Speech intermitted thus to Eve renew'd: Would thou hadst hearken'd to my words, and ftay'd With me, as I befought thee, when that ftrange 1135 Defire of wand'ring this unhappy morn, I know not whence poffefs'd thee: we had then Let none henceforth feek needlefs caufe to' approve 1140 To whom foon mov'd with touch of blame thus Eve: 1145 1150 1155 Of wand'ring, as thou call'ft it, which who knows 1160 1165 And am I now upbraided as the cause Of thy tranfgreffing? not enough severe, It seems, in thy restraint: what could I more? That lay in wait; beyond this had been force, 1170 1175 Matter of glorious trial: and perhaps I alfo erred in overmuch admiring What feem'd in thee fo perfect, that 1 thought 1180 That error now, which is become my crime, And thou th' accufer. Thus it shall befal Him who to worth in women overtrufting, Lets her will rule: reftraint she will not brook; 1185 She firft his weak indulgence will accufe.. The fruitless hours, but neither felf-condemning; End of Book NINTH. The ARGUMENT of Book X. 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 both, and reafcends. Sin and Death, fitting till then at the gates of hell, 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 boasting his fuccefs againft man; inftead of applaufe, is entertained with a general bifs by all his audience, transformed with himfelf alfo fuddenly into ferpents, according to his doom given in Paradife; then deluded with a fhow of the forbidden tree fpringing up before them, they, greedily reaching to take of the fruit, chew duft and bitter afher. The proceedings of Sin and Death: God foretels 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; fhe perfifts, and at length appeafes him: then, to evade the curfe likely to fall on their offspring, proposes to Adam violent ways, which he approves not; but, conceiving better hope, puts her in mind of the late promise made them, that her feed fhould be revenged on the ferpent, and exhorts her with him to feek peace of the offended Deity,. by repentance and fupplication. |