Paradise Lost: Some Key Passages
I.22-26 [Milton]
Éwhat in me is dark
Illumine, what is low raise
and support;
That, to the height of this
great argument,
I may assert Eternal
Providence,
25
And justify the ways of God
to men.
I.242-263 [Satan]
"Is this the region,
this the soil, the clime,"
That we must change for
Heaven?--this mournful gloom
For that celestial light? Be
it so, since he
245
Who now is sovereign can
dispose and bid
What shall be right: farthest
from him is best
Whom reason hath equalled,
force hath made supreme
Above his equals. Farewell,
happy fields,
Where joy for ever dwells!
Hail, horrors! hail,
250
Infernal world! and thou,
profoundest Hell,
Receive thy new
possessor--one who brings
A mind not to be changed by
place or time.
The mind is its own place,
and in itself
Can make a Heaven of Hell, a
Hell of Heaven.
255
What matter where, if I be
still the same,
And what I should be, all but
less than he
Whom thunder hath made
greater? Here at least
We shall be free; th'
Almighty hath not built
Here for his envy, will not
drive us hence:
260
Here we may reigh secure;
and, in my choice,
To reign is worth ambition,
though in Hell:
Better to reign in Hell than
serve in Heaven."
I.637-662 [Satan]
"But he who reigns
Monarch in Heaven till then
as one secure
Sat on his throne, upheld by
old repute,
Consent or custom, and his
regal state
640
Put forth at full, but still
his strength concealed--
Which tempted our attempt,
and wrought our fall.
Henceforth his might we know,
and know our own,
So as not either to provoke,
or dread
To work in close design, by
fraud or guile,
What force effected not; that
he no less
At length from us may find,
who overcomes
By force hath overcome but
half his foe.
Space may produce new Worlds;
whereof so rife
650
There went a fame in Heaven
that he ere long
Intended to create, and
therein plant
A generation whom his choice
regard
Should favour equal to the
Sons of Heaven.
Thither, if but to pry, shall
be perhaps
655
Our first eruption--thither,
or elsewhere;
For this infernal pit shall
never hold
Celestial Spirits in bondage,
nor th' Abyss
Long under darkness cover.
But these thoughts
Full counsel must mature.
Peace is despaired;
660
For who can think submission?
War, then, war
Open or understood, must be
resolved."
III.80-134 [God]
"Only begotten Son,
seest thou what rage
80
Transports our
Adversary? whom no bounds
Prescrib'd no bars of Hell,
nor all the chains
Heap'd on him there, nor yet
the main abyss
Wide interrupt, can hold; so
bent he seems
On desperate revenge, that
shall redound
85
Upon his own rebellious
head. And now,
Through all restraint broke
loose, he wings his way
Not far off Heaven, in the
precincts of light,
Directly towards the new
created world,
And man there plac'd, with
purpose to assay
90
If him by force he can
destroy, or, worse,
By some false guile pervert;
and shall pervert;
For man will hearken to his
glozing lies,
And easily transgress the
sole command,
Sole pledge of his
obedience: So will fall
95
He and his faithless
progeny: Whose fault?
Whose but his own? ingrate, he had of me
All he could have; I made him
just and right,
Sufficient to have stood,
though free to fall.
Such I created all the
ethereal Powers
100
And Spirits, both them who
stood, and them who fail'd;
Freely they stood who stood,
and fell who fell.
Not free, what proof could
they have given sincere
Of true allegiance, constant
faith or love,
Where only what they needs
must do appear'd,
105
Not what they would? what praise could they receive?
What pleasure I from such
obedience paid,
When will and reason (reason
also is choice)
Useless and vain, of freedom
both despoil'd,
Made passive both, had serv'd
necessity,
110
Not me? they therefore, as to right belong'd,
So were created, nor can
justly accuse
Their Maker, or their making,
or their fate,
As if predestination
over-rul'd
Their will dispos'd by
absolute decree
115
Or high foreknowledge they
themselves decreed
Their own revolt, not I; if I
foreknew,
Foreknowledge had no
influence on their fault,
Which had no less proved
certain unforeknown.
So without least impulse or
shadow of fate,
120
Or aught by me immutably
foreseen,
They trespass, authors to
themselves in all
Both what they judge, and
what they choose; for so
I form'd them free: and free
they must remain,
Till they enthrall
themselves; I else must change
125
Their nature, and revoke the
high decree
Unchangeable, eternal, which
ordain'd
Their freedom: they
themselves ordain'd their fall.
