Half spied, so thick the roses bushing round About her glow'd, oft stooping to support
Each flower of slender stalk, whose head, though gay Carnation, purple, azure, or speck'd with gold, Hung drooping unsustain'd; them she upstays Gently with myrtle band, mindless the while Herself, though fairest unsupported flower, From her best prop so far, and storm so nigh. Nearer he drew, and many a walk travérs'd Of stateliest covert, cedar, pine, or palm; Then voluble and bold, now hid, now seen, Among thick-woven arborets, and flowers Imborder'd on each bank, the hand of Eve: Spot more delicious than those gardens feign'd Or of revived Adonis, or renown'd Alcinous, host of old Laertes' son;
Or that, not mystic, where the sapient king Held dalliance with his fair Egyptian spouse. Much he the place admired, the person more. As one who, long in populous city pent, Where houses thick and sewers annoy the air, Forth issuing on a summer's morn, to breathe Among the pleasant villages and farms Adjoin'd, from each thing met conceives delight, The smell of grain, or tedded grass, or kine, Or dairy, each rural sight, each rural sound; If chance, with nymph-like step, fair virgin pass What pleasing seem'd, for her now pleases more; She most, and in her look sums all delight: Such pleasure took the serpent to behold This flowery plat, the sweet recess of Eve Thus early, thus alone: her heavenly form Angelic, but more soft, and feminine, Her graceful innocence, her every air Of gesture, or least action, overawed His malice, and with rapine sweet bereaved His fierceness of the fierce intent it brought: That space the evil one abstracted stood From his own evil, and for the time remain'd Stupidly good; of enmity disarm'd, Of guile, of hate, of envy, of revenge: But the hot hell that always in him burns, Though in mid heaven, soon ended his delight, And tortures him now more, the more he sees Of pleasure, not for him ordain'd: then soon Fierce hate he recollects: and all his thoughts Of mischief, gratulating, thus excites:
Thoughts, whither have ye led me? with what sweet
464. From his own evil. This passage is preeminently beautiful, and of extraordinary originality.-BRYDGES.
471. Recollects: Re-collects,-as in i. 528.
Compulsion thus transported, to forget
What hither brought us? hate, not love; nor hope Of Paradise for hell, hope here to taste Of pleasure; but all pleasure to destroy, Save what is in destroying: other joy To me is lost. Then, let me not let pass Occasion which now smiles; behold alone The woman, opportune to all attempts, Her husband (for I view far round) not nigh, Whose higher intellectual more I shun, And strength, of courage haughty, and of limb Heroic built, though of terrestrial mould; Foe not informidable! exempt from wound, I not; so much hath hell debased, and pain Enfeebled me, to what I was in heaven. She fair, divinely fair, fit love for gods! Not terrible, though terrour be in love And beauty, not approach'd by stronger hate, Hate stronger, under show of love well feign'd; The way which to her ruin now I tend.
So spake the enemy of mankind, enclosed In serpent, inmate bad! and toward Eve Address'd his way: not with indented wave, Prone on the ground, as since; but on his rear, Circular base of rising folds, that tower'd Fold above fold, a surging maze! his head Crested aloft, and carbuncle his eyes; With burnish'd neck of verdant gold, erect Amidst his circling spires, that on the grass Floated redundant: pleasing was his shape And lovely; never since of serpent-kind Lovelier, not those that in Illyria changed Hermione and Cadmus, or the god In Epidaurus; nor to which transform'd Ammonian Jove or Capitoline was seen; He with Olympias; this with her who bore Scipio, the highth of Rome. With tract oblique At first, as one who sought access, but fear'd To interrupt, sidelong he works his way. As when a ship, by skilful steersman wrought Nigh river's mouth or foreland, where the wind Veers oft, as oft so steers, and shifts her sail: So varied he, and of his tortuous train Curl'd many a wanton wreath in sight of Eve, To lure her eye; she, busied, heard the sound Of rustling leaves, but minded not, as used
505. Not those: That is, not those ser- have been turned into serpents, for havpents were more beautiful that, in Illy-ing slain one sacred to Mars. ria, changed Hermione and Cadmus into themselves. This Cadmus and his wife Hermione, leaving Thebes, came into Illyria, where they were both fabled to
507. Epidaurus: That is, Esculapius who was worshipped in Epidaurus. No to which, &c.: Nor were those serpents lovelier to which, &c. Jupiter Ammon, and Jupiter Capitolinus.
To such disport before her through the field, From every beast; more duteous at her call, Than at Circean call the herd disguised. He, bolder now, uncall'd before her stood, But as in gaze admiring: oft he bow'd His turret crest, and sleek enamell'd neck, Fawning; and lick'd the ground whereon she trod. His gentle dumb expression turn'd at length The eye of Eve, to mark his play; he, glad
Of her attention gain'd, with serpent-tongue Organic, or impulse of vocal air,
His fraudulent temptation thus began: Wonder not, sovran mistress, if perhaps Thou canst, who art sole wonder! much less arm Thy looks, the heaven of mildness, with disdain, Displeased that I approach thee thus, and gaze Insatiate; I thus single; nor have fear'd Thy awful brow, more awful thus retired. Fairest resemblance of thy Maker fair, Thee all things living gaze on, all things thine By gift, and thy celestial beauty adore With ravishment beheld! there best beheld, Where universally admired; but here
In this enclosure wild, these beasts among, Beholders rude, and shallow to discern Half what in thee is fair, one man except,
Who sees thee? (and what is one?) who shouldst be seen A goddess among gods, adored and served
By angels numberless, thy daily train.
