BOOK THE NINTH. THE ARGUMENT. Satan having compassed the Earth, with meditated guile returns as a mist by night into Paradise, enters into the serpent sleeping. Adam and Eve in the morning go forth to their labours, which Eve proposes to divide in several places, each labouring apart: Adam consents not, alledging the danger, lest that enemy, of whom they are forewarned, should attempt her found alone: Eve, loath to be thought not circumspect or firm enough, urges her going apart, the rather desirous to make trial of her strength; Adam at last yields: The Serpent finds her alone; his subtle approach, first gazing, then speaking, with much flattery extolling Eve above all other creatures. Eve, wondering to hear the Serpent speak, asks how he attained to human speech and such understanding not till now; the Serpent answers, that by tasting of a certain tree in the garden he attained both to speech and reason, till then void of both : Eve requires him to bring her to that tree, and finds it to be the tree of knowledge forbidden: The Serpent now grown bolder, with many wiles and arguments induces her at length to eat; she, pleased with the taste, deliberates a while whether to impart thereof to Adam or not, at last brings him of the fruit, relates what persuaded her to eat thereof: Adam at first amazed, but perceiving her lost, resolves through vehemence of love to perish with her; and extenuating the trespass eats also of the fruit: The effects thereof in them both; they seek to cover their nakedness; then fall to variance and accusation of one another. No more of talk where God or Angel guest With Man, as with his friend, familiar us'd To sit indulgent, and with him partake Rural repast, permitting him the while Venial discourse unblam'd: I now must change Disloyal on the part of Man, revolt, And disobedience; on the part of Heaven 5 Anger and just rebuke, and judgment given, Or Neptune's ire or Juno's, that so long Of my celestial patroness, who deigns And dictates to me slumb'ring, or inspires Easy my unpremeditated verse: Since first this subject for heroic song Pleas'd me long choosing, and beginning late; Not sedulous by nature to indite Wars, hitherto the only argument Heroic deem'd, chief mast'ry to dissect With long and tedious havoc fabled knights Not that which justly gives heroic name 40 45 Of Hesperus, whose office is to bring Twilight upon the earth, short arbiter 50 *Twixt day and night, and now from end to end Night's hemisphere had veil'd th' horizon round: In meditated fraud and malice, bent 55 On Man's destruction, maugre what might hap From compassing the earth, cautious of day, 60 His entrance, and forewarn'd the Cherubim He circled, four times cross'd the car of night 65 Now not, though sin, not time, first wrought the change, Where Tigris at the foot of Paradise Into a gulf shot under ground, till part 70 In with the river sunk, and with it rose Satan involv'd in rising mist, then sought 75 Where to lie hid; sea he had search'd and land 80 Most opportune might serve his wiles, and found 85 The serpent subtlest beast of all the field. Him after long debate, irresolute Of thoughts revolv'd, his final sentence chose Fit vessel, fittest imp of fraud, in whom To enter, and his dark suggestions hide Whatever sleights none would suspicious mark, Active within beyond the sense of brute. His bursting passion into plaints thus pour❜d 90 95 O EARTH, how like to Heav'n, if not preferr'd Centring receiv'st from all those orbs; in thee, 241 Of growth, sense, reason, all summ'd up in Man. 100 105 III 115 Of hill, and valley, rivers, woods, and plains, Pleasures about me, so much more I feel Torment within me', as from the hateful siege Of contraries; all good to me becomes 120 Bane, and in Heav'n much worse would be my state. But neither here seek I, no nor in Heav'n To dwell, unless by mast'ring Heav'n's supreme; 125 Nor hope to be myself less miserable By what I seek, but others to make such As I, though thereby worse to me redound: Y |