Paradise Lost - Book X

Thus they in lowliest plight repentant stood     Praying, for from the Mercie-seat above     Prevenient Grace descending had removd     The stonie from thir hearts, and made new flesh     Regenerat grow instead, that sighs now breathd     Unutterable, which the Spirit of prayer     Inspird, and wingd for Heavn with speedier flight     Then loudest Oratorie: yet thir port     Not of mean suiters, nor important less     Seemd thir Petition, then when th ancient Pair     In Fables old, less ancient yet then these,     Deucalion and chaste Pyrrha to restore     The Race of Mankind drownd, before the Shrine     Of Themis stood devout. To Heavn thir prayers     Flew up, nor missed the way, by envious windes     Blown vagabond or frustrate: in they passd     Dimentionless through Heavnly dores; then clad     With incense, where the Golden Altar fumd,     By thir great Intercessor, came in sight     Before the Fathers Throne: Them the glad Son     Presenting, thus to intercede began.     See Father, what first fruits on Earth are sprung     From thy implanted Grace in Man, these Sighs     And Prayers, which in this Golden Censer, mixt     With Incense, I thy Priest before thee bring,     Fruits of more pleasing savour from thy seed     Sown with contrition in his heart, then those     Which his own hand manuring all the Trees     Of Paradise could have product, ere falln     From innocence. Now therefore bend thine eare     To supplication, heare his sighs though mute;     Unskilful with what words to pray, let mee     Interpret for him, mee his Advocate     And propitiation, all his works on mee     Good or not good ingraft, my Merit those     Shall perfet, and for these my Death shall pay.     Accept me, and in mee from these receave     The smell of peace toward Mankinde, let him live     Before thee reconcild, at least his days     Numberd, though sad, till Death, his doom (which I     To mitigate thus plead, not to reverse)     To better life shall yeeld him, where with mee     All my redeemd 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 unharmoneous mixture foule,     Eject him tainted now, and purge him off     As a distemper, gross to aire as gross,     And mortal food, as may dispose him best     For dissolution wrought by Sin, that first     Distemperd all things, and of incorrupt     Corrupted. I at first with two fair gifts     Created him endowd, with Happiness     And Immortalitie: that fondly lost,     This other servd but to eternize woe;     Till I provided Death; so Death becomes     His final remedie, and after Life     Trid in sharp tribulation, and refind     By Faith and faithful works, to second Life,     Wakt in the renovation of the just,     Resignes him up with Heavn and Earth renewd.     But let us call to Synod all the Blest     Through Heavns wide bounds; from them I will not hide     My judgments, how with Mankind I proceed,     As how with peccant Angels late they saw;     And in thir state, though firm, stood more confirmd.     He ended, and the Son gave signal high     To the bright Minister that watchd, hee blew     His Trumpet, heard in Oreb since perhaps     When God descended, and perhaps once more     To sound at general Doom. Th Angelic blast     Filld all the Regions: from thir blissful Bowrs     Of Amarantin Shade, Fountain or Spring,     By the waters of Life, where ere they sate     In fellowships of joy: the Sons of Light     Hasted, resorting to the Summons high,     And took thir Seats; till from his Throne supream     Th 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 sufficd him to have known     Good by it self, and Evil not at all.     He sorrows now, repents, and prayes contrite,     My motions in him, longer then they move,     His heart I know, how variable and vain     Self-left. Least therefore his now bolder hand     Reach also of the Tree of Life, and eat,     And live for ever, dream at least to live     Forever, to remove him I decree,     And send him from the Garden forth to Till     The Ground whence he was taken, fitter soile.     Michael, this my behest have thou in charge,     Take to thee from among the Cherubim     Thy choice of flaming Warriours, least the Fiend     Or in behalf of Man, or to invade     Vacant possession som new trouble raise:     Hast thee, and from the Paradise of God     Without remorse drive out the sinful Pair,     From hallowd ground th unholie, and denounce     To them and to thir Progenie from thence     Perpetual banishment. Yet least they faint     At the sad Sentence rigorously urgd,     For I behold them softnd and with tears     Bewailing thir excess, all terror hide.     If patiently thy bidding they obey,     Dismiss them not disconsolate; reveale     To Adam what shall come in future dayes,     As I shall thee enlighten, intermix     My Covnant in the Womans seed renewd;     So send them forth, though sorrowing, yet in peace:     And on the East side of the Garden place,     Where entrance up from Eden easiest climbes,     Cherubic watch, and of a Sword the flame     Wide waving, all approach farr off to fright,     And guard all passage to the Tree of Life:     Least Paradise a receptacle prove     To Spirits foule, and all my Trees thir prey,     With whose stoln Fruit Man once more to delude.     He ceasd; and th Archangelic Power prepard     For swift descent, with him the Cohort bright     Of watchful Cherubim; four faces each     Had, like a double Janus, all thir shape     Spangld with eyes more numerous then those     Of Argus, and more wakeful then to drouze,     Charmd with Arcadian Pipe, the Pastoral Reed     Of Hermes, or his opiate Rod. Meanwhile     To resalute the World with sacred Light     Leucothea wakd, and with fresh dews imbalmd     The Earth, when Adam and first Matron Eve     Had ended now thir Orisons, and found,     Strength added from above, new hope to spring     Out of despaire, joy, but with fear yet linkt;     Which thus to Eve his welcome words renewd.     Eve, easily may Faith admit, that all     The good which we enjoy, from Heavn descends     But that from us ought should ascend to Heavn     So prevalent as to concerne 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 humane breath, up-borne     Evn to the Seat of God. For since I saught     By Prayer th offended Deitie to appease,     Kneeld and before him humbld all my heart,     Methought I saw him placable and mild,     Bending his eare; perswasion in me grew     That I was heard with favour; peace returnd     Home to my brest, and to my memorie     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 Haile to thee,     Eve rightly calld, 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 meek.     Ill worthie I such title should belong     To me transgressour, who for thee ordaind     A help, became thy snare; to mee reproach     Rather belongs, distrust and all dispraise:     But infinite in pardon was my Judge,     That I who first brought Death on all, am gract     The sourse of life; next favourable thou,     Who highly thus to entitle me voutsaft,     Farr other name deserving. But the Field     To labour calls us now with sweat imposd,     Though after sleepless Night; for see the Morn,     All unconcernd with our unrest, begins     Her rosie progress smiling; let us forth,     I never from thy side henceforth to stray,     Wherere our days work lies, though now enjoind     Laborious, till day droop; while here we dwell,     What can be toilsom in these pleasant Walkes?     Here let us live, though in falln state, content.     So spake, so wishd much-humbld Eve, but Fate     Subscribd not; Nature first gave Signs, imprest     On Bird, Beast, Aire, Aire suddenly eclipsd     After short blush of Morn; nigh in her sight     The Bird of Jove, stoopt from his aerie tour,     Two Birds of gayest plume before him drove:     Down from a Hill the Beast that reigns in Woods,     First Hunter then, pursud a gentle brace,     Goodliest of all the Forrest, Hart and Hinde;     Direct to th Eastern Gate was bent thir flight.     Adam observd, and with his Eye the chase     Pursuing, not unmovd to Eve thus spake.     O Eve, some furder change awaits us nigh,     Which Heavn by these mute signs in Nature shews     Forerunners of his purpose, or to warn     Us haply too secure of our discharge     From penaltie, because from death releast     Some days; how long, and what till then our life,     Who knows, or more then this, that we are dust,     And thither must return and be no more.     Why else this double object in our sight     Of flight pursud in th Air and ore the ground     One way the self-same hour? why in the East     Darkness ere Dayes mid-course, and Morning light     More orient in yon Western Cloud that draws     Ore the blew Firmament a radiant white,     And slow descends, with somthing heavnly fraught.     