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Book V. Body vouchsafe to eafe thy Load, and taste of thy Sweetnefs? Neither GoD nor MAN? Is Knowledge fo much defpifed? Or is it Envy? Or what Referve is it that forbids to tafte of it? Let who will forbid it, none fhall longer withold from me thy offered Good: To what End elfe art thou fet here? Having faid this, he made no farther Pause, but with adventurous Arm he plucked off the Fruit, and tafted it: A damp Horror chilled me, at fuch bold Words, confirmed with fuch a bold Deed. But he overjoyed, exclaimed thus: Oh divine Fruit! fweet of thyfelf, but thus cropped much more fweet; forbidden here it would feem as only fit for Gods, and yet art able to make Gods of Men: And why not make Gods of Men, fince Good the more it is communicated, grows more abundantly: the Author at the fame Time not impaired, but the more honoured? Here thou happy Creature fair angelical EvE! do thou partake alfo; for though thou art happy, thou mayeft beftill happier, though thou canst not be worthier: Then taite this, and henceforth be amongst the Gods, thyfelf a Goddefs; not confined to the Earth, but as we are, fometimes in the Air, fometimes afcend up to Heaven, (which is thine by Merit) and fee there what Life the Gods live, and fuch a one live thou. Saying this he drew nigh to me, and held even to my very Mouth, Part of that fame Fruit which he had gathered: The pleafant favoury Smell fo quickened my Appetite, that, methought, I could not forbear tafting: Forthwith I flew with him up to the Clouds, and beheld the Earth ftretched out immeasureably a wide and various Profpect far underneath me: While I was wondering at my Flight and my Change to this high Exaltation; on a fudden my Guide was gone, and I methought, funk down, and fell asleep: But oh, how glad I was when I waked to find this nothing but a Dream! Thus EVE related what had paffed in her Sleep in the Night, and ADAM, with much Sadnefs, made this Answer.

THOU

THOU, beft Image of myfelf! and my dearer Half! The Trouble of thy Thoughts this Night in Sleep, equally affects me; nor can I by any Means like this ftrange Dream, which I fear to proceed from Evil. Yet whence Evil? None can harbour in thee, for thou art created pure. But know, that there are many leffer Faculties in the Soul, which are fubordinate to Reafon: The Chief of thefe is Fancy: the forms Imaginations, and airy Shapes of all the external Things, which the five Senfes reprefent, which (Reafon either joining or disjoining) frame all what we affirm, or what we deny, and call our Knowledge or Opinion, and when Nature refts, then Reason retires into her private Cell, and refts affo. Mimic Fancy, in her Abfence often wakes to imitate her; but misjoining Shapes generally produces wild Work and moftly in Dreams; ill-matching of Words and Deeds long fince paft, or lately done. Methinks I find fuch Refemblances of our Talk laft Evening, in this thy Dream, but with very ftrange Addition: Yet be not fad; into the Mind of either GoD or MAN Evil may come, and go, and if unapproved of, leave no Spot or Blame behind it: Which occafions me to hope, that what thou didft abhor to do in a Dream asleep, thou never wilt confent to do waking.) Then do not be disheartened, nor let there be a Cloud upon that Face, that used to be more chearful and more ferene, than when the fair Morning firft opens on the World: And let us rife to our frefh Employments among the Groves, and among the Fountains and Flowers, that now open their choiceft Smells, which have been fhut up from the Night, and kept in Store for thee.

So ADAM endeavoured to chear his fair Spouse, and fhe was cheared; but filently from either Eye, The let fall a gentle Tear, and wiped them with her

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Hair:

Book V Hair: Two other precious Tears that ftood ready to drop ADAM kifled away, looking on them as gracious Signs of fweet Remorse, and a pious Awe that was afraid to have offended.

