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again, had not he, who was my Guide up hither, ap-¡ pear'd from among the Trees; it was GOD himself. Rejoicing, but with great Awe and Submission, I fell down in Adoration at his Feet: He rais'd me up gently, and mildly faid; "Whom thou fought'ft I am, the Author of all this thou feeft, above, or "beneath, or round about thee. I give thee this "PARADISE, account it thine, to till and keep it, "and eat the Fruits of it with chearful Heart; eat freely of every Tree that grows in the Garden; "fear no Scarcity here: But of the Tree, whofe O

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peration brings the Knowledge of Good and Evil, "which I have fet as the Pledge of thy Faith and O"bedience in the Middle of the Garden, and close by "the Tree of Life, (remember what I warn thee!) fhun "to tafte it, and fhun the bitter Confequence; for "know, the Day that thou eatest thereof, tranfgreffing! my fole Command, thou shalt affuredly die: From "that Day take Mortality; lofe this happy State, "and be expell'd from hence into a World of Woe ❝ and Mifery.”-----He pronounc'd the fevere Prohibition fternly, which yet refounds dreadfully in mine Ear, though it be in mine own Choice, not to incur the Penalty of Difobedience: But foon again clearing his Afpect, he thus renew'd his gracious Purpose, and faid; "Not only this PARADISE, but to thee and thy Race I give all the Earth; poffefs it as Lords, "and alfo all the Things that live therein, or in Sea, "or Air: In Sign of which, behold every Bird and "Beast after their Kinds: I bring them to thee, that

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they may from thee receive their Names, and pay "thee Homage with low Subjection: Thou may'it "understand the fame of Fifh, that refide in the Wa"ters, and are not brought hither, feeing they can"not change their Element, nor live in the thin "Air." As he fpake thus, every Bird and Beaft came towards me in Pairs; the Beafts creeping near the Ground and fawning, and the Birds flying low:

I

I

I nam'd them as they pafs'd, and GOD endued my fudden Apprehenfion with fuch Knowledge, that I understood all their Natures; but in all these, methought, I did not find what I wanted; and thus I prefum'd to speak to the divine Prefence:

By what Name, or how may I adore Thee; for Thou being above all these, above MANKIND, or any Thing higher than MANKIND, art far above any Name that I can give Thee, Great Author of this Univerfe, and all this Good to MAN? For whofe well Being fo fully and fo liberally thou haft provided all Things. But I fee none who partakes thefe Bleffings with me: What Happiness is there in Solitude? Or what Enjoyment can there be alone? Or enjoying all Things what Contentment can be found?

THUS much I ventur'd to fay; and GoD made me this Reply: What is it thou calleft Solitude? Are not the Earth and Air full of various living Creatures, and all these ready at thy Command, to come and play before thee? Doft not thou understand their Language and their Ways? For they alfo know, and reafon in a Manner not to be contemn'd. Thy Dominion is large, do thou be contented to govern, and pafs thy Time away with Pleafure among the Crea

tures.

THUS fpake the univerfal LORD of all, and feemed in fuch Manner to give out his Order: When I, emploring Leave to fpeak, and humbly begging that I might not offend, made this Reply:

HEAVENLY Power! let not my Words make thee angry, let my MAKER be propitious while I fpeak! Haft Thou not created me here, and made me thy Substitute, and fet thefe inferior Creatures far beneath me? What Harmony, what Society, or

true

true Delight, can fubfift between Unequals? For all Happiness must be mutual, given and receiv'd in due Proportion; but where there is a Difparity, one affectionate and the other indifferent, the Society agrees not well with either, but foon grows tedious to both: I fpeak of Fellowship fit to partake in all rational Delights, which is that I feek, in which Brutes cannot be conforted with MAN; they can rejoice with each other, the Lion with the Lionefs, as being fitted to that End: But it is not fo with Bird and Beaft, nor Fish and Fowl with one another, ,as being of quite different Species; neither can the Bull fo well converfe with the Ape; (e) much worse then, and leaft of all, can MAN Converfe with Beaft.