He errd not, for by this the heavnly Bands     Down from a Skie of Jasper lighted now     In Paradise, and on a Hill made alt,     A glorious Apparition, had not doubt     And carnal fear that day dimmd Adams eye.     Not that more glorious, when the Angels met     Jacob in Mahanaim, where he saw     The field Paviliond with his Guardians bright;     Nor that which on the flaming Mount appeerd     In Dothan, coverd with a Camp of Fire,     Against the Syrian King, who to surprize     One man, Assassin-like had levied Warr,     Warr unproclamd. The Princely Hierarch     In thir bright stand, there left his Powers to seise     Possession of the Garden; hee alone,     To finde where Adam shelterd, took his way,     Not unperceavd of Adam, who to Eve,     While the great Visitant approachd, thus spake.     Eve, now expect great tidings, which perhaps     Of us will soon determin, or impose     New Laws to be observd; for I descrie     From yonder blazing Cloud that veils the Hill     One of the heavnly Host, and by his Gate     None of the meanest, some great Potentate     Or of the Thrones above, such Majestie     Invests him coming; yet not terrible,     That I should fear, nor sociably mild,     As Raphael, that I should much confide,     But solemn and sublime, whom not to offend,     With reverence I must meet, and thou retire.     He ended; and th Arch-Angel soon drew nigh,     Not in his shape Celestial, but as Man     Clad to meet Man; over his lucid Armes     A militarie Vest of purple flowd     Livelier then Meliboean, or the graine     Of Sarra, worn by Kings and Heros old     In time of Truce; Iris had dipt the wooff;     His starrie Helme unbuckld shewd him prime     In Manhood where Youth ended; by his side     As in a glistering Zodiac hung the Sword,     Satans dire dread, and in his hand the Spear.     Adam bowd low, hee Kingly from his State     Inclind not, but his coming thus declard.     Adam, Heavns high behest no Preface needs:     Sufficient that thy Prayers are heard, and Death,     Then due by sentence when thou didst transgress,     Defeated of his seisure many dayes     Givn thee of Grace, wherein thou mayst repent,     And one bad act with many deeds well done     Mayst cover: well may then thy Lord appeasd     Redeem thee quite from Deaths rapacious claimes;     But longer in this Paradise to dwell     Permits not; to remove thee I am come,     And send thee from the Garden forth to till     The ground whence thou wast takn, fitter Soile.     He added not, for Adam at the newes     Heart-strook with chilling gripe of sorrow stood,     That all his senses bound; Eve, who unseen     Yet all had heard, with audible lament     Discoverd soon the place of her retire.     O unexpected stroke, worse then of Death!     Must I thus leave thee Paradise? thus leave     Thee Native Soile, these happie Walks and Shades,     Fit haunt of Gods? where I had hope to spend,     Quiet though sad, the respit of that day     That must be mortal to us both. O flours,     That never will in other Climate grow,     My early visitation, and my last     At Eevn, which I bred up with tender hand     From the first opning bud, and gave ye Names,     Who now shall reare ye to the Sun, or ranke     Your Tribes, and water from th ambrosial Fount?     Thee lastly nuptial Bowre, by mee adornd     With what to sight or smell was sweet; from thee     How shall I part, and whither wander down     Into a lower World, to this obscure     And wilde, how shall we breath in other Aire     Less pure, accustomd to immortal Fruits?     Whom thus the Angel interrupted milde.     Lament not Eve, but patiently resigne     What justly thou hast lost; nor set thy heart,     Thus over fond, on that which is not thine;     Thy going is not lonely, with thee goes     Thy Husband, him to follow thou art bound;     Where he abides, think there thy native soile.     Adam by this from the cold sudden damp     Recovering, and his scatterd spirits returnd,     To Michael thus his humble words addressd.     Celestial, whether among the Thrones, or namd     Of them the Highest, for such of shape may seem     Prince above Princes, gently hast thou tould     Thy message, which might else in telling wound,     And in performing end us; what besides     Of sorrow and dejection and despair     Our frailtie can sustain, thy tidings bring,     Departure from this happy place, our sweet     Recess, and onely consolation left     Familiar to our eyes, all places else     Inhospitable appeer and desolate,     Nor knowing us nor known: and if by prayer     Incessant I could hope to change the will     Of him who all things can, I would not cease     To wearie him with my assiduous cries:     But prayer against his absolute Decree     No more availes then breath against the winde,     Blown stifling back on him that breaths it forth:     Therefore to his great bidding I submit.     This most afflicts me, that departing hence,     As from his face I shall be hid, deprivd     His blessed countnance; here I could frequent,     With worship, place by place where he voutsafd     Presence Divine, and to my Sons relate;     On this Mount he appeerd, under this Tree     Stood visible, among these Pines his voice     I heard, here with him at this Fountain talkd:     So many grateful Altars I would reare     Of grassie Terfe, and pile up every Stone     Of lustre from the brook, in memorie,     Or monument to Ages, and thereon     Offer sweet smelling Gumms and Fruits and Flours:     In yonder nether World where shall I seek     His bright appearances, or footstep trace?     For though I fled him angrie, yet recalld     To life prolongd and promisd Race, I now     Gladly behold though but his utmost skirts     Of glory, and farr off his steps adore.     To whom thus Michael with regard benigne.     Adam, thou knowst Heavn his, and all the Earth     Not this Rock onely; his Omnipresence fills     Land, Sea, and Aire, and every kinde that lives,     Fomented by his virtual power and warmd:     All th Earth he gave thee to possess and rule,     No despicable gift; surmise not then     His presence to these narrow bounds confind     Of Paradise or Eden: this had been     Perhaps thy Capital Seate, from whence had spred     All generations, and had hither come     From all the ends of th Earth, to celebrate     And reverence thee thir great Progenitor.     But this preminence thou hast lost, brought down     To dwell on eeven ground now with thy Sons:     Yet doubt not but in Vallie and in Plaine     God is as here, and will be found alike     Present, and of his presence many a signe     Still following thee, still compassing thee round     With goodness and paternal Love, his Face     Express, and of his steps the track Divine.     Which that thou mayst beleeve, and be confirmd,     Ere thou from hence depart, know I am sent     To shew thee what shall come in future dayes     To thee and to thy Ofspring; good with bad     Expect to hear, supernal Grace contending     With sinfulness of Men; thereby to learn     True patience, and to temper joy with fear     And pious sorrow, equally enurd     By moderation either state to beare,     Prosperous or adverse: so shalt thou lead     Safest thy life, and best prepard endure     Thy mortal passage when it comes. Ascend     This Hill; let Eve (for I have drencht her eyes)     Here sleep below while thou to foresight wakst,     As once thou slepst, while Shee to life was formd.     To whom thus Adam gratefully replid.     Ascend, I follow thee, safe Guide, the path     Thou leadst me, and to the hand of Heavn submit,     However chastning, to the evil turne     My obvious breast, arming to overcom     By suffering, and earne rest from labour won,     If so I may attain. So both ascend     In the Visions of God: It was a Hill     Of Paradise the highest, from whose top     The Hemisphere of Earth in cleerest Ken     Stretcht out to amplest reach of prospect lay.     Not higher that Hill nor wider looking round,     Whereon for different cause the Tempter set     Our second Adam in the Wilderness,     To shew him all Earths Kingdomes and thir Glory.     His Eye might there command wherever stood     City of old or modern Fame, the Seat     Of mightiest Empire, from the destind Walls     Of Cambalu, seat of Cathaian Can     And Samarchand by Oxus, Temirs Throne,     To Paquin of Sinan Kings, and thence     To Agra and Lahor of great Mogul     Down to the golden Chersonese, or where     The Persian in Ecbatan sate, or since     In Hispahan, or where the Russian Ksar     In Mosco, or the Sultan in Bizance,     Turchestan-born; nor could his eye not ken     Th Empire of Negus to his utmost Port     Ercoco and the less Maritine Kings     Mombaza, and Quiloa, and Melind,     And Sofala thought Ophir, to the Realme     Of Congo, and Angola fardest South;     Or thence from Niger Flood to Atlas Mount     The Kingdoms of Almansor, Fez, and Sus,     Marocco and Algiers, and Tremisen;     On Europe thence, and where Rome was to sway     The World: in Spirit perhaps he also saw     Rich Mexico the seat of Motezume,     And Cusco in Peru, the richer seat     Of Atabalipa, and yet unspoild     Guiana, whose great Citie Geryons Sons     Call El Dorado: but to nobler sights     Michael from Adams eyes the Filme removd     Which that false Fruit that promisd clearer sight     Had bred; then purgd with Euphrasie and Rue     The visual Nerve, for he had much to see;     And from the Well of Life three drops instilld.     