one that is his Hate or Shame; which fhall caufe infinite Calamities to human Life, and confound domeftick Peace!

HE faid no more, and turned from her.------But EVE not repulfed fo, with Tears that flowed continually, and dishevelled Hair, fell humbly at his Feet; and embracing them, entreated him to be at Peace, and proceeded thus in her Complaint :

ADAM do not abandon me thus, witness Heaven, what fincere Love and Reverence in my Heart I bear thee, and have offended not knowingly; but be- . ing unhappily deceived! with humbleft Supplication I beg to be forgiven, and clafp thy Knees. Do not bereave me of that, on which I live, thy gentle Looks, thy kind Affiftance and Counsel in this uttermoft Distress, my only Strength and Support! Forfaken of thee, whither fhall I betake me ?-----Where fhall I fubfift? While we yet live (which perhaps may be scarce one fhort Hour) let there be Peace between us two! both joining in one Enmity (as joined in Injuries) against a Foe, exprefly affigned us by Fate, that cruel Serpent !------Do not exercife thy Hatred on me for this Mifery which is befallen us; upon me, who am already loft! me, more miferable than thyself! We both have finned! but thou only againft GOD; I, both against GOD and thee; and will return to the Place of Judgment, there to importune Heaven with my Cries, that all the Sentence removed from thy Head may light upon me, who am the fole Caufe of all this Woe to thee: Yes! it is Į alone, that am the juft Object of his Wrath!

SHE ended weeping, and kept immoveable in her humble Pofture; 'till having obtained Peace for her Fault acknowledged, and repented, fhe wrought Commiferation in ADAM: His Heart foon relented to

wards

Book X. wards her, to fee her, who fo lately was his only Delight, and dear to him as Life, now in fuch Diftrels, fubmiffive at his Feet! to fee fo fair a Creature fecking his Reconcilement whom she had displeased, and fuing for his Counsel and Affiftance! Difarmed at once, he loft all his Anger, and thus with peaceful Words he foon raifed her up from the Ground:

UNWARY EVE! and too defirous (now as thou wert before) of what thou knoweft not, who defirest, that the Punishment of both our Crimes may all light upon thyfelf!. Alas! bear thy own Part firft; thou art ill able to fuftain his full Wrath, of which as yet thou feeleft but the leaft Part, and feeft hov: ill thou can't bear even my Difpleafure. If Prayers could alter the Decrees of Heaven, I would fpeed to the Place of Judgment before thee; and be heard louder requesting that upon my Head all might be vifited, and thy Frailty and infirmer Sex be forgiven; which was committed to my Care, and through my Permiffion expofed to Iazard. But rife! Let us contend no more, nor blame each other; we are blamed enough elsewhere but let us ftrive in Offices of Love, how we may make each others Burthen lighter in our Share of Mifery; fince DEATH threatened us this Day, (if I judge right) will prove a flow-paced and not a fudden Evil; a long Day's dying, in Augmentation of our Pain; and be entailed (Oh Mifery to think on !) upon our Pofterity.

To whom EvE, taking fresh Courage, replied thus ADAM! I know by fad Experiment, how little Weight my Words ought to have with thee, having been found fo erroneous; thence (as is the juft Event of Error) found fo unfortunate: Nevertheless, being reftored by thce to a Place of new Acceptance, (vile as I am!) I am hopeful yet to regain thy Love, which is the only Contentment of my Heart, either living

or

or dying; fo that I will not hide from thee what Thoughts are rifen in my unquiet Breaft, tending either to end our extreme Sorrow, or give fome Relief to it; which Means, though fharp and fad, yet are better to be chofe, and more tolerable than our prefent Evils. If the Care of thofe who are to defcend from us, be what perplexes us moft, as they must be born to certain Mifery, and be at last devoured by DEATH, (and it is a miferable Thing, to be the Caufe of Mifery of others, and those our own Begotten; out of our own Loins, to bring into this curfed World a miferable Race, that, after bearing wretched Life, muft be at last Food for fo foul a Monster!) It lies yet in thy Power, before Conception, to prevent the unblest Race, to prevent being what is yet unbegot. Thou art yet childless, childlefs remain ftill: So DEATH fhall be deceived of his Glut, and be forced to fatisfy his ravenous Maw with us two only. But if thou judge it difficult and too hard, converfing together, looking upon and loving one another, to abftain from fweet nuptial Embraces, the Rites due to Love; and without Hope to languish with Defire, before the Object that languishes with like Defire; (which would be. a Mifery and Torment as great as any that we dread) then, to free both ourselves and Seed at once from what we fear for both, let us make short Work,---let us feek DEAT;-----or if he is not to be found, let us ourselves with our own Hands fupply his Office. Why do we stand any longer shivering under Fears, that how no End but DEATH; and yet have the Power of many Ways to die? Why not chufing the shortest prevent the Deftruction of our Pofterity, by deftroying ourselves?

