254 PARADISE LOST. BooKIX. 0 faireft of creation, laff and belt Of all God's Works ! Creature in whom excelrd Whatever can to fight or thought be form'd, Holy, divine, good, amiable, or fweet ! How art thou loft, how on a fudden loft, 900 Defac'd, deflowr'd, and now to death devote ! Rather, how haft thou yielded to trangrefs The aria forbiddance! how, to violate The (acrid fruit forbidd'n ! fume curled fraud Of enemy bath beguii'd thee ! yet unknown ; 905 And me with thee bath ruin'd ; for with Thee Certain my refolution is to die ! How can I live without thee ! how forego Thy fweet converfe and love,. fo dearly join'd, To live again in thefe wild woods forlorn I 910 Should God create another Eve, and I Another rib afford, yet lots of Thee Would never from my heart ! no, no ! I feel The link of nature draw me : flefh of flab, Bone of my bone thou art, and from thy ftate 915 Mine never than be parted, bins or woe So having Paid, as one from fad difmay Re-comforted, and, after thoughts difturb'd, Submitting to what feem'd remedilels, Thus in calm mood his words to Eve he tumid. 920 Bold deed thou hail: prefum'd, adventrous Eve ! And peril great provck'd, who thus haft dar'd, Had it been only coveting to eye That facred fruit, facred to abfiinence; Much more to tafte it, under harm to touch. 925 But pql, who can recall, or done undo ? Not God Omnipotent, nor Fate : yet lo Perhaps thou (halt not die, perhaps the fact Is
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