So deep the power of these Ingredients piercd,     Eevn to the inmost seat of mental sight,     That Adam now enforct to close his eyes,     Sunk down and all his Spirits became intranst:     But him the gentle Angel by the hand     Soon raisd, and his attention thus recalld.     Adam, now ope thine eyes, and first behold     Th effects which thy original crime hath wrought     In some to spring from thee, who never touchd     Th excepted Tree, nor with the Snake conspird,     Nor sinnd thy sin, yet from that sin derive     Corruption to bring forth more violent deeds.     His eyes he opnd, and beheld a field,     Part arable and tilth, whereon were Sheaves     New reapt, the other part sheep-walks and foulds;     Ith midst an Altar as the Land-mark stood     Rustic, of grassie sord; thither anon     A sweatie Reaper from his Tillage brought     First Fruits, the green Eare, and the yellow Sheaf,     Unculld, as came to hand; a Shepherd next     More meek came with the Firstlings of his Flock     Choicest and best; then sacrificing, laid     The Inwards and thir Fat, with Incense strewd,     On the cleft Wood, and all due Rites performd.     His Offring soon propitious Fire from Heavn     Consumd with nimble glance, and grateful steame;     The others not, for his was not sincere;     Whereat hee inlie ragd, and as they talkd,     Smote him into the Midriff with a stone     That beat out life; he fell, and deadly pale     Groand out his Soul with gushing bloud effusd.     Much at that sight was Adam in his heart     Dismaid, and thus in haste to th Angel crid.     O Teacher, some great mischief hath befalln     To that meek man, who well had sacrificd;     Is Pietie thus and pure Devotion paid?     T whom Michael thus, hee also movd, replid.     These two are Brethren, Adam, and to come     Out of thy loyns; th unjust the just hath slain,     For envie that his Brothers Offering found     From Heavn acceptance; but the bloodie Fact     Will be avengd, and th others Faith approvd     Loose no reward, though here thou see him die,     Rowling in dust and gore. To which our Sire.     Alas, both for the deed and for the cause!     But have I now seen Death? Is this the way     I must return to native dust? O sight     Of terrour, foul and ugly to behold,     Horrid to think, how horrible to feel!     To whom thus Michael. Death thou hast seen     In his first shape on man; but many shapes     Of Death, and many are the wayes that lead     To his grim Cave, all dismal; yet to sense     More terrible at th entrance then within.     Some, as thou sawst, by violent stroke shall die,     By Fire, Flood, Famin, by Intemperance more     In Meats and Drinks, which on the Earth shal bring     Diseases dire, of which a monstrous crew     Before thee shall appear; that thou mayst know     What miserie th inabstinence of Eve     Shall bring on men. Immediately a place     Before his eyes appeard, sad, noysom, dark,     A Lazar-house it seemd, wherein were laid     Numbers of all diseasd, all maladies     Of gastly Spasm, or racking torture, qualmes     Of heart-sick Agonie, all feavorous kinds,     Convulsions, Epilepsies, fierce Catarrhs,     Intestin Stone and Ulcer, Colic pangs,     Dropsies, and Asthmas, and Joint-racking Rheums.     Dire was the tossing, deep the groans, despair     Tended the sick busiest from Couch to Couch;     And over them triumphant Death his Dart     Shook, but delaid to strike, though oft invokt     With vows, as thir chief good, and final hope.     Sight so deform what heart of Rock could long     Drie-eyd behold? Adam could not, but wept,     Though not of Woman born; compassion quelld     His best of Man, and gave him up to tears     A space, till firmer thoughts restraind excess,     And scarce recovering words his plaint renewd.     O miserable Mankind, to what fall     Degraded, to what wretched state reservd?     Better end heer unborn. Why is life givn     To be thus wrested from us? rather why     Obtruded on us thus? who if we knew     What we receive, would either not accept     Life offerd, or soon beg to lay it down,     Glad to be so dismist in peace. Can thus     Th Image of God in man created once     So goodly and erect, though faultie since,     To such unsightly sufferings be debast     Under inhuman pains? Why should not Man,     Retaining still Divine similitude     In part, from such deformities be free,     And for his Makers Image sake exempt?     Thir Makers Image, answerd Michael, then     Forsook them, when themselves they villifid     To serve ungovernd appetite, and took     His Image whom they servd, a brutish vice,     Inductive mainly to the sin of Eve.     Therefore so abject is thir punishment,     Disfiguring not Gods likeness, but thir own,     Or if his likeness, by themselves defact     While they pervert pure Natures healthful rules     To loathsom sickness, worthily, since they     Gods Image did not reverence in themselves.     I yeild it just, said Adam, and submit.     But is there yet no other way, besides     These painful passages, how we may come     To Death, and mix with our connatural dust?     There is, said Michael, if thou well observe     The rule of not too much, by temperance taught     In what thou eatst and drinkst, seeking from thence     Due nourishment, not gluttonous delight,     Till many years over thy head return:     So maist thou live, till like ripe Fruit thou drop     Into thy Mothers lap, or be with ease     Gatherd, not harshly pluckt, for death mature:     This is old age; but then thou must outlive     Thy youth, thy strength, thy beauty, which will change     To witherd weak and gray; thy Senses then     Obtuse, all taste of pleasure must forgoe,     To what thou hast, and for the Aire of youth     Hopeful and cheerful, in thy blood will reigne     A melancholly damp of cold and dry     To waigh thy spirits down, and last consume     The Balme of Life. To whom our Ancestor.     Henceforth I flie not Death, nor would prolong     Life much, bent rather how I may be quit     Fairest and easiest of this combrous charge,     Which I must keep till my appointed day     Of rendring up. Michael to him replid.     Nor love thy Life, nor hate; but what thou livst     Live well, how long or short permit to Heavn:     And now prepare thee for another sight.     He lookd and saw a spacious Plaine, whereon     Were Tents of various hue; by some were herds     Of Cattel grazing: others, whence the sound     Of Instruments that made melodious chime     Was heard, of Harp and Organ; and who moovd     Thir stops and chords was seen: his volant touch     Instinct through all proportions low and high     Fled and pursud transverse the resonant fugue.     In other part stood one who at the Forge     Labouring, two massie clods of Iron and Brass     Had melted (whether found where casual fire     Had wasted woods on Mountain or in Vale,     Down to the veins of Earth, thence gliding hot     To som Caves mouth, or whether washt by stream     From underground) the liquid Ore he dreind     Into fit moulds prepard; from which he formd     First his own Tooles; then, what might else be wrought     Fulfil or gravn in mettle. After these,     But on the hether side a different sort     From the high neighbouring Hills, which was thir Seat,     Down to the Plain descended: by thir guise     Just men they seemd, and all thir study bent     To worship God aright, and know his works     Not hid, nor those things lost which might preserve     Freedom and Peace to men: they on the Plain     Long had not walkt, when from the Tents behold     A Beavie of fair Women, richly gay     In Gems and wanton dress; to the Harp they sung     Soft amorous Ditties, and in dance came on:     The Men though grave, eyd them, and let thir eyes     Rove without rein, till in the amorous Net     Fast caught, they likd, and each his liking chose;     And now of love they treat till th Eevning Star     Loves Harbinger appeerd; then all in heat     They light the Nuptial Torch, and bid invoke     Hymen, then first to marriage Rites invokt;     With Feast and Musick all the Tents resound.     