The The Ethereal people ran, to hear and know Most How all befell. They towards the throne High
Accountable, made haste, to make appear,
With righteous plea, their utmost vigilance, 30
And easily approved; when the Most High,
Eternal Father, from his secret cloud
Amidst, in thunder uttered thus his voice :—
'Assembled Angels, and ye Powers returned
From unsuccessful charge, be not dismayed
Nor troubled at these tidings from the Earth,
Which your sincerest care could not prevent,
Foretold so lately what would come to pass,
When first this Tempter crossed the gulf from
Hell.
I told ye then he should prevail, and speed 40
On his bad errand-Man should be seduced,
And flattered out of all, believing lies
Against his Maker; no decree of mine,
Concurring to necessitate his fall,
Or touch with lightest moment of impulse
His free will, to her own inclining left
In even scale. But fallen he is; and now
What rests, but that the mortal sentence pass
On his transgression, Death denounced that day?
Which he presumes already vain and void,
Because not yet inflicted, as he feared,
By some immediate stroke, but soon shall find
Forbearance no acquittance ere day end.
Justice shall not return, as bounty, scorned.
But whom send I to judge them? whom but thee,
Vicegerent Son? To thee I have transferred
All judgement, whether in Heaven, or Earth, or
Hell.
Easy it may be seen that I intend
Mercy colleague with justice, sending thee,
Man's friend, his Mediator, his designed
Both ransom and Redeemer voluntary,
And destined Man himself to judge Man fallen.'
So spake the Father; and, unfolding bright
Toward the right hand his glory, on the Son
Blazed forth unclouded deity. He full
Resplendent all his Father manifest
Expressed, and thus divinely answered mild :-
Father Eternal, thine is to decree ;
Mine both in Heaven and Earth to do thy will
Supreme, that thou in me, thy Son beloved, 70
May'st ever rest well pleased. I go to judge
On Earth these thy transgressors; but thou
know'st,
Whoever judged, the worst on me must light,
When time shall be; for so I undertook
Before thee, and, not repenting, this obtain
Of right, that I may mitigate their doom
On me derived. Yet I shall temper so
Justice with mercy as may illustrate most
Them fully satisfied, and thee appease.
Attendance none shall need, nor train, where
Are to behold the judgement but the judged,
Those two; the third best absent is condemned,
Convict by flight, and rebel to all law;
Conviction to the Serpent none belongs.'
Thus saying, from his radiant seat he rose
Of high collateral glory. Him Thrones and
Powers,
Princedoms, and Dominations ministrant,
Accompanied to Heaven-gate, from whence
The
Son sets
forth to judge
The Eden and all the coast in prospect lay.
pair Down he descended straight; the speed of Gods are sum- Time counts not, though with swiftest minutes moned
Now was the Sun in western cadence low
From noon, and gentle airs due at their hour
To fan the Earth now waked, and usher in
The evening cool, when he, from wrath more
cool,
Came, the mild judge and intercessor both,
To sentence Man. The voice of God they heard
Now walking in the Garden, by soft winds
Brought to their ears, while day declined; they
heard,
And from his presence hid themselves among 100
The thickest trees, both man and wife, till God,
Approaching, thus to Adam called aloud :—
Where art thou, Adam, wont with joy to meet
My coming, seen far off? I miss thee here,
Not pleased, thus entertained with solitude,
Where obvious duty erewhile appeared unsought.
Or come I less conspicuous, or what change
Absents thee, or what chance detains? Come
He came, and with him Eve, more loth, though first
To offend, discountenanced both, and dis-
composed.
Love was not in their looks, either to God
Or to each other, but apparent guilt,
And shame, and perturbation, and despair,
Anger, and obstinacy, and hate, and guile.
Whence Adam, faltering long, thus answered
brief:-
I heard thee in the Garden, and, of thy The
voice Afraid, being naked, hid myself.' To whom The gracious Judge, without revile, replied: 'My voice thou oft hast heard, and hast not feared,
But still rejoiced; how is it now become
So dreadful to thee? That thou art naked, who
Hath told thee? Hast thou eaten of the tree
Whereof I gave thee charge thou shouldst not
eat?"
To whom thus Adam, sore beset, replied:
'O Heaven! in evil strait this day I stand
Before my Judge-either to undergo
Myself the total crime, or to accuse
My other self, the partner of my life,
Whose failing, while her faith to me remains,
I should conceal, and not expose to blame
By my complaint. But strict necessity
Subdues me, and calamitous constraint,
Lest on my head both sin and punishment,
However insupportable, be all
Devolved; though, should I hold my peace, yet thou
Wouldst easily detect what I conceal.
This Woman, whom thou mad'st to be my help,
And gav'st me as thy perfect gift, so good,
So fit, so acceptable, so divine,
That from her hand I could suspect no ill, 140
And what she did, whatever in itself,
Her doing seemed to justify the deed—
She gave me of the tree, and I did eat.'
To whom the Sovran Presence thus replied:-
'Was she thy God, that her thou didst obey
Woman
gave me,
and I
did eat'
The Before his voice? or was she made thy guide, Serpent is Superior, or but equal, that to her
cursed Thou didst resign thy manhood, and the place
Wherein God set thee above her, made of thee
And for thee, whose perfection far excelled 150
Hers in all real dignity? Adorned
She was indeed, and lovely, to attract
Thy love, not thy subjection; and her gifts
Were such as under government well seemed—
Unseemly to bear rule; which was thy part
And person, hadst thou known thyself aright.'
So having said, he thus to Eve in few :-
'Say, Woman, what is this which thou hast done?'
To whom sad Eve, with shame nigh over-
whelmed,
Confessing soon, yet not before her Judge 16c
Bold or loquacious, thus abashed replied:-
The Serpent me beguiled, and I did eat.'
Which when the Lord God heard, without
delay
To judgment he proceeded on the accused
Serpent, though brute, unable to transfer
The guilt on him who made him instrument
Of mischief, and polluted from the end
Of his creation-justly then accursed,
As vitiated in nature. More to know
Concerned not Man (since he no further knew),
Nor altered his offence; yet God at last
To Satan, first in sin, his doom applied,
Though in mysterious terms, judged as then best;
And on the Serpent thus his curse let fall :-
'Because thou hast done this, thou art accursed Above all cattle, each beast of the field; Upon thy belly grovelling thou shalt go,
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