His malice; and, with rapine sweet bereaved
His fierceness of the fierce intent it brought.
That space,
the evil one abstracted stood
From his own evil, & for the time remain'd
Stupidly good, of enmity disarm'd,

Of guile, of hate, of envy, of revenge;
But the hot hell that always in him burns,
Though in mid Heaven, soon ended his delight,
And tortures him now more, the more he sees
Of pleasure, not for him ordain'd. Then soon
Fierce hate he recollects, and all his thoughts
Of mischief, gratulating, thus excites.

"Thoughts, whither have ye led me? with what
Compulsion, thus transported, to forget [sweet
What hither brought us? hate, not love, nor hope
Of Paradise for Hell; hope here to taste
Of pleasure, but all pleasure to destroy,
Save what is in destroying; other joy
To me is lost. Then let me not let pass
Occasion, which now smiles; behold alone
The woman, opportune to all attempts;
Her husband, for I view far round, not nigh;
Whose higher intellectual more I shun,
And strength, of courage haughty, and of limb
Heroic built, though of terrestrial, mould,
Foe not informidable, exempt from wound;
I not; so much hath Hell debased, & pain
Enfeebled me, to what I was in Heaven.
She fair, divinely fair, fit love for gods;
Not terrible, though terror be in love
And beauty, not approach'd by stronger hate;
Hate stronger, under show of love well feign'd,
The way which to her ruin now I tend."

So spake the enemy of mankind, enclosed
In serpent, inmate bad; and toward Eve
Address'd his way; not with indented wave,
Prone on the ground, as since; but on his rear,
Circular base of rising folds, that tower'd,
-Fold above fold, a surging maze; his head
Crested aloft, and carbuncle his eyes;

With burnish'd neck of verdant gold, erect
Amidst his circling spires, that on the grass
Floated redundant: pleasing was his shape,
And lovely; never since of serpent kind
Lovelier; not those that in Illyra changed
Hermione and Cadmus, or the God
In Epidarus; nor to which transform'd,

Ammonian Jove, or Capitoline was seen;
He with Olympias, this with her who bore
Scipio the highth of Rome. With tract oblique,
At first, as one who sought access, but fear'd
To interrupt, side-long he works his way:
As when a ship, by skilful steersman wrought,
Nigh river's mouth, or foreland, where the wind
Veers off, as oft so steers, and shifts her sail ;
So varied he, and of his tortuous train
Curl'd many a wanton wreath, in sight of Eve,
To lure her eye; she, busied, heard the sound
Of rustling leaves, but minded not, as used
To such disport before her through the field,
From every beast; more duteous at her call,
Than at Circean call, the herd disguised.
He, bolder now, uncall'd before her stood
But as in gaze admiring: oft he bow'd
His turret crest, and sleek enamell'd neck,
Fawning; & lick'd the ground whereon she trod.
His gentle dumb expression turn'd, at length,
The eye
of Eve to mark his play; he, glad
Of her attention gain'd, with serpent tongue
Organic, or impulse of vocal air,

His fraudulent temptation thus began.

"Wonder not, sovereign mistress, if perhaps
Thou canst, who art sole wonder; much less arm
Thy looks, the heaven of mildness, with disdain,
Displeased that I approach thee thus, and gaze
Insatiate, I, thus single; nor have feared
Thy awful brow, more awful thus retired.
Fairest resemblance of thy Maker fair,
Thee all things living gaze on, all things thine
By gift, and thy celestial beauty adore,
With ravishment beheld; there best beheld
Where universally admired; but here,
In this inclosure wild, these beasts among,
Beholders rude, and shallow to discern
Half what in thee is fair; one man except, [seen,
Who sees thee? & what is one? who shouldst be
A goddess among gods, adored and served
Ay angels numberless, thy daily train."

So glozed the Tempter, & his proem tuned ;
Into the heart of Eve his words made way,
Though at the voice much marvelling; at length,
Not unamazed, she thus in answer spake. [nounced
"What may this mean? language of man, pro-
By tongue of brute, and human sense express'd!

