488
Hereafter, joined in her popular4332 tribes
489
Of commonalty. Swarming, next appeared
490
The female bee, that feeds her husband drone
491
Deliciously, and builds her waxen cells
492
With honey stored. The rest are numberless,
493
And thou their natures know’st, and gav’st them names,
494
Needless to thee repeated. Nor unknown
495
The serpent, subtlest4333 beast of all the field,
496
Of huge extent sometimes, with brazen eyes
497
And hairy mane terrific,4334 though to thee
498
Not noxious,4335 but obedient at thy call.
499
“Now Heav’n in all her glory shone, and rolled
500
Her motions, as the great first Mover’s hand
501
First wheeled their course. Earth in her rich attire
502
Consummate4336 lovely smiled. Air, water, earth,
503
By fowl, fish, beast, was flown, was swum, was walked,
504
Frequent, and of the sixth day yet remained.
505
There wanted yet the master-work, the end 4337
506
Of all yet done, a creature who not prone4338
507
And brute 4339 as other creatures, but endued
508
With sanctity 4340 of reason, might erect
509
His stature, and upright with front 4341 serene
510
Govern the rest, self-knowing, and from thence
511
Magnanimous 4342 to correspond4343 with Heav’n,
512
But grateful to acknowledge whence his good
513
Descends, thither with heart, and voice, and eyes
514
Directed in devotion, to adore
515
And worship God Supreme, who made him chief
516
Of all His works. Therefore th’ Omnipotent
517
Eternal Father (for where is not He
518
Present?) thus to His Son audibly spoke:
519
“‘Let us make now man in our image, man
520
In our similitude, 4344 and let them4345 rule
521
Over the fish and fowl of sea and air,
522
Beast of the field, and over all the earth,
523
And every creeping thing that creeps the ground.
524
This said, He formed thee, Adam, thee, O man,
525
Dust of the ground, and in thy nostrils breathed
526
The breath of life. In His own image He
527
Created thee, in the image of God
528
Express,4346 and thou becam’st a living soul.
529
Male He created thee, but thy consort
530
Female, for race, 4347 then blessed mankind, and said:
531
‘Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth;
532
Subdue 4348 it, and throughout dominion hold
533
Over fish of the sea, and fowl of the air,
534
And every living thing that moves on th’ earth.
535
Wherever thus created, for no place
536
Is yet distinct4349 by name, thence, as thou know’st,
537
He brought thee into this delicious grove,
538
This garden, planted with the trees of God,
539
Delectable both to behold and taste,
540
And freely all their pleasant fruit for food
541
Gave thee. All sorts are here that all th’ earth yields,
542
Variety without end. But of the tree
543
Which tasted, works knowledge of good and evil,
544
Thou may’st not. In the day thou eat’st, thou di’st.4350
545
Death is the penalty imposed. Beware,
546
And govern well thy appetite, lest Sin
547
Surprise thee, and her black attendant, Death.
548
“Here finished He, and all that He had made
549
Viewed, and behold all was entirely good.
550
So ev’n and morn accomplished the sixth day.
551
“Yet not till the Creator from His work
552
Desisting, though unwearied, up returned,
553
Up to the Heav’n of Heav’ns, His high abode,
554
Thence to behold this new created world,
555
Th’ addition of His empire, how it showed
556
In prospect from His throne, how good, how fair,
557
Answering 4351 His great idea.4352 Up He rode
558
Followed with acclamation, and the sound
559
Symphonious of ten thousand harps, that tuned
560
Angelic harmonies. The earth, the air
561
Resounded (thou rememb’rest, for thou heard’st)
562
The Heav’ns and all the constellations rung,
563
The planets in their station listening stood,
564
While the bright pomp4353 ascended jubilant.
565
‘Open, ye everlasting gates!’ they sung,
566
‘Open, ye Heav’ns! your living doors! Let in
567
The great Creator from His work returned
568
Magnificent, His six days work, a world!
569
Open, and henceforth oft, for God will deign
570
To visit oft the dwellings of just men,
571
Delighted, and with frequent intercourse
572
Thither will send His wingèd messengers
573
On errands of supernal 4354 grace. ’ So sung
574
The glorious train4355 ascending. He through Heav’n,
575
That opened wide her blazing portals, led
576
To God’s eternal house direct the way,
577
A broad and ample road, whose dust is gold
578
And pavement stars, as stars to thee appear,
579
Seen in the galaxy, that milky way
580
Which nightly, as a circling zone, 4356 thou see’st
581
Powdered with stars. And now on earth the seventh
582
Ev’ning arose in Eden, for the sun
583
Was set, and twilight from the east came on,
584
Forerunning night, when at the holy mount
585
Of Heav’n’s high-seated top, the imperial throne
586
Of Godhead, fixed for ever firm and sure,
587
The Filial Power arrived, and sat him down
588
With his great Father, for he also went
589
Invisible, yet stayed 4357 (such privilege
590
Hath Omnipresence), and the work ordained,
591
Author and
End of all things, and from work
592
Now resting, blessed and hallowed the sev’nth day,
593
As resting on that day from all His work,
594
But not in silence holy kept. The harp
595
Had work and rested not, the solemn pipe,
596
And dulcimer, all organs of sweet stop,
597
All sounds on fret 4358 by string or golden wire,
598
Tempered 4359 soft tunings, intermixed with voice
599
Choral or unison. Of incense clouds,
600
Fuming from golden censers, hid the mount.
