how on a fudden defaced and robbed of Inno cence, now devoted to DEATH! or rather, how haft thou yielded to tranfgrefs the ftrict Command, and to violate the facred forbidden Fruit! Some curfed Fraud yet unknown, of our Enemy hath beguiled thee, and with thee hath ruined me: For certain my Refolution is to die with thee! How can I live without thee! how can I forego thy Conversation, sweetened and endeared by Love, to live again forlorn and alone in thefe wild Woods! Should GoD create another EVE, and I for that End part with another Rib, yet the Lofs of thee would ever remain at my Heart! No, no! I feel the Ties of Nature bind me; thou art Bone of my Bone, and Flesh of my Flefh, and from thy State mine fhall never be parted, be it Happiness or Mifery !

HAVING faid this to himself, as one after fome fad Dismay a little comforted, and fubmitting, after disturbed Thoughts, to what feemed without Remedy, in a calm, confiderate and melancholly Manner he turned himself to EVE.

ADVENTUROUS EVE! (faid he) thou haft prefumed to do a very bold Deed, and provoked great Peril, who haft thus dared, had it been only coveting to look upon that Fruit, facred to Abftinence; much more to tafte it, or touch it without incurring the Penalty of a Curse. But who can recall what is past, or undo what is done? Not God Almighty, nor Fate ! Yet fo it is, that perhaps thou shalt not die; for perhaps the Fact is not fo heinous now, the Fruit being tafted by the Serpent before, by him profaned, made common, and unhallowed; it is not found deadly yet on him, he yet lives, and as thou faideft has gained a higher Degree of Life, to live as MAN; a ftrong Inducement to us, as being likely on our tafting it, to find a proportionable Effect; which cannot be, except

we become Gods, Angels, or Demi-Gods. Nor can I think that. GOD, though he has threatened it, will in Earnest deftroy us in fuch a manner, who are the Prime of all his Creatures, dignified so high, and fet over all his Works; which as they were created for us, and made dependant on us, muft needs fail in our Fall: So GOD fhall uncreate his Creation, be fruftrated in his Design, do and undo, and lofe his Labour, which is not well conceived of GOD; who (though he had Power to make a new Creation) yet he would be loth to abolish us, left the Enemy fhould triumph and fay,Their State is very fickle that GoD fa"vours moft! Who can please him long? Me he ru"ined firft, now MANKIND; whom will. he ruin "next." Which is a Matter of Scorn not to be given to the Foe. However, I have fixed my Lot, and refolve to undergo the fame Fate as thee: If DEATH is to be thy Portion, then DEATH is to me as Life: I feel the Bond of Nature within my Heart, fo forcibly draw me to my own Part in thee; for what thou art is mine, our State cannot be divided, we are one, one Flesh, and to lofe thee were to lose myself.

THUS fpoke ADAM; and Eve made him this Reply exceeding great and glorious Trial of Love, high Example and illuftrious Evidence, engaging me to emulate ! but how fhall I, ADAM, being inferior in Nature, attain to thy Perfection? From whofe dear Side I boaft that I am fprung, and gladly hear thee speak of our Union, that we both have but one Heart and one Soul, of which this Day affords good Proof; declaring thee refolved, rather than DEATH, or any Thing more dreadful than DEATH fhall feparate us, (who are linked together in fuch dear Love) to undergo with me one Guilt and one Crime (if it be any Crime) of tafting this fair Fruit, whofe Virtue (which at leaft is fome Good) hath prefented this happy Trial of thy Love; which else had

never been known fo eminently. If I thought DEATH Would be the Confequence of this my Attempt, I would fuffer the worft alone, and rather die forfaken of thee, than tie thee to me with an Action, that might afterwards give thee Sorrow; chiefly having fo remarkable and late an Affurance of thy true faithful, and unequalled Love. But I feel the Event far otherwife not DEATH, but additional Life, new Hopes, new Joys, and new Knowledge: So divine a Tafte has touched my Sense, that every Thing that was sweet before, feems flat and harsh to this. Tafte freely ADAM, on my Experience, and deliver all Fear of DEATH to the Winds!

So faying, the embraced him, and wept tenderly for Joy; much moved that he had raised his Love to fuch a noble Height, as to incur divine Displeasure or DEATH for her Sake. In Recompence (for fuch a bad Compliance as his merited no better) fhe gave him with a plentiful Hand, from the Bough of that fair inticing Tree: He eat without Scruple against his better Knowledge; not deceived in the leaft, but fondly overcome with Female-Charms and Enticements. The Earth trembled, as it had done before when Eve eat, and Nature gave a fecond Groan ; the Sky lowered, it thundered, and fome Drops fell at the compleating of this mortal original Sin (a); while

while ADAM kept eating his Fill, and took no Thought; neither was EvE afraid to commit her for. mer Crime again, the more to footh him with her beloved Society; that now both being intoxicated, as it were with new Wine, they become quite full of Mirth, and fancy that they feel Divinity within them, producing that which would make them. fcorn the Earth. But that falfe Fruit firft fhewed a quite different Operation, enflaming them with carnal Defire ; The began to caft lafcivious Eyes upon Eve, which Glances the as wantonly repaid; 'till they burnt to the finful Paffion of Luft; and ADAM thus began to express to Eve:

Now Eve, I fee that thou art of an exact and elegant Taste, which is no small Part of Knowledge: fince we apply and refer all different Savours to the Judgment of the Palate, which if nice, we fay is judicious; fo well haft thou made Provifion for this Day, that I yield the Praise to thee. We have loft a great Deal of Pleasure, while we abftained from this delightful Fruit, nor till now have known the true Relish of Tafte: If there be fuch a Pleafure in Things forbidden us, it might be wished that for this one Tree we had been forbidden ten. But come! now we are fo well refreshed, let us feek Paftime as cannot but be agreeable after fuch delicious Fare; for never fince the Day I saw thee firft, and wedded thee, adorned with all Perfection, did thy Beauty fo inflame my Sense with Defire to enjoy thee: Thou feemeft fairer to me now than ever; all which is owing to the Virtue of this Tree.

Nations; the Natural Proneness of all Men to Vice and Immorality; their Averfion to Piety and Virtue, and the Perfections and Happiness of Adam and Eve, before they committed this Sin, compared with difor

derly Paffions, Fear, Guilt, Shame, Confufion, Mifery, Mortality, Lofs of God's Favour, Expulfion out of Paradife, &c. St. Auftin first called it Original Sin.

HE

HE faid thus, and did not forbear Glances or wanton Motions of amorous Intent; which were now we 1 understood by EVE, whofe Eye darted the contagious Fire of Luft. He feized her Hand, and led her (the being forward to go) to a fhady Bank, covered thick over-head with thick Branches; their Bed was of various Flowers: There they took their Fill of Love and Play, the Seal of their mutual Guilt, and the Solace of their Sin; 'till Sleep oppreffed them, they being wearied with Dalliance and amorous Sport.

As foon as the Force of that fallacious Fruit was exhaled, that with exhilarating Vapour had played about their Spirits, and led their inmoft Powers into Error; and groffer Sleep, bred of unkindly Fumes, and incumbered with confcious Dreams, had now left them; they rose up, not refreshed, but weary as if they had not flept; and each viewing the other, foon found how their Eyes were opened, and their Minds how darkened! Innocence was gone, that like a Veil had shadowed them from knowing Evil; juft Confidence, native Righteoufnefs, and Honour, were gone from about them, and they were left naked to guilty Shame. ADAM covered himself, but his Covering was ftill more Shame: So rofe SAMSON (b) from the Lap of DALILAH (c), that Harlot he had taken from