The gracious judge without revile reply'd.

My voice thou oft haft heard, and haft not fear'd,
But ftill rejoic'd; how is it now become

So dreadful to thee? that thou' art naked, who
Hath told thee? haft thou eaten of the tree,
Whereof I gave thee charge thou shouldst not eat?
To whom thus Adam fore befet reply'd.
O Heav'n! in evil ftrait this day I ftand
Before my judge, either to undergo
Myself the total crime, or to accuse

My other felf, the partner of my life;

Whofe failing, while her faith to me remains,
I should conceal, and not expofe to blame

By my complaint; but strict neceffity
Subdues me, and calamitous constraint,

120

1

125

Left on my head both fin and punishment,

However infupportable, be all

134

Devolv'd; though should I hold my peace, yet thou

Wouldst easily detect what I conceal,

This Woman, whom thou mad'st to be my help,
And gav'ft me as thy perfect gift, fo good,
So fit, fo acceptable, so divine,

That from her hand I could suspect no ill,
And what she did, whatever in itself,
Her doing feem'd to justify the deed;
She gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

To whom the fovran Presence thus reply'd.
Was the thy God, that her thou didst obey
Before his voice, or was she made thy guide,
Superior, or but equal, that to her

Thou didst refign thy manhood, and the place
Wherein God fet thee' above her made of thee,
And for thee, whofe perfection far excell'd

Hers in all real dignity? Adorn'd

137. This Woman, whom thou
mad ft to be my help,
And gav'ft me as thy perfect gift-
She gave me of the tree, and I

did cat.] Gen. III. 12. And the Man faid, The Woman, whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. We fee that he still preferves all that is Scripture, though he intermixes other things which were likely enough to have been faid and done. Adam fpeaks of Eve much in the

140

145

150

She was indeed, and lovely to attract

155

Thy love, not thy fubjection; and her gifts
Were fuch as under government well feem'd,
Unfeemly to bear rule, which was thy part
And person, hadft thou known thyself aright.
So having faid, he thus to Eve in few.
Say Woman, what is this which thou haft done?
To whom fad Eve with fhame nigh overwhelm'd,
Confeffing foon, yet not before her judge
Bold or loquacious, thus abafh'd reply'd.
The Serpent me beguil'd, and I did eat.

169

Which when the Lord God heard, without delay To judgment he proceeded on th' accus'd Serpent though brute, unable to transfer

The guilt on him who made him inftrument

165

Of

Thy cherishing, thy honoring, and ter, illam vero gravitatis, feveritatis

thy love,

perfonam non appetivi. Milton in his Hiftory of England, p. 37. Edit. Tol. ufes the word thus," If it

were an honor to that perfon "which he fuftain'd. Richardfon. 158. Say Woman, what is this

which thou haft done?] Gen. III. 13. And the Lord God faid unto the Woman, What is this that thou haft done?

162. The Serpent me beguil'd, and I did eat.] And the Woman P 4

Jaid

Of mischief, and polluted from the end
Of his creation; justly then accurs'd,

As vitiated in nature: more to know

Concern'd not Man (fince he no further knew)
Nor alter'd his offence; yet God at laft

To Satan first in fin his doom apply'd,

Though in myfterious terms, judg'd as then beft:
And on the Serpent thus his curse let fall.
Because thou haft done this, thou art accurs'd

170

175

Above

faid, The Serpent beguiled me, and I above every beaft of the field: upon

did eat.

169. more to know Concern'd not Man (fince he no further knew)] This is badly exprefs'd. The meaning is, As Man was not to be let into the mystery of the redemption at this time, it did not concern him to know that the ferpent was but the inftrument of the Devil. When Milton wrote this, I fancy he had it not then in his thoughts to make Michael reveal to Adam in the last book the doctrin of redemption; or if he did intend it, he forgot that a theological comment on thofe words in Genefis would ill agree with what was to follow.

Warburton.

175. Because thou hast done this, &c.] As near as may be to the very words of Scripture, Gen. III. 14, 15. And the Lord God faid unto the Serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art curfed above all cattel, and

thy belly fhalt thou go, and duft fhalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the Woman, and between thy feed and her feed: it fall bruife thy head, and thou shalt bruife his heel. Our author was certainly here more in the right than ever in adhering religioufly to the words of Scripture, tho' he has thereby spoil'd the harmony of his verse. He thought without doubt that to mix any thing of his own would be a violation of decency, and a profanation, like that of Uzzah's putting forth his hand to the ark of God. And the fentence is very well explain'd by him, that it was pronounc'd immediately upon the Serpent as made the inftrument of mifchief and vitiated in nature, but is to be apply'd mediately to Satan, the old Serpent, though in myfterious terms: And as the author explains how the sentence was to be underitood before he re

lates

Above all cattel, each beast of the field;
Upon thy belly groveling thou shalt
And duft shalt eat all the days of thy life.
Between thee and the Woman I will put...
Enmity, and between thine and her feed;

Her feed fhall bruise thy head, thou bruise his heel.

So fpake this oracle, then verify'd

When Jefus fon of Mary, fecond Eve,

Saw Satan fall like lightning down from Heaven,

lates it, fo he shows afterwards how cramp'd down by a wrong choice, without the expected applause.