Into his nether empire neighbouring round:
And higher than that wall a circling row
Of goodliest trees loaden with fairest fruit,
Bloffoms and fruits at once of golden hue,
Appear'd, with gay enamell'd colors mix'd:
On which the fun more glad impress'd his beams 150
Than in fair evening cloud or humid bow,
When God hath show'r'd the earth; fo lovely feem'd
That landskip: and of pure now purer air
Meets his approach, and to the heart inspires
Vernal delight and joy, able to drive
All fadness but despair: now gentle gales
Fanning their odoriferous wings dispense
Native perfumes, and whisper whence they stole
Those balmy spoils. As when to them who fail
Beyond the Cape of Hope, and now are past
Mozambic, off at sea north-east winds blow
Sabean odors from the spicy shore
Of Araby the Bleft; with fuch delay
Well pleas'd they flack their course, and many a league
Cheer'd with the grateful smell old Ocean smiles :
So entertain'd those odorous sweets the Fiend 166
Who came their bane, though with them better pleas'd
Than Afmodeus with the fishy fume
That drove him, though enamour'd, from the spouse
Of Tobit's fon, and with a vengeance fent 170
From Media poft to Egypt, there fast bound.
Now to th' afcent of that steep favage hill
Satan had journey'd on, pensive and flow;
But further way found none, fo thick intwin'd,
As one continued brake, the undergrowth
Of fhrubs and tangling bushes had perplex'd
All path of man or beast that pass'd that way:
One gate there only was, and that look'd east
On the other fide: which when the Arch-felon faw,
Due entrance he disdain'd, and in contempt,
At one flight bound high overleap'd all bound
Of hill or highest wall, and sheer within
Lights on his feet. As when a prowling wolf,
Whom hunger drives to seek new haunt for prey,
Watching where shepherds pen their flocks at eve
In hurdled cotes amid the field fecure,
Leaps o'er the fence with eafe into the fold:
Or as a thief bent to unhoard the cash
Of fome rich burgher, whose substantial doors,
Cross-barr'd and bolted faft, fear no affault,
In at the window climbs, or o'er the tiles :
So clomb this first grand Thief into God's fold;
So fince into his church lewd hirelings climb.
Thence up he flew, and on the tree of Life,
The middle tree and highest there that grew,
Sat like a cormorant ; yet not true life
Thereby regain'd, but fat devifing death
To them who liv'd; nor on the virtue thought
Of that life-giving plant, but only us'd
For profpect, what well us'd had been the pledge co
Of immortality. So little knows
Any but God alone, to value right
The good before him, but perverts best things
To worse abuse, or to their meanest use.
Beneath him with new wonder now he views 205
To all delight of human sense expos'd
In narrow room Nature's whole wealth, yea more,
A heav'n on earth: for blissful Paradife
Of God the garden was, by him in th' east
Of Eden planted; Eden stretch'd her line
From Auran caftward to the royal towers
Of great Seleucia, built by Grecian kings,
Or where the fons of Eden long before
Dwelt in Telaffar: in this pleasant foil
His far more pleasant garden God ordain'd;
Out of the fertil ground he caus'd to grow
All trees of nobleft kind for fight, smell, taste;
And all amid them stood the tree of Life,
High eminent, blooming ambrofial fruit
Of vegetable gold; and next to Life,
Our death the tree of Knowledge grew fast by,
Knowledge of good bought dear by knowing ill.
Southward through Eden went a river large,
Nor chang'd his course, but through the shaggy hill
Pafs'd underneath ingulf'd; for God had thrown
That mountain as his garden mould high rais'd 226
Upon the rapid current, which through veins
Of porous earth with kindly thirst up drawn,
Rose a fresh fountain, and with many a rill
Water'd the garden; thence united fell
Down the steep glade, and met the nether flood,
Which from his darkfome paffage now appears,
And now divided into four main streams,
Runs diverfe, wand'ring many a famous realm
And country, whereof here needs no account; 235
But rather to tell how, if Art could tell,
How from that faphir fount the crifped brooks,
Rolling on orient pearl and fands of gold,
With mazy error under pendent fhades
Ran nectar, visiting each plant, and fed
Flow'rs, worthy' of Paradise, which not nice Art
In beds and curious knots, but Nature boon
Pour'd forth profuse on hill and dale and plain,
Both where the morning fun firft warmly smote
The open field, and where the unpierc'd shade
245
Imbrown'd the noontide bow'rs: thus was this place
A happy rural feat of various view;
Groves whofe rich trees wept odorous gums and balm,
Others whose fruit burnish'd with golden rind
Hung amiable, Hefperian fables true,
If true, here only', and of delicious taste :
Betwixt them lawns, or level downs, and flocks
Grazing the tender herb, were interpos'd,
Or palmy hilloc; or the flow'ry lap
Of fome irriguous valley spread her store,
Flow'rs of all hue, and without thorn the rofe:
Another fide, umbrageous grots and caves
Of cool recefs, o'er which the mantling vine
Lays forth her purple grape, and gently creeps
Luxuriant; mean while murm'ring waters fall 260
Down the slope hills, difpers'd, or in a lake,
That to the fringed bank with myrtle crown'd
Her cryftal mirror holds, unite their streams.
The birds their quire apply; airs, vernal airs,
Breathing the smell of field and grove, attune
The trembling leaves, while univerfal Pan
Knit with the Graces and the Hours in dance
Led on th' eternal Spring. Not that fair field
Of Enna, where Proferpin gathering flowers,
Herself a fairer flow'r by gloomy Dis
Was gather'd, which cost Ceres all that pain
To feek her through the world; nor that sweet grove
Of Daphne by Orontes, and th' infpir'd
Caftalian spring, might with this paradise
Of Eden strive; nor that Nyfeian ile
Girt with the river Triton, where old Cham,
Whom Gentiles Ammon call and Lybian Jove,
Hid Amalthea and her florid fon
Young Bacchus from his stepdame Rhea's eye;
Nor where Abaffin kings their iffue guard,
Mount Amara, though this by some suppos'd
True Paradife under the Ethiop line
By Nilus' head, inclos'd with shining rock,
A whole day's journey high, but wide remote
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