..."who I was, or where, or from what cause" (8.270). Thou sun, said I, fair light, And thou enlightened earth, so fresh and gay, Ye hills and dales, ye rivers,...and move, fair creatures, tell, Tell, if ye saw, how came I thus, how here? Not of my self; by some great maker then, In goodness and in power pre-eminent;...

...of which we understand as systems of difference. Thou Sun, said I, fair Light, And thou enlight'n'd Earth, so fresh and gay, Ye Hills and Dales, ye Rivers,...and Plains And ye that live and move, fair Creatures ... (PL 8.273-6) Adam names elements of the landscape for the first time while placing them in relation...

...related to the idea of God the Son. He looks upward and outward, rather than inward: Thou Sun, said I, fair light, And thou enlighten'd Earth, so fresh and...and move, fair Creatures, tell; Tell, if ye saw, how came 1 thus, how here? (8.273-77) Before this speech, his first impulse, having gazed toward heaven,...

...the created world leads to his first utterance: Thou sun, said I, fair light, And thou enlightened earth, so fresh and gay, Ye hills and dales, ye rivers,...and move, fair creatures, tell, Tell, if ye saw, how came I thus, how here? Not of my self; by some great maker then, In goodness and in power pre-eminent;...

...impulse to worship; however, nature is mute in the face of his queries: Tell, if ye saw, how came I thus, how here? Not of myself; by some great Maker...In goodness and in power preeminent; Tell me, how may I know him, how adore, From whom I have that thus I move and live, And feel that I am happier than...

..."new-waked from soundest sleep," is to inquire after the cause of his existence: "Thou sun, said I, fair light! And thou, enlighten'd earth, so fresh and gay! Ye hills, and dales, ye reivers, woods, and plains, same being to-day I was yesterday, and twenty years ago; this principle,...

...name What'er I saw. 'Thou sun,' said I, 'fair light, And thou enlightened earth, so fresh and gay, 275 Ye hills and dales, ye rivers, woods, and plains, And ye that live and move, fair creatures, tell, 64 Tell, if ye saw, how came I thus, how here. Not of myself; by some great maker then, In goodness...

...woods, and plains, And ye that live and move, fair creatures, tell, 64 Tell, if ye saw, how came I thus, how here. Not of myself; by some great maker then, In goodness and in power pre-eminent; 280 Tell me, how may I know him, how adore, From whom I have that thus I move and live, And feel that...

...tongue obeyed and readily could name Wnate'er I saw. Thou sun, said I, fair light, And thou enlightened earth, so fresh and gay, Ye hills and dales, ye rivers,...and move, fair creatures, tell, Tell, if ye saw, how came I thus, how here? Not of myself; by some great maker then, In goodness and in power pre-eminent;...

...important source of his own birth. In a sweeping gesture he enlists "thou enlightened earth . . . / Ye hills and dales, ye rivers, woods, and plains, / And ye that live and move"—in short, all the "fair creatures"—to tell him "how came I thus, how here?" (274-77), thinking...