Such happy interview and fair event     Of love and youth not lost, Songs, Garlands, Flours,     And charming Symphonies attachd the heart     Of Adam, soon enclind to admit delight,     The bent of Nature; which he thus expressd.     True opener of mine eyes, prime Angel blest,     Much better seems this Vision, and more hope     Of peaceful dayes portends, then those two past;     Those were of hate and death, or pain much worse,     Here Nature seems fulfilld in all her ends.     To whom thus Michael. Judg not what is best     By pleasure, though to Nature seeming meet,     Created, as thou art, to nobler end     Holie and pure, conformitie divine.     Those Tents thou sawst so pleasant, were the Tents     Of wickedness, wherein shall dwell his Race     Who slew his Brother; studious they appere     Of Arts that polish Life, Inventers rare,     Unmindful of thir Maker, though his Spirit     Taught them, but they his gifts acknowledgd none.     Yet they a beauteous ofspring shall beget;     For that fair femal Troop thou sawst, that seemd     Of Goddesses, so blithe, so smooth, so gay,     Yet empty of all good wherein consists     Womans domestic honour and chief praise;     Bred onely and completed to the taste     Of lustful apperence, to sing, to dance,     To dress, and troule the Tongue, and roule the Eye.     To these that sober Race of Men, whose lives     Religious titld them the Sons of God,     Shall yeild up all thir vertue, all thir fame     Ignobly, to the trains and to the smiles     Of these fair Atheists, and now swim in joy,     (Erelong to swim at larg) and laugh; for which     The world erelong a world of tears must weepe.     To whom thus Adam of short joy bereft.     O pittie and shame, that they who to live well     Enterd so faire, should turn aside to tread     Paths indirect, or in the mid way faint!     But still I see the tenor of Mans woe     Holds on the same, from Woman to begin.     From Mans effeminate slackness it begins,     Said th Angel, who should better hold his place     By wisdome, and superiour gifts receavd.     But now prepare thee for another Scene.     He lookd and saw wide Territorie spred     Before him, Towns, and rural works between,     Cities of Men with lofty Gates and Towrs,     Concours in Arms, fierce Faces threatning Warr,     Giants of mightie Bone, and bould emprise;     Part wield thir Arms, part courb the foaming Steed,     Single or in Array of Battel rangd     Both Horse and Foot, nor idely mustring stood;     One way a Band select from forage drives     A herd of Beeves, faire Oxen and faire Kine     From a fat Meddow ground; or fleecy Flock,     Ewes and thir bleating Lambs over the Plaine,     Thir Bootie; scarce with Life the Shepherds flye,     But call in aide, which tacks a bloody Fray;     With cruel Tournament the Squadrons joine;     Where Cattel pasturd late, now scatterd lies     With Carcasses and Arms th ensanguind Field     Deserted: Others to a Citie strong     Lay Siege, encampt; by Batterie, Scale, and Mine,     Assaulting; others from the Wall defend     With Dart and Javlin, Stones and sulfurous Fire;     On each hand slaughter and gigantic deeds.     In other part the scepterd Haralds call     To Council in the Citie Gates: anon     Grey-headed men and grave, with Warriours mixt,     Assemble, and Harangues are heard, but soon     In factious opposition, till at last     Of middle Age one rising, eminent     In wise deport, spake much of Right and Wrong,     Of Justice, of Religion, Truth and Peace,     And Judgement from above: him old and young     Exploded, and had seizd with violent hands,     Had not a Cloud descending snatchd him thence     Unseen amid the throng: so violence     Proceeded, and Oppression, and Sword-Law     Through all the Plain, and refuge none was found.     Adam was all in tears, and to his guide     Lamenting turnd full sad; O what are these,     Deaths Ministers, not Men, who thus deal Death     Inhumanly to men, and multiply     Ten thousand fould the sin of him who slew     His Brother; for of whom such massacher     Make they but of thir Brethren, men of men?     But who was that Just Man, whom had not Heavn     Rescud, had in his Righteousness bin lost?     To whom thus Michael; These are the product     Of those ill-mated Marriages thou sawst;     Where good with bad were matcht, who of themselves     Abhor to joyn; and by imprudence mixt,     Produce prodigious Births of bodie or mind.     Such were these Giants, men of high renown;     For in those dayes Might onely shall be admird,     And Valour and Heroic Vertu calld;     To overcome in Battel, and subdue     Nations, and bring home spoils with infinite     Man-slaughter, shall be held the highest pitch     Of human Glorie, and for Glorie done     Of triumph, to be styld great Conquerours,     Patrons of Mankind, Gods, and Sons of Gods,     Destroyers rightlier calld and Plagues of men.     Thus Fame shall be achievd, renown on Earth,     And what most merits fame in silence hid.     But hee the seventh from thee, whom thou beheldst     The onely righteous in a World perverse,     And therefore hated, therefore so beset     With Foes for daring single to be just,     And utter odious Truth, that God would come     To judge them with his Saints: Him the most High     Rapt in a balmie Cloud with winged Steeds     Did, as thou sawst, receave, to walk with God     High in Salvation and the Climes of bliss,     Exempt from Death; to shew thee what reward     Awaits the good, the rest what punishment;     Which now direct thine eyes and soon behold.     He lookd, and saw the face of things quite changd;     The brazen Throat of Warr had ceast to roar,     All now was turnd to jollitie and game,     To luxurie and riot, feast and dance,     Marrying or prostituting, as befell,     Rape or Adulterie, where passing faire     Allurd them; thence from Cups to civil Broiles.     At length a Reverend Sire among them came,     And of thir doings great dislike declard,     And testifid against thir wayes; hee oft     Frequented thir Assemblies, whereso met,     Triumphs or Festivals, and to them preachd     Conversion and Repentance, as to Souls     In prison under Judgements imminent:     But all in vain: which when he saw, he ceasd     Contending, and removd his Tents farr off;     Then from the Mountain hewing Timber tall,     Began to build a Vessel of huge bulk,     Measurd by Cubit, length, and breadth, and highth,     Smeard round with Pitch, and in the side a dore     Contrivd, and of provisions laid in large     For Man and Beast: when loe a wonder strange!     Of everie Beast, and Bird, and Insect small     Came seavens, and pairs, and enterd in, as taught     Thir order; last the Sire, and his three Sons     With thir four Wives, and God made fast the dore.     Meanwhile the Southwind rose, and with black wings     Wide hovering, all the Clouds together drove     From under Heavn; the Hills to their supplie     Vapour, and Exhalation dusk and moist,     Sent up amain; and now the thicknd Skie     Like a dark Ceeling stood; down rushd the Rain     Impetuous, and continud till the Earth     No more was seen; the floating Vessel swum     Uplifted; and secure with beaked prow     Rode tilting ore the Waves, all dwellings else     Flood overwhelmd, and them with all thir pomp     Deep under water rould; Sea coverd Sea,     Sea without shoar; and in thir Palaces     Where luxurie late reignd, Sea-monsters whelpd     And stabld; of Mankind, so numerous late,     All left, in one small bottom swum imbarkt.     How didst thou grieve then, Adam, to behold     The end of all thy Ofspring, end so sad,     Depopulation; thee another Floud,     Of tears and sorrow a Floud thee also drownd,     And sunk thee as thy Sons; till gently reard     By th Angel, on thy feet thou stoodst at last,     Though comfortless, as when a Father mourns     His Childern, all in view destroyd at once;     And scarce to th Angel utterdst thus thy plaint.     O Visions ill foreseen! better had I     Livd ignorant of future, so had borne     My part of evil onely, each dayes lot     Anough to bear; those now, that were dispenst     The burdn of many Ages, on me light     At once, by my foreknowledge gaining Birth     Abortive, to torment me ere thir being,     With thought that they must be. Let no man seek     Henceforth to be foretold what shall befall     Him or his Childern, evil he may be sure,     Which neither his foreknowing can prevent,     And hee the future evil shall no less     In apprehension then in substance feel     Grievous to bear: but that care now is past,     Man is not whom to warne: those few escapt     Famin and anguish will at last consume     Wandring that watrie Desert: I had hope     When violence was ceast, and Warr on Earth,     All would have then gon well, peace would have crownd     With length of happy days the race of man;     But I was farr deceavd; for now I see     Peace to corrupt no less then Warr to waste.     