Book XI. To whom ADAM made Anfwer, convinced of the Falfenefs of his Joy on the Sight of Pleasure: O what a Pity and Shame! that they who live good Lives, and begin fo well, fhould turn afide to tread indirect Paths, or faint by the Way! But ftill I fee the Tenor of MAN'S Mifery holds on the fame, and is to begin from WOMAN.

Ir begins, faid the Angel, from the effeminate Slackness of MAN, who by Wisdom, and the fuperior Gifts he hath received, fhould hold his Place better: But now prepare thyfelf for another Sight.

ADAM looked, and faw a wide Territory spread before him; Towns, and large Countries between them; Cities with lofty Gates and Towers, full of Inhabitants armed and gathered together, with fierce Faces threatening War: They were great Giants, and fit for bold Enterprizes; Part wielded their Arms, and Part curbed the War-horses; for there was both Horse and Foot, in a good Rank and Order of Battle: One Way a felect Band drove a Herd of fair Cattle from foraging in a fat Meadow Ground, or elfe a Flock of Sheep and Lambs over the Plain, which they had taken as their Booty: The Shepherds fcarcely can efcape with their Lives; but when fled they call Affiftance, which makes a bloody Fray. The Squadrons join in Battle; and now where the Cattle lately grazed, the bloody and deferted Field lies fcattered with Carcaffes and Arms. Others encamped lay Siege to a ftrong City, affaulting it by Battery, Scaling, and Mining: Others defend it from the Walls with Darts, Javelins, Stones, and fulphurous Fire! Slaughter and War raging on every Side. In the other Part, the Heralds call to Council at the Gates of the City; and presently affemble greyheaded and grave Men mixed with Warriors; and they make Harangues: But Faction foon makes Oppofition; 'till at last one ENOCH (n) rifing up, of middle Age,

(n) Enoch, or Hanoch; Heb. i.e. Dedicated. The Son of Jared,

and the feventh Patriarch from Adam, born A. M. 622. He lived 365 Years

Age, diftinguished from the reft by his wife Deportment, fpoke much of Right and Wrong, of Juftice, Religion, Truth, Peace, and Judgment from above; both young and old exploded him, and had laid violent Hands upon him, had not a Cloud defcended, and amidst the Throng fnatched him thence unfeen : So Violence and Oppreffion, and Sword-law proceeded through all the Plain, and there was no Refuge to be found. ADAM was all in Tears to fee it, and full of fad Lamentation faid thus to his Guide :

O! WHAT are thefe? These are DEATH'S Minifters, not MEN! who thus inhumanly deal DEATH to MEN, and ten-thousand-fold multiply the Sin of him who flew his Brother; for of whom do they make fuch general Slaughter, but of their Brethren; MEN of MEN? But who was that juft MAN, whom, had not Heaven rescued him, had been loft in and for his Righteousness?

To whom MICHAEL replied thus: These are the Product of thofe ill-mated Marriages which thou faweft, where the Good are matched with the Bad, who of themselves abhor to join; and being imprudently mixed, produce prodigious Births of Body or Mind. Such thefe Giants fhall be; Men of exceeding high Renown; for in those Days, Power only fhall be admired, and called Valour and heroick Virtue: It fhall be held the highest Pitch of human Glory to overcome in Battle, and fubdue Nations, and bring home Spoils with infinite Manslaughter; and this done only for the Glory of Triumph; to be ftiled great Conquerors and Patrons of MANKIND, and be called Gods and Sons of Gods; when they much more properly might be called Deftroyers and the Plagues of MEN. Thus Fame and Renown shall be atchieved upon Earth; and that which

365 Years in the middle Age of the World, between the Creation to the Flood; and the middle Age

of Men in thofe Days; and was tranflated into Paradije, without tafting of Death and Mortality. Bbb 2 mon

Book XI. moft deferves Fame, fhall be hid in Silence. But he, the feventh from thee, whom thou beheldeft the only righteous one in a perverfe World; and therefore hated, therefore fo furrounded with Foes, for daring fingly to be juft, and utter difagreeable Truth, "That Go D "would come to judge them with his Saints." Him, the moft HIGH did, as thou faweft, take up to Heaven; for he was carried fuddenly away, to walk with GoD high in Salvation and the Regions of Blifs, being exempted from DEATH; to fhew thee what Reward attends the Good, and to the Evil what Punishment; which now caft thy Eyes forward, and thou fhalt foon fee:

ADAM looked, and he faw the Appearance of Things quite changed: The Trumpets, that founded fo loud in the Battle, ceafed; all was now turned to Game and Jollity, to Luxury, Riot, Feaft, and Dance, marrying or proftituting, juít as it happened; committing Adultery, or even Rapes, where any Degree of Beauty allured them: To thefe Vices they added Drunkenness, and contentious Broils. At length there came a rever ́end Sire among them, and declared great Diflike of their wicked Actions, teftifying against their Ways; he often frequented their Affemblies, going wherefoever they met, whether at Triumphs or Festivals; and preached to them Converfion and Repentance, as to Souls that were in Bondage to Sin, and under imminent Judgment; but it was all in vain: Which when he faw, he left off contending and removed his Tents far off from theirs: Then hewing tall Trees on the Mountains, he began to build a Veffel of large Bulk, measured by Cubits, Length, Breadth, and Height; fmeared round with Pth; and in the Side he contrived a Door, and laid in a large Store of Provifion, both for Man and Beaft: When behold a ftrange Wonder! there came every Beaft, and Bird, and little Infect, by Sevens and Pairs, and entered in, as taught their Order; laft the reverend Sire and his Wife, and his three Sons with their Wives entered in

alío

alfo; and Gop fhut them in. Mean while the SouthWind arofe, and blowing fiercely, drove together all the Clouds from under Heaven; the Hills fent up to fill them Vapours and moift Exhalations: And now the thickened Sky was all overcaft; the impetuous Rain rushed down, and it continued raining 'till the Earth was feen no more: The floating Ark (0) fwam upon the Water, and fecurely floated over the Waves: All other Dwellings the Flood overwhelmed, and with them rowled all their Pomp deep under the Water, one Wave following upon another: The Sea was without Shore, and the Palaces, where Luxury reigned lately, became the Habitation of Sea-Monfters; all that was left of MANKIND, lately fo numerous, em

It was

(0) The Ark of Noah. It was the first Ship in the World; God gave the Form and Mealures, and Noah was the Mafter Builder of it; and from it Men took the ' Hint of Navigation. made of Cedar or Cyprus, which hath a bitter Sap in it, therefore no Worms touch it, and it doth not rot, for this very End, that it might be a lafting Monument to future Generations, both of their Sin, Punishment, and miraculous Deliverance. Jofephus and Epiphanius affirm, that the Remains of it were to be feen in their Times, and that was about 3000 Years after the Building of it. In it Noah continued a whole Year and eleven Days. "In the fix hundreth Year of "Noah's Life, in the fecond "Month, the feventeenth Day

of the Month, the fame Day "were all the Fountains of "the great Deep broken up, " and the Windows of Heaven "were opened. And the Rain "was upon the Earth forty Days

and forty Nights. And in the

"fecond Month, on the feven "and twentieth Day of the "Month, was the Earth dried." The clean Beafts, or those that were appointed for Sacrifices, went into the Ark by Sevens ; that Noah might have wherewith to atone the Deity for his miraculous Deliverance, which he did, Gen. vii. 20. "And Noah "builded an Altar unto the "Lord, and took of every clean "Beaft, and of every clean "Fowl, and offered Burnt of

ferings on the Altar." Of the unclean Sort there were only two, the Male and the Female, to preferve and propagate every Species afterwards: For he made no Ufe of the Flesh of any of thefe; that was not granted 'till the Flood was over, Gen. ix. 3, 4.

66

"Every moving Thing that liveth fhall be Meat for

you; even as the green Herb "have I given you all Things: "But Flesh with the Life there"of, which is the Blood there"of, fhall you not eat."

barked

barked in one small Bottom. How then, ADAM, didst thou grieve, to behold the End of all thy Offfpring, and fo fad an univerfal Difpeopling of the World! another Flood of Tears and Sorrow drown'd thee also, and funk thee like thy Sons; 'till gently raised up by the Angel, thou at laft ftoodeft upon thy Feet, though comfortiefs; as when a Father mourns for his Children, which are destroyed all at once in his Sight. He had fcarce Power to utter to the Angel this Complaint:

WHAT Visions of Ill do I forefee! How much better had it been for me, to have lived ignorant of what was to happen hereafter! So I had born only my own Part of Evil, that of each Day being fufficient for the Day; now all those that were distributed and divided, to be the Burthen of many Ages, by my Fore-knowledge light at once upon me; gaining an untimely Birth to torment me, before their Being, with the Thoughts that they must be. Henceforward, let no MAN desire to be foretold what fhall befall him or his Children; for he may be affured before-hand, that it will be Evil; which his Fore-knowing can in no wife prevent; and as for the future Evil, he shall feel it, not only effectually, but full as much in Apprehenfion; how grievous is that to bear! But that Care is past now, there are no MEN to give Warning to; thofe few who have escaped Famine and Anguish, will at last be loft, wandering up the barren Waters. I had conceived Hope, that when Violence and War would have ceafed upon Earth, then all would have gone well; that Peace would have crowned the Race of MAN with Length of happy Days: But I find, that I was greatly deceived! for, now I perceive, that Peace corrupts as much as War waftes. Unfold to me, thou who art a Guide from Heaven! how comes it, that thefe Things are fo? And tell me, whether the Race of MANKIND will end here?

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