By parents; or his happiest choice too late To human life, and houfhold peace confound. He added not, and from her turn'd; but Eve Not fo repuls'd, with tears that ceas'd not flowing, And treffes all diforder'd, at his feet Fell humble, and embracing them, befought 911 Forfake me not thus, Adam, witness Heaven What love fincere, and reverence in my heart 915 I bear thee, and unweeting have offended, Unhappily deceiv'd; thy fuppliant I beg, and clafp thy knees; bereave me not, 920 Whereon I live, thy gentle looks, thy aid, Against a foe by doom exprefs affign'd us, 925 On me already loft, me than thyself More miferable; both have finn'd, but thou 930 The oppofition to both; both joining one here again his eye upon Grotius, Adamus Exul. A& V. Tu namque foli numini contrarius, As Milton read all good authors, fo The sentence from thy head remov'd may light She ended weeping, and her lowly plight, and like Abigail's fpeech to David, 1 Sam. XXV. 24. Upon me, my Lord, upon me let this iniquity be. Dr. Bentley would read, Me, only me, juft object of his ire: but as the repetition is highly pathetic, Mr. Upton thinks the trochaic following the fpondee makes the pathos more perceptible. 940.-foon his heart relented] This feems to have been drawn from a domestic scene. Milton's wife foon after marriage went to vifit her friends in Oxfordshire, and refufed, to return at the time appointed; He often folicited her, but in vain; fhe 933 940 As declar'd her refolution not to cobabit with him any more. Upon this he wrote his Doctrin and Difciphaf Divorce, and to fhow that he was in earnest was actually treating about a fecond marriage, when the wife contrived to meet him at a friend': is whom he often vifited, and there fell proftrate before him, imploring forgiveness and reconciliation. It not to be doubted (fays Mr. Fentor but an interview of that nature, little expected, muft wonderfully f fect him: and perhaps the impre fions it made on his imagination contributed much to the painting of that pathethic scene in Paradife Loft, in which Eve addreffeth herself to Adam for pardon and peace. the interceffion of his friends who were prefent, after a fhort reluctance he generously facrific'd all his refentment to her tears: -food 945 As one difarm'd, his anger all he loft, And thus with peaceful words uprais'd her foon. So now of what thou know'st not, who defirst Bear thine own first, ill able to sustain 950 His full wrath, whose thou feel'st as yet leaft part, And my displeasure bear'ft fo ill. If prayers Could alter high decrees, I to that place That on my head all might be visited, foon his heart relented Towards her, his life fo late and fole delight, Now at his feet fubmiffive in distress. Mr. Thyer thus farther inlarges upon the fame fubject. "This picture "of Eve's diftrefs, her fubmiffive "tender addrefs to her husband, and "his generous reconcilement to her " are extremely beautiful, I had "almost faid, beyond any thing in "the whole poem; and that reader "must have a very four and un"friendly turn of mind, whose heart "does not relent with Adam's, and "melt into a fympathizing commi"feration towards the mother of "mankind; fo well has our author here follow'd Horace's advice, -Si vis me flere, dolendum eft Primùm ipfi tibi - Art. Poet. 102. 66 955 Thy "Milton with great depth of judg"ment obferves in his Apology for Smedymnuus, that he who would "not be fruftrate of his hope to write "well in laudable things, ought himpofition of the best and honorableft Self to be a true poem, that is, a comthings, and have in himself the "experience and practice of all that truth of which obfervation he him"which is praife worthy: of the "felf is, I think, a fhining inftance "in this charming fcene now be"fore us, fince there is little room 66 to doubt but that the particular « interview of the fame nature which "beauties of it are owing to an that he is only here defcribing "he had with his own wife, and "those tender and generous fentiments, which he then felt and "experienc'd." 66 976. Tending Thy frailty and infirmer fex forgiven, To me committed and by me expos'd. Each other's burden, in our share of woe; 960 965 To whom thus Eve, recovering heart, reply'd. Adam, by fad experiment I know How little weight my words with thee can find, Found fo unfortunate; nevertheless, Reftor'd by thee, vile as I am, to place 970 Thy that they should refolve to remain childless; or if they found it difficult to do fo, that then, to prevent a long day's dying to themfelves and feed at once, they fhould make fhort and destroy themselves. The former method the confiders as fe relief of their extremes, the latter as the end. 978. As |