Book IX. from among the PHILISTINES, and waked deprived of his Strength, fo ADAM and EVE waked, deftitute and bare of all their Virtue: They fat a long Time with their Countenances confufed, as though they had been ftruck, dumb, 'till ADAM, though no lefs abashed than EvE, at length forced Utterance to these Words: O EVE! it was in an ill Hour that thou gavest Ear to that falfe Serpent, whoever taught him to counterfeit MAN'S Voice; the Truth being that we are fallen, but our promised Rifing falfe: fince we find, that indeed our Eyes are opened, and find that we know both Good and Evil!Good loft, and Evil got! A very bad Fruit of Knowledge, if this be to know; this, which leaves us thus naked, void of Honour, Innocence, Faith, and Purity, our usual Ornaments, now all defiled and stained! and evident in our Faces the Signs of foul Concupifcence; whence comes Store of Evil, even Shame, the utmost Evil; and be affured many leffer will attend.How shall I henceforth behold the Face of GoD, or any of the Angels, fo often feen heretofore with Joy and Rapture? Those heavenly Shapes will now dazzle me with the Blaze of their Brightness, which I am no longer able to bear. O! that I might live favage here in Solitude, hid in some thick Shade, not to be penetrated by the Light of the Sun or Stars; where higheft Trees fpread their broad Shades, and darken the Night! Cover me, ye Pines! Hide me, ye Cedars! with innumerable Boughs, where I may never fee GOD or Angel more!But now let us, in this bad Condition we are in, contrive what may best serve for ny Myrtles grew there. This Valley was about twelve Miles from Jerufalem, on the Weft, but belonged to the Philiflines. Samfon's Mitrefs and Betrayer, Judg. xvi. 4, 5. St. Chryfoftom, Caffian, St. Ephrem, Pererius, Sulpitius, Severus, &c. think the was his Wife. But Jofephus, St. Ambrofe, St. Jerom, Serrarius, &c. believed otherways. the the prefent, to hide thofe Parts of ours each from the other, that are unfeemlieft and feem most obnoxious! to Shame: Let us find fome Tree, whofe, broad fmooth Leaves joined together, and girded upon the Loins, may cover all round thofe middle Parts; that this new Comer SHAME, may not continually approach us as unclean. ADAM Counselled thus, and they both went together into the thickeft Wood; there they foon chofe a Fig-Tree; not that which is efteemed for its Fruit, but fuch as at this Day (known to the INDIANS in MALABAR (d), or DECAN (e),) fpreads branching fo broad and long, that the bended Twigs take root in the Ground, and grow round about the Body of the Tree, from whence they firft shot forth; which makes a Shade like Rows of Pillars arched high over, and having Walks between; there the INDIAN Herdfmen often fhunning the Heat fhelter themfelves, and tend their Herds as they feed, cutting a Paffage through the thick Shade. The (d) Malabar; Indian. A A vait Country of India, lying along the West Coaft of the Peninfula from Cape Comorin, over against the fland of Ceylon, to Canara, on the Side of the Ganges; in Length about an hundred and eighty Leagues, or three hundred and twenty-four Miles; but no where above an hundred in Breadth; and the molt fruitful, temperate and populous Region in the World. It contained formerly feveral Kingdoms, which in the Time of Sar ma Perimal, about feven hundred and thirty Years ago, were all fubject to one Sovereign: He embraced Muhammedanifm, divided his Kingdom among his Relations, and went in Devotion to Mecca, and died there; but many of the People are Pagans fill, and others have embraced Chriftiauity of late, by the Miffionaries fent thither by the King of Denmark in 1706. (e) Decan; Ind. i. e. The South. A Royal City of a Kingdom of the fame Name in India, belonging to Malabar, in many Islands, on this Side of the Ganges. It has Bengal on the East, the Indian Sea on the Weft; Bisnagar on the South, and the Mogul's Country on the North. There thefe broadleaved Fig Trees grow in Abundance, which Milton hints at here: The Leaves of the Bonona Tree in Peru are four or five Feet long, and about two Feet wide. Another grows there, which is about twelve Feet long and five broad, which the Natives ufe for a Table-Cloth. Leaves Leaves of thofe Trees they gathered, which were very broad, and with what Skill they had fewed them together, to gird their Waifts. Vain Covering, if defigned to hide their Guilt, and the Shame that they dreaded! O how unlike to their first naked Glory! Juft fo COLUMBUS (f) found the AMERICANS (g), only girt round with Feathers; who elfe were naked and wild among the Trees, on Inlands, or by the Sea Shore. ADAM and EVE having made thefe Aprons, and as they thought in Part covered their Shame, were nevertheless not at Reft or Eafe in their (f) Columbus; Gr. Lat. i. e. A Dove, Chriftopher Columbus or Calon, born in Cugureo, but others say at Neray, near Genoa in Italy. He from his own Knowledge in Geography, and from the Information of an old Sailor Alphonfus Santrius, (whom he faved in a Shipwreck) di covered America, under the Name and Aid of Ferdinand King of Spain, A. D. 1492. But it was first discovered about three hundred Years before, A. D. 1170, by Mador, a valiant Prince and Son of Oren Guinneth