So all was cleared, and they hastened forth to the Field But first from under the fhady Roof of the Arbour, as foon as they were come forth to the open Sight of Day and the Sun, (who scarce rifen and yet hovering on the Ocean's Brim, fhot parallel his dewy Rays to the Earth, discovering in a wide Landscape all the Eaft of PARADISE, and the happy Plains of EDEN) they bowed lowly in Adoration, and begun their Prayers, duely offered every Morning in various Stile, for neither did they want various Stile nor holy Rapture, to praise their Maker in proper Strains, either pronounced or fung unpremeditated; fuch ready Eloquence flowed from their Lips, in Profe or har monious Verfe, too tuneable to want either Lute or Harp to add more Sweetnefs to them; and they be gan thus:

ALMIGHTY! Parent of Good! These glorious Works are thine, and thine this univerfal Frame, fo wondrous beautiful! How much more wonderful art thou! Unfpeakable! Who fitteft above the Heavens, to us invifible, or feen dimly in these thy loweft Works: Yet thefe declare thy Goodness to be beyond Thought, and thy Power to be divine. Speak ye Sons of Light! Ye Angels! How wondrous the Creator is, for ye behold him, and with Songs and Symphonies, Day without Night, fing round about his Throne rejoicing in Choir; this do ye in Heaven! On Earth join all ye Creatures! To exalt, and praise him, first and last and for ever without End! Thou faireft of Stars the last in the Train of Night! (if more properly thou belong not to the Dawn) the fure Pledge of Day, that beautifieft the fmiling Morning with thy

bright Circle! Praife him in thy Sphere, while Day arites! Thou Sun! Both Soul and Eye of this great. World, acknowledge him thy greater; in thy eternal Course found his Praife! Both when thou climbest and when thou haft reached high Noon, and when thou fetteft. And thou, O Moon! and ye five other wandering Fires! that move in a Manner not to be comprehended, yet not without Harmony, refound his Praife who out of Darkness called forth Light. Air! and ye other Elements! the firft Birth of Nature, that run a perpetual Circle taking various and numberlefs Forms, mixing with and nourishing all Things; let your ceafelefs Change ftill vary new Praife to our Great Maker! Ye Mifts and Exhalations! that now rife dufky or grey, from the Hills or fteaming Lakes, (till fuch Times as the Sun-beams paint ye like Gold) rife ye, in honour to the World's great Author! whether rifing to deck the uncoloured Sky with Clouds, or falling to wet the Earth with Showers of Rain, ftill advance ye, his Praife! breathe foft, or loud his Praife, ye Winds! that blow from four Quarters! And ye Pine Trees wave your Tops! And every Plant, in Sign of Worship wave! Ye Fountains! and ye murmuring Streams! tune his Praife. Join Voices, all ye living Souls! ye Birds ! that finging afcend up towards Heaven's Gate, upon your Wings and in your Notes bear his Praife. Ye Fishes that fwim in the Waters! and ye Creatures that walk the Earth, treading or lowly creeping? Witness if I am filent Morning or Evening, to Hill, to Valley, to Fountain or fresh Shade made vocal by my Song, and taught his Praife! Hail, universal LORD! be thou ftill fo bounteous to give us only good, and if the Night hath gathered any Thing of Evil, do thou difperfe it; even as the Morning Light now difpels the Darkness.

So they prayed innocently, and to their Thoughts. foon recovered firm Peace, and ufual Calmness; on they hafted to their Morning's rural Work, among fweet Dews and Flowers, or where any Rows of Fruit Trees reached too far their overgrown Boughs and.. wanted Hands to check them from fruitless Embraces, or elfe they led the Vine to wed the Elm, who twi ning her marriageable Arms about him brings with her, her Dower, the rich Clusters of Grapes to adorn! his barren Leaves.

С Н А Р. II.

Raphael is fent to admonish Man of his Obedience, comes down to Paradife; his Appearance defcribed: Adam difcerns his Coming; goes to meet him, and brings him to his Bower; where Raphael performs his Meffage.

HE high King of Heaven with Pity beheld them thus employed, and called to him RAPHAEL (a), the fociable Spirit, that condefcended to travel with TOBIAS, and affifted him in his Marriage.

RAPHAEL! faid he, thou heareft what a Stir SATAN (efcaped from Hell to Earth through the darkfome Gulph) hath raifed in PARADISE; how this Night he hath disturbed the human Pair, and how he defigns in them at once to bring on the Ruin of all Mankind: Therefore go, and Half this Day converse

(a) Raphael; Heb. i. e. The Remedy or Phyfick of God. The Name of an Arch-Angel, aut

mentioned in facred Scripture, only in Tob. Chap. iii. 17. 4. viii. 9. 5.15.

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