PARADISE LOST. BOOK IX. Satan, having compassed the Earth, with meditated guile returns, as a mist, by night into Paradise; enters into the Serpent sleep ing. Adam and Eve in the morning go forth to their labours, which Eve proposes to divide in several places, each labouring apart: Adam consents not; alleging the danger, lest that enemy, of whom they were forewarned, should attempt her found alone; Eve, loath to be thought not circumspect or firm enough, urges her going apart, the rather desirous to make trial of her strength; Adam at last yields: The Serpent finds her alone; his subtle approach, first gazing, then speaking; with much flattery extolling Eve above all other creatures. Eve, wondering to hear the Serpent speak, asks how he attained to human speech and such understanding not till now; the Serpent answers, that by tasting of a certain tree in the garden he attained both to speech and reason, till then void of both: Eve requires him to bring her to that tree, and finds it to be the tree of knowledge forbidden: The Serpent, now grown bolder, with many wiles and arguments, induces her at length to eat; she, pleased with the taste, deliberates awhile whether to impart thereof to Adam or not; at last brings him of the fruit; relates what persuaded her to eat thereof; Adam, at first amazed, but perceiving her lost, resolves, through vehemence of love, to perish with her: and, extenuating the trespass, eats also of the fruit; The effects thereof in them both; they seek to cover their nakedness; then fall to variance and accusation of one another. No more of talk where God or Angel guest Venial discourse unblamed. I now must change 5 Those notes to tragic; foul distrust, and breach And disobedience: on the part of Heaven, 10 15 Thrice fugitive about Troy wall; or rage 20 Of my celestial patroness, who deigns In battles feign'd; the better fortitude That name, unless an age too late, or cold 35 40 45 50 "Twixt day and night, and now from end to end Night's hemisphere had veil'd the horizon round · When Satan, who late fled before the threats Of Gabriel out of Eden, now improved In meditated fraud and malice, bent On Man's destruction, maugre what might hap By night he fled, and at midnight return'd 55 60 That kept their watch; thence full of anguish driven, He circled; four times cross'd the car of night. 65 From pole to pole, traversing each colure; Now not, though sin, not time, first wrought the change, 71 Rose up a fountain by the tree of life: In with the river sunk, and with it rose Satan, involved in rising mist; then sought 75 Where to lie hid; sea he had search'd, and land, Ganges and Indus: Thus the orb he roam'd With narrow search; and with inspection deep Most opportune might serve his wiles; and found 85 Him after long debate, irresolute Of thoughts revolved, his final sentence chose To enter, and his dark suggestions hide 90 Whatever sleights, none would suspicious mark, Proceeding; which, in other beasts observed, 95 100 O Earth, how like to Heaven, if not preferr'd More justly, seat worthier of Gods, as built With second thoughts, reforming what was old! For what God, after better, worse would build ? Terrestrial Heaven, danced round by other Heavens That shine, yet bear their bright officious lamps, Light above light, for thee alone, as seems, In thee concentring all their precious beams Of sacred influence! As God in Heaven Is centre, yet extends to all; so thou, 105 Centring, receivest from all those orbs: in thee Of creatures animate with gradual life Of growth, sense, reason, all summ'd up in Man. 115 Find place or refuge; and the more I see 120 Torment within me, as from the hateful siege Of contraries: all good to me becomes Bane, and in Heaven much worse would be my state. But neither here seek I, no nor in Heaven To dwell, unless by mastering Heaven's Supreme; 125 Nor hope to be myself less miserable By what I seek, but others to make such As I, though thereby worse to me redound: To my relentless thoughts; and, him destroy'd, The infernal Powers, in one day to have marr'd 130 135 140 And to repair his numbers thus impair'd, Whether such virtue spent of old now fail'd 145 Are his created, or, to spite us more, A creature form'd of earth, and him endow, Exalted from so base original, 150 With heavenly spoils, our spoils What he decreed, He effected; Man he made, and for him built Magnificent this world, and earth his seat, Him lord pronounced; and, O indignity! 155 160 O foul descent! that I, who erst contended With Gods to sit the highest, am now constrain'd 165 |