King of Wales; as is related by Lynwric Ap Grano, Galyn Owen, Peter Martyr, Humphry Lloyd, Daniel Powel, Sir John Price, Richard Hackluyt, Sir Thomas Herbert, &c. which was farther confirmed by the Rev. Mr. Morgan Jones, Chaplain of South Carolina, who lived four Months with the Doeg Indians, and conversed with them in the Old British Language. Laftly, that Prince Madoc was buried in Mexico, appears by the Epitaph on his Monument lately found there.. See the Gloucefter Journal and Daily Poft, &c. March 6, 1740. After all the Service done to Spain, Colum bus was buried at Seul, with Contempt. (g) Americans; the People of America; fo called from Americus Vespucci or Vefpufius, à Florentine, who discovered this New World, A. D. 1597, and five Years after Columbus. America is furrounded with the Ocean on all Sides, and is not contiguous to Afia; as the Ruffians have lately discovered. It is as large as the three known Quarters of the World; for Mexico (or North America) is reckoned about twenty-three thousand Mile, and Peru (or South America) feventeen thoufand Miles in Compass: That is, if all the Land upon Galphs, Promontories and lands were duly measured. It contains from N. to S. about eight thousand two hundred and twenty Miles, and from E. to W. fix thoufand five hundred and forty. Plato, Ariftotle, Diodorus Siculus, and other Antients gave fome dark Hints of America; and other Authors affirm, that the old Carthagenians traded to it. But how could that be done without the Use ofthe Compafs and other Helps of Navigation, not known to the Antients Minds, but they fat them down to weep. Not only Tears fell from their Eyes, but high Storms began to rife within, high Paffions, Anger, Hate, Mistrust, Sufpicion, and Difcord, which forely fhook the inward State of their Minds, that once were quite calm and full of Peace, now restless and turbulent; for the Understanding ruled no longer, nor did the Will take it any longer for a Guide, but was in Subjection now to fenfual Appetite, who ufurping, claimed a fuperior Sway over lovereign Reafon. ADAM, from a Breaft thus diftempered, eftranged in Look, and in a different Stile, again renewed his Speech to EVE: I WISH thou hadst hearkened to what I said, and ftaid with me as I befought thee, when that ftrange Defire of wandering this unhappy Morning, I know not whence, poffeffed thee! we had then remained happy ftill, not as we are now, difpoiled of all our Good, fhamed, naked, and miferable.- Hence forth, let none feek needlefs Causes to prove the Faith they owe; but conclude, when they earnestly seek fuch Proof, that then they begin to fail in their Duty. To whom EVE, foon moved with ADAM's laying the Blame upon her, thus answered: ADAM, what very fevere Words have paffed thy Lips? Wilt thou impute that to my Default, or Will of wandering, (as thou calleft it) which, who knows, might have happened as ill if thou hadst been by, or perhaps have happened to thee, hadft thou been there, or had the Attempt been made here? Thou thyfelf couldest not have difcerned any Fraud in the Serpent, fpeaking as he fpake; there was no Ground of Enmity known between us, why fhould he mean me any Ill, or do me any Harm? What, was I never then to have parted from thy Side? As well I might have grown there ftill one of thy Ribs, and lifelefs! Being as I am, and thou the Head, why didft not thou abfolutely command me not to go, especially going into fuch Danger as thou faidft? But thou wert too ealy eafy then, and didft not much oppofe me; nay, thou didit permit me to go, approve of my Going, and difmiffed me fairly: Hadft thou been firm and fixed (as thou oughteft to have been) in with-holding me, then had not I tranfgreffed, nor thou with me. To whom then ADAM (the first Time of his being angry) replied: Is this my Love, and this the Recompence of mine to thee, which I proved unchangeable, ungrateful EVE! when thou wert loft, not I, who might have lived and enjoyed immortal Happiness; yet willingly rather chofe DEATH with thee: And am I now upbraided, as the Cause of thy Tranfgreffion?I was not, it feems, fevere enough in my Reftraint !— What could I do more? I warned thee, I counfelled and admonished thee; told thee before-hand of the Danger, and the lurking Enemy that lay in wait: What I had done beyond this had been Force, and Force can have no Effect upon Free-will. But then Confidence bore thee on; thou thoughteft thyfelf very fecure, either to meet no Danger at all, or else to find Matter of Glory in the Trial: And perhaps I was also in an Error, in admiring too much what feemed in thee to be so very perfect, that I thought nothing Evil durft make any Attempt upon thee; but I rue that Error now, which is become my Crime, and thou become my Accufer too! Thus fhall it happen to MAN, who putting too much Confidence in the Worth of WOMAN, lets her Will rule: She won't bear to be reftrained; and yet if fhe is left to herself, and any Evil enfue from thence, fhe'll firft accufe his weak Indulgence of her. Thus they fpent their Hours in mutual Accufation of each other; but neither of them would condemn themfelves, and there appeared no End to their vain and fruitlefs Contention. The End of the NINTH BOOK. THE |
