Of all yet done; a creature who not prone 510 And worship God supreme, who made him chief 515 Beholds his own hereditary skies. Dryden. 519. Let us make now man in closely to Scripture in his account of the formation of man, as well as of the other creatures. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over fowl of the air, and over the cattle, the fish of the sea, and over the and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image; in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth, Gen. i. 26, 27, 28. I have set down the passage at length, that the reader may compare the In our similitude, and let them rule Over the fish and fowl of sea and air, And every creeping thing that creeps the ground. Female for race; then bless'd mankind, and said, And every living thing that moves on th' earth. Is yet distinct by name, thence, as thou know'st, He brought thee into this delicious grove, This garden, planted with the trees of God, together. There are scarce any alterations, but what were requisite for the verse, or were occasioned by the change of the person, as the angel is speaking to Adam. And what additions are made, are plainly of the same original, as the reader may see by comparing both together. And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul, Gen. ii. 7. 535. Wherever thus created, &c.] The sacred text says that the Lord God planted a garden 520 525 535 eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed, Gen. ii. 8. And afterwards ver. 15. And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it. This seems to imply that man was created in some other place, and was afterwards brought into the garden of Eden; and therefore Milton says, Wherever thus created, for no place He brought thee into this delicious Delectable both to behold and taste; And freely all their pleasant fruit for food 540 Gave thee; all sorts are here that all th' earth yields Variety without end; but of the tree, Which tasted works knowledge of good and evil, Thou may'st not; in the day thou eat'st, thou diest ; Death is the penalty impos'd, beware, And govern well thy appetite, lest Sin Surprise thee, and her black attendant Death. Here finish'd he, and all that he had made 545 550 555 548. Here finish'd he, and all Messiah returning into heaven, that he had made View'd,] The pause is very remarkable, and admirably expresses the Creator surveying and contemplating his work, -and behold all was entirely good; So ev'n and morn accomplish'd the sixth day: He finishes the account of the creation, in the same manner as Moses, Gen. i. 31. And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold it was very good: and the evening and the morning were the sixth day. 551. Yet not till the Creator &c.] The poet represents the and taking a survey of his great work. There is something inexpressibly sublime in this part of the poem, where the author describes that great period of time, filled with so many glorious circumstances; when the heavens and earth were finished; when the Messiah ascended up in triumph through the everlasting gates; when he looked down with pleasure upon his new creation; when every part of nature seemed to rejoice in its existence; when the morning-stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. Addison. In prospect from his throne, how good, how fair, Resounded, (thou remember'st, for thou heard'st) Delighted, and with frequent intercourse On errands of supernal grace. So sung The glorious train ascending: He through heaven, To God's eternal house direct the way, 563. The planets in their station list ning stood,] The word station is used in a more peculiar sense than usual. The station of a planet is a term of art, when the planet appears neither to go backwards nor forwards, but to stand still and keep the same place in its orbit. And what is said here of the stars and planets is somewhat in the same noble strain, as the song of Deborah, Judges v. 20. the stars in their courses fought against Sisera. 560 565 570 575 565. Open, ye everlasting gates, &c.] Ps. xxiv. 7. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. This hymn was sung when the ark of God was carried up into the sanctuary on mount Sion, and is understood as a prophecy of our Saviour's ascension into heaven; and therefore is fitly applied by our author to the same divine Person's ascending thither after he had created the world. A broad and ample road, whose dust is gold Which nightly as a circling zone thou seest 580 Powder'd with stars. And now on earth the seventh Was set, and twilight from the east came on, 578. ―as stars to thee appear, &c.] The pavement of heaven was as thick set with stars, as stars appear in the galaxy or milky way, which is an assemblage of an infinite number of little stars, seen distinctly with a telescope, but too faint and remote to affect the eye singly. A 581. Powder'd with stars,] like expression in Chaucer. Of the cuckoo and the nightingale, ver. 63. The grounde was grene, youdrid with daisye. 581.] It was a common expression formerly for robes spotted with any figure; so the 585 590 595 royal robes of France were said 591. -and from work The reason assigned by Moses, |