...happiest life— Simplicity and spotless innocence! So pass'd they naked on, nor shunn'd the sight Of God or angel; for they thought no ill: So, hand...green Stood whispering soft, by a fresh fountain side They sat them down; and, after no more toil Of their sweet gardening labour than sufficed To recommend...

...presents ttt£lH tfl us as hand in hand they pass'd, the loveliest pair That ever since in love's imbraces met, Adam the goodliest man of men since born His Sons, the fairest of her Daughters Eve. (IV. 321-24) The first two lines confront us with an intricate time scheme, typical of the poem's mythic...

...first parents. Nothing could be more simply passionate than the summing up of this great description: So hand in hand they pass'd, the loveliest pair That ever since in love's embraces met, . . . Adam's reception of Raphael in Book V gives Milton the opportunity to emphasize the beauty of...

...literature to this "exclusive" use of a superlative is the couplet from Milton's Paradise Lost IV.323.24; Adam, the goodliest man of men since born His sons; the fairest of her daughters Eve. AW Argyle, remarking that most commentators are content to quote as a biblical Greek parallel лoштос...

...between different sets of expectations, and it is precisely this tension that Milton cannot allow: Under a tuft of shade that on a green Stood whispering soft, by a fresh fountain side They sat them down; and, after no more toil Of their sweet gardening labour than sufficed To recommend...

...his happiest life, Simplicitie and spotless innocence. So passd they naked on, nor shund the sight Of God or Angel, for they thought no ill: So hand in hand they passd, the lovliest pair That ever since in loves imbraces met, Adam the goodliest man of men since born His Sons,...

...literature to this "exclusive" use of a superlative is the couplet from Milton's Paradise Lost IV. 323-24: Adam, the goodliest man of men since born His sons; the fairest of her daughters Eve. AW Argyle, remarking that most commentators are content to quote as a biblical Greek parallel лрштоç...

...not guilty shame: dishonest Shame Of Nature's works, Honour dishonourable. (Bk. IV, 1. 304-314) 74 Come pensive Nun, devout and pure, Sober, steadfast, and demure, All in a robe of da (Bk. IV, 1. 323-324) 75 "My author and disposer, what thou biddest Unargued I obey; so God ordains,...

...his happiest life, Simplicity and spotless innocence. So pass'd they naked on, nor shunn'd the sight Of God or Angel, for they thought no ill: So hand in hand they pass'd, the lovliest pair That ever since in love's imbraces met . . . Innocence is here felt to be a condition...

...on, nor shunned the sight Of God or Angel; for they thought no ill; 320 So hand in hand they passed, the loveliest pair That ever since in love's embraces...daughters Eve. Under a tuft of shade that on a green They sat them down; and, after no more toil Of their sweet gard'ning labour than sufficed To recommend...