Of all yet done; a creature who not prone
And brute as other creatures, but indued
With sanctity of reason, might erect
His stature, and upright with front serene
Govern the rest, self-knowing, and from thence
Magnanimous to correspond with heaven,
But grateful to acknowledge whence his good
Descends, thither with heart and voice and eyes
Directed in devotion, to adore

510

And worship God supreme, who made him chief 515
Of all his works: therefore th' omnipotent
Eternal Father (for where is not he
Present?) thus to his Son audibly spake.
Let us make now man in our image, man

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,
Beast of the field, and over all the earth,

And every creeping thing that creeps the ground.
This said, he form'd thee, Adam, thee, O man,
Dust of the ground, and in thy nostrils breath'd
The breath of life; in his own image he
Created thee, in the image of God
Express, and thou becam'st a living soul.
Male he created thee, but thy consort

Female for race; then bless'd mankind, and said,
Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth,
Subdue it, and throughout dominion hold
Over fish of the sea, and fowl of th' air,

And every living thing that moves on th' earth.
Wherever thus created, for no place

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
Is yet distinct by name, thence, as
thou know'st,

He brought thee into this delicious
grove,
This garden, &c.

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
View'd, and behold all was entirely good;
So ev❜n and morn accomplish'd the sixth day:
Yet not till the Creator from his work
Desisting, though unwearied, up return'd,
Up to the heav'n of heav'ns his high abode,
Thence to behold this new created world
Th' addition of his empire, how it shew'd

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,
Answering his great idea. Up he rode
Follow'd with acclamation and the sound
Symphonious of ten thousand harps that tun'd
Angelic harmonies: the earth, the air

Resounded, (thou remember'st, for thou heard'st)
The heav'ns and all the constellations rung,
The planets in their station list'ning stood,
While the bright pomp ascended jubilant.
Open, ye everlasting gates, they sung,
Open, ye heav'ns, your living doors; let in
The great Creator from his work return'd
Magnificent, his six days' work, a world;
Open, and henceforth oft; for God will deign
To visit oft the dwellings of just men

Delighted, and with frequent intercourse
Thither will send his winged messengers

On errands of supernal grace. So sung

The glorious train ascending: He through heaven,
That open'd wide her blazing portals, led,

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
And pavement stars, as stars to thee appear,
Seen in the galaxy, that milky way,

Which nightly as a circling zone thou seest

580

Powder'd with stars. And now on earth the seventh
Evening arose in Eden, for the sun

Was set, and twilight from the east came on,
Forerunning night; when at the holy mount
Of heav'n's high-seated top, th' imperial throne
Of Godhead, fix'd for ever firm and sure,
The filial Pow'r arriv'd, and sat him down
With his great Father, for he also went
Invisible, yet stay'd, (such privilege
Hath Omnipresence,) and the work ordain'd,
Author and end of all things, and from work
Now resting, bless'd and hallow'd the sev❜nth day,
As resting on that day from all his work,
But not in silence holy kept; the harp
Had work and rested not, the solemn pipe,

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
to be anciently powdered with
bees, and afterwards with fleur-
de-lys. E.

591. -and from work
Now resting, bless'd and hal-
low'd the sev'nth day,
As resting on that day from all
his work,]

The reason assigned by Moses,
and almost in the very words,
Gen. ii. 2, 3. God rested on the
seventh day from all his work
which he created and made: and
God blessed the seventh day and
sanctified it, because that in it he
had rested from all his work.