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Ran through his veins, and all his joints relax'd;
From his slack hand the garland wreath'd for Eve
Down dropt, and all the faded roses shed:
Speechless he stood and pale, till thus at length
First to himself he inward silence broke.

O fairest of creation, last and best

Of all God's works, creature in whom excell'd
Whatever can to sight or thought be form'd,
Holy, divine, good, amiable, or sweet!
How art thou lost, how on a sudden lost,
Defac'd, deflour'd, and now to death devote?

[blocks in formation]

895

900

of different words, as Hom. Iliad. xxi. 407.

Επτα δ' επισχε πιλιέρα πεσων-
and Virg. Æn. iv. 238.

Dixerat: ille patris magni parere
parabat
Imperio.

Erythræus and some critics lay great stress upon this, esteeming it a singular beauty in writing, though it is probable that the ancients fell into it by chance as moderns have carried it to a often as by design: but the ridiculous degree of affectation, and Dryden particularly thought it one of the greatest arts of versification. As there is scarce numbers, that is not to be found any beauty in writing, or art in in Milton, so he has something of this, but is more sparing in the use of it than several of the

modern poets. We produced before an instance of the single alliteration, vii. 471.

Behemoth liggest bornand here two or more letters are repeated, vi. 840.

Rather how hast thou yielded to transgress
The strict forbiddance, how to violate

The sacred fruit forbidd'n? some cursed fraud
Of enemy hath beguil'd thee, yet unknown,
And me with thee hath ruin'd, for with thee
Certain my resolution is to die;

905

How can I live without thee, how forego

Thy sweet converse and love so dearly join'd,
To live again in these wild woods forlorn?

910

Should God create another Eve, and I

Another rib afford, yet loss of thee

Would never from my heart; no no, I feel
The link of nature draw me: flesh of flesh,
Bone of my bone thou art, and from thy state
Mine never shall be parted, bliss or woe.

915

So having said, as one from sad dismay Recomforted, and after thoughts disturb'd Submitting to what seem'd remediless,

O'er shields and helms and helmed heads he rode,

love of thee so dearly joined to me. This is a common way of

as well as in the instance before speaking in Milton, and the

us,

reader may see more instances of it in iv. 129. and viii. 428.

Defac'd, deflour'd, and now to death The sense of this last verse is

devote.

And certainly now and then an instance may have a very good effect; but the continued affectation of it is below a great genius, and must be offensive to the ear instead of pleasing.

908. How can I live without

again found in ver. 970.

-link'd in love so dear.

910. To live again in these wild woods forlorn?] How vastly expressive are these words of Adam's tenderness and affection for Eve, as they imply that the mere imagination of losing her had already converted the sweets of Paradise into the horrors of a desolate

thee, how forego Thy sweet converse, and love so dearly join'd,] That is, the sweet converse and wilderness.

Thyer.

Thus in calm mood his words to Eve he turn'd.

Bold deed thou hast presum'd, advent'rous Eve,
And peril great provok'd, who thus hast dar'd,
Had it been only coveting to eye

That sacred fruit, sacred to abstinence,
Much more to taste it under ban to touch.
But past who can recall, or done undo?
Not God omnipotent, nor fate; yet so
Perhaps thou shalt not die, perhaps the fact
Is not so hainous now, foretasted fruit,
Profan'd first by the Serpent, by him first
Made common and unhallow'd ere our taste;
Nor yet on him found deadly, he yet lives,
Lives, as thou saidst, and gains to live as man

920. Thus in calm mood his words to Eve he turn'd.] He had till now been speaking to himself; now his speech turns to her, but not with violence, not with noise and rage, it is a deep considerate melancholy. The line cannot be pronounced but as it ought, slowly, gravely. Richardson.

922. who thus hast dar'd,] So it is in the first edition, but in the second by mistake it is printed hath dared, and that is followed in some others.

928. Perhaps thou shalt not die, &c.] How just a picture does Milton here give us of the natural imbecility of the human mind, and its aptness to be warped into false judgments and reasonings by passion and inclination? Adam had but just condemned the action of Eve in eating the forbidden fruit, and

920

925

930

yet drawn by his fondness for her, immediately summons all the force of his reason to prove what she had done to be right. This may probably appear a fault to superficial readers, but all intelligent ones will, I dare say, look upon it as a proof of our author's exquisite knowledge of human nature. Reason is but too often little better than a slave ready at the beck of the will to dress up in plausible colours any opinions that our interest or resentment have made agreeable to us. Thyer.

929. -hainous] So Milton spells this word, which is right and agreeable to its derivation from the French haineux. It is wrong to write it, as it is commonly written, heinous. We take notice of these things, as instances of our author's exact

ness.

Higher degree of life, inducement strong
To us, as likely tasting to attain
Proportional ascent, which cannot be
But to be gods, or angels demi-gods.
Nor can I think that God, Creator wise,
Though threat'ning, will in earnest so destroy
Us his prime creatures, dignified so high,
Set over all his works, which in our fall,
For us created, needs with us must fail,
Dependent made; so God shall uncreate,
Be frustrate, do, undo, and labour lose,

935

940

Not well conceiv'd of God, who though his power 945 Creation could repeat, yet would be loath

Us to abolish, lest the adversary

Triumph and say; Fickle their state whom God
Most favours; who can please him long? me first
He ruin'd, now mankind; whom will he next?

950

Matter of scorn, not to be given the foe.
However I with thee have fix'd my lot,

Certain to undergo like doom; if death
Consort with thee, death is to me as life;
So forcible within my heart I feel

955

The bond of nature draw me to my own,
My own in thee, for what thou art is mine;
Our state cannot be sever'd, we are one,
One flesh; to lose thee were to lose myself.
So Adam, and thus Eve to him replied.
O glorious trial of exceeding love,

947. ·lest the adversary Triumph and say, &c.] Compare the prayer of Moses,

960

Numbers xiv. 13-17. Then the
Egyptians shall hear it, &c. E.

Illustrious evidence, example high!

Engaging me to emulate, but short

Of thy perfection, how shall I attain,

Adam? from whose dear side I boast me sprung, 965

And gladly of our union hear thee speak,

One heart, one soul in both; whereof good proof

This day affords, declaring thee resolv❜d,

Rather than death or ought than death more dread

Shall separate us, link'd in love so dear,

970

To undergo with me one guilt, one crime,

If any be, of tasting this fair fruit,

Whose virtue (for of good still good proceeds,
Direct, or by occasion) hath presented

This happy trial of thy love, which else
So eminently never had been known.

975

Were it I thought death menac'd would ensue
This my attempt, I would sustain alone

The worst, and not persuade thee, rather die
Deserted, than oblige thee with a fact
Pernicious to thy peace, chiefly assur'd
Remarkably so late of thy so true,
So faithful love unequall'd; but I feel

978. —I would sustain alone &c.] We have followed the punctuation of the first edition, as the sense requires, which is plainly this, If I thought the death that was threatened would be the consequence of this my attempt, I would suffer the worst alone, and not endeavour to persuade thee, I would rather die by myself forsaken of thee, than oblige thee with a fact &c. Oblige is used here in

980

the large sense of the Latin
word obligo, which signifies not
only to bind, but to render
obnoxious to guilt or punish-
ment. We have in Cicero, Cum
populum Romanum scelere obli-
gasses. Orat. pro Domo sua 8.
Sæpe etiam legum judiciorum-
que pœnis obligantur. Fin i. 14.
and in Horace, Od. ii. viii. 5.

--Sed tu simul obligâsti
Perfidum votis caput.

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