Ceased warbling, but all night tuned her soft lays : Others, on silver lakes and rivers, bathed
Their downy breast; the swan with arched neck, Between her white wings mantling proudly rows Her state with oary feet; yet oft they quit The dank, and rising on stiff pennons, tower The mid aeriel sky: others on ground
Walk'd firm; the crested cock whose clarion sounds The silent hours, and the other whose gay train Adorns him, colour'd with the florid hue
Of rainbows and starry eyes. The waters thus With fish replenish'd, and the air with fowl, Evening and morn solemnized the fifth day. The sixth, and of creation last, arose With evening harps and matin; when God said, Let the Earth bring forth soul living in her kind, Cattle, and creeping things, and beast of the Earth, Each in their kind. The Earth obey'd, and straight Opening her fertile womb teem'd at a birth Innumerous living creatures, perfect forms, Limb'd and full grown out of the ground uprose, As from his liar, the wild beast where wons In forest wild, in thicket, brake, or den ; Among the trees in pairs they rose, they walk'd. The cattle in the fields and meadows green: Those rare and solitary, these in flocks Pasturing at once, and in broad herds upsprung. The grassy clouds now calved; now half appear'd The tawney lion, pawning to get free
His hinder parts, then springs as broke from bonds, And rampant shakes his brinded mane ; the ounce, The libbard, and the tiger, as mole
Rising, the crumbled Earth above them threw In hillocks: the swift stag from under ground Bore up his branching head: scarce from his mould Behemoth biggest born of Earth upheaved
His vastness: fleeced the flocks and bleating rose,
As plants: ambiguous between sea and land The river-horse, and scaly crocodile.
At once came forth whatever creeps the ground, Insect or worm: those waved their limber fans For wings, and smaller lineaments exact In all the liveries deck'd of summer's pride With spots of gold and purple, azure and green ; These, as a line, their long dimension drew Streaking the ground with sinuous trace; not all Minims of nature; some of serpent kind, Wondrous in length and corpulence, involved Their snaky folds and added wings. First crept The parsimonious emmet, provident Offuture; in small room laige heart enclosed; Pattern of just equality perhaps
Hereafter, join'd in her popular tribes
Of commonalty: swarming next appear'd The female bee, that feeds her husband drone Deliciously, and builds her waxen cells
With honey stored: the rest are numberless, And thou their nature know'st, and gavest them names, Needless to thee repeated; nor unknown
The serpent, subtlest beast of all the field, Of huge extent sometimes, with brazen eyes And hairy mane terrific, though to thee Not noxious, but obedient at thy call.
Now Heaven in all her glory shone, and roll'd
Her motions, as the great Mover's hand
First wheel'd their course: Earth in her rich attire Consumate lovely smiled; air, water, earth,
By fowl, fish, beast, was flown, was swam, war walk'd, Frequent; and of the sixth day yet remained: There wanted yet the master-work, the end Of all yet done; a creature, who, not prone And brute as other creatures, but endued With sanctity of reason, might erect His stature, and upright with front serene
Govern the rest, self-knowing; and from thence Magnanimous to correspond with Heaven, But grateful to acknowledge whence his good Descends, thither with heart, and voice, and eyes Directed in devotion, to adore
And worship God supreme, who made him chief Of all his works: therefore the Omnipotent Eternal Father (for where is not he Present?) thus to his Son audibly spake:
"Let us make now man in our image, man In our similitude, and let them rule
Over the fish and fowl of sea and air, Beast of the field, and over all the Earth,
And every creeping thing that creeps the ground. This said, he form'd thee, Adam, thee, O man Dust of the ground, and in thy nostrils breathed The breath of life; in his own image he Created thee, in the image of God Express and thou becamest a living soul. Male he created thee; but thy consort Female, for race; then bless'd mankind, and said Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the Earth; Subdue it, and throughout dominion hold Over fish of the sea, and fowl of the air,
And every living thing that moves on the Earth. Wherever thus created, for no place
Is yet distinct by name, thence, as thou know'st, He brought thee into this delicious grove, This garden, planted with the trees of God, Delectable both to behold and taste :
And freely all their pleasant fruit for food
Gave thee; all sorts are here that all the Earth yields
Variety without end; but of the tree,
Which, tasted, work, knowledge of good and evil,
Thou may'st not; in the day thou eatest thou diest : Death is the penelty imposed; beware,
And govern well thy appetite; lest sin Surprise thee, and her black attendant death." Here finish'd he, and all that he had made View'd, and behold all was entirely good ; So even and morn accomplish'd the sixth day; Yet not till the Creator from his work Desisting, though unwearied, up return'd, Up to the Heaven of Heavens, his high abo de Thence to behold this new created world, The addition of his empire, how it show'd
In prospect from his throne, how good, how fair, Auswering his great idea. Up he rode Follow'd with acclamation, and the sound Symphonious of ten thousand harps, that tuned Angelic harmonies: the Earth, the air
Resounded (thou remember'st, for thou heard'st,) The Heavens and all the constellations rung, The planets in their station listening stood, While the bright pomp ascended jubilant. Open, ye everlasting gates! they sung, Open, ye Heavens! your living doors; let in The great Creator from his work return'd Magnificent, his six day's work, a world; Open, and henceforth oft; for God will deign To visit oft the dwellings of just men, Delighted; and with frequent intercourse Thither will send his winged messengers On errands of supernal grace. So sung
The glorious train ascending: He through Heaven, That open'd wide her blazing portals, led To God's eternal house direct the way; A broad and ample road, whose dust is gold And pavement stars, as stars to thee appear, Seen in the galaxy, that milky way,
Which nightly, as a circling zone, thou seest Powder'd with stars. And now on Earth the seventh
Evening arose in Eden, for the sun
Was set, and twilight from the east came on,
Forerunning night; when at the holy mount
Of Heaven's high-seated top, the imperial throne Of Godhead, fix'd for ever firm and sure, The filial power arived, and sat him down With his great Father; for he also went Invissible, yet staid (such privilege
Hath Omnipresence,) and the work ordain'd, Author and end of all things; and from work Now resting, blessed and hallow'd the seventh day. As resting, on that day from all his work : But not in silence holy kept: the harp Had work and rested not; the solemn pipe, And dulcimer, all organs of sweet stop, All sound on fret by strings or golden wire, Temper'd soft tuning, intermix'd with voice Choral or unison of incense clouds,
Fuming from golden cencers, hid the mount. Creation and the sixth days' acts they sung:
Great are thy works, Jehovah ? infinité
Thy power! what thought can measure thee, or tongue Relate thee! Greater now in thy return
Than from giant Angels: Thee that day Thy thunders magnified; but to create Is greater than created to destroy.
Who can impair thee, Mighty King, or bound Thy empire! Easily the proud attempt Of spirits apostate, and their counsels vain, Thou hast repelled; while impiously they thought Thee to diminish, and from thee withdraw The number of thy worshippers. Who seeks To lessen thee, against his purpose serves To manifest the more thy might his evil Thou usest, and from thence createst more good, Witness this new-made world, another Heaven From Heaven gate not far, founded in view On the clear hyaline, the glassy sea; Of amplitude almost immense, with stars
« ՆախորդըՇարունակել » |