And love with fear the only God, to walk As in his presence, ever to observe His providence, and on him sole depend, Merciful over all his works, with good Still overcoming evil, and by small
Accomplishing great things-by things deemed weak Subverting worldly-strong, and worldly-wise
By simply meek; that suffering for Truth's sake Is fortitude to highest victory,
And to the faithful death the gate of life- Taught this by his example whom I now Acknowledge my Redeemer ever blest."
To whom thus also the Angel last replied:- "This having learned, thou hast attained the sum Of wisdom; hope no higher, though all the stars Thou knew'st by name, and all the ethereal powers, All secrets of the Deep, all Nature's works, Or works of God in heaven, air, earth, or sea, And all the riches of this world enjoy'dst, And all the rule, one empire. Only add Deeds to thy knowledge answerable; add faith; Add virtue, patience, temperance; add love, By name to come called Charity, the soul Of all the rest: then wilt thou not be loth To leave this Paradise, but shalt possess A Paradise within thee, happier far.
Let us descend now, therefore, from this top Of speculation; for the hour precise
Exacts our parting hence; and, see! the guards, By me encamped on yonder hill, expect
Their motion, at whose front a flaming sword, In signal of remove, waves fiercely round. We may no longer stay. Go, waken Eve; Her also I with gentle dreams have calmed, Portending good, and all her spirits composed To meek submission: thou, at season fit,
Let her with thee partake what thou hast heard- Chiefly what may concern her faith to know, The great deliverance by her seed to come (For by the Woman's Seed) on all mankind—
That ye may live, which will be many days, Both in one faith unanimous; though sad With cause for evils past, yet much more cheered With meditation on the happy end."
He ended, and they both descend the hill. Descended, Adam to the bower where Eve Lay sleeping ran before, but found her waked; And thus with words not sad she him received:- Whence thou return'st and whither went'st I know;
For God is also in sleep, and dreams advise, Which he hath sent propitious, some great good Presaging, since, with sorrow and heart's distress Wearied, I fell asleep. But now lead on; In me is no delay; with thee to go
Is to stay here; without thee here to stay Is to go hence unwilling; thou to me Art all things under Heaven, all places thou, Who for my wilful crime art banished hence. This further consolation yet secure
I carry hence: though all by me is lost, Such favour I unworthy am voutsafed, By me the Promised Seed shall all restore."
So spake our mother Eve; and Adam heard Well pleased, but answered not; for now too nigh The Archangel stood, and from the other hill To their fixed station, all in bright array, The Cherubim descended, on the ground Gliding metéorous, as evening mist Risen from a river o'er the marish glides, And gathers ground fast at the labourer's heel Homeward returning. High in front advanced, The brandished sword of God before them blazed, Fierce as a comet; which with torrid heat, And vapour at the Libyan air adust, Began to parch that temperate clime; whereat In either hand the hastening Angel caught Our lingering Parents, and to the eastern gate Led them direct, and down the cliff as fast To the subjected plain-then disappeared.
They, looking back, all the eastern side beheld Of Paradise, so late their happy seat, Waved over by that flaming brand; the gate With dreadful faces thronged and fiery arms.
Some natural tears they dropped, but wiped them soon; The world was all before them, where to choose Their place of rest, and Providence their guide. They, hand in hand, with wandering steps and slow, Through Eden took their solitary way.
WHO erewhile the happy Garden sung
By one man's disobedience lost, now sing 9 Recovered Paradise to all mankind,
By one man's firm obedience fully tried Through all temptation, and the Tempter foiled In all his wiles, defeated and repulsed, And Eden raised in the waste Wilderness.
Thou Spirit, who led'st this glorious Eremite Into the desert, his victorious field
Against the spiritual foe, and brought'st him thence By proof the undoubted Son of God, inspire, As thou art wont, my prompted song, else mute, And bear through highth or depth of Nature's bounds, With prosperous wing full summed, to tell of deeds Above heroic, though in secret done,
And unrecorded left through many an age: Worthy to have not remained so long unsung.
Now had the great Proclaimer, with a voice More awful than the sound of trumpet, cried Repentance, and Heaven's kingdom nigh at hand To all baptized. To his great baptism flocked With awe the regions round, and with them came From Nazareth the son of Joseph deemed To the flood Jordan-came as then obscure, Unmarked, unknown. But him the Baptist soon Descried, divinely warned, and witness bore As to his worthier, and would have resigned
To him his heavenly office. Nor was long His witness unconfirmed: on him baptized Heaven opened, and in likeness of a Dove The Spirit descended, while the Father's voice From Heaven pronounced him his beloved Son. That heard the Adversary, who, roving still About the world, at that assembly famed Would not be last, and, with the voice divine Nigh thunder-struck, the exalted man to whom Such high attest was given a while surveyed With wonder; then, with envy fraught and rage, Flies to his place, nor rests, but in mid air To council summons all his mighty Peers, Within thick clouds and dark tenfold involved, A gloomy consistory; and them amidst,
With looks aghast and sad, he thus bespake:
"O ancient Powers of Air and this wide World (For much more willingly I mention Air,
This our old conquest, than remember Hell, Our hated habitation), well ye know How many ages, as the years of men, This Universe we have possessed, and ruled In manner at our will the affairs of Earth, Since Adam and his facile consort Eve Lost Paradise, deceived by me, though since With dread attending when that fatal wound Shall be inflicted by the seed of Eve Upon my head. Long the decrees of Heaven Delay, for longest time to Him is short; And now, too soon for us, the circling hours This dreaded time have compassed, wherein we Must bide the stroke of that long-threatened wound (At least, if so we can, and by the head Broken be not intended all our power
To be infringed, our freedom and our being In this fair empire won of Earth and Air)— For this ill news I bring: The Woman's Seed, Destined to this, is late of woman born.
His birth to our just fear gave no small cause; But his growth now to youth's full power, displaying
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