How comes it thus? unfould, Celestial Guide,     And whether here the Race of man will end.     To whom thus Michael. Those whom last thou sawst     In triumph and luxurious wealth, are they     First seen in acts of prowess eminent     And great exploits, but of true vertu void;     Who having spilt much blood, and don much waste     Subduing Nations, and achievd thereby     Fame in the World, high titles, and rich prey,     Shall change thir course to pleasure, ease, and sloth,     Surfet, and lust, till wantonness and pride     Raise out of friendship hostil deeds in Peace.     The conquerd also, and enslavd by Warr     Shall with thir freedom lost all vertu loose     And feare of God, from whom thir pietie feignd     In sharp contest of Battel found no aide     Against invaders; therefore coold in zeale     Thenceforth shall practice how to live secure,     Worldlie or dissolute, on what thir Lords     Shall leave them to enjoy; for th Earth shall bear     More then anough, that temperance may be trid:     So all shall turn degenerate, all depravd,     Justice and Temperance, Truth and Faith forgot;     One Man except, the onely Son of light     In a dark Age, against example good,     Against allurement, custom, and a World     Offended; fearless of reproach and scorn,     Or violence, hee of thir wicked wayes     Shall them admonish, and before them set     The paths of righteousness, how much more safe,     And full of peace, denouncing wrauth to come     On thir impenitence; and shall returne     Of them derided, but of God observd     The one just Man alive; by his command     Shall build a wondrous Ark, as thou beheldst,     To save himself and houshold from amidst     A World devote to universal rack.     No sooner hee with them of Man and Beast     Select for life shall in the Ark be lodgd,     And shelterd round, but all the Cataracts     Of Heavn set open on the Earth shall powre     Raine day and night, all fountaines of the Deep     Broke up, shall heave the Ocean to usurp     Beyond all bounds, till inundation rise     Above the highest Hills: then shall this Mount     Of Paradise by might of Waves be moovd     Out of his place, pushd by the horned floud,     With all his verdure spoild, and Trees adrift     Down the great River to the opning Gulf,     And there take root an Iland salt and bare,     The haunt of Seales and Orcs, and Sea-mews clang.     To teach thee that God attributes to place     No sanctitie, if none be thither brought     By Men who there frequent, or therein dwell.     And now what further shall ensue, behold.     He lookd, and saw the Ark hull on the floud,     Which now abated, for the Clouds were fled,     Drivn by a keen North-winde, that blowing drie     Wrinkld the face of Deluge, as decaid;     And the cleer Sun on his wide watrie Glass     Gazd hot, and of the fresh Wave largely drew,     As after thirst, which made thir flowing shrink     From standing lake to tripping ebbe, that stole     With soft foot towards the deep, who now had stopt     His Sluces, as the Heavn his windows shut.     The Ark no more now flotes, but seems on ground     Fast on the top of som high mountain fixt.     And now the tops of Hills as Rocks appeer;     With clamor thence the rapid Currents drive     Towards the retreating Sea thir furious tyde.     Forthwith from out the Arke a Raven flies,     And after him, the surer messenger,     A Dove sent forth once and agen to spie     Green Tree or ground whereon his foot may light;     The second time returning, in his Bill     An Olive leafe he brings, pacific signe:     Anon drie ground appeers, and from his Arke     The ancient Sire descends with all his Train;     Then with uplifted hands, and eyes devout,     Grateful to Heavn, over his head beholds     A dewie Cloud, and in the Cloud a Bow     Conspicuous with three lifted colours gay,     Betokning peace from God, and Covnant new.     Whereat the heart of Adam erst so sad     Greatly rejoycd, and thus his joy broke forth.     O thou that future things canst represent     As present, Heavnly instructer, I revive     At this last sight, assurd that Man shall live     With all the Creatures, and thir seed preserve.     Farr less I now lament for one whole World     Of wicked Sons destroyd, then I rejoyce     For one Man found so perfet and so just,     That God voutsafes to raise another World     From him, and all his anger to forget.     But say, what mean those colourd streaks in Heavn,     Distended as the Brow of God appeasd,     Or serve they as a flourie verge to binde     The fluid skirts of that same watrie Cloud,     Least it again dissolve and showr the Earth?     To whom th Archangel. Dextrously thou aimst;     So willingly doth God remit his Ire,     Though late repenting him of Man depravd,     Grievd at his heart, when looking down he saw     The whole Earth filld with violence, and all flesh     Corrupting each thir way; yet those remoovd,     Such grace shall one just Man find in his sight,     That he relents, not to blot out mankind,     And makes a Covenant never to destroy     The Earth again by flood, nor let the Sea     Surpass his bounds, nor Rain to drown the World     With Man therein or Beast; but when he brings     Over the Earth a Cloud, will therein set     His triple-colourd Bow, whereon to look     And call to mind his Covnant: Day and Night,     Seed time and Harvest, Heat and hoary Frost     Shall hold thir course, till fire purge all things new,     Both Heavn and Earth, wherein the just shall dwell.     Thus thou hast seen one World begin and end;     And Man as from a second stock proceed.     Much thou hast yet to see, but I perceave     Thy mortal sight to faile; objects divine     Must needs impaire and wearie human sense:     Henceforth what is to com I will relate,     Thou therefore give due audience, and attend.     This second sours of Men, while yet but few,     And while the dread of judgement past remains     Fresh in thir mindes, fearing the Deitie,     With some regard to what is just and right     Shall lead thir lives, and multiplie apace,     Labouring the soile, and reaping plenteous crop,     Corn wine and oyle; and from the herd or flock,     Oft sacrificing Bullock, Lamb, or Kid,     With large Wine-offerings pourd, and sacred Feast     Shal spend thir dayes in joy unblamd, and dwell     Long time in peace by Families and Tribes     Under paternal rule; till one shall rise     Of proud ambitious heart, who not content     With fair equalitie, fraternal state,     Will arrogate Dominion undeservd     Over his brethren, and quite dispossess     Concord and law of Nature from the Earth;     Hunting (and Men not Beasts shall be his game)     With Warr and hostile snare such as refuse     Subjection to his Empire tyrannous:     A mightie Hunter thence he shall be styld     Before the Lord, as in despite of Heavn,     Or from Heavn claming second Sovrantie;     And from Rebellion shall derive his name,     Though of Rebellion others he accuse.     Hee with a crew, whom like Ambition joyns     With him or under him to tyrannize,     Marching from Eden towards the West, shall finde     The Plain, wherein a black bituminous gurge     Boiles out from under ground, the mouth of Hell;     Of Brick, and of that stuff they cast to build     A Citie and Towre, whose top may reach to Heavn;     And get themselves a name, least far disperst     In foraign Lands thir memorie be lost,     Regardless whether good or evil fame.     But God who oft descends to visit men     Unseen, and through thir habitations walks     To mark thir doings, them beholding soon,     Comes down to see thir Citie, ere the Tower     Obstruct Heavn Towrs, and in derision sets     Upon thir Tongues a various Spirit to rase     Quite out thir Native Language, and instead     To sow a jangling noise of words unknown:     Forthwith a hideous gabble rises loud     Among the Builders; each to other calls     Not understood, till hoarse, and all in rage,     As mockt they storm; great laughter was in Heavn     And looking down, to see the hubbub strange     And hear the din; thus was the building left     Ridiculous, and the work Confusion namd.     Whereto thus Adam fatherly displeasd.     O execrable Son so to aspire     Above his Brethren, to himself affirming     Authoritie usurpt, from God not givn:     He gave us onely over Beast, Fish, Fowl     Dominion absolute; that right we hold     By his donation; but Man over men     He made not Lord; such title to himself     Reserving, human left from human free.     But this Usurper his encroachment proud     Stayes not on Man; to God his Tower intends     Siege and defiance: Wretched man! what food     Will he convey up thither to sustain     Himself and his rash Armie, where thin Aire     Above the Clouds will pine his entrails gross,     And famish him of Breath, if not of Bread?     