repaid;
And thought not much to clothe his enemies :
Nor he their outward only with the skins
Of beasts, but inward nakedness, much more
Opprobrious, with his robe of righteousness,
Arraying cover'd from his Father's fight.
To him with fwift afcent he up return'd,
Into his blifsful bofom reaffum'd

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In glory as of old; to him appeas'd

All, though all-knowing, what had pafs'd with Man

Recounted, mixing interceffion sweet.

Mean while, ere thus was finn'd and judg'd on Earth,

Within the gates of Hell fat Sin and Death,
In counterview within the gates, that now
Stood open wide, belching outrageous flame

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Far

Far into Chaos, fince the Fiend pafs'd through,
Sin opening, who thus now to Death began.

O Son, why fit we here each other viewing
Idly, while Satan our great author thrives
In other worlds, and happier feat provides
For us his offspring dear? It cannot be
But that fuccefs attends him; if mishap,
Ere this he had return'd, with fury driven
By his avengers, fince no place like this
Can fit his punishment, or their revenge.
Methinks I feel new ftrength within me rise,
Wings growing, and dominion giv`n me large
Beyond this deep; whatever draws me on,
Or fympathy, or fome connatural force
Pow'rful at greatest distance to unite
With fecret amity things of like kind
By fecretest conveyance. Thou my

fhade

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Inseparable must with me along :

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For Death from Sin no pow'r can separate..

But left the difficulty of paffing back

Stay his return perhaps over this gulf.
Impaffable, impervious, let us try

Adventrous work, yet to thy pow'r and mine
Not unagreeable, to found a path

Over this main from Hell to that new world
Where Satan now prevails, a monument
Of merit high to all th' infernal hoft,
Eafing their paffage hence, for intercourse,
Or tranfmigration, as their lot shall lead.
Nor can I miss the way, fo ftrongly drawn

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