Firſt book
Of mans firſt disobedience, & the fruit
Of that forbidd'n tree, whose mortall taſt
Brought death into the world, & all our woe,
With loſse of Eden, till one greater Man
Reſtore us, & regaine the blisfull ſeate,
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 & Earth
Rose out of Chaos: Or if Sion hill 10
Delight thee more, & Siloa's brooke that flow'd
Faſt by the Oracle of God; I thence
Invoke thy aide to my adventrous ſong,
That with no middle flight intends to ſoare
Above th' Aonian Mount; while it perſues
Things unattempted yet in proſe or rime.
And cheifly thou O Spirit that doſt prefer
Before all temples th' upright heart & pure
Inſtruct me, for thou know'ſt; thou from the firſt
Waſt preſent, & with mighty wings outſpread 20
Dove-like ſatst brooding on the vast Abyſse,
And mad'st it pregnant: What in me is darke