To whom thus Michael. Justly thou abhorrst     That Son, who on the quiet state of men     Such trouble brought, affecting to subdue     Rational Libertie; yet know withall,     Since thy original lapse, true Libertie     Is lost, which alwayes with right Reason dwells     Twinnd, and from her hath no dividual being:     Reason in man obscurd, or not obeyd,     Immediately inordinate desires     And upstart Passions catch the Government     From Reason, and to servitude reduce     Man till then free. Therefore since hee permits     Within himself unworthie Powers to reign     Over free Reason, God in Judgement just     Subjects him from without to violent Lords;     Who oft as undeservedly enthrall     His outward freedom: Tyrannie must be,     Though to the Tyrant thereby no excuse.     Yet somtimes Nations will decline so low     From vertue, which is reason, that no wrong,     But Justice, and some fatal curse annext     Deprives them of thir outward libertie,     Thir inward lost: Witness th irreverent Son     Of him who built the Ark, who for the shame     Don to his Father, heard this heavie curse,     Servant of Servants, on his vitious Race.     Thus will this latter, as the former World,     Still tend from bad to worse, till God at last     Wearied with their iniquities, withdraw     His presence from among them, and avert     His holy Eyes; resolving from thenceforth     To leave them to thir own polluted wayes;     And one peculiar Nation to select     From all the rest, of whom to be invokd,     A Nation from one faithful man to spring:     Him on this side Euphrates yet residing,     Bred up in Idol-worship; O that men     (Canst thou believe?) should be so stupid grown,     While yet the Patriark livd, who scapd the Flood,     As to forsake the living God, and fall     To-worship thir own work in Wood and Stone     For Gods! yet him God the most High voutsafes     To call by Vision from his Fathers house,     His kindred and false Gods, into a Land     Which he will shew him, and from him will raise     A mightie Nation, and upon him showre     His benediction so, that in his Seed     All Nations shall be blest; hee straight obeys,     Not knowing to what Land, yet firm believes:     I see him, but thou canst not, with what Faith     He leaves his Gods, his Friends, and native Soile     Ur of Chaldaea, passing now the Ford     To Haran, after him a cumbrous Train     Of Herds and Flocks, and numerous servitude;     Not wandring poor, but trusting all his wealth     With God, who calld him, in a land unknown.     Canaan he now attains, I see his Tents     Pitcht about Sechem, and the neighbouring Plaine     Of Moreb; there by promise he receaves     Gift to his Progenie of all that Land;     From Hamath Northward to the Desert South     (Things by thir names I call, though yet unnamd)     From Hermon East to the great Western Sea,     Mount Hermon, yonder Sea, each place behold     In prospect, as I point them; on the shoare     Mount Carmel; here the double-founted stream     Jordan, true limit Eastward; but his Sons     Shall dwell to Senir, that long ridge of Hills.     This ponder, that all Nations of the Earth     Shall in his Seed be blessed; by that Seed     Is meant thy great deliverer, who shall bruise     The Serpents head; whereof to thee anon     Plainlier shall be reveald. This Patriarch blest,     Whom Faithful Abraham due time shall call,     A Son, and of his Son a Grand-childe leaves,     Like him in faith, in wisdom, and renown;     The Grandchilde with twelve Sons increast, departs     From Canaan, to a Land hereafter calld     Egypt, divided by the River Nile;     See where it flows, disgorging at seaven mouthes     Into the Sea: to sojourn in that Land     He comes invited by a yonger Son     In time of dearth, a Son whose worthy deeds     Raise him to be the second in that Realme     Of Pharao: there he dies, and leaves his Race     Growing into a Nation, and now grown     Suspected to a sequent King, who seeks     To stop thir overgrowth, as inmate guests     Too numerous; whence of guests he makes them slaves     Inhospitably, and kills thir infant Males:     Till by two brethren (those two brethren call     Moses and Aaron) sent from God to claime     His people from enthralment, they return     With glory and spoile back to thir promisd Land.     But first the lawless Tyrant, who denies     To know thir God, or message to regard,     Must be compelld by Signes and Judgements dire;     To blood unshed the Rivers must be turnd,     Frogs, Lice and Flies must all his Palace fill     With loathd intrusion, and fill all the land;     His Cattel must of Rot and Murren die,     Botches and blaines must all his flesh imboss,     And all his people; Thunder mixt with Haile,     Haile mixt with fire must rend th Egyptian Skie     And wheel on th Earth, devouring where it rouls;     What it devours not, Herb, or Fruit, or Graine,     A darksom Cloud of Locusts swarming down     Must eat, and on the ground leave nothing green:     Darkness must overshadow all his bounds,     Palpable darkness, and blot out three dayes;     Last with one midnight stroke all the first-born     Of Egypt must lie dead. Thus with ten wounds     This River-dragon tamd at length submits     To let his sojourners depart, and oft     Humbles his stubborn heart, but still as Ice     More hardnd after thaw, till in his rage     Pursuing whom he late dismissd, the Sea     Swallows him with his Host, but them lets pass     As on drie land between two christal walls,     Awd by the rod of Moses so to stand     Divided, till his rescud gain thir shoar:     Such wondrous power God to his Saint will lend,     Though present in his Angel, who shall goe     Before them in a Cloud, and Pillar of Fire,     To guide them in thir journey, and remove     Behinde them, while th obdurat King pursues:     All night he will pursue, but his approach     Darkness defends between till morning Watch;     Then through the Firey Pillar and the Cloud     God looking forth will trouble all his Host     And craze thir Chariot wheels: when by command     Moses once more his potent Rod extends     Over the Sea; the Sea his Rod obeys;     On thir imbattelld ranks the Waves return,     And overwhelm thir Warr: the Race elect     Safe towards Canaan from the shoar advance     Through the wilde Desert, not the readiest way,     Least entring on the Canaanite allarmd     Warr terrifie them inexpert, and feare     Return them back to Egypt, choosing rather     Inglorious life with servitude; for life     To noble and ignoble is more sweet     Untraind in Armes, where rashness leads not on.     This also shall they gain by thir delay     In the wide Wilderness, there they shall found     Thir government, and thir great Senate choose     Through the twelve Tribes, to rule by Laws ordaind:     God from the Mount of Sinai, whose gray top     Shall tremble, he descending, will himself     In Thunder Lightning and loud Trumpets sound     Ordaine them Lawes; part such as appertaine     To civil Justice, part religious Rites     Of sacrifice, informing them, by types     And shadowes, of that destind Seed to bruise     The Serpent, by what meanes he shall achieve     Mankinds deliverance. But the voice of God     To mortal eare is dreadful; they beseech     That Moses might report to them his will,     And terror cease; he grants them thir desire,     Instructed that to God is no access     Without Mediator, whose high Office now     Moses in figure beares, to introduce     One greater, of whose day he shall foretell,     And all the Prophets in thir Age the times     Of great Messiah shall sing. Thus Laws and Rites     Establisht, such delight hath God in Men     Obedient to his will, that he voutsafes     Among them to set up his Tabernacle,     The holy One with mortal Men to dwell:     By his prescript a Sanctuary is framd     Of Cedar, overlaid with Gold, therein     An Ark, and in the Ark his Testimony,     The Records of his Covnant, over these     A Mercie-seat of Gold between the wings     Of two bright Cherubim, before him burn     Seaven Lamps as in a Zodiac representing     The Heavnly fires; over the Tent a Cloud     Shall rest by Day, a fierie gleame by Night,     Save when they journie, and at length they come,     Conducted by his Angel to the Land     Promisd to Abraham and his Seed: the rest     Were long to tell, how many Battels fought,     How many Kings destroyd, and Kingdoms won,     Or how the Sun shall in mid Heavn stand still     A day entire, and Nights due course adjourne,     Mans voice commanding, Sun in Gibeon stand,     And thou Moon in the vale of Aialon,     Till Israel overcome; so call the third     From Abraham, Son of Isaac, and from him     His whole descent, who thus shall Canaan win.     