His wonder was to find unwaken'd Eve
With treffes difcompos'd, and glowing cheek
As though unquiet reft: he on his fide
Leaning half-rais'd, with looks of cordial love
Hung over her enamour'd, and beheld
Beauty, which whether waking or asleep,
Shot forth peculiar graces: then with voice
Mild, as when Zephyrus on Flora breathes,
Her hand foft touching, whifper'd thus; awake-
My faireft, my espoused, my latest found,
Heav'ns laft beft gift, my ever new delight,
Awake; the morning fhines, and the fresh field
Calls us, we lofe the prime to mark how fpring
Our tender plants, how blows the citron grove,
What drops the myrtle, what the balmy reed
How nature paints her colours, how the bee
Sits on the bloom, extracting liquid sweet.
Such whifp'ring wak'd her, but with startled eye
On Adam, whom embracing, thus fhe fpoke-
O fole, in whom my thoughts find all repofe,
My glory, my perfection, glad I fee

Thy face, and morn return'd

The paffage relating to Eve's dream, where the fancies herself awakened by Adam, is extremely beautiful; and will appear the more fo, when we confider that it was a dream in which the devil is fuppofed to have tainted her imagination by inftilling into her mind thofe high conceits engendering pride.

Close at mine ear, one call'd me forth to walk
With gentle voice, I thought it thine; it faid,
Why fleep'ft thou Eve? now is the pleasant time,
The cool, the filent, fave where filence yields
To the night-warbling bird, that now awake
Tunes sweeteft his love-labour'd fong; now reigns
Full orb'd the moon, and with more pleasing light
Shadowy fets off the face of things; in vain,
If none regard; heav'n wakes with all his eyes,
Whom to behold but thee, nature's defire ?
In whofe fight all things joy, with ravishment
Attracted by thy beauty ftill to gaze!

That part of the narration, where Adam is faid to have

cheared and inftructed Eve, is amazingly beautiful; and the effect his admonition produced in her, and his behaviour on that occafion, is finely conceived, and most exquifitely described.

So chear'd he his fair spouse, and she was chear'd,
But filently a gentle tear let fall

From either eye, and wip'd them with her hair.
Two other precious drops that ready stood,
Each in their crystal fluice, he ere they fell
Kifs'd, as the gracious figns of fweet remorfe
And pious awe, that fear'd to have offended.

In that part of the Episode where Adam relates to the angel the circumstances he found himself in upon his creation, the author has raised our curiofity, and he has abundantly gratified it; for nothing could on that occafion have been better conceived, or better expreffed, especially the account Adam gives of the pofture he found himself in, the landfcape round him, his address to the fun, and of the dream in which he beheld the formation of Eve.

-As new wak'd from foundest sleep,
Soft on the flow'ry herb I found me laid
In balmy fweat, which with his beams the fun
Soon dry'd, and on the reaking moisture fed.
Strait toward heav'n my wand'ring eyes I turn'd,
And gaz'd a while the ample sky, till rais'd
By quick inftinctive motion up I sprung,
As thitherward endeavouring, and upright
Stood on my feet about me round I faw
Hill, dale, and shady woods, and funny plains,
And liquid lapfe of murm'ring ftreams; by thefe,
Creatures that liv'd, and mov'd, and walk'd, or flew,
Birds on the branches warbling; all things fmil'd:
With fragrance and with joy my heart o'erflow'd.
-Thou fun, faid I, fair light,

And thou enlighten'd earth, fo fresh and gay,
Ye hills and dales, ye rivers, woods, and plains,
And ye that live and move, fair creatures tell,
Tell if you faw, how came I thus, how here?

Under his forming hands a creature grew,
Man like, but different fex: So lovely fair,
That what feem'd fair in all the world, feem'd now

Mean, or in her fumm'd up, in her contain'd,
And in her looks, which from that time infus'd
Sweetness into my heart, unfelt before,
And into all things from her air infpir'd
The fpirit of love and amorous delight.

After receiving fome admonitions from the angel, Adam explains himself on the subject of his love for Eve, in order to prove that his paffion was founded on reason, and therefore, though violent, not improper for Paradise.

Neither her outfide form fo fair, nor ought
In procreation common to all kinds
(Though higher of the genial bed by far.
And with myfterious reverence I deem)
So much delights me as thofe graceful acts,
Those thousand decencies that daily flow
From all her words and actions mixt with love
And sweet compliance, which declare unfeign'd
Union of mind, or in us both one foul.