The first sort by their own
suggestion fell,
Self-tempted,
self-deprav'd: Man falls,
deceiv'd
130
By the other first: Man therefore shall find grace,
The other none: In mercy and justice both,
Through Heaven and Earth, so
shall my glory excel;
But Mercy, first and last,
shall brightest shine."
III.283-302 [God to Christ]
"And be thyself Man
among men on Earth,
Made flesh, when time shall
be, of virgin seed,
By wondrous birth; be thou in
Adam's room 285
The head of all mankind,
though Adam's son.
As in him perish all men, so
in thee,
As from a second root, shall
be restored
As many as are restored,
without thee none.
His crime makes guilty all
his sons; thy merit, 290
Imputed, shall absolve them
who renounce
Their own both righteous and
unrighteous deeds,
And live in thee
transplanted, and from thee
Receive new life. So Man, as is most just,
Shall satisfy for Man, be
judged and die, 295
And dying rise, and rising
with him raise
His brethren, ransomed with
his own dear life.
So heavenly love shall outdo
hellish hate,
Giving to death, and dying to
redeem,
So dearly to redeem what
hellish hate 300
So easily destroyed, and
still destroys
In those who, when they may,
accept not grace."
IV.32-113 [Satan]
"O thou, that, with
surpassing glory crowned,
Lookest from thy sole
dominion like the God
Of this new world; at whose
sight all the stars
Hide their diminished heads;
to thee I call,
35
But with no friendly voice,
and add thy name,
Of Sun! to tell thee how I
hate thy beams,
That bring to my remembrance
from what state
I fell, how glorious once
above thy sphere;
Till pride and worse ambition
threw me down
40
Warring in Heaven against
Heaven's matchless King:
Ah, wherefore! he deserved no
such return
From me, whom he created what
I was
In that bright eminence, and
with his good
Upbraided none; nor was his
service hard.
45
What could be less than to
afford him praise,
The easiest recompence, and
pay him thanks,
How due! yet all his good
proved ill in me,
And wrought but malice;
lifted up so high
I 'sdain'd subjection, and
thought one step higher
50
Would set me highest, and in
a moment quit
The debt immense of endless
gratitude,
So burdensome still paying,
still to owe,
Forgetful what from him I
still received,
And understood not that a
grateful mind 55
By owing owes not, but still
pays, at once
Indebted and discharged; what
burden then
O, had his powerful destiny
ordained
Me some inferiour Angel, I
had stood
Then happy; no unbounded hope
had raised
60
Ambition! Yet why not some other Power
As great might have aspired,
and me, though mean,
Drawn to his part; but other
Powers as great
Fell not, but stand unshaken,
from within
Or from without, to all
temptations armed.
65
Hadst thou the same free will
and power to stand?
Thou hadst: whom hast thou
then or what to accuse,
But Heaven's free love dealt
equally to all?
Be then his love accursed,
since love or hate,
To me alike, it deals eternal
woe.
70
Nay, cursed be thou; since
against his thy will
Chose freely what it now so
justly rues.
Me miserable! which way shall
I fly
Infinite wrath, and infinite
despair?
Which way I fly is Hell;
myself am Hell;
75
And, in the lowest deep, a
lower deep
Still threatening to devour
me opens wide,
To which the Hell I suffer
seems a Heaven.
O, then, at last relent: Is there no place
Left for repentance, none for
pardon left?
80
None left but by submission;
and that word
Disdain forbids me, and my
dread of shame
Among the Spirits beneath,
whom I seduced
With other promises and other
vaunts
Than to submit, boasting I
could subdue
85
The Omnipotent. Ay me! they little know
How dearly I abide that boast
so vain,
Under what torments inwardly
I groan,
While they adore me on the
throne of Hell.
With diadem and scepter high
advanced,
90
The lower still I fall, only
supreme
In misery: Such joy ambition finds.
But say I could repent, and
could obtain,
By act of grace, my former
state; how soon
Would highth recall high
thoughts, how soon unsay 95
What feigned submission
swore? Ease would recant
Vows made in pain, as violent
and void.
For never can true
reconcilement grow,
Where wounds of deadly hate
have pierced so deep:
Which would but lead me to a
worse relapse
100
And heavier fall: so should I
purchase dear
Short intermission bought
with double smart.
