Whom thus afflicted when sad Eve beheld,
Defolate where fhe fat, approaching nigh,
Soft words to his fierce paffion she assay'd:
But her with ftern regard he thus repell'd.
Out of my fight, thou Serpent; that name best
Befits thee with him leagu'd, thyself as false
And hateful; nothing wants, but that thy shape,.
Like his, and color ferpentine, may show
Thy inward fraud, to warn all creatures from thee
Henceforth; left that too heav'nly form, pretended
To hellish falfhood, fnare them. But for thee
I had perfifted happy', had not thy pride
And wand'ring vanity, when leaft was safe,
Rejected my forewarning, and disdain'd
Not to be trusted, longing to be seen
Though by the Dev'il himself, him overweening
To over-reach, but with the ferpent meeting
Fool'd and beguil'd, by him thou, I by thee,
To truft thee from my fide, imagin'd wife,
Conftant, mature, proof against all affaults,
And understood not all was but a fhow
Rather than folid virtue', all but a rib
Crooked by nature, bent, as now appears,
More to the part finifter, from me drawn,
Well if thrown out, as fupernumerary
To my juft number found. O why did God,
Creator wife, that peopled highest Heaven
With Spirits mafculine, create at last
This novelty on earth, this fair defect
Of nature, and not fill the world at once
With Men as Angels without feminine,
Or find fome other way to generate
Mankind? this mifchief had not then befall'n,
And more that fhall befall, innumerable
Disturbances on earth through female fnares,
And ftrait conjunction with this fex: for either
He never fhall find out fit mate, but fuch
As fome misfortune brings him, or mistake;
Or whom he wishes moft fhall feldom gain
Through her perverfenefs, but fhall fee her gain'd
By a far worse, or, if the love, withheld
By parents; or his happiest choice too late
Shall meet, already link'd and wedlock-bound
To a fell adverfary', his hate or shame:
Which infinite calamity fhall caufe
To human life, and houfhold peace confound.
He added not, and from her turn'd; but Eve
Not fo repuls'd, with tears that ceas'd not flowing, 910
And treffes all diforder'd, at his feet
Fell humble, and embracing them, befought
His peace, and thus proceeded in her plaint.
Forfake me not thus, Adam: witnefs Heaven
What love fincere, and reverence in my heart
I bear thee, and unweeting have offended,
Unhappily deceiv'd; thy fuppliant
I beg, and clafp thy knees; bereave me not,
Whereon I live, thy gentle looks, thy aid,
Thy counsel in this uttermoft diftress,
My only ftrength and stay: forlorn of thee,
Whither fhall I betake me, where fubfift?
While yet we live, fcarce one short hour perhaps,
Between us two let there be peace, both joining,
As join'd in injuries, one enmity
Against a foe by doom exprefs affign'd us,
That cruel Serpent: On me exercise not
Thy hatred for this mifery befall'n,
On me already loft, me than thyself
More miferable; both have finn'd, but thou
Against God only', I against God and thee,
And to the place of judgment will return,
There with my cries importune Heav'n, that all
The fentence from thy head remov'd may light
On me, fole cause to thee of all this woe,
Me, me only, juft object of his ire.
She ended weeping, and her lowly plight,
Immoveable till peace obtain'd from fault
Acknowledg'd and deplor'd, in Adam wrought
Commiferation; foon his heart relented
Tow'ards her, his life fo late and fole delight,
Now at his feet fubmiffive in distress,
Creature fo fair his reconcilement seeking,
His counsel, whom the had displeas'd, his aid;
As one difarm'd, his anger all he loft,
And thus with peaceful words uprais'd her foon.
Unwary', and too defirous, as before,
So now of what thou know'ft not, who defir'st
The punishment all on thyfelf; alas,
Bear thine own firft, ill able to sustain
His full wrath, whofe thou feel'st as yet
And my displeasure bear'st so ill. If prayers
Could alter high decrees, I to that place
Would speed before thee, and be louder heard,
That on my head all might be visited,
Thy frailty and infirmer sex forgiven,
To me committed and by me expos'd.
But rife, let us no more contend, nor blame
Each other, blam'd enough elsewhere, but strive
In offices of love, how we may lighten
Each other's burden, in our fhare of woe;
Since this day's death denounc'd, if ought I fee,
Will prove no fudden, but a slow-pac'd evil,
A long day's dying to augment our pain,
And to our feed (O hapless feed!) deriv'd.
To whom thus Eve, recovering heart, reply'd.
Adam, by fad experiment I know
How little weight my words with thee can find,
Found fo erroneous, thence by just event
Found fo unfortunate; nevertheless,
Reftor'd by thee, vile as I am, to place
Of new acceptance, hopeful to regain
Thy love, the fole contentment of my heart
Living or dying, from thee I will not hide
What thoughts in my unquiet breast are risen,
Tending to fome relief of our extremes,
Or end, though fharp and fad, yet tolerable,
As in our evils, and of eafier choice.
If care of our defcent perplex us moft,
Which must be born to certain woe, devour'd
By Death at laft; and miferable it is
To be to others cause of mifery,
Our own begotten, and of our loins to bring
Into this curfed world a woful race,
That after wretched life must be at laft
Food for fo foul a monfter; in thy power
It lies, yet ere conception to prevent
The race unbleft, to be'ing yet unbegot.
Childless thou art, childless remain: fo Death
Shall be deceiv'd his glut, and with us two
Be forc'd to fatisfy his ravenous maw.
But if thou judge it hard and difficult,
Converfing, looking, loving, to abstain
From love's due rites, nuptial embraces fweet,
And with defire to languish without hope,
Before the present object languishing
With like defire, which would be mifery
And torment less than none of what we dread;
Then both ourselves and feed at once to free
From what we fear from both, let us make short, 1000 Let us feek Death, or, he not found, supply
With our own hands his office on ourselves :
Why stand we longer fhivering under fears,
That show no end but death, and have the power,
Of many ways to die the shortest choosing,
Destruction with deftruction to destroy?
She ended here, or vehement despair
Broke off the reft; so much of death her thoughts
Had entertain'd, as dy'd her cheeks with pale.
But Adam with fuch counfel nothing sway'd
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