I
Who ere while the happy garden sung,
By one man's disobedience loft, now fing
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.
Thou Spirit who ledft this glorious eremite Into the defert, his victorious field, Against the spiritual foe, and brought'ft him thence 10 By proof th' undoubted Son of God, inspire, As thou art wont, my prompted fong else mute, And bear through highth or depth of nature's bounds With profp'rous wing full fumm'd, to tell of deeds Above heroic, though in fecret done, 15 And unrecorded left through many an age, Worthy t' have not remain'd so long unfung. Now had the great Proclamer, with a voice A 2
More awful than the found of trumpet, cry'd
Repentance, and Heav'n's kingdom nigh at hand 20
To all baptiz'd: to his great baptism flock'd
With awe the regions round, and with them came
From Nazareth the son of Joseph deem'd
To the flood Jordan, came as then obfcure,
Unmark'd, unknown; but him the Baptist soon
Defcry'd, divinely warn'd, and witness bore
As to his worthier, and would have refign'd,
To him his heav'nly office, nor was long
His witness unconfirm'd: on him baptiz'd
Heav'n open'd, and in likeness of a dove
The Spirit defcended, while the Father's voice
From Heav'n pronounc'd him his beloved Son.
That heard the Adversary, who roving still
About the world, at that assembly fam'd
Would not be last, and with the voice divine
Nigh thunder-ftruck, th' exalted man, to whom
Such high attest was giv'n, a while survey'd
With wonder, then with envy fraught and rage
Flies to his place, nor rests, but in mid air
To council fummons all his mighty peers,
Within thick clouds and dark ten-fold involv'd,
A gloomy confiftory; and them amidst
With looks aghast and fad he thus bespake.
O ancient Pow'rs of air and this wide world,
For much more willingly I mention air,
This our old conquest, than remember Hell,
Our hated habitation; well ye know
How many ages, as the years of men,
This universe we have possess'd, and rul'd
In manner at our will th' affairs of earth,
Since Adam and his facil confort Eve
Loft Paradise deceiv'd by me, though since
With dread attending when that fatal wound
Shall be inflicted by the feed of Eve
Upon my head: long the decrees of Heav'n
Delay, for longest time to him is short;
And now too foon for us the circling hours
This dreaded time have compass'd, wherein we
Muft bide the stroke of that long threaten'd wound,
At least if so we can, and by the head
Broken be not intended all our power
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To be infring'd, our freedom and our being,
In this fair empire won of earth and air;
For this ill news I bring, the woman's feed
Destin'd to this, is late of woman born:
His birth to our juft fear gave no small cause,
But his growth now to youth's full flow'r, displaying
All virtue, grace, and wisdom to achieve
Things higheft, greatest, multiplies my fear.
Before him a great prophet, to proclame
His coming, is fent harbinger, who all
Invites, and in the confecrated stream
Pretends to wash off fin, and fit them fo
Purified to receive him pure, or rather
To do him honor as their king; all come,
And he himself among them was baptiz'd,
Not thence to be more pure, but to receive
The teftimony' of Heav'n, that who he is
Thenceforth the nations may not doubt; I faw
The prophet do him reverence, on him rising
Out of the water, Heav'n above the clouds
Unfold her crystal doors, thence on his head
A perfect dove descend, what-e'er it meant,
And out of Heav'n the fovran voice I heard,
This is my Son belov'd, in him am pleas'd.
His mother then is mortal, but his fire
He who obtains the monarchy of Heaven,
And what will he not do to' advance his Son?
His first-begot we know, and fore have felt,
When his fierce thunder drove us to the deep;
Who this is we must learn, for man he seems
In all his lineaments, though in his face
The glimpses of his Father's glory shine.
Ye see our danger on the utmost edge
Of hazard, which admits no long debate,
But must with something sudden be oppos'd,
Not force, but well couch'd fraud, well woven fnares,
Ere in the head of nations he appear
Their king, their leader, and supreme on earth.
I, when no other durft, fole undertook
The dismal expedition to find out
And ruin Adam, and th' exploit perform'd
Successfully; a calmer voyage now
Will waft me; and the way found profp'rous once Induces best to hope of like success.
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He ended, and his words impression left
Of much amazement to th' infernal crew,
Distracted and furpris'd with deep dismay
At these fad tidings; but no time was then
For long indulgence to their fears or grief:
Unanimous they all commit the care
And management of this main enterprize
To him their great dictator, whose attempt
At first against mankind so well had thriv'd
In Adam's overthrow, and led their march
From Hell's deep-vaulted den to dwell in light,
Regents and potentates, and kings, ye Gods
Of many a pleasant realm and province wide.
So to the coast of Jordan he directs
His easy steps, girded with fnaky wiles,
Where he might likelieft find this new-declar'd,
This man of men, attefted Son of God,
Temptation and all guile on him to try;
So to fubvert whom he suspected rais’d
To end his reign on earth fo long enjoy'd:
But contrary unweeting he fulfill'd
The purpos'd counsel pre-ordain'd and fix'd
Of the most High, who in full frequence bright
Of Angels, thus to Gabriel fmiling spake.
Gabriel, this day by proof thou fhalt behold, 130
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Thou
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