This knows my Punisher;
therefore as far
From granting he, as I from
begging, peace;
All hope excluded thus,
behold, in stead
105
Of us out-cast, exil'd, his
new delight,
Mankind created, and for him
this world.
So farewell, hope; and with
hope farewell, fear;
Farewell, remorse! all good
to me is lost;
Evil, be thou my good; by
thee at least
Divided empire with Heaven's
King I hold,
110
By thee, and more than half
perhaps will reign;
As Man ere long, and this new
world, shall know."
IV.201-205
ÉSo little knows
Any, but God alone, to value
right
The good before him, but
perverts best things
To worst abuse, or to their
meanest use.
IV.287-318 [Adam and Eve]
Of living creatures, new to
sight, and strange
Two of far nobler shape,
erect and tall,
Godlike erect, with native
honour clad
In naked majesty seemed lords
of all: 290
And worthy seemed; for in
their looks divine
The image of their glorious
Maker shone,
Truth, wisdom, sanctitude
severe and pure,
(Severe, but in true filial
freedom placed,)
Whence true authority in men;
though both 295
Not equal, as their sex not
equal seemed;
For contemplation he and
valour formed;
For softness she and sweet
attractive grace;
He for God only, she for God
in him:
His fair large front and eye
sublime declared 300
Absolute rule; and
hyacinthine locks
Round from his parted
forelock manly hung
Clustering, but not beneath
his shoulders broad:
She, as a veil, down to the
slender waist
Her unadorned golden tresses
wore 305
Dishevelled, but in wanton
ringlets waved
As the vine curls her tendrils,
which implied
Subjection, but required with
gentle sway,
And by her yielded, by him
best received,
Yielded with coy submission,
modest pride, 310
And sweet, reluctant, amorous
delay.
Nor those mysterious parts
were then concealed;
Then was not guilty shame,
dishonest shame
Of nature's works, honour
dishonourable,
Sin-bred, how have ye
troubled all mankind 315
With shows instead, mere
shows of seeming pure,
And banished from man's life
his happiest life,
Simplicity and spotless
innocence!
IV.375-392 [Satan]
"To you, whom I could
pity thus forlorn, 375
Though I unpitied: League with you I seek,
And mutual amity, so strait,
so close,
That I with you must dwell,
or you with me
Henceforth; my dwelling haply
may not please,
Like this fair Paradise, your
sense; yet such
Accept your Maker's work; he
gave it me, 380
Which I as freely give: Hell
shall unfold,
To entertain you two, her
widest gates,
And send forth all her kings;
there will be room,
Not like these narrow limits,
to receive
Your numerous offspring; if
no better place, 385
Thank him who puts me loth to
this revenge
On you who wrong me not for
him who wronged.
And should I at your harmless
innocence
Melt, as I do, yet publick
reason just,
Honour and empire with
revenge enlarged, 390
By conquering this new world,
compels me now
To do what else, though
damned, I should abhor."
IV.411-435 [Adam to Eve]
"Sole partner, and sole
part, of all these joys,
Dearer thyself than all;
needs must the Power
That made us, and for us this
ample world,
Be infinitely good, and of his
good
As liberal and free as
infinite; 415
That raised us from the dust,
and placed us here
In all this happiness, who at
his hand
Have nothing merited, nor can
perform
Aught whereof he hath need;
he who requires
From us no other service than
to keep 420
This one, this easy charge,
of all the trees
In Paradise that bear
delicious fruit
So various, not to taste that
only tree
Of knowledge, planted by the
tree of life;
So near grows death to life,
whate'er death is, 425
Some dreadful thing no doubt;
for well thou knowest
God hath pronounced it death
to taste that tree,
The only sign of our
obedience left,
Among so many signs of power
and rule
Conferred upon us, and dominion
given 430
Over all other creatures that
possess
Earth, air, and sea. Then let us not think hard
One easy prohibition, who
enjoy
Free leave so large to all
things else, and choice
Unlimited of manifold
delights:.." 435
IV.512-527 [Satan]
"Yet let me not forget
what I have gained
From their own mouths: All is not theirs, it seems;
One fatal tree there stands,
of knowledge called,
Forbidden them to taste: Knowledge forbidden 515
Suspicious, reasonless. Why should their Lord
Envy them that? Can it be sin to know?
