Who ere while the happy garden sung,
By one man's disobedience loft, now fing
Recover'd Paradise to all mankind,
By one man's firm obedience fully try'd
Through all temptation, and the tempter foil'd
In all his wiles, defeated and repuls'd,
And Eden rais'd in the waste wilderness.
Thou Spirit who ledst this glorious eremite
Into the defert, his victorious field,
Against the spiritual foe, and brought'sthimthencero
By proof th' undoubted Son of God, inspire,
As thou art wont, my prompted song else mute,
And bear through highthor depth of nature's bounds
With profp'rous wing full fumm'd, to tell of deeds
Above heroic, though in secret done,
And unrecorded left through many an age,
Worthy t' have not remain'd so long unfung.
Now had the great Proclamer, with a voice
More awful than the found of trumpet, cry'd
Repentance, and Heav'n's kingdom nigh at hand 20
To all baptiz'd: to his great baptifm flock'd
With awe the regions round, and with them came
From Nazareth the fon of Jofeph deem'd
To the flood Jordan, came as then obfcure,
Unmark'd, unknown; but him the Baptist soon 25
Descry'd, divinely warn'd, and witness bore
As to his worthier, and would have resign'd
To him his heav'nly office, nor was long
His witness unconfirm'd: on him baptiz'd
Heav'n open'd, and in likeness of a dove
The Spirit defcended, while the Father's voice
From Heav'n pronounc'd him his beloved Son.
That heard the Adversary, who roving still
About the world, at that assembly fam'd
Would not be last, and with the voice divine
Nigh thunder-ftruck, th' exalted man, to whom
Such high attest was giv'n, a while furvey'd
With wonder, then with envy fraught and rage
Flies to his place, nor rests, but in mid air
To council fummons all his mighty peers,
Within thick clouds and dark ten-fold involv'd,
A gloomy consistory; and them amidst
With looks aghaft and sad he thus bespake.
O ancient Pow'rs of air and this wide world,
For much more willingly I mention air,
This our old conquest, than remember Hell,
Our hated habitation; well ye know
How many ages, as the years of men,
This universe we have poffefs'd, and rul'd
In manner at our will th' affairs of earth,
Since Adam and his facil confort Eve
Loft Paradife deceiv'd by me, though fince
With dread attending when that fatal wound
Shall be inflicted by the feed of Eve
Upon my head: long the decrees of Heav'n
Delay, for longest time to him is short;
And now too foon for us the circling hours
This dreaded time have compass'd, wherein we
Must bide the stroke of that long threaten'd wound,
At least if fo we can, and by the head
Broken be not intended all our power
To be infring'd, our freedom and our being,
In this fair empire won of earth and air;
For this ill news I bring, the woman's feed
Destin'd to this, is late of woman born :
His birth to our just fear gave no fmall cause,
But his growth now to youth's full flow'r, displaying
All virtue, grace, and wisdom to achieve
Things highest, greatest, multiplies my fear.
Before him a great prophet, to proclame
His coming, is fent harbinger, who all
Invites, and in the confecrated stream
Pretends to wash off fin, and fit them fo
Purified to receive him pure, or rather
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