EVE BEGETS CAIN AND ABEL, AND OTHER CHILDREN.

He ben don ut of paradiſ,
ðat erd al ful of ſwete bliſ;
He ben don ut of bliſſes erd,
They were turned out of Paradise.
384 Cherubin hauet ðe gateſ ſperd;
Cherubim closed the gates.
Ne ſulen it neuere ben un-don,
Til ihesus beð on Rode don;
Ne ſulen it neuermore ben opened,
388 Til ihesus beð on rode dead.
Never shall they be undone till Christ is crucified.
Iff mikel is ſorge, and more care,
Adam and eue it wite ful gare;
Of paradiſ hem ðinkeð ſwem,
Thus Adam and Eve became acquainted with sorrow and care.
392 Of iwel and dead hem ſtondeð greim.
On ſundri ðhenken he to ben,
And neiðere on oðer ſen,
Til angel brogte adam bode,
[Fol. 8b.]
Evil and death troubled them. They thought that they must never look upon one another.
396 bodeword and tiding fro gode:—
Message came from God,
"Adam, ðhu knowe eue ðin wif,
And leded ſamen gunker lif;
"Adam, know Eve, thy wife, and live together.
Summe ſulen of gu to kumen,
400 Sulen ben in to reſte numen;
Summe ſulen folwen fendes red,
And ben in ſorwe after ðe dead;
And get ſal godeſ dere ſune
Some that shall be born of you shall come to bliss, others shall be in sorrow after their death.
404 In gure kin in werlde wunen,
And he ſal bringen man a-gen
In paradiſ to wunen and ben."
God's dear Son shall bring man again into Paradise."
Swilc tiding ðhugte adam god,
408 And ſumdel quemeð it his ſeri mood.
Ðiſ angel is to heuone numen,
These tidings partly softened Adam's sorry mood.
And adam iſ to eue cumen,
More for erneſte dan[[103]] for gamen;
412 Adam and eue wunen ſamen,
Adam and Eve lived together.
And hadden childre manige i-wiſ,
Mo ðan of telleð de geneſis;
Children had they, many more than Genesis tells of.
for fiftene ger hadde adam,
416 ðan caim of eue cam,
After fifteen years Cain was born,

[103]

read ðan