CANTO i. PRODUCTION OF LIFE. 5 



The smiles of Beauty all my toils repay, 

 And youths and virgins chant the living lay. 



II. WHERE EDEN'S sacred bowers triumphant sprung, 

 By angels guarded, and by prophets sung, 

 Wav'd o'er the eafl in purple pride unfurl'd, 

 And rock'd the golden cradle of the World; 



Cradle of the world, 1, 36. The nations, which possess Europe and 

 a part of Asia and of Africa, appear to have descended from one 

 family; and to have had their origin near the banks of the Mediter- 

 ranean, as probably in Syria, the site of Paradise, according to the 

 Mosaic history. This seems highly probable from the similarity of 

 the structure of the languages of these nations, and from their early 

 possession of similar religions, customs, and arts, as well as from the 

 most ancient histories extant. The two former of these may be 

 collected from Lord Monboddo's learned work on the Origin of 

 Language, and from Mr. Bryant's curious account of Ancient My- 

 thology. 



The use of iron tools, of the bow and arrow, of earthen vessels to 

 boil water in, of Avheels for carriages, and the arts of cultivating 

 wheat, of coagulating milk for cheese, and of spinning vegetable 

 fibres for clothing, have been known in all European countries, as long 

 as their histories ha\ e existed ; besides the similarity of the texture of 

 their languages, and of many words in them; thus the word sack is 

 said to mean a bag in all of them, as a-axxov in Greek, saccus in 

 Latin, sacco in Italian, sac in French, and sack in English and 

 German. 



Other families of mankind, nevertheless, appear to have arisen in 





