RHA (C), stood before the Shrine of THEMIS (d), to restore the Race of MANKIND, deftroyed by the Deluge. Their Prayers afcended up to Heaven without Obstruction, and there found eafy Entrance; then clad with Incense, came in Sight before the FATHER'S Throne, where the golden Altar fmoaked, close by their great Interceffor; and the SoN gladly prefenting them, thus began to intercede :

BEHOLD, O FATHER! what are the first Fruits, which on Earth are fprung up in MAN, from thy Grace implanted in him! they are thefe Sighs and Prayers, which I thy Priest bring before thee, mixed with Incenfe in this golden Cenfor: These are Fruits of more pleafing Savour, produced from thy Seed, fown with Contrition in his Heart, than those which all the Trees in PARADISE Could have produced, manured by his Hand before he was fallen from Innocence. Now, therefore, incline thine Ear to his Supplication; hear his Sighs, though his Tongue be mute! He knows not with what Words to pray, let me interpret for him, who am his Advocate and Propitiation; impute all his Deeds good or evil to me; my Merit fhall make the good perfect, and for the

Prometheus, cotemporary with Cecrops King of Athens, about A. M. 2437, in whose Reign a great Inundation happened in Greece. He with his Wife only were faved in a little Boat upon Mount Parnaffus till the Waters abated.

(c) Pyrrha; Lat. Gr. i. e. Fire: Because of her fingular Piety, Zeal for the Gods, and Chaltity. She was the Wife of Deucalion. The Names were very futable to the Character given to Noah and his Wife. Dencalion, they fay, was the first that erected a Temple to

the Worfhip of the Gods; fo Noah built the first Altar, we read of in the World, Gen. viii. 20, 21.--And Berofus calls Pyrrha Tytea and Vefta. Heb. i. e. Earth-born.

(d) Themis; Lat. Gr. i. e. Juft or Right: Because she taught Men to petition the Gods for thofe Things that were right and fit; or Heb. from Tham or Thummim, i. e. Perfect, upright. A Goddefs, that had an Oracle upon Mount Parnaffus; thither thofe two addreffed themselves for Counsel, how the loft Race of Mankind might be restored.

evil

evil my Death shall pay. Accept of me; and in me, from thefe Prayers and Sighs, receive Motive to grant Peace to MANKIND: Let him live reconciled before thee, though he live in Sorrow (at least the Number of his Days) 'till DEATH (which being his Doom I plead not to reverse, but mitigate) fhall yield him to a better Life; where all my Redeemed may dwell with me in Bliss and Joy; and as I am one with thee, fo they may be made one with me.

To whom the FATHER graciously replied: My accepted Son! all that Thou haft requested for MAN, obtain, for all thy Request was my Decree. But the Law which I gave to Nature, forbids him to dwell any longer in that PARADISE: Thofe pure and immortal Elements, that know no grofs nor foul difcordant Mixture, eject him, as he is now tainted, and purge him off, as a grofs Diftemper, to fouler Air and mortal Food, fuch as may best fit him for the Diffolution wrought by SIN, that firft diftempered and corrupted all Things. I, when I firft created him, endowed him with two fair Gifts, Happiness and Immortality; Happiness once loft, Immortality ferved only to make Mifery eternal, 'till fuch Time as I provided DEATH; fo DEATH becomes his final Remedy, and refigns him up to a fecond Life, when Heaven and Earth fhall be renewed, after a Life tried in fharp Tribulation, and refined by Faith and faithful Works; when he fhall be waked in the Renovation of the Juft. But let us call together all the Bleft through the wide Bounds of Heaven: I will not hide my Judgments from them, and how I proceed with MANKIND, as they faw lately how I did with the offending Angels: and though they ftood firm in their State before, yet afterwards they were ftill more confirmed.

THE FATHER Concluded thus; and the Son gave high Signal to the bright Minifter that kept Watch:

Не

He blew his Trumpet, that which was fince heard in OREB (e), when GOD defcended, and perhaps the fame that will found at the Day of Judgment. The Sound of the Trumpet, which the Angel.founded, was heard through all Heaven: The Angelical Sons of Light, hafted from their blissful Bowers of fhady Amaranths, or from Fountains or Springs by the Waters of Life, wherever they fat in Fellowship of Joy, reforting, according as their high Summons called them; where they took their Seats; 'till the ALMIGHTY from his fupreme Throne, thus pronounced his fovereign Will:

O Sons of Heaven! MAN is become like unto one of us to know both Good and Evil, fince he has tafted of the forbidden Fruit: But let him boast his Knowledge, which is of Good loft and Evil got; happier had it been for him, had he thought it fufficient to have known Good by itself, and not have known Evil at all. Now he repents, is forrowful, and prays with a contrite Heart; all these are my Motions in him; and longer than they move, fuppofing him left to himself, I know his Heart how variable and vain it is. Therefore, left now his bolder Hand reach alfo of the Tree of Life, and eat of that, and fo live for ever, (at least dream to live for ever) I decree to remove him, and fend him out of the Garden to till the Ground, whence he was taken; which is a Soil much fitter for him.

