Who ere while the happy garden sung, By one man's difobedience 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 wafte wilderness.
Thou Spirit who ledst this glorious eremite Into the defert, his victorious field,
Against the spiritual foe, and brought'ft him thence10 By proof th' undoubted Son of God, inspire, As thou art wont, my prompted fong elfe mute, And bear through highth or depth of nature's bounds With profp'rous wing full fumm'd, to tell of deeds Above heroic, though in fecret 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 Joseph deem'd To the flood Jordan, came as then obscure, Unmark'd, unknown; but him the Baptist soon 25 Defcry'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 Spi'rit 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 affembly fam'd Would not be last, and with the voice divine Nigh thunder-ftruck, th' exalted man, to whom Such high atteft was giv'n, a while furvey'd With wonder, then with envy fraught and rage Flies to his place, nor refts, but in mid air To council fummons all his mighty peers, Within thick clouds and dark ten-fold involv'd, A gloomy confistory; and them amidst With looks aghaft and fad he thus befpake.
O ancient Pow'rs of air and this wide world, For much more willingly I mention air, This our old conqueft, than remember Hell,
Our hated habitation; well ye know How many ages, as the years of men, This universe we have possess'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 soon for us the circling hours This dreaded time have compafs'd, wherein we Muft bide the stroke of that long threaten'd wound, At least if so 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 Deftin'd to this, is late of woman born : His birth to our just fear gave no small 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 ftream Pretends to wafh off fin, and fit them fo Purified to receive him pure, or rather
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