SHE ended here; or else vehement Despair broke of the reft she had to fay: Her Thoughts had entertained fo much of DEATH, as made her Cheek quite pale: But ADAM nothing fwayed by fuch Counfel,

Uu

had

had raised his labouring and more attentive Mind to better Hopes; and thus he replied to EVE:

EVE! thy Contempt of Life and Pleasure, seems to argue fomething in thee more fublime and excellent, than that which thy Mind contemns. But, therefore feeking Self-Deftruction refutes that Excellence, thought to be in thee; and implies not thy Contempt of Life, but Anguifh and Regret for the Lofs of it, and Pleasure over-loved. Or if thou covetest DEATH, as the utmoft End of all Misery, so thinking to evade the Penalty pronounced; doubt not but God hath more wifely armed his angry Vengeance, than to be fore-ftalled and difappointed fo: I am much more afraid, left DEATH, if we should fo fnatch it, will not exempt us from the Pain, which we are by Doom to pay. Rather fuch Acts of Contumacy will provoke God to make. DEATH live in us: Then let us feek fome fafer Refolution, which methinks I have in my View, with Heed calling to Mind that Part of our Sentence, that THY SEED SHALL BRUISE THE SERPENT'S HEAD; a poor Amends! unlefs (which as I conjecture) our great Enemy SATAN be meant; who, in the SERPENT, hath contrived this Deceit against us. To crush his Head would be Revenge indeed! which will be loft, if we were to bring DEATH upon ourselves; or refolve, as thou haft propofed, to live childless: So our Foe fhall efcape the Punishment ordained him, and we, instead of that, fhall double ours upon our own Heads. Then do not let any more be mentioned of Violence upon ourfelves, or wilful Barenness that cuts us off from Hope, and only favours of Rancour, Pride, Impatience, and Defpight and Reluctance against GoD, and his juft Yoke laid upon our Necks. Let us remember, with what mild and gracious Temper he both heard and judged us; without Anger, and without Reproaches. We expected immediate Diffoluti

on,

on, which we imagined was meant by DEATH THAT DAY: When, Lo! to thee were only foretold Pains in bearing and bringing forth Children; which will be foon recompenced with Joy, the Fruit of thy Womb. The Curfe not fo directly pronounced on me, glanced on the Ground; I muft earn my Bread with Labour: What Harm is that? Idlenefs had been worfe; my Labour will fuftain me: And left Cold or Heat should do us Injury, he has, without being fought too, with timely Care, provided us Cloaths, (unworthy as we are) with his own Hands; pitying, even while he judged us. How much more then, if we pray to him, will his Ear be open, and his Heart inclined to pity us? And teach us further, how to fhun the Inclemency of the Seafons, Rain, Ice, Hail, and Snow; which now the Sky begins to fhow us in this Mountain; while the Winds blow moift and keen; fhattering the Leaves of these fair fpreading Trees: Which bids us feek fome better Covering, to cherish out numbed Limbs; before the Sun leave the Night cold, how we may foment his Beams, gathered together by fome warm or combuftible Matter; or by ftriking two hard Bodies together, move the heated Air into Fire, as lately the Clouds, juftling or forced with Winds, in their rude Shock flafhed the flant Lightning, the Flame of which driven down, kindles the gummy Part of Fir or Pine, and fends out from a Distance a comfortable Heat, which might fupply the Want of that of the Sun. He will inftruct us, if we pray to him, and befeech Grace of him, to ufe fuch Fire, and what elfe may be a Cure to these Evils, which our own Mifdeeds have brought on us: So as we need not fear to pafs this Life commodioufly, fuftained by him with many Comforts; 'till fuch Time as we end in Duft, our final Reft and native Home! What can we do better, than repair to the Place where he judged us? Fall reverently proftrate before him, and there humbly confefs our Faults, and beg U u 2 Pardon,