Whence thou return'st, and whither went'st, I

know;

610

615

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 banish'd hence.
This further consolation yet secure

I carry hence; though all by me is lost,
Such favour I unworthy am vouchsaf'd,
By me the promis'd Seed shall all restore.

620

So spake our mother Eve, and Adam heard Well pleas'd, but answer'd not; for now too nigh Th' archangel stood, and from the other hill To their fix'd station all in bright array The cherubim descended; on the ground Gliding meteorous, as ev'ning mist

630

Ris'n from a river o'er the marish glides,
And gathers round fast at the labourer's heel
Homeward returning. High in front advanc'd
The brandish'd sword of God before them blaz'd
Fierce as a comet; which with torrid heat,

615 In me] Virg. Eclog. iii. 52,

'In me mora non erit ulla.' Newton. 630 glides] See Dante Il Purgat. c. v. 37. 'Vapori accesi non vid' io sì tosto Di prima notte mai fender sereno, Nè, sol calando, nuvole d'Agosto.'

635

640

And vapour as the Libyan air adust,
Began to parch that temperate clime: whereat
In either hand th' hast'ning angel caught
Our ling'ring parents, and to the eastern gate
Led them direct, and down the cliff as fast
To the subjected plain; then disappear❜d.
They looking back all th' eastern side beheld
Of Paradise, so late their happy seat,
Wav'd over by that flaming brand, the gate
With dreadful faces throng'd and fiery arms:
Some natural tears they dropp'd, but wip'd them

soon;

615

The world was all before them, where to choose Their place of rest, and Providence their guide. They, hand in hand, with wand'ring steps and slow, Through Eden took their solitary way.

635 vapour] Hor. Epod. iii. 15.

'Nec tantus unquam siderum insedit vapor
Siticulosæ Apuliæ.'

685 air adust] Tasso Gier. Lib. vii. 52.

Qual con le chiome sanguinose horrende

Splender cometa suol per l' aria adusta.'

Richardson.

Bowle.

648 brand] Sword. Gen. i. 24. Blade, xi. 120. Bentl. MS.

640 world] Shakesp. Rich. II. act. i. sc. 3.

all the world's my way.'

648 hand]

Johnson.

'A small but artful paradise they walk'd,

And hand in hand sad gentle things they talk'd.'

See Cowley's Davideis, p. 20.

648 wand'ring] Wearied. Careful. Social. Bentl. MS.

PARADISE REGAINED.

PARADISE REGAINED.

BOOK I.

I, WHO ere-while the happy garden sung,
By one man's disobedience lost, now sing
Recover'd Paradise to all mankind,
By one man's firm obedience fully try'd
Through all temptation, and the tempter foil'd
In all his wiles, defeated, and repuls'd,
And Eden rais'd in the waste wilderness.

5

11

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 thro' height or depth of nature's bounds With prosperous wing full summ'd to tell of deeds Above heroic, though in secret done,

And unrecorded left through many an age, Worthy t' have not remain❜d so long unsung. Now had the great Proclaimer, with a voice

7 waste] Spens. Fairy Queen, i. i. 32.

'Far hence, quoth he, in wasteful wilderness.' Dunster. 14 summ'd] Drayton's Polyolbion. Song xi.

15

'The muse from Cambria comes, with pinions summ'd and

sound.'

Todd.