; CA 955 Triumph, and fay; Fickle their ftate whom God 960 Adam? from whofe dear fide I boaft me fprung, 965 One heart, one foul in both; whereof good proof Rather than death, or ought than death more dread, Shall feparate us, link'd in love so dear, 970 To undergo with me one guilt, one crime, If any be, of tafting this fair fruit, Whofe virtue (for of good ftill good proceeds, Direct, or by occafion) hath prefented' This happy trial of thy love, which elfe 975 So eminently never had been known. Were it I thought death menac'd would enfue This my attempt, I would fuftain alone The worst, and not perfuade thee; rather die Deferted, than oblige thee with a fact 980 Pernicious to thy peace; chiefly affur'd So faithful love unequall'd, but I feel Far otherwife th' event, not death, but life Augmented, open'd eyes, new hopes, new joys, 985 Tafte fo divine, that what of fweet before. Hath touch'd my fenfe. flat feems to this, and harsh. On my experience, Adam, freely tafte, And fear of death deliver to the winds. So faying, fhe embrac'd him, and for joy 990 995 Original; while Adam took no thought, Eating his fill; nor Eve to iterate 1005 Her former trefpafs fear'd, the more to foothe Him with her lov'd fociety; that now, As with new wines intoxicated both, They fwim in mirth, and fancy that they feel 1010 But that falfe fruit Far other operation firft difplay'd, Began to caft lafcivious eyes, fhe him 1015 Till Adam thus 'gan Eve to dalliance move. In things to us forbidd'n, it might be with'd, 1025 For this one tree had been forbidden ten. But come, fo well refresh'd, now let us play, As meet is, after fuch delicious fare; For never did thy beauty fince the day 1030* 1 faw thee first, and wedded thee, adorn'd And hyacinth, earth's freshest fofteft lap; IC35 1040 1 Opprefs'd them, wearied with their amorous play. 1045 1050 About their fp'rits had play'd, and inmoft pow'rs Had fhadow'd them from knowing ill, was gone; 1055. And honour from about them, naked left 1060 1065 Shorn of his ftrength; they deftitute and bare Dd 1070 Was I t' have never parted from thy fide? 1155 1160 1165 It seems, in thy restraint; what could I more? 1170 I warn'd thee, I admonish'd thee, foretold The danger, and the lurking enemy That lay in wait; beyond this had been force, And force upon free will hath here no place. But confidence then bore thee on, fecure 1175 Either to meet no danger, or to find Matter of glorious trial; and perhaps I alfo err'd in overmuch admiring What feem'd in thee fo perfect, that I thought 1180 That error now, which is become my crime, And thou th' accufer. Thus it fhall befal**** Him who to worth in woman overtrusting, Lets her will rule: restraint fhe will not brook; And left t' herself, if evil thence enfue, ✨ 1185 She firft his weak indulgence will accufe. The fruitless hours, but neither felf-condemning, END OF THE NINTH BOOK, Man's tranfgreffion known, the guardian Angels forfake Paradife, and return up to Heaven to approve their vigilance; and are approved, God declaring that the entrance of Satan could not be by them prevented. He fends his Son to judge the tranfgreffors; who defcends, and gives fentence accordingly; then in pity clothes them and reafcends. Sin and death fitting till then at the gates of bell, by wondrous fympathy feeling the fuccefs of Satan in this new world, and the fin by man there committed, refolve to fit no longer confined in hell, but to follow Satan their fire up to the place of man: To make the way eafier from hell to this world to and fro, they pave a broad highway or bridge over Chaos, according to the track that Satan firft made; then preparing for earth, they meet him, proud of his fuccefs, returning to hell; their mutual gratulation. Satan arrives at Pandemonium, in full affembly relates with boafting his fuccefs against man; instead of applaufe, is entertained with a general bifs by all his audience, transformed with himself alfo fuddenly into ferpents, according to his doom given in Paradife; then deluded with a fher of the forbidden tree Springing up before them, they greedily reaching to take of the fruit, chew duft and bitter afhes. The proceedings of Sin and Death: GOD foretells the final victory of his Son over them, and the renewing of all things; but for the prefent commands his Angels to make feveral alterations in the heavens and elements. Adam more and more perceiving his fallen condition, heavily bewails; rejects the condolement of Eve; She perfifts, and at length appeafes him: then, to evade the curfe likely to fall on their offspring, propofes to Adam violent ways, which he approves not; but conceiving bet |