Youth smil❜d celestial, and to every limb In curls on either cheek play'd; wings he wore He drew not nigh unheard; the angel bright, Who in God's presence nearest to his throne 640 645 650 That run through all the heavens, or down to th' earth Bear his swift errands, over moist and dry, O'er sea and land: him Satan thus accosts. Uriel, for thou of those seven spirits that stand In sight of God's high throne, gloriously bright, 655 The first art wont his great authentic will Interpreter through highest heaven to bring, Where all his sons thy embassy attend ; And here art likeliest by supreme decree Like honour to obtain, and as his eye To visit oft this new creation round; All these his wondrous works, but chiefly man, 660 His chief delight and favour, him for whom On whom the great Creator hath bestow'd 665 670 Worlds, and on whom hath all these graces pour'd; To serve him better: wise are all his ways. So spake the false dissembler unperceiv'd ; By his permissive will, through heaven and earth: Resigns her charge, while goodness thinks no ill Where no ill seems; which now for once beguil'd Uriel, though regent of the sun, and held The sharpest sighted spirit of all in heaven: 675 680 690 678 that] Tickell reads, 'their loss,' and is followed by Fenton and Bentley. Todd. 695 700 705 Who to the fraudulent imposter foul I saw, 710 heard] 'Jussa Dei exsequitur Tellus.' A. Ramsæi, P. Sacr. ed. Lauder, i. p. 4. 716 this] 'the' in Fenton's and Bentley's ed. Newton. 710 715 Numberless, as thou seest, and how they move; 720 725 Look downward on that globe whose hither side 730 Still ending, still renewing, through mid heav'n, As to superior spirits is wont in heaven, Where honour due and reverence none neglects, Took leave, and toward the coast of earth beneath, PARADISE LOST. BOOK IV. THE ARGUMENT. SATAN now in prospect of Eden, and nigh the place where he must now attempt the bold enterprise which he undertook alone against God and man, falls into many doubts with himself, and many passions, fear, envy, and despair; but at length confirms himself in evil, journeys on to paradise, whose outward prospect and situation is described, overleaps the bounds, sits in the shape of a cormorant on the Tree of life, as the highest in the garden to look about him. The garden described; Satan's first sight of Adam and Eve; his wonder at their excellent form and happy state, but with resolution to work their fall: overhears their discourse, thence gathers that the Tree of knowledge was forbidden them to eat of, under penalty of death; and thereon intends to found his temptation, by seducing them to transgress: then leaves them awhile to know further of their state by some other means. Mean while Uriel descending on a sunbeam warns Gabriel, who had in charge the gate of paradise, that some evil spirit had escaped the deep, and passed at noon by his sphere in the shape of a good angel down to paradise, discovered afterwards by his furious gestures in the mount. Gabriel promises to find him ere morning. Night coming on, Adam and Eve discourse of going to their rest: their bower described; their evening worship. Gabriel drawing forth his bands of nightwatch to walk the round of paradise, appoints two strong Angels to Adam's bower, lest the evil spirit should be there doing some harm to Adam or Eve sleeping; there they find him at the ear of Eve, tempting her in a dream, and bring him, though unwilling, to Gabriel; by whom questioned, he scornfully answers, prepares resistance, but hindered by a sign from heaven flies out of paradise. |