Can it be death? And do they only stand
By ignorance? Is that their happy state,
The proof of their obedience
and their faith? 520
O fair foundation laid
whereon to build
Their ruin! hence I will
excite their minds
With more desire to know, and
to reject
Envious commands, invented
with design
To keep them low, whom
knowledge might exalt 525
Equal with Gods: aspiring to
be such,
They taste and die: What
likelier can ensue?"
IV.635-638 [Eve to Adam]
"My Author and Disposer,
what thou bidst 635
Unargued I obey: So God ordains;
God is thy law, thou mine: To know no more
Is woman's happiest
knowledge, and her praise."
IV.797-809 [Satan tempts Eve in dream]
So saying, on he led his
radiant files,
Dazzling the moon; these to
the bower direct
In search of whom they
sought: Him there they found
Squat like a toad, close at
the ear of Eve, 800
Assaying by his devilish art
to reach
The organs of her fancy, and
with them forge
Illusions, as he list,
phantasms and dreams;
Or if, inspiring venom, he
might taint
The animal spirits, that from
pure blood arise 805
Like gentle breaths from
rivers pure, thence raise
At least distempered,
discontented thoughts,
Vain hopes, vain aims,
inordinate desires,
Blown up with high conceits
ingendering pride.
V.33-93 [Eve to Adam, reporting dream]
"O sole in whom my
thoughts find all repose,
My glory, my perfection! glad
I see
Thy face, and morn returned;
for I this night
30
(Such night till this I never
passed) have dreamed,
If dreamed, not, as I oft am
wont, of thee,
Works of day past, or
morrow's next design,
But of offence and trouble,
which my mind
Knew never till this irksome
night: Methought,
35
Close at mine ear one called
me forth to walk
With gentle voice; I thought it thine: It said,
'Why sleepest thou, Eve? now
is the pleasant time,
'The cool, the silent, save
where silence yields
'To the night-warbling bird,
that now awake
40
'Tunes sweetest his
love-laboured song; now reigns
'Full-orbed the moon, and
with more pleasing light
'Shadowy sets off the face of
things; in vain,
'If none regard; Heaven wakes
with all his eyes,
'Whom to behold but thee,
Nature's desire?
45
'In whose sight all things joy,
with ravishment
'Attracted by thy beauty
still to gaze.'
I rose as at thy call, but
found thee not;
To find thee I directed then
my walk;
And on, methought, alone I
passed through ways
50
That brought me on a sudden
to the tree
Of interdicted knowledge:
fair it seemed,
Much fairer to my fancy than
by day:
And, as I wondering looked,
beside it stood
One shaped and winged like
one of those from Heaven 55
By us oft seen; his dewy
locks distilled
Ambrosia; on that tree he
also gazed;
And 'O fair plant,' said he,
'with fruit surcharged,
'Deigns none to ease thy
load, and taste thy sweet,
'Nor God, nor Man? Is knowledge so despised?
60
'Or envy, or what reserve
forbids to taste?
'Forbid who will, none shall
from me withhold
'Longer thy offered good; why
else set here?
This said, he paused not, but
with venturous arm
He plucked, he tasted; me
damp horrour chilled
65
At such bold words vouched
with a deed so bold:
But he thus, overjoyed; 'O
fruit divine,
'Sweet of thyself, but much
more sweet thus cropt,
'Forbidden here, it seems, as
only fit
'For Gods, yet able to make
Gods of Men:
70
'And why not Gods of Men;
since good, the more
'Communicated, more abundant
grows,
'The author not impaired, but
honoured more?
'Here, happy creature, fair
angelick Eve!
'Partake thou also; happy
though thou art,
75
'Happier thou mayest be,
worthier canst not be:
'Taste this, and be henceforth
among the Gods
'Thyself a Goddess, not to
earth confined,
'But sometimes in the air, as
we, sometimes
'Ascend to Heaven, by merit
thine, and see
80
'What life the Gods live
there, and such live thou!'
So saying, he drew nigh, and
to me held,
Even to my mouth of that same
fruit held part
Which he had plucked; the
pleasant savoury smell
So quickened appetite, that
I, methought,
85
Could not but taste. Forthwith up to the clouds
With him I flew, and
underneath beheld
The earth outstretched
immense, a prospect wide
And various: Wondering at my flight and change
To this high exaltation;
suddenly
90
My guide was gone, and I,
methought, sunk down,
And fell asleep; but O, how
glad I waked
To find this but a
dream!"
