Their wrong choice gives me no small concern; but we are little inclined to traverse them in it. Give us food and covering, and we are satisfied. Were my heart settled on earthly things, I might lay claim to all, as the first created, and immediately by God himself; but I hope he will preserve me from such folly. Pilgrim. Do any other particular persons come to see you, besides the good Enoch? Adam. Yes; my children, and especially Seth and his offspring. It would be too long to tell you of their affection and respect for me, our conversation, and the points of religion and morality which we discuss, their prayers and meditations, and the unreserved friendliness and benevolence which reign among them: to dwell on all these things, I say, would be too long, and you yourself will readily imagine, how things must go between à father of my age, and a family of such children. Pilgrim Are all your children, then, still living? Adam. Of all my children, and children's chil dren, whom I have named to you, not one is yet dead, poor Abel excepted. In process of time, they have spread into numerous tribes, as you see their countries are not bare of inhabitants; and some have be taken themselves into remote parts, to teach the knowledge and worship of the true God. Pilgrim. I observe, father, you always keep to this godly line. You have other children, and they are no more without issue, than these which are ever on your tongue. Adam. O son, son, what good that pious line will be of to the world is not to be expressed. We see already the excellent men it has produced, and that God seems particularly to have chosen it beyond the others, to show forth his wonders: Nay he has declared, that the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head; and from this precious line is that seed expected. consegu Pilgrim. You said before, that there is an enmity between you and the seed of the serpent, and wher ever you come, you bruise its head. I Adam. I must tell you, son, you do not yet see into the mystery of the divine words. Since my woful fall, there has, indeed, arisen a natural enmity between us and the natural serpent; and Cain's progeny, no less than Seth's, endeavours to extirpate them: But there is a spiritual serpent which lurked in the natural, and this is to be bruised only by the race of Seth. Pilgrim. These are, indeed, strange things to me; but who is this spiritual serpent? Adam. The Devil, who may well be termed the serpent, being much older than the natural serpent; its seed is sin, and death is its victory. Pilgrim., Have you then no means of overcoming sin? Adam. We hate it, and war against it; but it is only by the seed promised to the good race of Seth, and which will be born in its time, that the head of sin will be finally bruised. Pilgrim. Is there also a spiritual Paradise, as there is a spiritual serpent? Adam. Undoubtedly; for all visible, natural things, have their invisible, spiritual nature. Pilgrim. Where is the spiritual Paradise? Adam. As the natural Paradise was in the best part of the world, so is the spiritual Paradise in the best part of man who, being the chief of creatures, represents the whole world. Pilgrim. Which, then, do you call the best part of man? Adam. The heart, as thence proceeds life. The culture and preservation of this Paradise was to be man's chief attention; for into it God caused to flow the stream of life; and that dividing itself into four capital rivers, fertilizes the whole country; so that, with some care, it abounds in every thing that is delightful and splendid, exquisite fruits, and even fine gold and gems. Pilgrim. I find that the keeping of that Paradise is a point of great concern. Adam. Had my wife and I well kept that spiritual Paradise, we should never have been turned out of the natural Paradise; but she, poor woman, from the lust of the eye, and a hankering after the forbidden. tree of the spiritual Paradise, was unhappily led to eat of the forbidden tree in the natural. • Pilgrim. Pray what is the forbidden tree of the spiritual Paradise? Adam. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, with which some have so satiated themselves, that they have not been able to reach the tree of life. For it is not knowledge, but a simple enjoyment of God's goodness, in which life consists. Therefore, dear son, when the wily serpent accosts you, and extols that tree, as having a virtue of making you very little inferior to God himself, reject such suggestions, and acquiesce in that obedient simplicity, in which your Creator has placed you: for the knowledge of evil and good, however pleasing it appears, frequently destroys life, the source of which flows solely from God, to whom a forgetfulness of every thing behind us is more acceptable, that the eyes of our minds being fixed above, we may be strengthened for growing up completely in him. Pilgrim. I believe, indeed, that little good comes from the knowledge of evil; yet the knowledge of good seems to me, in some measure necessary. Adam. The serpent having brought evil into vogue, it is proper to know the good, that you be not deceived by the evil. But there is something yet which surpasses all knowledge. Pilgrim. Do not conceal that from me. Pilgrim. But how shall I love what I have no knowledge of? Adam. That love is in you; and if, for the future, you shun so much as the appearance of any evil, no matter whether you have much speculative knowledge of love. in Pilgrim. I am ever to be growing in it. Adam. That God, the fountain of love, shall work you, if you carefully keep and improve your in-` ternal garden, Pilgrim. Some instructions herein, I pray. Adam. Well, the hedging must be close, that no ravenous beasts get in, that is, you are to disperse any proud, cruel, or vain thoughts, all the insinuations of depraved nature; you are not to permit them the least access into the soul; they will defile, corrupt, and lay it waste, dévouring and destroying the young shoots of our spiritual growth, tearing up their very roots, and of that beautiful garden, make a rugged forest; and on the other hand, do but carefully tend it, and secure the fences and doors, then every salutary plant, and particularly the tree of life, shall thrive in you more and more; for the genial dew of divine grace is ever shedding a rich fertility on that spiritual land, that it has all the beauty and fragrance of a flowery bower. Pilgrim. Father, I most heartily thank you for your instructions; but I conceive there must be another Paradise, or state, to which that spiritual Paradise is a preparative. Adam. A very just conception; and that is the celestial Paradise, a state of more complete bliss, as including both soul and body; for that we last spoke of is confined to the soul; but the other is that which Enoch hopes to reach, and of which I can speak but very inadequately; but when it shall please God to send the promised seed, full teachings shall the amazed world receive from him; he shall heal the bites of the serpent; and he it is who will bring both you and me, after all our wanderings, to an eternal felicity; that is what I breathe after; that is the object of my most joyful hopes, from the prelibation I had of it in the terrestrial Paradise: And it is time for me to prepare for my removal hence, that I may 1 be received into heavenly mansions. Pilgrim. Once more, father, let me acknowledge my great obligations to your communicative condescension; and may that precious Seed give us to see each other again in the celestial Paradise. 27 Dialogue BETWEEN A PILGRIM AND NOAH, Containing the Space of One Thousand and Seventyseven Years. Sons of God, their degeneracy-Noah turns preacher-The ele ments corroborate his doctrine-God orders him to build an arkVarious opinions concerning it-The ark finished-Description of the worldly man-Noah ordered to go into the ark-The going in of the beasts-Catalogue of the birds-The deluge commences-Dreadful description of it-The rain ceaseth Noah cometh out of the ark-Rainbow explained— Building of Babel-Assyrian monarchy begun-Noah's care of AbrahamMan's life is shortened. PILGRIM. IT is now above a thousand years since I had some talk with that venerable old man, Adam, who so courteously gave me an account of the occurrences in his days: and now, awakened from the deep meditations in which I have been since absorbed, I see the world is much altered since that time. My best way to get a knowledge of the events, which have contributed to such great changes, will be to enter into discourse with one of the oldest men I can meet with; for with the aged dwells experience; whereas young people know only by hearsay. Yonder is the man for my purpose; his face shows both longevity, mildness, and wisdom. Hail, father! God save you. Noah. I thank thee, son; I have always, from my youth, enjoyed God's love: never has it departed from me. |