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Shade above Shade, made a pleafant Sylvan Scene, a woody Theatre, stately to the View: Yet higher than their Tops, the green Inclofure and Banks of PARADISE fprung up; which gave to ADAM a large Profpect into his lower Empire, neighbouring round the Mount of PARADISE: And higher than that Wall appeared a circling Row of beautiful Trees, loaded at once with Bloffoms and faireft Fruit of golden Hue, mixed with gay enamelled Colours, on which the Sun had left the Beauty of his Beams, more ftrongly painted than he does on a fair Evening Cloud, or on the Rainbow, when GOD has fent Rain upon the Earth; fo lovely did that Landscape feem: And now purer Air ftill meets SATAN'S Approach, which to the Heart infpires vernal Delight and Joy, able to chafe away all Sadness except Defpair: Now gentle Gales difperfe natural Perfumes, Sweets which they fan from Flowers, and betray from whence they stole them: As when to them who fail beyond the CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, and are got paft MOZAMBIC (d), North

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Brook; and ye fhall rejoice "before the Lord your God "feven Days." And it is faid to be worn in Paradise itself, Rev. vii. 9." After this I beheld, "and lo, a great Multitude, "which no Man could number, "of all Nations, and Kindreds, "and People, and Tongues, "flood before the Throne, and "before the Lamb, clothed "with white Robes, and Palms "in their Hands." It was alfo the Sign and Reward of Victo

ry in all the Grecian Games. The Antients honoured victorious Princes with spreading of Palms and Flowers before them.. in their Triumphs. The Jews received Alexander the Great, and our Redeemer, and they of Cremona, Vitellius, in this Fafhion.

(d) Mozambic, Mezambica, and the French call it Mozam

bique. Ethiop. A little Ifland with a chief City built upon a River of the fame Name, upon the Eaft Coaft of Africa, belonging to Zanguebar two hundred and feventy Miles from Madagafcar to the Weft. It is barren and unhealthful, but populous becaufe of the great Trade with the Portuguese, who poffefs it now.

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Eaft Winds blow SABEAN (e) Odours off at Sea, from the spicy Shore of ARABIA FELIX, well pleafed with fuch Delay, they flacken their Courfe, and the Ocean feems to imile, cheared with the grateful Smell; fo SATAN entertained thefe rich Perfumes, who came to be their Bane, though better pleafed with them than ASMODEUS (f) was with the Smoak of the burnt Fish, that drove him (though he was fo much enamoured, that he deftroyed seven of her Husbands) from the Wife of TOBIAS, and fent him from MEDIA (g) into the outermoft Parts of EGYPT, where the Angel RAPHAEL bound him faft.

() Sabean, of Saba; from Seba or Saba, the Son of Chus, the fixth Son of Cham, Gen. x. 7. Seba is the chief City of Arabia the Happy, now Zibit, where there is a great Store of Cinnamon, Caflia, Frankincenfe, Myrrh and other fweet Spices.

(f) Afmodeus; Heb. i. e. A Deftroyer or Fire. A Prince of Devils among the Rabbies. An evil Spirit who is faid to have haunted the House of Raguel; to be in Love with his Daughter Sarah, and to have destroyed feven Hufbands in the first Night

of their Marriage, Tob. iii. 8. 17,

(g) Media; Heb. from Madai, the Son of Japhet, Gen. x. 2. i. e. A Measure: because he was of a large Stature. A large Country and antient Kingdom in Afia, on the North of Perfia, near Georgia, and upon the Caf pian Sea, having Armenia and Affyria on the Weft. It was once Mistress of the Eastern Monarchy of the Medes, for three hundred and feventeen Years, but foon fell into the Perfians; then became fubject to the Turks Now Servan or Shirvan.

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Paradife defcrib'd; Satan's firft Sight of Adam and Eve, at which he is greatly furprized; overbears their Difcourfe, and from thence meditates their Destruction.

OW SATAN had journeyed on, penfive and flow, to the Afcent of that fteep and inacceffible Hill, but found no further Way; the Undergrowth of Shrubs and tangling Bufhes had twisted themselves fo into one Clufter, that they denied a Path to whatever might affay to pafs that Way: There was only one Gate, and that look'd Eaft on the other Side, which when SATAN faw, he difdained to enter properly, and in Contempt at once leaped over all Bounds, of Hill or highest Wall, and quite within lights on his Feet: As when a prowling Wolf, driven by Hunger to feek new Haunts for his Prey, watching where the Shepherds pen their Flocks in the Sheep-Cotes at Evening, leaps over the Fence amidit the Field, and gets fecurely and with Eafe into the Fold, or as a Thief with an Intention to rob fome rich Merchant (whose substantial Doors, cross-barred and bolted fast, cannot be broke open) climbs in at the Window, or at the Top of the House: So did this first great Thief climb into GOD's Fold; (fo do fince lewd Hirelings climb into his Church) from thence he flew up, and upon the Middle Tree in PARADISE (which was the Tree of Life, and the highest that grew there) fat like a Cormorant; yet did not thereby regain true Life, but instead of that fat devifing Death to them who lived; nor did he think of the Virtue of that Life-giving Plant, but only used to take a View of PARADISE, what well ufed had been the Pledge of Immortality. (So little does any but GOD