So glozed the tempter, and his proem tuned: Into the heart of Eve his words made way,
Though at the voice much marvelling; at length, Not unamazed, she thus in answer spake:
What may this mean? language of man pronounced By tongue of brute, and human sense express'd? The first, at least, of these I thought denied
To beasts; whom God, on their creation-day, Created mute to all articulate sound: The latter I demur; for in their looks
Much reason, and in their actions, oft appears. Thee, serpent, subtlest beast of all the field I knew, but not with human voice endued: Redouble then this miracle, and say, How cam'st thou speakable of mute; and how To me so friendly grown above the rest Of brutal kind, that daily are in sight? Say, for such wonder claims attention due.
522. Alluding to the men turned into beasts by Circe.
530. Organic, or, &c. That the Devil moved the serpent's tongue, and used it as an instrument to form that tempting speech he made to Eve, is the opinion
of some; that he formed a voice by im pression of the sounding air, distant from the serpent, is that of others; of which Milton has left the curious to their choice.-HUME.
To whom the guileful tempter thus replied:
Empress of this fair world, resplendent Eve!
Easy to me it is to tell thee all
What thou command'st; and right thou shouldst be obey'd:
I was at first as other beasts that graze
The trodden herb, of abject thoughts and low,
As was my food; nor aught but food discern'd,
Or sex, and apprehended nothing high: Till, on a day roving the field, I chanced A goodly tree far distant to behold
Loaden with fruit of fairest colours mix'd, Ruddy and gold: I nearer drew to gaze;
When from the boughs a savoury odour blown, Grateful to appetite, more pleased my sense Than smell of sweetest fennel, or the teats Of ewe or goat dropping with milk at even, Unsuck'd of lamb or kid, that tend their play. To satisfy the sharp desire I had Of tasting those fair apples, I resolved Not to defer; hunger and thirst at once, Powerful persuaders, quicken'd at the scent Of that alluring fruit, urged me so keen. About the mossy trunk I wound me soon; For, high from ground, the branches would require Thy utmost reach or Adam's: round the tree All other beasts that saw, with like desire Longing and envying stood, but could not reach. Amid the tree now got, where plenty hung Tempting so nigh, to pluck and eat my fill
I spared not; for such pleasure till that hour, At feed or fountain, never had I found. Sated at length, ere long I might perceive Strange alteration in me, to degree Of reason in my inward powers; and speech Wanted not long; though to this shape retain'd. Thenceforth to speculations high or deep
I turn'd my thoughts, and with capacious mind Consider'd all things visible in heaven, Or earth, or middle; all things fair and good: But all that fair and good in thy divine Semblance, and in thy beauty's heavenly ray, United I beheld; no fair to thine Equivalent or second! which compell'd Me thus, though importune perhaps, to come And gaze, and worship thee, of right declared Sovran of creatures, universal dame!
So talk'd the spirited sly snake; and Eve, Yet more amazed, unwary thus replied:
612. Dame. Among the earlier EngLish poets, dame was a term of more re
speet than now. It is used in the sense of the Latin domina, “mistress." 613. Spirited: The diabolic spirit within.
Serpent, thy overpraising leaves in doubt
The virtue of that fruit, in thee first proved:
But say, where grows the tree? from hence how far? For many are the trees of God that grow
In Paradise, and various, yet unknown To us; in such abundance lies our choice, As leaves a greater store of fruit untouch'd Still hanging incorruptible, till men Grow up to their provision, and more hands Help to disburden Nature of her birth.
To whom the wily adder, blithe and glad: Empress, the way is ready, and not long; Beyond a row of myrtles, on a flat, Fast by a fountain, one small thicket past Of blowing myrrh and balm: if thou accept My conduct, I can bring thee thither soon.
Lead then, said Eve. He, leading, swiftly roll'd In tangles, and made intricate seem straight, To mischief swift. Hope elevates, and joy Brightens his crest. As when a wandering fire, Compact of unctuous vapour, which the night Condenses, and the cold environs round, Kindled through agitation to a flame, Which oft, they say, some evil spirit attends, Hovering and blazing with delusive light,
Misleads the amaz'd night-wanderer from his way To bogs and mires, and oft through pond or pool; There swallow'd up and lost, from succour far: So glister'd the dire snake, and into fraud Led Eve, our credulous mother, to the tree Of prohibition, root of all our woe;
Which when she saw, thus to her guide she spake:
Serpent, we might have spared our coming hither, Fruitless to me, though fruit be here to excess, The credit of whose virtue rest with thee; Wondrous indeed, if cause of such effects! But of this tree we may not taste nor touch; God so commanded, and left that command Sole daughter of his voice: the rest, we live Law to ourselves; our reason is our law.
To whom the tempter guilefully replied: Indeed! hath God then said that of the fruit Of all these garden-trees ye shall not eat, Yet lords declared of all in earth or air?
To whom thus Eve, yet sinless: Of the fruit Of each tree in the garden we may eat; But of the fruit of this fair tree amidst The garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat Thereof, nor shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
She scarce had said, though brief, when now more bold The tempter, but with show of zeal and love To man, and indignation at his wrong,
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