Hopeless to circumvent us join'd, where each Or this, or worse, leave not the faithful side That gave thee be'ing, still shades thee and protects. As one who loves, and some unkindness meets, That such an enemy we have, who seeks Just then return'd at shut of evening flowers. 270. the virgin majesty of Eve,] The ancients used the word virgin with more latitude than we, as Virgil, Eclog. vi. 47. calls Pasiphae virgin after she had had three children; and Ovid calls Medea adultera virgo. Ovid, Epist. Hypsip. Jas. 133. It is put here to denote beauty, bloom, sweetness, modesty, and all the amiable characters which are usually found in a virgin, and these with matron majesty; what a picture! Richardson. It is probable that Milton 260 265 270 275 the word virgin from the Italian virginale, which is an epithet very frequent in their poets when describing beauty, modesty, &c. Thyer. 278. Just then return'd at shut of erening flowers.] What a natural notation of evening is this! and a proper time for her, who had gone forth among her fruits and flowers, viii. 44. to return. But we must not conceive that Eve is speaking of the evening last past, for this was a week ago. Satan was caught tempt But that thou should'st my firmness therefore doubt To God or thee, because we have a foe 280 285 His fraud is then thy fear, which plain infers To whom with healing words Adam replied. out of Paradise that night, and with this ends book the fourth. After he had fled out of Paradise he was ranging round the world seven days: but we have not any account of Adam and Eve excepting only on the first of those days, which begins with the beginning of book the fifth, where Eve relates her dream; that day at noon the angel Raphael comes down from heaven; the angel and Adam discourse together till evening, and they part at the end of book the eighth. There are six days therefore past in silence, and we hear no more of Adam and Eve, till Satan had stolen again into Paradise. 282. His violence thou fear'st not,] Adam had not said so expressly, but had implied as much in enlarging particularly upon his sly assault, ver. 256, &c. 290 289. Adam, misthought of her to thee so dear?] Dr. Bentley says that these words express Adam's affection to her, and not her's to him, as the sense requires: he therefore reads, to thee so true? But Milton gave it dear, and made Eve here allude to what Adam had said of her in ver. 227. -to me beyond If I am so dear to you, as you you thus think This was a good Eve's mouth. 291. Daughter of God and man, immortal Eve,] As Eve had called Adam Offspring of heaven and earth, as made by God out of the dust of the earth ; So Adam calls Eve Daughter of God and man, as made by God out of man; and For such thou art, from sin and blame entire: Thy absence from my sight, but to avoid Th' attempt itself, intended by our foe. 295 For he who tempts, though' in vain, at least asperses The tempted with dishonour foul, suppos'd Not incorruptible of faith, not proof Against temptation; thou thyself with scorn anger Though ineffectual found: misdeem not then, From thee alone, which on us both at once More wise, more watchful, stronger, if need were Of outward strength; while shame, thou looking on, Shame to be overcome or over-reach'd Would utmost vigour raise, and rais'd unite. acknowledges her to be immortal, as she had said herself, ver. 283. that they were not capable of death or pain; but only so long as she was entire from sin and blame: integer vitæ, scelerisque purus. Hor. od. i. xxii. 1. 312. while shame, thou looking on,] Milton often uses the nominative case absolute, as the Greeks do; which whether it 300 305 310 should be called a case absolute, or an ellipsis, we leave to the grammarians to determine. Jortin. 314. and rais'd unite.] Would unite and add vigour to wisdom, watchfulness, and every virtue mentioned before. If this be not the meaning, it must be understood thus, Would raise the utmost vigour, and Why should'st not thou like sense within thee feel 315 When I am present, and thy trial choose With me, best witness of thy virtue tried? So spake domestic Adam in his care And matrimonial love; but Eve, who thought 320 Thus her reply with accent sweet renew'd. If this be our condition, thus to dwell 325 330 our front,] Here is such a jingle and turn of the words, as we sometimes meet with in our author; he affronts us with his foul esteem, but his foul esteem sticks no dishonour on our front: but our author alludes to the etymology of the word affront: adfrontare, i. e. frontem fronti committere, as Skinner says. And I find Shakespeare using the word in its original signification. Cymbeline, act iv. -good my liege, Your preparation can affront no less Than what you hear of. And afterwards, act v. There was a fourth man- And in Hamlet, act iii. Foul on himself; then wherefore shunn'd or fear'd To whom thus Adam fervently replied. 335 340 That he, as 'twere by accident, may describe him as in some degree here Affront Ophelia. 334. our witness from th event.] The Spirit bearing witness with our spirit, Rom. viii. 16. 335. And what is faith, love, virtue unassay'd Alone, without exterior help sustain'd?] What merit is there in any Paulum sepultæ distat inertiæ 339. As not secure to single or combin❜d.] As not to be secure to us single or together. 342. To whom thus Adam fer- What Eve had just now said In displeased; but what extreme |