To mitigate thus plead, not to reverse), To better life shall yield him, where with me All my redeemed may dwell in joy and bliss, Made one with me, as I with thee am one.' To whom the Father, without cloud, serene:-- All thy request for Man, accepted Son, Obtain; all thy request was my decree. But longer in that Paradise to dwell The law I gave to Nature him forbids; Those pure immortal elements, that know No gross, no unharmonious mixture foul, Eject him, tainted now, and purge him off, As a distemper, gross, to air as gross, And mortal food, as may dispose him best For dissolution wrought by sin, that first Distempered all things, and of incorrupt Corrupted. I at first with two fair gifts Created him endowed-with Happiness And Immortality; that fondly lost, This other served but to eternize woe, Till I provided Death: so Death becomes His final remedy, and, after life Tried in sharp tribulation, and refined By faith and faithful works, to second life, Waked in the renovation of the just,
Resigns him up with Heaven and Earth renewed. But let us call to synod all the Blest
Through Heaven's wide bounds; from them I will not hide
My judgements-how with Mankind I proceed, As how with peccant Angels late they saw, And in their state, though firm, stood more confirmed.'
He ended, and the Son gave signal high
The pair To the bright Minister that watched. He blew to be His trumpet, heard in Oreb since perhaps When God descended, and perhaps once more To sound at general doom. The angelic blast Filled all the regions: from their blissful bowers Of amarantine shade, fountain or spring, By the waters of life, where'er they sat In fellowships of joy, the Sons of Light Hasted, resorting to the summons high, And took their seats, till from his throne supreme The Almighty thus pronounced his sovran will:- 'O Sons, like one of us Man is become To know both good and evil, since his taste Of that defended fruit; but let him boast His knowledge of good lost and evil got, Happier had it sufficed him to have known Good by itself and evil not at all. He sorrows now, repents, and prays contrite- My motions in him; longer than they move, His heart I know how variable and vain, Self-left. Lest, therefore, his now bolder hand Reach also of the Tree of Life, and eat, And live for ever, dream at least to live For ever, to remove him I decree, And send him from the Garden forth, to till The ground whence he was taken, fitter soil. Michael, this my behest have thou in charge: Take to thee from among the Cherubim Thy choice of flaming warriors, lest the Fiend, Or in behalf of Man, or to invade Vacant possession, some new trouble raise; Haste thee, and from the Paradise of God Without remorse drive out the sinful pair, From hallowed ground the unholy, and denounce
To them, and to their progeny, from thence Perpetual banishment. Yet, lest they faint At the sad sentence rigorously urged
(For I behold them softened, and with tears 110 Bewailing their excess), all terror hide. If patiently thy bidding they obey, Dismiss them not disconsolate; reveal To Adam what shall come in future days, As I shall thee enlighten; intermix
My covenant in the Woman's seed renewed. So send them forth, though sorrowing, yet in
And on the east side of the Garden place, Where entrance up from Eden easiest climbs, Cherubic watch, and of a sword the flame Wide-waving, all approach far off to fright, And guard all passage to the Tree of Life; Lest Paradise à receptacle prove
To Spirits foul, and all my trees their prey, With whose stolen fruit Man once more to delude.'
He ceased, and the Archangelic Power pre- pared
For swift descent; with him the cohort bright Of watchful Cherubim. Four faces each Had, like a double Janus; all their shape Spangled with eyes more numerous than those 130 Of Argus, and more wakeful than to drowse, Charmed with Arcadian pipe, the pastoral reed Of Hermes, or his opiate rod. Meanwhile, To resalute the World with sacred light, Leucothea waked, and with fresh dews embalmed The Earth, when Adam and first matron Eve Had ended now their orisons, and found
The Strength added from above, new hope to spring prayer Out of despair, joy, but with fear yet linked; is heard Which thus to Eve his welcome words renewed :
'Eve, easily may faith admit that all
The good which we enjoy from Heaven de- scends;
But that from us aught should ascend to Heaven So prevalent as to concern the mind
Of God high-blest, or to incline his will, Hard to belief may seem.
Yet this will prayer, Or one short sigh of human breath, upborne Even to the seat of God. For, since I sought By prayer the offended Deity to appease, Kneeled and before him humbled all my heart, 150 Methought I saw him placable and mild, Bending his ear; persuasion in me grew That I was heard with favour; peace returned Home to my breast, and to my memory His promise that thy seed shall bruise our Foe; Which, then not minded in dismay, yet now Assures me that the bitterness of death Is past, and we shall live. Whence hail to thee! Eve rightly called, Mother of all Mankind, Mother of all things living, since by thee Man is to live, and all things live for Man.' To whom thus Eve with sad demeanour
Ill-worthy I such title should belong
To me transgressor, who, for thee ordained A help, became thy snare; to me reproach Rather belongs, distrust and all dispraise. But infinite in pardon was my Judge,
That I, who first brought death on all, am graced
The source of life; next favourable thou, Who highly thus to entitle me voutsaf'st, Far other name deserving. But the field To labour calls us, now with sweat imposed, Though after sleepless night; for see! the Morn, All unconcerned with our unrest, begins Her rosy progress smiling. Let us forth, I never from thy side henceforth to stray, Where'er our day's work lies, though now en- joined
Laborious, till day droop. While here we dwell, What can be toilsome in these pleasant walks? Here let us live, though in fallen state, con- tent.'
So spake, so wished, much-humbled Eve; but Fate Subscribed not. Nature first gave signs, im- pressed
On bird, beast, air-air suddenly eclipsed, After short blush of morn. Nigh in her sight The bird of Jove, stooped from his aery tour, Two birds of gayest plume before him drove; Down from a hill the beast that reigns in woods, First hunter then, pursued a gentle brace, Goodliest of all the forest, hart and hind; Direct to the eastern gate was bent their flight. 190 Adam observed, and, with his eye the chase Pursuing, not unmoved to Eve thus spake
'O Eve, some further change awaits us nigh, Which Heaven by these mute signs in Nature shows,
Forerunners of his purpose, or to warn Us, haply too secure of our discharge From penalty because from death released
« PreviousContinue » |