MICHAEL! do thou take this Command of mine in Charge: Take to thee from among the Cherubim

(e) Oreb; i. e. When God defcended with the Sound of a Trumpet, Exod. xix. 6." And

it came to pafs on the third "Day in the Morning, that "there were Thunders and

"Lightnings, and a

a thick "Cloud upon the Mount, and "the Voice of the Trumpet "exceeding loud; fo that all "the People that were in the "Camptrembled."

Book X. thy Choice of flaming Warriors; left the Fiend raise fome new Trouble, either in the Behalf of Man, or elfe to invade vacant Poffeffion. Make Hafte, and without Remorfe drive out the finful Pair from the PARADISE OF GOD; drive out the Unholy from that holy Ground, and denounce to them and their Pofterity perpetual Banifhment from thence. Yet, left they faint at the fad Sentence, urged too rigorously, hide all Terror; for I behold them foftened, and bewailing their Tranfgreffion with Tears. If they patiently submit and obey with Refignation, do not difmifs them difconfolate; but mix with my Commands Speech of my Covenant renewed in the Seed of the WOMAN : So fend them forth, though in Sorrow, yet in Peace. And on the East Side of the Garden place a Watch of Cherubim, and the wide waving Flame of a Sword; (where the Entrance up from EDEN is the eafieft to PARADISE) to deter all Approach, and guard all Paffage to the Tree of Life; left PARADISE prove a Receptable for foul Spirits, and all my Trees fhould be- come their Prey; with whofe ftolen Fruit they might once more endeavour to delude MAN.

HE ceased here, and the Arch-Angel prepared for fwift Defcent, with him the bright Company of watchful Cherubim: Each of them had four Faces, like a double JANUS (f); all their Bodies were all over

(f) Janus; Heb. i. e. Wine. The firft King of Italy, who firft dreffed the Vine and drank Wine: Therefore his Pofterity were called Oenotrii, Gr. i. e. Wine Bibbers. He was therefore deified and honoured with a famous Temple at Rome, pictured with two Faces; in Memory of him Money was coined with a Janus on one Side, and a Ship on the Reverse; and the Month of January was dedicated to him, This Defcription

of Angels is taken from Ezekiel
X. 12, 14.
"And their whole
Body, and their Backs, and
"their Hands, and their Wings,

and the Wheels were full of "Eyes round about, even the "Wheels that they four had. "And every one had four Fa"ces: The first Face was the "Face of a Cherub, and the "fecond Face was the Face of 66 a Man, and the third the "Face of a Lion, and the

fourth the Face of an Eagle."

fpangled

fpangled with Eyes, more in Number than those feigned of ARGUS (g), and more wakeful than to fleep, charmed with the ARCADIAN (b) Pipe of MERCURY, or to be lulled with the Touch of his fleepy Rod. Mean while the Day broke, and fresh Dew fell upon the Earth, when ADAM and our firft Mother EVE had now ended their Prayers, and found new Strength added from above; new Hope to fpring out of Defpair, and Joy that was yet mixed with Fear; fo that he renewed his Speech to Eve in these welcome Words:

EVE! Faith may eafily admit, that all the Good which we enjoy defcends from Heaven; but that any Thing from us fhould afcend up there, fo prevalent as to concern the Mind of the high bleft GoD, or to incline his Will, may feem hard to believe; yet Prayer will do this, nay one short Sigh of human Breath, born up even to the very Seat of GOD. For, fince I fought to appease the offended Deity by Prayer; fince I kneeled and humbled all my Heart before him, methought I faw him placable, and mildly bending his

(g) Argus; Lat. Gr. i. e. Active and Nimble. A Shepherd, faid to have had 100 Eyes. Juno retained him in her Service, to watch and relate the Pranks of Jupiter Jupi ter was difpleafed with fuch a Spy, and fet Mercury to work. He, with his Pipe, lulled him fait afleep, and cut off his Head; which fun, in reward of his faithful Service, turned into a ftately Peacock, whofe Tail is adorned with many go'den Circles; therefore this Bird was dedicated to her.

(b) Arcadian; Belonging to Arcadia; from Arcas, Gr. i. e. A Bear. The Son of Jupiter

and Califta, (whom Jupiter turned into a Bear) Father of the Arcadians, and King of Arcadia. The Arcadians, ignorant of their true Original, boasted that they were before the Moon. It was called alfo Pelafgia, and Theffaly, and the People Pelagi; who came out of Afia, fett'ed in Greece, and fixed in Italy, after the Oerotrians. It is a Country in the Middle of Peloponnefus, abounding with good Patture, Flocks, and Shepherds who made Pipes of the Reeds and Stalks of Corn. The People worshipped Pan, as their tutelar God.