The breath of life: in his own image he
Created thee, in the image of God

Express; and thou becam'st 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,

531

Subdue it, and throughout dominion hold

Over fish of the sea, and fowl of th' air,

And ev'ry living thing that moves on th' earth.
Wherever thus created, for no place

535

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

540

Gave thee; all sorts are here that all th' earth yields, Variety without end; but of the tree,

Which, tasted, works knowledge of good and evil,

Thou may'st not; in the day thou eat'st, thou dy'st; Death is the penalty imposed; beware,

545

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

550

Desisting, though unweary'd, up return'd,
Up to the Heav'n of Heav'ns, his high abode,
Thence to behold this new-created worid,
Th' addition of his empire, how it shew'd

555

In prospect from his throne, how good, how fair,
Answ'ring 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 Heav'ns, and all the constellations rung;
The planets in their station list'ning stood,
While the bright pomp ascended jubilant.

560

563. The word station is a scientific term, and signifies the place of a planet when it appears at rest in its orbit.

Open, ye everlasting gates, they sung;

565

Open, ye Heav'ns, your living doors: let in
The great Creator from his work return'd
Magnificent. his six days' 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

570

The glorious train ascending. He through Heav'n,
That open'd wide her blazing portals, led
To God's eternal house direct the way:

578

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

580

Ev'ning arose in Eden, tor the sun

Was set, and twilight from the east came on,
Forerunning night; when at the holy mount

Of Heav'n's high-seated top, th' imperial throne 585

Of Godhead, fix'd for ever firm and sure,

The Filial Pow'r arrived, and sat him down
With his great Father (for he also went

Invisible) yet stay'd (such privilege

Hath Omnipresence) and the work ordain'd

500

Author and End of all things, and from work

Now resting, bless'd and hallow'd the sev'nth 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 sounds on fret by string or golden wire,
Temper'd soft tunings, intermix'd with voice
Choral or unison of incense clouds
Fuming from golden censers hid the mount.
Creation and the six days' acts they sung:
Great are thy works, Jehovah! infinite

595

600

565. Ps. xxiv. 7. which was sung when the ark was carried into

the sanctuary of the temple on Mount Sion.

581. There is a similar expression in Chaucer.

597. The divisions on the finger board of a violin are called frels. 599 Rev. viii. 3, 4.

Thy pow'r! What thought can measure thee, or

tongue

Relate thee Greater now in thy return
Than from the giant Angels! thee that day
Thy thunders magnify'a! but to create,
Is greater than created to destroy.

605

Who can impair thee, mighty King, or bound

Thy empire Easily the proud attempt
Of Spirits apostate and their counsels vain
Thou hast repell d, 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 creat'st more good.
Witness this new-made world, another Heav'n
From Heav'n-gate not far, founded in view
On the clear Hyaline, the glassy sea:
Of amplitude almost immense, with stars
Num'rous, and ev'ry star perhaps a world
Of destined habitation; but thou know'st
Their seasons: among these the seat of Men,
Earth with her nether ocean circumfused,
Their pleasant dwelling-place. Thrice happy Men,
And sons of Men, whom God hath thus advanced,
Created in his image, there to dwell

610

615

620

62-1

And worship him, and in reward to rule
Over his works, on earth, in sea, or air,
And multiply a race of worshippers
Holy and just! thrice happy if they know
Their happiness, and persevere upright!

So sung they, and the empyréan rung

With Halleluiahs. Thus was Sabbath kept.

630

And thy request think now fulfill'd, that ask'd 635
How first this world and face of things began,
And what before thy memory was done

From the beginning, that posterity

Inform'd by thee might know; if else thou seck'st Aught, not surpassing human measure, say.

610

605. Giant, not in allusion to their stature it is supposed, but to their ride and fierceness.

624. Nether, to distinguish it from the water? above the firmameul

BOOK VIII.

THE ARGUMENT.

Adam inquires concerning celestial motions; is doubtfully anrwered, and exhorted to search rather things more worthy of knowledge: Adam assents: and, still desirous to detain Raphael, relates to him what he rentembered since his own creation, his placing in Paradise, his talk with God concerning solitude and fit society, his first meeting and nuptials with Eve, his discourse with the Angel thereupon; who, after admonitions repeated, departs.

THE Angel ended, and in Adam's ear

So charming left his voice, that he awhile

Thought him still speaking, still stood fix'd to hear; Then, as new waked, thus gratefully reply'd:

What thanks sufficient, or what recompense

5

With wonder, but delight, and, as is due,

With glory attribúted to the High

Creator? Something yet of doubt remains,
Which only thy solution can resolve.
When I behold this goodiy frame, this world,
Of Heav'n and Earth consisting, and compute
Their magnitudes; this earth, a spot, a grain,
An atom, with the firmament compared
And all her number'd stars, that seem to roll
Spaces incomprehensible (for such

15

20

Their distance argues, and their swift return
Diurnal) merely to officiate light

Round this opacous earth, this punctual spot,
One day and night, in all their vast survey

15. Allusion is made in the following part of the discourse be ween Raphael and Adam, to the two most celebrated systems of astronomy, those of Ptolemy and Copernicus: the difference in which was, that the former made the earth, the latter the sun, the centre of the universe. Adam speaks in allusion to the Ptolemaic systeni, and the Angel answers by detailing the usual explanations formerly given of the difficulties alleged.

19. Number'd, Ps. cxlvii. 4.

BOOK VIII.

Useless besides; reasoning I oft admire
How Nature, wise and frugal, could commit
Such disproportions, with superfluous hand
So many nobler bodies to create,
Greater, so manifold to this one use,

For aught appears, and on their orbs imposa
Such restless revolution, day by day
Repeated, while the sedentary earth,

30

That better might with far less compass move,
Served by more noble than herself, attains
Her end without least motion, and receives
As tribute, such a sumless journey brought
Of incorporeal speed, her warmth and light;
Speed, to describe whose swiftness number fails.

35

41

So spake our sire, and by his count'nance seem'd Ent'ring on studious thoughts abstruse; which Eve Perceiving where she sat retired in sigat, With lowliness majestic from her seat, And grace that won who saw to wish her stay, Rose, and went forth among her fruits and flow'rs, To visit how they prosper'd, bud and bloom, Her nursery: they at her coming sprung, And, touch'd by her fair tendence, gladlier grew. Yet went she not, as not with such discourse Delighted, or not capable her ear

45

Of what was high: such pleasure she reserved, 50 Adam relating, she sole auditress;

Her husband, the relator, she preferr'd

Before the Angel, and of him to ask

Chose rather. He, she knew, would intermix

Grateful digressions, and solve high dispute

55

With conjugal caresses; from his lip

Not words alone pleased her. O when meet now

Such pairs, in love and mutual honour join'd!

With Goddess-like demeanour forth she went,

Not unattended, for on her, as queen,

60

A pomp of winning graces waited still,

And from about her shot darts of desire

Into all eyes to wish her still in sight.

And Raphael, now to Adam's doubt proposed,
Benevolent and facile, thus reply'd:

65

To ask or search I blame thee not; for Heav'n

4s as the book of God before thee set,