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 renew'd. But let us call to synod all the Bless'd
Through Heaven's wide bounds: from them I will not My judgments; how with mankind I proceed, As how with peccant Angels late they saw,
And in their state, though firm, stood more confirm'd. He ended, and the Son gave signal high To the bright minister that watch'd; he blew His trumpet, heard in Oreb since perhaps When God descended, and perhaps once more To sound at general doom. The angelic blast Fill'd 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 sov'reign 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, Michaël, 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 hallow'd 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 soften'd, and with tears 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 renew'd;
So send them forth, though sorrowing, yet in peace ; 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 pa sage to the tree of life : Lest Paradise a receptacle prove
To Spirits foul, and all my trees their prey :
With whose stolen fruit Man once more to delude. 125 He ceased; and the archangelic Power prepared 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 Of Argus, and more wakeful than to drowse, Charm'd with Arcadian pipe, the pastoral reed Of Hermes, or his opiate red. Meanwhile,
To resalute the world with sacred light,
Leucothea waked; and with fresh dews embalm'd 133 The earth; when Adam and first matron Eve Had ended now their orisons, and found
Strength added from above; new hope to spring Out of despair; joy, but with fear yet link'd ; Which thus to Eve his welcome words renew'd: Eve, easily may faith admit, that all
The good which we enjoy from Heaven descends; But, that from us aught should ascend to Heaven So prevalent as to concern the mind
Of God high-bless'd, or to incline his will, Hard to belief may seem; yet this will prayer Or one short sight of human breath, upborne Even to the seat of God. For since I sought By prayer the offended Deity to appease ; Kneel'd, and before him humbled all my heart; Methought I saw him placable and mild, Bending his ear; persuasion in me grew That I was heard with favour; peace return'd Home to my breast, and to my memory
His promise, that thy seed shall bruise our foe ; 155 Which, then not minded in dismay, yet now Assures me that the bitterness of death
Is pass'd, and we shall live. Whence hail to thee, Eve rightly call'd, mother of all mankind, Mother of all things living, since by "hee Man is to live; and all things live for Man.
To whom thus Eve with sad demeanour meek:
Ill worthy I such title should belong
To me transgressor; who, for thee ordain'd
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 vouchsafest, Far other name deserving. But the field
To labour calls us, now with sweat imposed, Though after sleepless night; for see! the morn, All unconcern'd 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 enjoin'd Laborious, till day droop; while here we dwell, What can be toilsome in these pleasant walks? Here let us live, though in fallen state, content. So spake, so wish'd much humbled Eve; but Fate Subscribed not: Nature first gave signs, impress'd On bird, beast, air; air suddenly eclipsed, After short blush of morn; nigh in her sight The bird of Jove, stoop'd 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
Some days: how long, and what till then our life, Who knows? or more than this, that we are dust, And thither must return, and be no more?
Why else this double object in our sight
Of flight pursued in the air, and o'er the ground, One way the selfsame hour? why in the east Darkness ere day's mid-course, and morning-light More orient in yon western cloud, that draws
O'er the blue firmament a radiant white,
And slow descends with something heavenly fraught ? He err'd not; for by this the heavenly bands Down from a sky of jasper lighted now
In Paradise, and on a hill made halt;
A glorious apparition, had not doubt
And carnal fear that day dimm'd Adam's eye. Not that more glorious, when the Angels met Jacob in Mahanaim, where he saw
The field pavilion'd with his guardians bright : Nor that, which on the flaming mount appear'd In Dothan, cover'd with a camp of fire, Against the Syrian king, who to surprise One man, assassin-like, had levied war, War unproclaim'd. The princely Hierarch
In their bright stand there left his Powers, to seize Possession of the garden; he alone,
To find where Adam shelter'd, took his way,
Not unperceived of Adam who to Eve,
While the great visitant approach'd, thus spake : 225 Eve, now expect great tidings, which perhaps
Of us will soon determine, or impose New laws to be observed; for I descry,
From yonder blazing cloud that veils the hill, One of the heavenly host! and, by his gait, None of the meanest; some great Potentate Or of the Thrones above; such majesty Invests him coming! yet not terrible, That I should fear; nor sociably mild, As Raphaël, that I should much confide;
But solemn and sublime; whom not to offend, With reverence I must meet, and thou retire.
He ended and the Archangel soon drew nigh,
Not in his shape celestial, but as man
Clad to meet man; over his lucid arms
A military vest of purple flow'd,
Livelier than Melibean, or the grain
Of Sarra, worn by kings and heroes old In time of truce; Iris had dipp'd the woof'; His starry helm unbuckled show'd him prime In manhood where youth ended; by his side, As in a glistering zodiac, hung the sword,
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