The first, at least, of these I thought denied
To beasts, whom God, on their creation-day,
Created mute to all articulate sound:
The latter I demur; for in their looks
Much reason, & in their actions, oft appears.
Thee, Serpent, subtlest beast of all the field
I knew, but not with human voice endued;
Redouble then this miracle, and say
How camest thou speakable of mute; and how
To me so friendly grown, above the rest
Of brutal kind, that daily are in sight:
Say, for such wonder claims attention due."
To whom the guileful tempter thus replied.
Empress of this fair world, resplendent Eve,
Easy to me it is to tell thee all [be obeyed.
What thou commandst, & right thou shouldst
I was, at first, as other beasts that graze
The trodden herb, of abject thoughts, and low
As was my food; nor ought but food discern'd,
Or sex, and apprehended nothing high:
Till on a day, roving the field, I chanced
A goodly tree, far distant, to behold.
Loaden with fruit of fairest colours, mix'd
Ruddy and gold: I nearer drew to gaze,
When from the boughs a savoury odour blown,
Grateful to appetite, more pleased my sense
Than smell of sweetest fennel, or the teats
Of ewe or goat, dropping with milk at even,
Unsuck'd of lamb or kid, that tend their play,
To satisfy the sharp desire I had
Of tasting those fair apples, I resolved
Not to defer; hunger and thirst at once,
Powerful persuaders, quicken'd at the scent
Of that alluring fruit, urged me so keen.
About the mossy trunk I wound me soon; [quire
For, high from ground, the branches would re-
Thy utmost reach, or Adam's: round the tree,
All other beasts that saw, with like desire,
Longing & envying stood, but could not reach.
Amid the tree now got, where plenty hung,
Tempting so nigh, to pluck and eat my fill
I spared not; for such pleasure, till that hour,
At feed or fountain never had I found.
Sated at length; ere long I might perceive
Strange alteration in me, to degree
Of reason, in my inward powers; & speech
Wanted not long, tho' to this shape retain❜d.

Thenceforth, to speculations high or deep
I turn'd my thoughts, & with capacious mind,
Consider'd all things visible in Heaven,
Or earth, or middle, all things fair and good;
But all that fair and good, in thy divine
Semblance, & in thy beauty's heavenly ray,
United I beheld; no fair to thine
Equivalent, or second; which compell'd
Me thus, though importune perhaps, to come
And gaze, and worship thee, of right declar'd
Sovereign of creatures, universal dame."

So talk'd the spirited sly Snake: and Eve,
Yet more amazed, unwary thus replied.
"Serpent, thy overpraising leaves in doubt
The virtue of that fruit, in thee first proved:
But say, where grows the tree, from hence how
For many are the trees of God, that grow [far?
In Paradise, and various, yet unknown
To us; in such abundance lies our choice,
As leaves a greater store of fruit untouch'd,
Still hanging incorruptible, till men
Grow up to their provision, and more hands
Help to disburden nature of her birth."

To whom the wily Adder, blythe and glad. "Empress, the way is ready, and not long, Beyond a row of myrtles, on a flat, Fast by a fountain, one small thicket passed Of blowing myrrh and balm; if thou accept My conduct, I can bring thee thither soon.' "Lead then," said Eve. He, leading, swiftly roll'd In tangles and made intricate seem straight, To mischief swift. Hope elevates, and joy Brightens his crest; as when a wandering fire, Compact of unctuous vapour, which the night Condenses, and the cold environs round, Kindled, through agitation, to a flame; Which oft, they say, some evil spirit attends, Hovering and blazing with delusive light, Misleads the amaz'd night-wanderer from his way, Through bogs & mires, & oft through pond or pool, There swallowed up and lost, from succour far: So glistered the dire Snake, and into fraud Led Eve, our credulous mother, to the tree Of prohibition, root of all our woe: Which when she saw, thus to her guide she spake. "Serpent, we might have spared our coming hither, Fruitless to me, though fruit be here to excess;

The credit of whose virtue rests with thee,
Wonderous indeed, if cause of such effects.
But of this tree we may not taste, nor touch;
God so commanded; and left that command
Sole daughter of his voice; the rest, we live
Law to ourselves; our reason is our law."
To whom the Tempter guilefully replied.
"Indeed? hath God then said, of the fruit
Of all these garden trees ye shall not eat,
Yet Lords declared of all in earth or air?"

To whom thus Eve, yet sinless. "Of the fruit Of each tree in the garden we may eat; But of the fruit of this fair tree, amidst The garden, God hath said, 'Ye shall not eat Thereof, nor shall ye touch it, lest ye die."" [bold, She scarce had said, though brief, when now more The Tempter, but with show of zeal and love To man, and indignation at his wrong, New part puts on; and as to passion moved, Fluctuates disturb'd, yet comely, and in act Raised, as of some great matter to begin. As when of old some orator renowned, In Athens or free Rome, where eloquence Flourish'd, since mute, to some great cause address'd, Stood in himself collected; while each part, Motion, each act won audience ere the tongue, Sometimes in height began, as no delay Of preface brooking, through his zeal of right: So standing, moving, or to height upgrown, The Tempter, all impassion'd, thus began.

life

"O sacred, wise, and wisdom-giving Plant!
Mother of science! now I feel thy power
Within me clear, not only to discern
Things in their causes, but to trace the ways
Of highest agents, deem'd however wise.
Queen of this universe, do not believe
Those rigid threats of death: ye shall not die.
How should ye? by the fruit? it gives you
To knowledge: by the threatener? look on me,
Me, who have touch'd and tasted; yet both live,
And life more perfect have attain'd than fate
Meant me, by venturing higher than my lot.
Shall that be shut to Man which to the Beast
? or will God incense his ire
For such a petty trespass, and not praise
Rather your dauntless virtue, whom the pain
Of death denounced, whatever thing death be,

Is open