601
Creation and the six days acts they sung:
602
“‘Great are thy works, Jehovah! Infinite
603
Thy power! What thought can measure Thee, or tongue
604
Relate thee? Greater now in Thy return
605
Than from the giant Angels. Thee that day
606
Thy thunders magnified, but to create
607
Is greater than created 4360 to destroy.
608
Who can impair 4361 Thee, Mighty King, or bound 4362
609
Thy empire? Easily the proud attempt
610
Of Spirits apostate, and their counsels vain,
611
Thou hast repelled, while impiously they thought
612
Thee to diminish, and from Thee withdraw
613
The number of Thy worshippers. Who seeks
614
To lessen Thee, against his purpose serves
615
To manifest the more Thy might. His evil
616
Thou usest, and from thence creat’st more good.
617
Witness this new-made world, another Heav’n
618
From Heaven-gate not far, founded in view
619
On the clear hyaline, 4363 the glassy sea,
620
Of amplitude almost immense, 4364 with stars
621
Numerous, and every star perhaps a world
622
Of destined habitation. But thou know’st
623
Their seasons. Among 4365 these the seat of men,
624
Earth, with her nether 4366 ocean circumfused,4367
625
Their pleasant dwelling-place. Thrice happy men,
626
And sons of men, whom God hath thus advanced!4368
627
Created in His image, there to dwell
628
And worship Him, and in reward to rule
629
Over His works, on earth, in sea, or air,
630
And multiply a race of worshippers
631
Holy and just. Thrice happy, if they know
632
Their happiness, and persevere upright!
633
“So sung they, and the empyrean rung
634
With hallelujahs. Thus was sabbath kept.
635
And thy request think now fulfilled, that asked
636
How first this world and face 4369 of things began,
637
And what before thy memory was done
638
From the beginning, that4370 posterity,
639
Informed by thee, might know. If else thou seek’st
640
Aught, not surpassing human measure, 4371 say.
The End of the Seventh Book
BOOK VIII
THE ARGUMENT
Adam inquires concerning celestial motions, is doubtfully answered, and exhorted to search rather things more worthy of knowledge. Adam assents, and still desirous to detain Raphael, relates to him what he remembered since his own creation, his placing in Paradise, his talk with God concerning solitude and fit society, his first meeting and nuptials with Eve, his discourse with the Angel thereupon, who after admonitions repeated departs.
1
The Angel ended, and in Adam’s ear
2
3
Thought him still speaking, still stood fixed 4373 to hear,
4
Then, as new waked, thus gratefully replied:
5
“What thanks sufficient, or what recompence
6
Equal, have I to render thee, divine
7
Historian,4374 who thus largely 4375 hast allayed
8
The thirst I had of knowledge, and vouchsafed
9
This friendly condescension to relate
10
Things else by me unsearchable?4376 now heard
11
With wonder, but delight, and as is due
12
With glory attributed to the high
13
Creator! Something yet of doubt remains,
14
Which only thy solution4377 can resolve.
15
When I behold this goodly frame, 4378 this world,
16
Of Heav’n and earth consisting, and compute
17
Their magnitudes, this earth, a spot, a grain,
18
An atom, with the firmament compared
19
And all her numbered stars, that seem to roll
20
Spaces incomprehensible ( for such
21
Their distance argues,4379 and their swift return
22
Diurnal)4380 merely to officiate4381 light
23
Round this opaceous4382 earth, this punctual 4383 spot,
24
One day and night, in all her vast survey 4384
25
Useless besides, reasoning I oft admire4385
26
How Nature wise and frugal could commit
27
Such disproportions, with superfluous hand
28
So many nobler bodies to create,
29
Greater so manifold, to this one use
30
(For aught appears), and on their orbs impose
31
Such restless4386 revolution4387 day by day
32
Repeated, while the sedentary4388 earth,
33
That better might with far less compass4389 move,
34
Served by more4390 noble than herself, attains
35
Her end without least motion, and receives,
36
As tribute, such a sumless4391 journey brought 4392
37
Of incorporeal speed, her warmth and light—
38
Speed, to describe whose swiftness number fails.
39
So spoke our sire, and by his count’nance seemed
40
Entering on studious thoughts abstruse, 4393 which Eve
41
Perceiving, where she sat retired in4394 sight,
42
With lowliness4395 majestic from her seat,
43
And grace that won4396 who4397 saw to wish her stay,
44
Rose and went forth among her fruits and flow’rs,
45
To visit 4398 how they prospered, bud and bloom,
46
Her nursery. They at her coming sprung
47
And, touched by her fair tendance, 4399 gladlier grew.
48
Yet went she not, as not with such discourse
49
Delighted, or not cap
able her ear
50
Of what was high: such pleasure she reserved,4400
51
Adam relating, 4401 she sole auditress.4402
52
Her husband the relater she preferred
53