Chapter 23 twenty two
But rise, let us no more contend, nor blame
Each other, blame enough elsewhere, but strive
In offices of Love, how we may lighten [ 960 ]
Each others burden in our share of woe;
Since this days Death denounct, if ought I see,
Will prove no sudden, but a slow-pact evil,
A long days dying to augment our pain,
And to our Seed (O hapless Seed!) derivd. [ 965 ]
To whom thus Eve, recovering heart, replied.
Adam, by sad experiment I know
How little weight my words with thee can finde,
Found so erroneous, thence by just event
Found so unfortunate; nevertheless, [ 970 ]
Restord by thee, vile as I am, to place
Of new acceptance, hopeful to regain
Thy Love, the sole contentment of my heart
Living or dying, from thee I will not hide
What thoughts in my unquiet brest are risn, [ 975 ]
Tending to some relief of our extremes,
Or end, though sharp and sad, yet tolerable,
As in our evils, and of easier choice.
If care of our descent perplex us most,
Which must be born to certain woe, devourd [ 980 ]
By Death at last, and miserable it is
To be to others cause of misery,
Our own begotten, and of our Loines to bring
Into this cursed World a woful Race,
That after wretched Life must be at last [ 985 ]
Food for so foule a Monster, in thy power
It lies, yet ere Conception to prevent
The Race unblest, to being yet unbegot.
Childless thou art, Childless remain:
So Death shall be deceavd his glut, and with us two [ 990 ]
Be forcd to satisfy his Ravnous Maw.
But if thou judge it hard and difficult,
Conversing, looking, loving, to abstain
From Loves due Rites, Nuptial imbraces sweet,
And with desire to languish without hope, [ 995 ]
Before the present object language
With like desire, which would be miserie
And torment less then none of what we dread,
Then both our selves and Seed at once to free
From what we fear for both, let us make short, [ 1000 ]
Let us seek Death, or he not found, supply
With our own hands his Office on our selves;
Why stand we longer shivering under fears,
That shew no end but Death, and have the power,
Of many ways to die the shortest choosing, [ 1005 ]
Destruction with destruction to destroy.