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Took largely, of their mutual guilt the feal,

The folace of their fin, till dewy fleep

Opprefs'd them, wearied with their amorous play. 1045 Soon as the force of that fallacious fruit,

That with exhilarating vapor bland

About their fpirits had play'd, and inmost powers
Made err, was now exhal'd; and groffer fleep
Bred of unkindly fumes, with conscious dreams 1050
Incumber'd, now had left them; up they rofe

As from unreft, and each the other viewing,
Soon found their eyes how open'd, and their minds
How darken'd; innocence, that as a veil

Had fhadow'd them from knowing ill, was gone, 1055
Juft confidence, and native righteousness,

And honor from about them, naked left

To guilty fhame; he cover'd, but his robe
Uncover'd more. So rofe the Danite strong
Herculean Samfon from the harlot-lap
Of Philiftéan Dalilah, and wak'd

Shorn of his ftrength. They deftitute and bare
Of all their virtue: filent, and in face
Confounded long they fat, as ftrucken mute,

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Till Adam, though not lefs than Eve abash'd, 1065 ·
At length gave utterance to these words constrain'd.
O Eve, in evil hour thou didst give ear
To that falfe worm, of whomfoever taught
To counterfeit Man's voice, true in our fall,
Falfe in our promis'd rifing; fince our eyes
Open'd we find indeed, and find we know
Both good and ev'il, good loft, and evil got,

1070

Bad

Bad fruit of knowledge, if this be to know,
Which leaves us naked thus, of honor void,
Of innocence, of faith, of purity,
Our wonted ornaments now foil'd and ftain'd,
And in our faces evident the figns

Of foul concupiscence; whence evil store;
Ev'n fhame, the last of evils; of the firft
Be fure then. How fhall I behold the face
Henceforth of God or Angel, erft with joy
And rapture fo' oft beheld? thofe heav'nly shapes
Will dazzle now this earthly with their blaze
Infufferably bright. O might I here

In folitude live favage, in fome glade
Obfcur'd, where highest woods impenetrable
To ftar or fun-light, spread their umbrage broad
And brown as evening: Cover me, ye Pines,
Ye Cedars, with innumerable boughs
Hide me, where I may never see them more.
But let us now, as in bad plight, devise
What beft may for the prefent ferve to hide
The parts of each from other, that seem most
To fhame obnoxious, and unfeemlieft feen;

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Some tree, whose broad smooth leaves together fow'd,
And girded on our loins, may cover round
Thofe middle parts, that this new comer, fhame,
There fit not, and reproach us as unclean.

So counsel'd he, and both together went
Into the thickest wood; there foon they chose
The fig-tree, not that kind for fruit renown'd,
But fuch as at this day to Indians known

1100

In Malabar or Decan spreads her arms

Branching fo broad and long, that in the ground
The bended twigs take root, and daughters grow 1105
About the mother tree, a pillar'd shade

High overarch'd, and echoing walks between;
There oft the Indian herdsman fhunning heat
Shelters in cool, and tends his pasturing herds
At loopholes cut through thickest shade: Thofe leaves
They gather'd, broad as Amazonian targe,
And with what skill they had, together fow'd,
To gird their waste, vain covering if to hide
Their guilt and dreaded fhame; O how unlike
To that first naked glory! Such of late
Columbus found th' American, fo girt
With feather'd cincture, naked elfe and wild
Among the trees on iles and woody shores.

1115

Thus fenc'd, and, as they thought, their shame in part Cover'd, but not at rest or ease of mind,

They fat them down to weep; nor only tears

Rain'd at their eyes, but high winds worse within
Began to rife, high paffions, anger, hate,

Miftruft, fufpicion, difcord, and shook fore

Their inward ftate of mind, calm region once
And full of peace, now toft and turbulent:
For understanding rul'd not, and the will
Heard not her lore, both in fubjection now
To fenfual appetite, who from beneath
Ufurping over fovran reason clam'd

Superior fway: from thus diftemper'd breast,
Adam, estrang'd in lock and alter'd stile,

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Speech

Speech intermitted thus to Eve renew'd.

Would thou hadst hearken'd to my words, and stay'd With me, as I befought thee, when that strange 1135 Defire of wand'ring this unhappy morn,

I know not whence poffefs'd thee: we had then
Remain'd still happy; not as now, defpoil'd
Of all our good, sham'd, naked, miserable.
Let none henceforth feek needlefs caufe to' approve
The faith they owe; when earnestly they seek
Such proof, conclude, they then begin to fail.

To whom foon mov'd with touch of blame thus Eve. What words have pafs'd thy lips, Adam fevere! Imput'st thou that to my default, or will

1145

Of wand'ring, as thou call'ft it, which who knows
But might as ill have happen'd thou being by,
Or to thyfelf perhaps? hadft thou been there,

1150

Or here th' attempt, thou couldst not have difcern'd
Fraud in the Serpent, fpeaking as he spake;
No ground of enmity between us known,
Why he should mean me ill, or feck to harm.
Was I to have never parted from thy fide?
As good have grown there ftill a lifeless rib.
Being as I am, why didft not thou the head
Command me abfolutely not to go,
Going into fuch danger as thou faidft?

Too facil then thou didst not much gainfay,
Nay didft permit, approve, and fair dismiss.
Hadft thou been firm and fix'd in thy diffent,
Neither had I tranfgrefs'd, nor thou with me.

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To whom then firft incens'd Adam reply'd. Is this the love, is this the recompenfe

Of mine to thee, ingrateful Eve, exprefs'd
Immutable when thou wert loft, not I,

1163

Who might have liv'd and joy'd immortal bliss,

Yet willingly chofe rather death with thee?

And am I now upbraided as the cause

Of thy tranfgreffing? not enough fevere,

It feems, in thy reftraint: what could I more?

1170

I warn'd thee, I admonish'd thee, foretold
The danger, and the lurking enemy

That lay in wait; beyond this had been force,
And force upon free will hath here no place.

But confidence then bore thee on, fecure

1175

Either to meet no danger, or to find

Matter of glorious trial; and perhaps

I alfo err'd in overmuch admiring

What feem'd in thee fo perfect, that I thought
No evil durft attempt thee, but I rue

1180

That error now, which is become my crime,

And thou th' accufer. Thus it fhall befall

Him who to worth in woman overtrufting

Lets her will rule; reftraint fhe will not brook,
And left to' herself, if evil thence enfuc,

1185

She first his weak indulgence will accuse.
Thus they in mutual accusation spent

The fruitless hours, but neither felf-condemning,
And of their vain conteft appear'd no end.

THE END OF THE NINTH BOOK.

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