Here Adam interposd. O sent from Heavn,     Enlightner of my darkness, gracious things     Thou hast reveald, those chiefly which concerne     Just Abraham and his Seed: now first I finde     Mine eyes true opning, and my heart much easd,     Erwhile perplext with thoughts what would becom     Of mee and all Mankind; but now I see     His day, in whom all Nations shall be blest,     Favour unmerited by me, who sought     Forbiddn knowledge by forbiddn means.     This yet I apprehend not, why to those     Among whom God will deigne to dwell on Earth     So many and so various Laws are givn;     So many Laws argue so many sins     Among them; how can God with such reside?     To whom thus Michael. Doubt not but that sin     Will reign among them, as of thee begot;     And therefore was Law given them to evince     Thir natural pravitie, by stirring up     Sin against Law to fight; that when they see     Law can discover sin, but not remove,     Save by those shadowie expiations weak,     The bloud of Bulls and Goats, they may conclude     Some bloud more precious must be paid for Man,     Just for unjust, that in such righteousness     To them by Faith imputed, they may finde     Justification towards God, and peace     Of Conscience, which the Law by Ceremonies     Cannot appease, nor Man the moral part     Perform, and not performing cannot live.     So Law appears imperfet, and but givn     With purpose to resign them in full time     Up to a better Covnant, disciplind     From shadowie Types to Truth, from Flesh to Spirit,     From imposition of strict Laws, to free     Acceptance of large Grace, from servil fear     To filial, works of Law to works of Faith.     And therefore shall not Moses, though of God     Highly belovd, being but the Minister     Of Law, his people into Canaan lead;     But Joshua whom the Gentiles Jesus call,     His Name and Office bearing, who shall quell     The adversarie Serpent, and bring back     Through the worlds wilderness long wanderd man     Safe to eternal Paradise of rest.     Meanwhile they in thir earthly Canaan plact     Long time shall dwell and prosper, but when sins     National interrupt thir public peace,     Provoking God to raise them enemies:     From whom as oft he saves them penitent     By Judges first, then under Kings; of whom     The second, both for pietie renownd     And puissant deeds, a promise shall receive     Irrevocable, that his Regal Throne     For ever shall endure; the like shall sing     All Prophecie, That of the Royal Stock     Of David (so I name this King) shall rise     A Son, the Womans Seed to thee foretold,     Foretold to Abraham, as in whom shall trust     All Nations, and to Kings foretold, of Kings     The last, for of his Reign shall be no end.     But first a long succession must ensue,     And his next Son for Wealth and Wisdom famd,     The clouded Ark of God till then in Tents     Wandring, shall in a glorious Temple enshrine.     Such follow him, as shall be registerd     Part good, part bad, of bad the longer scrowle,     Whose foul Idolatries, and other faults     Heapt to the popular summe, will so incense     God, as to leave them, and expose thir Land,     Thir Citie, his Temple, and his holy Ark     With all his sacred things, a scorn and prey     To that proud Citie, whose high Walls thou sawst     Left in confusion, Babylon thence calld.     There in captivitie he lets them dwell     The space of seventie years, then brings them back,     Remembring mercie, and his Covnant sworn     To David, stablisht as the dayes of Heavn.     Returnd from Babylon by leave of Kings     Thir Lords, whom God disposd, the house of God     They first re-edifie, and for a while     In mean estate live moderate, till grown     In wealth and multitude, factious they grow;     But first among the Priests dissension springs,     Men who attend the Altar, and should most     Endeavour Peace: thir strife pollution brings     Upon the Temple it self: at last they seise     The Scepter, and regard not Davids Sons,     Then loose it to a stranger, that the true     Anointed King Messiah might be born     Barrd of his right; yet at his Birth a Starr     Unseen before in Heavn proclaims him com,     And guides the Eastern Sages, who enquire     His place, to offer Incense, Myrrh, and Gold;     His place of birth a solemn Angel tells     To simple Shepherds, keeping watch by night;     They gladly thither haste, and by a Quire     Of squadrond Angels hear his Carol sung.     A Virgin is his Mother, but his Sire     The Power of the most High; he shall ascend     The Throne hereditarie, and bound his Reign     With earths wide bounds, his glory with the Heavns.     He ceasd, discerning Adam with such joy     Surchargd, as had like grief bin dewd in tears,     Without the vent of words, which these he breathd.     O Prophet of glad tidings, finisher     Of utmost hope! now clear I understand     What oft my steddiest thoughts have searcht in vain,     Why our great expectation should be calld     The seed of Woman: Virgin Mother, Haile,     High in the love of Heavn, yet from my Loynes     Thou shalt proceed, and from thy Womb the Son     Of God most High; So God with man unites.     Needs must the Serpent now his capital bruise     Expect with mortal paine: say where and when     Thir fight, what stroke shall bruise the Victors heel.     To whom thus Michael. Dream not of thir fight,     As of a Duel, or the local wounds     Of head or heel: not therefore joynes the Son     Manhood to God-head, with more strength to foil     Thy enemie; nor so is overcome     Satan, whose fall from Heavn, a deadlier bruise,     Disabld not to give thee thy deaths wound:     Which hee, who comes thy Saviour, shall recure,     Not by destroying Satan, but his works     In thee and in thy Seed: nor can this be,     But by fulfilling that which thou didst want,     Obedience to the Law of God, imposd     On penaltie of death, and suffering death,     The penaltie to thy transgression due,     And due to theirs which out of thine will grow:     So onely can high Justice rest appaid.     The Law of God exact he shall fulfill     Both by obedience and by love, though love     Alone fulfill the Law; thy punishment     He shall endure by coming in the Flesh     To a reproachful life and cursed death,     Proclaiming Life to all who shall believe     In his redemption, and that his obedience     Imputed becomes theirs by Faith, his merits     To save them, not thir own, though legal works.     For this he shall live hated, be blasphemd,     Seisd on by force, judgd, and to death condemnd     A shameful and accurst, naild to the Cross     By his own Nation, slaine for bringing Life;     But to the Cross he nailes thy Enemies,     The Law that is against thee, and the sins     Of all mankinde, with him there crucifid,     Never to hurt them more who rightly trust     In this his satisfaction; so he dies,     But soon revives, Death over him no power     Shall long usurp; ere the third dawning light     Returne, the Starres of Morn shall see him rise     Out of his grave, fresh as the dawning light,     Thy ransom paid, which Man from death redeems,     His death for Man, as many as offerd Life     Neglect not, and the benefit imbrace     By Faith not void of works: this God-like act     Annuls thy doom, the death thou shouldst have dyd,     In sin for ever lost from life; this act     Shall bruise the head of Satan, crush his strength     Defeating Sin and Death, his two maine armes,     And fix farr deeper in his head thir stings     Then temporal death shall bruise the Victors heel,     Or theirs whom he redeems, a death like sleep,     A gentle wafting to immortal Life.     Nor after resurrection shall he stay     Longer on Earth then certaine times to appeer     To his Disciples, Men who in his Life     Still followd him; to them shall leave in charge     To teach all nations what of him they learnd     And his Salvation, them who shall beleeve     Baptizing in the profluent streame, the signe     Of washing them from guilt of sin to Life     Pure, and in mind prepard, if so befall,     For death, like that which the redeemer dyd.     All Nations they shall teach; for from that day     Not onely to the Sons of Abrahams Loines     Salvation shall be Preacht, but to the Sons     Of Abrahams Faith wherever through the world;     So in his seed all Nations shall be blest.     Then to the Heavn of Heavns he shall ascend     With victory, triumphing through the aire     Over his foes and thine; there shall surprise     The Serpent, Prince of aire, and drag in Chaines     Through all his realme, and there confounded leave;     Then enter into glory, and resume     His Seat at Gods right hand, exalted high     Above all names in Heavn; and thence shall come,     When this worlds dissolution shall be ripe,     With glory and power to judge both quick and dead,     To judge th unfaithful dead, but to reward     His faithful, and receave them into bliss,     Whether in Heavn or Earth, for then the Earth     Shall all be Paradise, far happier place     Then this of Eden, and far happier daies.     