But follow straight, invisibly thus led?
Till I espy'd thee, fair indeed and tall,
Under a platane; yet, methought, less fair
Less winning soft, less amiably mild,
Than that smooth watery image; back I turn'd, 480
Thou following cry'dst aloud, return fair Eve,
Whom fly'st thou? whom thou fly'st, of him thou art,
His flesh, his bone; to give thee being I lent
Out of my side to thee, nearest my heart,
Substantial life, to have thee by my side
Henceforth an individual solace dear:
Part of my soul, I seek thee, and thee claim,
My other half. With that thy gentle hand
Seiz'd mine; I yielded, and from that time see
How beauty is excell'd by manly grace,
And wisdom, which alone is truly fair.
So spake our general mother, and, with eyes
Of conjugal attraction unreprov'd
And meek surrender, half embracing lean'd
On our first father; half her swelling breast
Naked met his under the flowing gold
Of her loose tresses hid: he, in delight
Both of her beauty and submissive charms,
Smil❜d with superior love, as Jupiter
On Juno smiles, when he impregns the clouds
478 Under a platane] See Grotii Adamus Exsul. p. 36. 6 Adamus, platani suppositus come.'
Tickell and Fenton read a 'plantan.'
500 impregns] See Dante Пl Purgat. c. xxiv.
'L'aura di Maggio muovesi, et olezza
Tutta impregnata dall' erba, e da' fiori.'
That shed May flowers, and press'd her matron lip With kisses pure: aside the devil turn'd
For envy, yet with jealous leer malign
Ey'd them askance, and to himself thus plain'd. Sight hateful, sight tormenting! thus these two 505 Imparadis'd in one another's arms,
The happier Eden, shall enjoy their fill
Of bliss on bliss, while I to hell am thrust,
Where neither joy nor love, but fierce desire,
Among our other torments not the least,
Still unfulfill'd with pain of longing pines.
Yet let me not forget what I have gain'd
From their own mouths: all is not theirs it seems:
One fatal tree there stands of Knowledge call'd,
Forbidden them to taste: knowledge forbidden? 515
Suspicious, reasonless. Why should their Lord
Envy them that? can it be sin to know?
Can it be death? and do they only stand
By ignorance? is that their happy state,
The proof of their obedience and their faith?
O fair foundation laid whereon to build
Their ruin! hence I will excite their minds
With more desire to know, and to reject
Envious commands, invented with design
To keep them low, whom knowledge might exalt 525
501 matron] meeting. Bentl. MS.
504 Ey'd them askance] See Dante Inferno, c. vi.
'Gli diritti occhi torse allora in biechi.'
509 Where] Bentley would read, 'Where's' for 'Where is,' but Pearce observes that Milton often leaves out 'is,' as B. viii. 621.
Equal with gods; aspiring to be such,
They taste and die: what likelier can ensue?
But first with narrow search I must walk round
This garden, and no corner leave unspy'd;
A chance but chance may lead where I may meet 530
Some wand'ring spirit of heaven, by fountain side,
Or in thick shade retir'd, from him to draw
What further would be learn'd. Live while ye may,
Yet happy pair; enjoy, till I return,
Short pleasures, for long woes are to succeed.
So saying, his proud step he scornful turn'd,
But with sly circumspection, and began
Through wood, through waste, o'er hill, o'er dale,
Mean while in utmost longitude, where heaven
With earth and ocean meets, the setting sun
Slowly descended, and with right aspect
Against the eastern gate of paradise
Level'd his evening rays: it was a rock
Of alablaster, pil'd up to the clouds,
Conspicuous far, winding with one ascent
Accessible from earth, one entrance high;
The rest was craggy cliff, that overhung
Still as it rose, impossible to climb.
Betwixt these rocky pillars Gabriel sat,
530 A chance] This line, I think, should be thus read:
A chance but chance may lead where I may meet.
542 eastern] 'The sun setting shined on the eastern gate; 'tis well it was higher than all the rest of Paradise.' Bentl. MS. 544 alablaster] Thus spelt in both Milton's own editions.
Chief of the angelic guards, awaiting night;
About him exercis'd heroic games
Th' unarmed youth of heaven; but nigh at hand
Celestial armoury, shields, helms, and spears,
Hung high with diamond flaming and with gold.
Thither came Uriel, gliding through the even
On a sunbeam, swift as a shooting star
In autumn thwarts the night, when vapours fir'd
Impress the air, and show the mariner
From what point of his compass to beware
Impetuous winds: he thus began in haste.
Gabriel, to thee thy course by lot hath given
Charge and strict watch, that to this happy place
No evil thing approach or enter in :
This day at highth of noon came to my sphere
A spirit, zealous, as he seem'd, to know
More of the Almighty's works, and chiefly man
God's latest image: I describ'd his way
Bent all on speed, and mark'd his aery gait:
But in the mount that lies from Eden north,
554 with diamond] See Prose Works, 1. 232. (Apol. for Smectymnus.) 'Their zeal, whose substance is ethereal, arming in complete
556 as a shooting] See Dante П Paradiso, c. xv. 16.
'E pare stella, che tramuti loco.'
561 to thee] It has been proposed to read these lines with the insertion of a parenthesis:
'Gabriel (to thee thy course by lot hath given
Charge and strict watch, that to this happy place
No evil thing approach or enter in)
This day at highth of noon,' &c.
567 describ'd] Some read 'descry'd.' Newton.
Where he first lighted, soon discern'd his looks
Alien from heaven, with passions foul obscur'd:
Mine eye pursu'd him still, but under shade
Lost sight of him; one of the banish'd crew,
I fear, hath ventur'd from the deep to raise
New troubles; him thy care must be to find.
To whom the winged warrior thus returned:
Uriel, no wonder if thy perfect sight,
Amid the sun's bright circle where thou sitt❜st,
See far and wide: in at this gate none pass
The vigilance here plac'd, but such as come
Well known from heaven; and since meridian hour
No creature thence. If spirit of other sort,
So minded, have o'erleap'd these earthy bounds
On purpose, hard thou know'st it to exclude
Spiritual substance with corporeal bar.
But if within the circuit of these walks
In whatsoever shape he lurk, of whom
Thou tell'st, by morrow dawning I shall know.
So promis'd he, and Uriel to his charge
Return'd on that bright beam, whose point now rais'd
Bore him slope downward to the sun, now fall'n
Beneath th' Azores; whether the prime orb,
Incredible how swift, had thither roll'd
Diurnal, or this less volubil earth,
576 winged] See Marino's Sl. of the Innocents, p. 33. (Transl.) 'Shining troops of winged armies ride.'
592 whether] whither.' Milton's own ed.
594 volubil] 'volúbil,' with the second syllable long, as in the Latin volúbilis; when it is short, Milton writes it 'voluble.' Newton.
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