To which the ALMIGHTY, not difpleas'd with my Words, anfwer'd: ADAM! I fee thou propofeft to thyfelf a nice and refin'd Happinefs, in the Choice of thy Affociates, and though furrounded with Pleasure, wilt tafte no Pleafure, as being without Companion. What then doft thou think of me, and of this my State? Do I feem to thee fufficiently poffeft of Happinefs, or not, who am alone from all Eternity? For I know none, either fecond to me or like me; much lefs equal to me. How then have I any to hold Converfation with, except with the Creatures which I have made, and all thofe are infinite Degrees inferior to me, more than what the loweft of the other Creatures are to thee?

HERE he left off fpeaking, and I lowly and fubmiffively reply'd: Supreme LORD of all! human Thoughts

(e) Ape Sax. A Monkey; there are feveral Sorts of them; Baboons and Monkeys have Tails which the Ape wants. It is the Mimic of Mankind: The Antients believed this Creature came

neareft to the human Species of all other Animals : But the Chimpanze found lately in Africa, comes nearer by far to the Refemblance of Man and Wo

man.

Thoughts fall fhort to attain the Heighth and Depth of thy eternal Ways: In Thee is found no Deficiency, for Thou in thyfelf art perfect: But MAN is not fo, only in Degree; which is the Caufe that he defires by Converfation with his Like, to help his Defects, or give Comfort. There is no Need that Thou should'st propagate, who art already infinite; and though but ONE, art through all Numbers: But MAN is to beget Like of his Like, and multiply his Image, which requires collateral Love, and ftricteft Amity. Thou although alone, art beft accompanied with Thyfelf in thy own Secrecy, and doft not feek focial Communication, yet at thy own good Pleasure canft highly dignify thy Creatures, and raise them up to what Degree of Union or Communion Thou wilt. I by converfing with the Brutes, cannot elevate their Natures, nor find any Complacence in their Ways.

THUS Ifpoke, being by Permiffion embolden'd to ufe fuch Freedom, and found Acceptance; which from the gracious divine Voice obtain'd this Answer: ADAM! thus far I was pleas'd to try thee, and find thee knowing not only of Beafts, (to which thou haft given right Names according to their Natures) but of thyfelf; expreffing well the free Spirit within thee, which is my Image, and not imparted to the Brutes; whofe Fellowship therefore being improper for thee, there was good Reafon that thou fhould't freely diflike it; keep ftill in the fame Mind: I, before thou fpakeft, knew well that it was not meet for MAN to be alone; and no fuch Company as thou then fawest, was intended for thy Converfation, but only brought for Trial, to fee how thou could'ft judge of what was meet and fit. What I bring thee next be affur'd shall pleafe thee; for it fhall be thy Likenefs, thy fit Help, thy other Self, and exactly according to the Wish and Defire of thy Heart.

CHAP.

CHA P. III.

Adam relates his firft Meeting and Nuptials with Eve; his Difcourfe with the Angel.

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Tho'

E ended here, or else I heard him no longer; for now my earthly Being overpower'd by his heavenly Nature, which it had long ftood under, ftrain'd to the Heighth in celeftial and fublime Conference, funk down, as dazled and spent with an Object too bright for human Sense; and I fought Relief from Sleep, which inftantly fell upon me. .my Eyes were clos'd, yet my Fancy kept waking, by which (being abstracted as in a Trance) methought though I was fleeping where I lay, I ftill faw the glorious Shape before whom I ftood when I was awake, who ftooping down, open'd my Left Side, and took out from thence a Rib, warm with cordial Spirits, and the Life-Blood fresh ftreaming: The Wound though it was wide, he fuddenly fill'd up with Flefh and heal'd. He form'd and fashion'd the Rib with his Hands, and under his forming Hands there grew a Creature like MAN, but of different Sex; fo lovely fair, that what feem'd fair in all the World now feemed mean, or fumm'd up and contain'd in her and her Looks; which from that Time infus'd Sweetnefs into my Heart never felt before, and into all Things infpir'd the Spirit and Delight of Love. She difappear'd, and left me! I wak'd to find her, or for ever to lament her Lofs, and abjure all other Pleafures: When out of Hope to fee her more, behold the appear'd not far off! juft fuch as I had feen her in my Dream; adorn'd with every Thing that Heaven or Earth could bestow upon her, to make her amiable : On fhe came, led (though he was not visible) by her heavenly MAKER, and guided by his Voice; not uninform'd of nuptial Sanctity, and the Rites of Mar

riage:

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