hæfde fræcne hyge.
Hæleth helm on heafod asette
and thone full hearde geband,
spenn mid spangum.
Wiste him spræca fela
wora worda.

Began him then t' equip
th' antagonist of God,
prompt in harness:--
he had a guileful mind.
A magic helm on head he set,
he bound it hard and tight,
braced it with buckles.
Speeches many wist he well,
crooked words.

He takes wing and rises in air; and then comes a passage like Milton:--

Swang thæt fyr on twa
feondes cræfte.

he dashed the fire in two
with fiendish craft.[71]

Arrived at the garden he takes the shape of a serpent, and winds himself
round the forbidden tree. The description recalls the familiar picture
so vividly that we cannot doubt the same picture was before the eyes of
children in the Saxon period as now. He takes some of the fruit and
finds Adam, and addresses him in a speech. He gives a naïve reason why