The fatal trefpafs done by Eve, amaz'd,
Aftonied ftood and blank, while horrour chill 890
Ran through his veins, and all his joints relax'd;
From his flack hand the garland wreath'd for Eve
Down dropt, and all the faded roses shed:
Speechless he stood and pale, till thus at length
First to himself he inward filence broke.

O faireft of Creation, last and best

895

Of all God's works, Creature in whom excell'd.

Ver. 890. Aftonied flood and blunk, while horrour chill
Ran through his veins, and all his joints relax'd;]

So Virgil, En, ii. 120.

"Obftupuere animi, gelidúfque per ima cucurrit
"Offa tremor."

And Æn. xii. 951. "Illi folvuntur frigore membra." HUME:
See alfo L. Bryskett's Mourning Mufe of Theftylis, v. 151.

Ver. 892. From his flack hand the garland wreath'd for Eve Down dropt,] Mr. Bowle cites Propertius, lib. iv. Eleg. ix. "Pocula mi digitos inter cecidere remiffos." And Perfius, Sat. iii. 100.

"tremor inter vina fubit, calidúmque triental "Excutit è manibus."

But it is probable, that Milton had in mind the circumstance of Cymoent, in Spenfer, who, hearing of the misfortune of her fon, flings away the garlands which the had been making, Faer. Qu. iii, iv. 30. Each poet, Mr. Church obferves, has judiciously made choice of that action which was moft fuitable to the different circumftances and characters of their actors. Adam drops the gar land. TODD.

Ver. 897. Creature in whom excell'd &c.] The Cavalier Pona, in his Adamo, thus laments the fall of Eve: * Pouera Eua! &c. mirata da tutti i celefti lumi, per lo miracole delle cofe create:-ricca de' tefori della bellezza, dell' amabilita,

900

Whatever can to fight or thought be form'd,
Holy, divine, good, amiable, or sweet!
How art thou loft! how on a sudden loft,
Defac'd, deflower'd, and now to death devote!
Rather, how haft thou yielded to transgress
The ftrict forbiddance, how to violate

The facred fruit forbidd'n! Some curfed fraud
Of enemy hath beguil'd thee, yet unknown, 905
And me with thee hath ruin'd; for with thee
Certain my resolution is to die:

How can I live without thee! how forego
Thy sweet convérfe, and love so dearly join'd,
To live again in these wild woods forlorn!

910

della gratia: Et hora in vilipendio, e in obbrobrio presso tutte le creature per colpa della tua colpa!" p. 41. TODD.

Ver. 901.

morti pectora liberæ," Hor. Od. iv. xiv. 18.

to death devote!]
TODD.

"Devota

Ver. 908. How can I live without thee!] Like the affectionate words of Admetus to Alceftis: Euripides, Alceft. v. 277.

Ver. 909. Thy fweet convérfe, and love fo dearly join'd,] That is, as Dr. Pearce rightly understands it, "the sweet converse and love OF THEE fo dearly join'd to me." This is a common way of fpeaking in Milton; and the reader may see more inftances of it in B. iv. 129, and B. viii. 423. The fenfe of this verse is again found in v. 970:

"link'd in love fo dear." NEWTON.

Ver. 910. To live again in thefe wild woods forlorn!] How vastly expreffive are these words of Adam's tenderness and affection for Eve; as they imply, that the mere imagination of lofing her had already converted the fweets of Paradise into the horrours of a defolate wilderness, THYER.

Should God create another Eve, and I
Another rib afford, yet loss 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 state 915
Mine never shall be parted, blifs or woe.

So having faid, as one from fad difmay

Ver. 913.

no, no! I feel

The link of nature draw me:] The Scripture account of Eve's formation might poffibly fuggeft this thought to Milton; and yet I cannot help thinking but that he might probably have in view Plato's notion of the first human creatures being androgynous, that is, male and female in the fame perfon, and that the affection now fubfifting betwixt the different fexes is only a fecret tendency or drawing of Nature towards her first ftate. THYER.