So spake th Archangel Michael, then pausd,     As at the Worlds great period; and our Sire     Replete with joy and wonder thus replid.     O goodness infinite, goodness immense!     That all this good of evil shall produce,     And evil turn to good; more wonderful     Then that which by creation first brought forth     Light out of darkness! full of doubt I stand,     Whether I should repent me now of sin     By mee done and occasiond, or rejoyce     Much more, that much more good thereof shall spring,     To God more glory, more good will to Men     From God, and over wrauth grace shall abound.     But say, if our deliverer up to Heavn     Must reascend, what will betide the few     His faithful, left among th unfaithful herd,     The enemies of truth; who then shall guide     His people, who defend? will they not deale     Wors with his followers then with him they dealt?     Be sure they will, said th Angel; but from Heavn     Hee to his own a Comforter will send,     The promise of the Father, who shall dwell     His Spirit within them, and the Law of Faith     Working through love, upon thir hearts shall write,     To guide them in all truth, and also arme     With spiritual Armour, able to resist     Satans assaults, and quench his fierie darts     What Man can do against them, not affraid,     Though to the death, against such cruelties     With inward consolations recompenct,     And oft supported so as shall amaze     Thir proudest persecuters: for the Spirit     Powrd first on his Apostles, whom he sends     To evangelize the Nations, then on all     Baptizd, shall them with wondrous gifts endue     To speak all Tongues, and do all Miracles,     As did thir Lord before them. Thus they win     Great numbers of each Nation to receave     With joy the tidings brought from Heavn: at length     Thir Ministry performd, and race well run,     Thir doctrine and thir story written left,     They die; but in thir room, as they forewarne,     Wolves shall succeed for teachers, grievous Wolves,     Who all the sacred mysteries of Heavn     To thir own vile advantages shall turne     Of lucre and ambition, and the truth     With superstitions and traditions taint,     Left onely in those written Records pure,     Though not but by the Spirit understood.     Then shall they seek to avail themselves of names,     Places and titles, and with these to joine     Secular power, though feigning still to act     By spiritual, to themselves appropriating     The Spirit of God, promisd alike and givn     To all Beleevers; and from that pretense,     Spiritual Lawes by carnal power shall force     On every conscience; Laws which none shall finde     Left them inrould, or what the Spirit within     Shall on the heart engrave. What will they then     But force the Spirit of Grace it self, and binde     His consort Libertie; what, but unbuild     His living Temples, built by Faith to stand,     Thir own Faith not anothers: for on Earth     Who against Faith and Conscience can be heard     Infallible? yet many will presume:     Whence heavie persecution shall arise     On all who in the worship persevere     Of Spirit and Truth; the rest, farr greater part,     Will deem in outward Rites and specious formes     Religion satisfid; Truth shall retire     Bestuck with slandrous darts, and works of Faith     Rarely be found: so shall the World goe on,     To good malignant, to bad men benigne,     Under her own waight groaning, till the day     Appeer of respiration to the just,     And vengeance to the wicked, at return     Of him so lately promisd to thy aid,     The Womans seed, obscurely then foretold,     Now amplier known thy Saviour and thy Lord,     Last in the Clouds from Heavn to be reveald     In glory of the Father, to dissolve     Satan with his perverted World, then raise     From the conflagrant mass, purgd and refind,     New Heavns, new Earth, Ages of endless date     Founded in righteousness and peace and love,     To bring forth fruits Joy and eternal Bliss.     He ended; and thus Adam last replyd.     How soon hath thy prediction, Seer blest,     Measurd this transient World, the Race of time,     Till time stand fixt: beyond is all abyss,     Eternitie, whose end no eye can reach.     Greatly instructed I shall hence depart,     Greatly in peace of thought, and have my fill     Of knowledge, what this vessel can containe;     Beyond which was my folly to aspire.     Henceforth I learne, that to obey is best,     And love with feare the onely God, to walk     As in his presence, ever to observe     His providence, and on him sole depend,     Merciful over all his works, with good     Still overcoming evil, and by small     Accomplishing great things, by things deemd weak     Subverting worldly strong, and worldly wise     By simply meek; that suffering for Truths sake     Is fortitude to highest victorie,     And to the faithful Death the Gate of Life;     Taught this by his example whom I now     Acknowledge my Redeemer ever blest.     To whom thus also th Angel last replid:     This having learnt, thou hast attaind the summe     Of wisdom; hope no higher, though all the Starrs     Thou knewst by name, and all th ethereal Powers,     All secrets of the deep, all Natures works,     Or works of God in Heavn, Air, Earth, or Sea,     And all the riches of this World enjoydst,     And all the rule, one Empire; onely add     Deeds to thy knowledge answerable, add Faith,     Add Vertue, Patience, Temperance, add Love,     By name to come calld Charitie, the soul     Of all the rest: then wilt thou not be loath     To leave this Paradise, but shalt possess     A Paradise within thee, happier farr.     Let us descend now therefore from this top     Of Speculation; for the hour precise     Exacts our parting hence; and see the Guards,     By mee encampt on yonder Hill, expect     Thir motion, at whose Front a flaming Sword,     In signal of remove, waves fiercely round;     We may no longer stay: go, waken Eve;     Her also I with gentle Dreams have calmd     Portending good, and all her spirits composd     To meek submission: thou at season fit     Let her with thee partake what thou hast heard,     Chiefly what may concern her Faith to know,     The great deliverance by her Seed to come     (For by the Womans Seed) on all Mankind.     That ye may live, which will be many dayes,     Both in one Faith unanimous though sad,     With cause for evils past, yet much more cheerd     With meditation on the happie end.     He ended, and they both descend the Hill;     Descended, Adam to the Bowre where Eve     Lay sleeping ran before, but found her wakt;     And thus with words not sad she him receavd.     Whence thou returnst, and whither wentst, I know;     For God is also in sleep, and Dreams advise,     Which he hath sent propitious, some great good     Presaging, since with sorrow and hearts distress     Wearied I fell asleep: but now lead on;     In mee is no delay; with thee to goe,     Is to stay here; without thee here to stay,     Is to go hence unwilling; thou to mee     Art all things under Heavn, all places thou,     Who for my wilful crime art banisht hence.     This further consolation yet secure     I carry hence; though all by mee is lost,     Such favour I unworthie am voutsaft,     By mee the Promisd Seed shall all restore.     So spake our Mother Eve, and Adam heard     Well pleasd, but answerd not; for now too nigh     Th Archangel stood, and from the other Hill     To thir fixt Station, all in bright array     The Cherubim descended; on the ground     Gliding meteorous, as Evning Mist     Risn from a River ore the marish glides,     And gathers ground fast at the Labourers heel     Homeward returning. High in Front advanct,     The brandisht Sword of God before them blazd     Fierce as a Comet; which with torrid heat,     And vapour as the Libyan Air adust,     Began to parch that temperate Clime; whereat     In either hand the hastning Angel caught     Our lingring Parents, and to th Eastern Gate     Let them direct, and down the Cliff as fast     To the subjected Plaine; then disappeerd.     They looking back, all th Eastern side beheld     Of Paradise, so late thir happie seat,     Wavd over by that flaming Brand, the Gate     With dreadful Faces throngd and fierie Armes:     Som natural tears they dropd, but wipd them soon;     The World was all before them, where to choose     Thir place of rest, and Providence thir guide:     They hand in hand with wandring steps and slow,     Through Eden took thir solitarie way.