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God alone know to fet a right Value on the Things before him, but either perverts the best Things to the worft of Abuses, or elfe to their meaneft Ufe) With new Wonder now he views beneath him NATURE'S whole Wealth, expofed in narrow Room to all the Delight of human Senfe; nay it was more: it was a Heaven on Earth; for the Garden was the happy PARADISE of GOD, by him planted in the Eaft of EDEN EDEN was ftretched out from AURAN (b) Eastward, to the Royal Towers of great SE LEUCIA (i), built by the Kings of GREECE; or where the Sons of EDEN dwelt in TELASSAR (k). In this pleasant Soil had GOD ordained his far more pleasant Garden, and to grow out of the fertile Ground all Trees of the noblest Kind, whether for Sight, Smell, or Tafte; and exactly in the Middle ftood the Tree of Life highly eminent, bearing ambrofial Fruit, and

(b) Auran, Haran, or Charran; Heb. i. e. Wrath. The chief City of Mefopotamia, whither Abraham fled from the Wrath of God: because of the Idolatry of the Chaldeans, and alfo dwelt for a Time, Gen. xi. 31. A& vii. 4. Jacob went to it afterwards for fear of Esau's Wrath, Gen. xxix. which giveth Name to a large Country upon the River Tigris. It is called alfo Aram and Aramia; from Aram the Son of Sem, i. e. Mighty; and is what we call Syria. This City is four hundred forty Miles Northward from Jerufalem; now called Ophea. It is eleven Day's Journey from Nineve; populous, and hath a good Trade.

(i) Scleucia; Lạt. Gr. i. e. A Glaring Light. Another famous City of Mesopotamia, called al

fo Calne in the Land of Shinaz, Gen. x. 10. Coche, then Alexandria; because it was rebuilt by Alexander the Great; afterwards repaired by Antiochus King of Syria, who called it Seleucia in Memory of his Father Seleucus, Gr. i. e, Glorious. It is forty Miles from Old Babylon, upon the Confluence of the Ezphrates and the Tygris ; the Turks poffefs it now, and call it Bachda, or Bagdad.

(k) Teleffar, and Elaffar, Heb. i. e. A Fort, or Rampart of the Affyrians. A Country upon the Borders of Affyria, wherein the Edenites were garrifoned to guard Babylon from the Incroachments ofthe Affyrians, Ifa.xxxvii. 12, Ezek. xxiii. 23. Between thefe Places the true Eden and Paradife were fituated. Vid.Hutt, de Situ Paradifi. Bloffoms

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Bloffoms of vegetable Gold, and next to the Tree of Life grew our Death, the Tree of Knowledge; the Knowledge of Good, bought too dear through the 1 Knowledge of Ill! Through EDEN Southward there went a large River, which never changed its Course, but underneath the fhaggy Hill being ingulphed paffed through; for GoD had thrown that Mountain as his Garden Fence, high raised upon the rapid Cur→ sent, which through Veins of the porous Earth drawn up with a kindly Thirst, rofe a fresh Fountain, and watered the Garden with many a Stream; thence united fell down the floped Shade, and met the lower Flood, which now appears from his darkfome Paffage, and now being divided into four main Streams runs different Ways, wandering through many a famous Realm and Country, whereof there needs no Account here; but rather to tell how (if Art could tell how) from that Saphire Fountain the curled Brooks rolling over bright Pearl and Sands of Gold, ran Nectar with many a winding Course under the spreading Shades, vifiting each Plant and feeding the Flowers of PARADISE, which bountiful Nature and not nice Art had poured forth profufely, in Beds and curious Knots in Hill, Dale and Plain, both where the Morning Sun firft fmote warmly the open Field, and where the unpierced Shade held the Bowers in pleasing Darknefs, even at Noon.

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THUS this Place was a happy rural Seat, with Va¬ riety of Profpect and Groves, fome of whofe rich Trees dropped Balm and fweet Gums; others, whofe Fruit hung delightfully, ftreaked as it were with burnished Gold, and of delicious Tafte; what was fabled of the HESPERIAN Fruit true only here: Betwixt thefe Groves were Lawns, or level Downs, among which were difperfed Flocks, grazing upon the tender Grafs; or Hills of Palm, or elfe the flowry Edge of fome well-watered Valley fpread its Store; Flowers of

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