Thus thou hast seen one World begin and end; And Man as from a second stock proceed. Much thou hast yet to see, but I perceave Thy mortal sight to faile; objects divine Must needs impaire and wearie human sense:
Waddington, Raymond. Looking Into Providences: Designs and Trials in Paradise Lost. Toronto, ON, CAN: University of Toronto Press, 2012. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 20 October 2014.
Copyright © 2012. University of Toronto Press. All rights reserved.
‘I perceive / Thy mortal sight to fail’ may be understood literally; the point in the revelation of the future has been reached at which the life of the historical Adam has ended. The narrator has covertly described this historical death in the flood-of-tears passage. Michael grants to Adam’s purified eyes one glimpse of the renewed world, then terminates the entire visionary process with this speech, succinctly but undeniably linking the two phenomena – mortality and the limits of prophetic vision.
Copyright © 2012. University of Toronto Press. All rights reserved.
‘I perceive / Thy mortal sight to fail’ may be understood literally; the point in the revelation of the future has been reached at which the life of the historical Adam has ended. The narrator has covertly described this historical death in the flood-of-tears passage. Michael grants to Adam’s purified eyes one glimpse of the renewed world, then terminates the entire visionary process with this speech, succinctly but undeniably linking the two phenomena – mortality and the limits of prophetic vision.
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