And thus with peaceful words uprais'd her foon.
Unwary, and too defirous, as before,
So now of what thou know'st not, who defir'st
The punishment all on thyself; alas,
Bear thine own firft; ill able to sustain
His full wrath, whose thou feel'ft as yet leaft part,
And my displeasure bear'ft fo ill. If prayers
Could alter high decrees, I to that place
Would speed before thee, and be louder heard,
That on my head all might be visited,
Thy frailty and infirmer fex forgiven,
To me committed and by me expos'd.
But rise, let us no more contend, nor blame
Each other, blam'd enough elsewhere, but strive
In offices of love, how we may lighten
Each other's burden, in our share of woe;
Since this day's death denounc'd, if ought I see,
Will prove no fudden, but a slow-pac'd evil,
A long day's dying to augment our pain,
And to our feed (O hapless feed!) deriv'd.
To whom thus Eve, recovering heart, reply'd.
Adam, by fad experiment I know
How little weight my words with thee can find,
Found fo erroneous, thence,by just event,
Found fo unfortunate; nevertheless,
Restor❜d by thee, vile as I am, to place
Of new acceptance, hopeful to regain
Thy love, the fole contentment of my heart
Living or dying, from thee I will not hide
What thoughts in my unquiet breast are risen,
Tending to fome relief of our extremes,
Or end, though sharp and fad, yet tolerable,
As in our evils, and of easier choice.
If care of our descent perplex us most,
Which must be born to certain woe, devour'd
By Death at laft; and miserable it is
To be to others cause of misery,
Our own begott en, and of our loins to bring
Into this curfed world a woful race,
That after wretched life must be at last
Food for fo foul a monfter; in thy power
It lies, yet ere conception, to prevent
The race unbless'd, to being yet unbegot.
Childless thou art, childless remain: fo Death
Shall be deceiv'd his glut, and with us two
Be forc'd to fatisfy his ravenous maw.
But if thou judge it hard and difficult,
Converfing, looking, loving, to abstain
From love's due rites, nuptial embraces sweet,
And with defire to languish without hope,
Before the present object languishing
With like defire, which would be misery
And torment lefs than none of what we dread;
Then both ourselves and feed at once to free
From what we fear for both, let us make short.
Let us feek Death, or he not found, supply
With our own hands his office on ourfelves:
Why stand we longer shivering under fears,
That show no end but death, and have the power,
Of many ways to die the shortest choosing,
Destruction with destruction to destroy?
She ended here, or vehement despair
Broke off the rest; so much of death her thoughts
Had entertain'd, as dy'd her cheeks with pale.
But Adam,with fuch counsel nothing sway'd, 1010
To better hopes his more attentive mind
Lab'ring had rais'd, and thus to Eve reply'd.
Eve, thy contempt of life and pleasure seems
To argue
in thee something more sublime
And excellent than what thy mind contemns;
But felf-deftruction therefore fought, refutes
That excellence thought in thee, and implies,
Not thy contempt, but anguish and regret
For lofs of life and pleasure overlov'd.
Or if thou covet death, as utmost end
Of misery, so thinking to evade
The penalty pronounc'd, doubt not but God
Hath wiselier arm'd his vengeful ire than so
To be foreftall'd; much more I fear left death,
So fnatch'd,will not exempt us from the pain 1025
We are by doom to pay; rather such acts
Of contumacy will provoke the Highest
To make death in us live: Then let us feek
Some fafer refolution, which methinks
I have in view; calling to mind with heed
Part of our sentence, that thy feed fhall bruise
The Serpent's head; piteous amends, unless
Be meant, whom I conjecture, our grand foe
Satan, who in the serpent hath contriv'd
Against us this deceit: to crufh his head
Would be revenge indeed; which will be loft
By death brought on ourselves, or childless days
Refolv'd,as thou propofeft; fo our foe
Shall 'scape his punishment ordain'd, and we
Instead shall double ours upon our heads.
No more be mention'd then of violence
Against ourselves, and wilful barrenness,
That cuts us off from hope, and favors only
Rancor and pride, impatience and despite,
Reluctance against God, and his just yoke
Laid on our necks. Remember with what mild
And gracious temper he both heard and judg’d
Without wrath or reviling; we expected
Immediate diffolution, which we thought
Was meant by death that day; when lo, to thee,
Pains only in child-bearing were foretold,
And bringing forth, foon recompens'd with joy
Fruit of thy womb: on me,the curse aslope
Glanc'd on the ground; with labor I must earn
My bread; what harm? Idleness had been worse;
My labor will sustain me; and left cold
Or heat should injure us, his timely care
Hath unbefought provided, and his hands
Cloth'd us unworthy, pitying while he judg'd;
How much more, if we pray him, will his ear 1060
Be open, and his heart to pity incline,
And teach us further by what means to shun
Th' inclement seasons, rain, ice, hail and snow?
Which now the sky, with various face, begins
To show us in this mountain, while the winds 1065
Blow moist and keen, shattering the graceful locks
Of these fair spreading trees; which bids us feek
Some better shroud, fome better warmth to cherish
Our limbs benumm'd, ere this diurnal star
Leave cold the night; how we his gather'd beams 1070
Reflected, may with matter fere foment,
Or by collifion of two bodies grind
The air attrite to fire; as late the clouds
Juftling, or push'd with winds, rude in their shock, 1074 Tine the flant lightning; whose thwart flame driv'n Kindles the gummy bark of fir or pine,
And fends a comfortable heat from far,
Which might supply the fun: fuch fire to use,
And what may elfe be remedy or cure
To evils which our own misdeeds have wrought, 1080
He will inftruct us praying, and of grace
Beseeching him, so as we need not fear
To pass commodiously this life, sustain’d
By him with many comforts, till we end
In duft, our final rest and native home.
|