Read an Excerpt
Of Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal tast Brought Death into the World, and all our woe, With loss of Eden, till one greater Man Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat, Sing Heav’nly Muse, that on the secret top Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire That Shepherd, who first taught the chosen Seed, In the Beginning how the Heav’ns and Earth Rose out of Chaos: Or if Sion Hill 10 Delight thee more, and Siloa’s Brook that flow’d Fast by the Oracle of God; I thence Invoke thy aid to my adventrous Song, That with no middle flight intends to soar Above th’ Aonian Mount, while it pursues Things unattempted yet in Prose or Rhime. And chiefly Thou O Spirit, that dost prefer Before all Temples th’ upright heart and pure, Instruct me, for Thou know’st; Thou from the first Wast present, and with mighty wings outspread 20 Dove like satst brooding on the vast Abyss And mad’st it pregnant: What in me is dark Illumine, what is low raise and support; That to the highth of this great Argument I may assert Eternal Providence, And justifie the wayes of God to men.
Tell the story, Heavenly Muse: of humankind’s first trespass, of forbidden fruit whose lethal taste brought death and sorrow to our world, and drove us out of Eden—until one greater human should redeem us and regain the happy place we lost. You, on the shrouded peak of Horeb or Sinai, inspired that shepherd who first taught God’s chosen people how, in the beginning, the heavens and the earth rose out of chaos. Now I ask: Be my inspirer too. Or if Mount Zion pleases you more, with Siloam’s waters flowing near the temple of God, then from there I seek your help. For my daring story aims to surpass the ancient muses of Helicon, striving to achieve what no one, in poetry or prose, has ever even attempted. And above all, you who would rather indwell a pure and upright heart than any other temple—you, Spirit, I seek as my teacher; for you know. In the very beginning you were there, like a dove spreading your wings across the vast abyss, infusing it with life. So now give light to me, banish my darkness, and lift me up onto solid ground, that I may scale the heights of this mighty theme: to affirm eternal providence, and justify the ways of God to humankind.