I cannot agree with Mr. Thyer, refpecting Milton's alluding here to Plato: For Milton himself has ridiculed this opinion, in his Tetrachordon: "It might be doubted why he faith, In the image of God created he him, not them, as well as male and female them; especially fince that image might be common to them both, but male and female could not, however the Jews fable, and please themselves with the accidental concurrence of Plato's wit, as if Man at firft had been created Hermaphrodite: but then it must have been, male and female created he him." It is the holy Book, to which Milton alludes; and he again expresses the thought, v. 955.

"So forcible within my heart I feel

"The bond of Nature draw me to my own,

"My own in thee, for what thou art is mine;

"Our state cannot be fever'd; we are one,

"One flesh; to lose thee were to lofe myself." TODD.

Ver. 916. Mine never shall be parted, blifs or woe.] So, in the Hift. of Kynge Arthur, fol. bl. 1. s. d. the affection of Sir Tryftram and La belle Ifond is thus defcribed, fign. N. ii. "Their loue neuer departed for weale nor wo," TODD,

Recomforted, and after thoughts disturb'd
Submitting to what seem'd remediless,

919

Thus in calm mood his words to Eve he turn'd. Bold deed thou haft prefum'd, adventurous Eve,

And peril great provok'd, who thus haft dar'd,
Had it been only coveting to eye

That facred fruit, facred to abstinence,
Much more to tafte it under ban to touch. 925
But paft who can recall, or done undo?
Not God Omnipotent, nor Fate; yet fo
Perhaps thou shalt not die, perhaps the fact
Is not fo heinous now, foretafted fruit,

Ver. 920. Thus in calm mood his words to Eve he turn'd.] He had till now been speaking to himself; now his speech turns to her, but not with violence, not with noife and rage: 'tis a deep confiderate melancholy. The line cannot but be pronounced, as it ought, flowly, gravely. RICHARDSON.

Ver. 922. who thus haft dar'd,] So it is in the first edition; but in the fecond, by mistake, it is printed "hath dar'd;" and that is followed by fome others. NEWTON.

Ver. 928. Perhaps thou shalt not die, &c.] How just a picture does Milton here give us of the natural imbecillity of the human mind, and its aptness to be warped into falfe judgements and reafonings by paffion and inclination! Adam had but just condemned the action of Eve in eating the forbidden fruit; and yet, drawn by his fondness for her, immediately fummons all the force of his reafon to prove what he had done to be right. This may probably appear a fault to superficial readers; but all intelligent ones will, I dare fay, look upon it as a proof of our author's exquilite knowledge of human nature. Reafon is but too often little better than a flave ready at the beck of the will to dress up, in plausible colours, any opinions that our interest or refentment have made agreeable to us. THYER.

930

935

Profan'd first by the ferpent, by him first
Made common, and unhallow'd, ere our tafte;
Nor yet on him found deadly; yet he lives;
Lives, as thou faidft, and gains to live, as Man,
Higher degree of life; inducement strong
To us, as likely tasting to attain
Proportional afcent; which cannot be
But to be Gods, or Angels, demi-Gods.
Nor can I think that God, Creator wife,
Though threatening, will in earnest so destroy
Us his prime creatures, dignified so high,
Set over all his works; which in our fall,
For us created, needs with us must fail,
Dependant made; fo God fhall uncreate,
Be fruftrate, do, undo, and labour lofe;
Not well conceiv'd of God, who, though his

power

Creation could repeat, yet would be loth
Us to abolish, left the Adversary

940

945

Triumph, and fay; "Fickle their state whom God

* Most favours; who can please him long? Me

firft

"He ruin'd, now Mankind; whom will he

next?"

Matter of fcorn, not to be given the Foe.
However I with thee have fix'd my lot,

Ver. 947.

left the Adverfury

950

Triumph, and fay:] From Deut. xxxii. 27. "Left

the adverfaries should fay." GIllies.