Incredible how swift, had thither roll'd
Diurnal, or this lefs volúbil earth,
By fhorter flight to th' east, had left him there
Arraying with reflected purple' and gold
The clouds that on his weftern throne attend.
Now came ftill evening on, and twilight gray
Had in her fober livery all things clad;
Silence accompanied; for beast and bird,
They to their graffy couch, thefe to their nefts
Were flunk, all but the wakeful nightingale;
She all night long her amorous defcant fung;
Silence was pleas'd: now glow'd the firmament
With living faphirs: Hesperus, that led
The starry hoft, rode brightest, till the moon
Rifing in clouded majefty, at length
Apparent queen unveil'd her peerless light,
And o'er the dark her filver mantle threw.
When Adam thus to Eve. Fair Confort, th' hour
Of night, and all things now retir'd to rest
Mind us of like repofe, fince God hath fet
Labor and reft, as day and night to men
Sueceffive; and the timely dew of fleep
Now falling with foft flumbrous weight inclines 615
Our eye-lids: other creatures all day long
Rove idle unemploy'd, and lefs need rest ;
Man hath his daily work of body' or mind
Appointed, which declares his dignity,
And the regard of Heav'n on all his
While other animals unactive range,
And of their doings God takes no account.
To-morrow ere fresh morning streak the east
With first approach of light, we must be risen,
And at our pleasant labor, to reform
Yon flow'ry arbors, yonder alleys green,
Our walk at noon, with branches overgrown,
That mock our scant manuring, and require
More hands than ours to lop their wanton growth:
Those blossoms also, and those dropping gums,
That lie bestrown unfightly and unfmooth,
Afk riddance, if we mean to tread with ease;
Mean while, as Nature wills, night bids us rest.
To whom thus Eve with perfect beauty' adorn'd.
My Author and Disposer, what thou bidst
Unargued I obey; fo God ordains;
God is thy law, thou mine to know no more
Is woman's happiest knowledge and her praise.
With thee converfing I forget all time;
All feasons and their change, all please alike.
Sweet is the breath of morn, her rifing sweet,
With charm of earliest birds; pleasant the fun,
When first on this delightful land he spreads
His orient beams, on herb, tree, fruit, and flower,
Glift'ring with dew; fragrant the fertil earth
After foft fhow'rs; and sweet the coming on
Of grateful evening mild; then filent night
With this her folemn bird, and this fair moon,
And these the gems of Heav'n, her starry train :
But neither breath of morn, when she ascends
With charm of earliest birds; nor rising fun
On this delightful land; nor herb, fruit, flower,
Glift'ring with dew; nor fragrance after showers:
Nor grateful evening mild; nor filent night
With this her folemn bird, nor walk by moon,
Or glittering star-light without thee is fweet.
But wherefore all night long shine these? for whom
This glorious fight, when fleep hath fhut all eyes?
To whom our general ancestor reply'd.
Daughter of God and Man, accomplish'd Eve,
These have their course to finish round the earth,
By morrow evening, and from land to land
In order, though to nations yet unborn,
Miniftring light prepar'd, they fet and rife;
Left total darkness should by night regain
Her old poffeffion, and extinguish life
In nature and all things, which these soft fires
Not only' inlighten, but with kindly heat
Of various influence foment and warm,
Temper or nourish, or in part fhed down
Their ftellar virtue on all kinds that
On earth, made hereby apter to receive
Perfection from the fun's more potent ray.
These then, though unbeheld in deep of night,
Shine not in vain; nor think, though men were none,
That Heav'n would want fpectators, God want praife:
Millions of fpiritual creatures walk the earth
Unseen, both when we wake, and when we sleep:
All these with ceaseless praise his works behold
Both day and night: how often from the steep
Of echoing hill or thicket have we heard
Celestial voices to the midnight air,
Sole, or refponfive each to others note,
Singing their great Creator? oft in bands
While they keep watch, or nightly rounding walk 685
With heav'nly touch of inftrumental founds
In full harmonic number join'd, their fongs
Divide the night, and lift our thoughts to Heaven.
Thus talking hand in hand alone they pafs'd
On to their blifsful bow'r; it was a place
Chos'n by the fovran Planter, when he fram'd
All things to Man's delightful use; the roof
Of thickest covert was inwoven fhade
Laurel and myrtle, and what higher grew
Of firm and fragrant leaf on either fide
Acanthus, and each odorous bushy shrub
Fenc'd up the verdant wall; each beauteous flower, Iris all hues, rofes, and jeffamin,
Rear'd high their flourish'd heads between, and wrought Mofaic; underfoot the violet,
Crocus, and hyacinth, with rich inlay
Broider'd the ground, more color'd than with stone
Of costlieft emblem: other creature here,
Beaft, bird, infect, or worm, durft enter none,
Such was their awe of Man. In fhadier bower
More facred and fequefter'd, though but feign'd,
Pan or Sylvanus never flept, nor Nymph,
Nor Faunus haunted. Here in clofe recefs
With flowers, garlands, and sweet-fmelling herbs
Efpoufed Eve deck'd first her nuptial bed,
And heav'nly quires the hymenaan fung,
What day the genial Angel to our fire
Brought her in naked beauty more adorn'd,
More lovely than Pandora, whom the Gods
Endow'd with all their gifts, and O too like
In fad event, when to th' unwifer fon
Of Japhet brought by Hermes, the infnar'd
Mankind with her fair looks, to be aveng'd
On him who had stole Jove's authentic fire.
Thus at their shady lodge arriv'd, both stood,
Both turn'd, and under open sky ador'd
The God that made both fky, air, earth, and heaven,
Which they beheld, the moon's refplendent globe,
And ftarry pole: Thou also mad'st the night,
Maker omnipotent, and thou the day,
Which we in our appointed work employ'd
Have finish'd, happy in our mutual help
And mutual love, the crown of all our bliss.
Ordain'd by thee, and this delicious place
For us too large, where thy abundance wants
Partakers, and uncropt falls to the ground.
But thou haft promis'd from us two a race
To fill the earth, who shall with us extol
Thy goodness infinite, both when we wake,
And when we feek, as now, thy gift of fleep.
This faid unanimous, and other rites
Obferving none, but adoration pure
Which God likes beft, into their inmost bower
Handed they went; and eas'd the putting off
These troublesome disguises which we wear,
Strait fide by fide were laid; nor turn'd I ween,
Adam from his fair spouse, nor Eve the rites
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