The State of Innocence The State of Innocence The State of Innocence was intended to be performed as an opera, with the libretto written in 1674, (first published in 1677) by John Dryden. It is basically a musical stage adaptation of John Milton's epic poem "Paradise Lost", a tribute to Milton rather than a satire of the poem. That Dryden was an admirer of Milton's is surprising as the two men were politically opposed. Milton was against the restoration of the British monarchy, while the royalist Dryden was created England’s first Poet Laureate by the restored Charles II. So great an admirer of Milton
Life of Adam and Eve the "Life of Adam and Eve". This title was given to it by Tischendorf, its first editor, and taken up by others. In the text, Moses is referred to only in the first sentence as the prophet to whom the story was revealed. The "Greek Apocalypse of Moses" (not to be confused with the "Assumption of Moses") is usually considered to predate the "Latin Life of Adam and Eve". Tischendorf used four manuscripts for his edition: A, the heavily Christian-interpolated B, manuscript C, and manuscript D, which has probably the best text. During the 20th century many other manuscripts have