The force of Adam's love, which we have already been defcribing, is exemplify'd towards the latter end of the work in many beautiful paffages; and the difpute that arises between our two firft parents, proceeds, as Mr. Addison juftly obferves, from a difference of judgment, not of passion; it is managed with reafon, not with beat; and is fuch a difpute as we may fuppofe might have happened in Paradife, when man was happy and innocent. His parting with Eve is remark: ably natural and affectionate.

Her long with ardent look his eye purfued
Delighted, but defiring more her stay.
Oft he to her his charge of quick return
Repeated; fhe to him as oft engag'd

To be return'd by noon amid the bow'r.

His impatience for her return, and his employment dur ing her abfence, are most beautifully expreffed.

Adam the while

Waiting defirous her return, had wove
Of choiceft flow'rs a garland to adorn
Her treffes, and her royal labours crown,
As reapers oft are wont their harvest queen.

Great joy he promis'd to his thoughts, and new
Solace in her return, so long delay'd.

But his affection is more particularly and emphatically expreffed in the fpeech he makes on feeing her irrecoverably loft.

-Some curfed fraud

Of enemy hath beguil'd thee, yet unknown,
And me with thee hath ruin'd, for with thee
Certain my refolution is to die;

How can I live without thee, how forego
Thy sweet converfe, and love fo dearly join'd,
To live again in these wild woods forlorn?
Should God create another Eve, and I
Another rib afford, yet lofs of thee
Would never from my heart: no, no, I feel
The link of nature draw me: flesh of flesh,
Bone of my bone thou art, and from thy ftate
Mine never shall be parted, blifs or woe.

After this determination, Adam is reprefented as partaking of the forbidden fruit, the effects of which rafh action are thus described; though rather in the sublime than the agreeable.

-He fcrupled not to eat

Against his better knowledge, not deceiv'd,
But fondly overcome with female charm.
Earth trembled from her entrails, as again
In pangs, and nature gave a second groan,
Sky lour'd, and muttering thunder, fome fad drops
Wept at compleating of the mortal fin.

Adam, whofe paffions had now gained the dominion over him, is reprefented as upbraiding Eve for the lofs of Paradife, whom he fpurns from him with indignation. This paffage, in which the renews her addreffes to him, is, in the opinion of the best judges, extremely pathetic and affecting.

He added not, and from her turn'd; but Eve
Not fo repuls'd, with tears that ceas'd not flowing,
And treffes all diforder'd, at his feet
Fell humble; and embracing them, befought
His peace, and thus proceeded in her plaint.

Forfake me not thus, Adam! Witness heav'n

heart

What love fincere and reverence in my
I bear thee, and unweeting have offended,
Unhappily deceiv'd! Thy fuppliant
I beg, and clafp thy knees; bereave me not
(Whereon I live) thy gentle looks, thy aid,
Thy counsel in this uttermost distress,
My only ftrength and stay: Forlorn of thee
Whither fhall I betake me, where subfift?

While yet we live (scarce one short hour perhaps)
Between us two let there be peace.

The complaint which Eve makes, on hearing that they were to be driven out of Paradife, is not only beautiful, but foft and fuitable to the fex,

Muft I then leave thee, Paradife? thus leave
Thee, native foil, these happy walks and shades,
Fit haunt of gods? where I had hope to spend
Quiet, though fad, the refpite of that day
That must be mortal to us both.

That never will in other climate
My early vifitation and my last

O flow'rs

grow,

At ev'n, which I bred up with tender hand
From the firft opening bud, and gave you names;
Who now shall rear ye to th' fun, or rank
Your tribes, and water from the ambrofial fount ?
Thee laftly, nuptial bower, by me adorn'd
With what to fight or smell was fweet; from thee
How fhall I part, and whither wander down
Into a lower world, to this obfcure

And wild how fhall we breathe in other air
Lefs pure, accuftom'd to immortal fruits?

The fpeech which Adam makes upon the fame occafion, is equally affecting, but is conceived and expreffed in a manner more elevated and mafculine: the following part of it especially.

This most afflicts me, that departing hence
As from his face I fhall be hid, depriv'd
His bleffed countenance; here I could frequent,
With worship, place by place where he vouchsaf'd
Prefence divine, and to my fons relate

On this mount he appear'd, under this tree