Ravviso gli animal, ch’ a schiera a schiera
Già fanno humil e reverente inclino . . .
Ravveggio il bel serpente avvolto in giri;
O sei bello
Con tanta varietà che certo sembri
Altro stellato ciel, smaltata terra.
O che sento, tu parli?
and Milton transcribes it as follows (ix, 517-554):
. . . She minded not, as used
To such disport before her through the field
From every beast, more duteous at her call . . .
Curled many a wanton wreath in sight of Eve.
His turret crest and sleek enamelled neck . . .
What may this mean? Language of man pronounced
By tongue of brute?
Altogether, Zicari has observed that Rolli, although unacquainted with the ‘Adamo Caduto,’ has sometimes inadvertently hit upon the same words in his Italian translation of Milton which Salandra had used before him.
Eve’s altered complexion after the eating of the forbidden fruit is noted by both poets:
Torbata ne la faccia? Non sei quella
Qual ti lasciai contenta . . .—SALANDRA (p. 89).
Thus Eve with countenance blithe her story told;
But in her cheek distemper flushing glowed. —MILTON (ix, 886).
only with this difference, that the Italian Eve adds a half-lie by way of explaining the change:
. . . Forse cangiata (del che non mi avveggio)
Sono nel volto per la tua partenza.—(p. 89).
In both poems Sin and Death reappear on the scene after the transgression.
The flight of Innocence from earth; the distempered lust which dominates over Adam and Eve after the Fall; the league of Sin and Death to rule henceforward over the world; the pathetic lament of Adam regarding his misfortune and the evils in store for his progeny; his noble sentiment, that none can withdraw himself from the all-seeing eye of God—all these are images which Milton has copied from Salandra.