VIII.66-75 [Raphael to Adam]
"To ask or search, I
blame thee not; for Heaven
Is as the book of God before
thee set,
Wherein to read his wonderous
works, and learn
His seasons, hours, or days,
or months, or years:
This to attain, whether
Heaven move or Earth,
70
Imports not, if thou reckon
right; the rest
From Man or Angel the great
Architect
Did wisely to conceal, and
not divulge
His secrets to be scanned by
them who ought
Rather admireÉ" 75
VIII.167-179 [Raphael to Adam]
"Sollicit not thy
thoughts with matters hid;
Leave them to God above; him
serve, and fear!
Of other creatures, as him
pleases best,
Wherever placed, let him
dispose; joy thou 170
In what he gives to thee,
this Paradise
And thy fair Eve; Heaven is
for thee too high
To know what passes there; be
lowly wise:
Think only what concerns
thee, and thy being;
Dream not of other worlds,
what creatures there 175
Live, in what state,
condition, or degree;
Contented that thus far hath
been revealed
Not of Earth only, but of
highest Heaven."
VIII.180-197 [Adam to Raphael]
"How fully hast thou
satisfied me, pure
180
Intelligence of Heaven, Angel
serene!
And, freed from intricacies,
taught to live
The easiest way; nor with
perplexing thoughts
To interrupt the sweet of
life, from which
God hath bid dwell far off
all anxious cares,
185
And not molest us; unless we
ourselves
Seek them with wandering
thoughts, and notions vain.
But apt the mind or fancy is
to rove
Unchecked, and of her roving
is no end;
Till warned, or by experience
taught, she learn,
190
That, not to know at large of
things remote
From use, obscure and subtle;
but, to know
That which before us lies in
daily life,
Is the prime wisdom: What is more, is fume,
Or emptiness, or fond
impertinence:
195
And renders us, in things
that most concern,
Unpractised, unprepared, and
still to seek."
VIII.315-333 [Adam to Raphael, describing God]
"In adoration at his
feet I fell
315
Submiss: He reared me, and 'Whom thou soughtest
I am,'
Said mildly, 'Author of all
this thou seest
'Above, or round about thee,
or beneath.
'This Paradise I give thee,
count it thine
'To till and keep, and of the
fruit to eat:
320
'Of every tree that in the
garden grows
'Eat freely with glad heart;
fear here no dearth:
'But of the tree whose
operation brings
'Knowledge of good and ill,
which I have set
'The pledge of thy obedience
and thy faith,
325
'Amid the garden by the tree
of life,
'Remember what I warn thee,
shun to taste,
'And shun the bitter
consequence: for know,
'The day thou eatest thereof,
my sole command
'Transgressed, inevitably
thou shalt die,
330
'From that day mortal; and
this happy state
'Shalt lose, expelled from
hence into a world
'Of woe and sorrow.'"
VIII.437-451 [God to Adam]
"Thus far to try thee,
Adam, I was pleased;
And find thee knowing, not of
beasts alone,
Which thou hast rightly
named, but of thyself;
Expressing well the spirit
within thee free,
440
My image, not imparted to the
brute;
Whose fellowship therefore
unmeet for thee
Good reason was thou freely
shouldst dislike;
And be so minded still: I, ere thou spakest,
Knew it not good for Man to be
alone;
445
And no such company as then
thou sawest
Intended thee; for trial only
brought,
To see how thou couldest
judge of fit and meet:
What next I bring shall
please thee, be assured,
Thy likeness, thy fit help,
thy other self,
450
Thy wish exactly to thy
heart's desire."
VIII.521-559 [Adam to Raphael, describing effect of
Eve on him]
"Thus have I told thee
all my state, and brought
My story to the sum of
earthly bliss,
Which I enjoy; and must
confess to find
In all things else delight
indeed, but such
As, used or not, works in the
mind no change,
525
Nor vehement desire; these
delicacies
I mean of taste, sight,
smell, herbs, fruits, and flowers,
Walks, and the melody of
birds: but here
Far otherwise, transported I
behold,
Transported touch; here
passion first I felt,
530
Commotion strange! in all
enjoyments else
Superiour and unmoved; here
only weak
Against the charm of Beauty's
powerful glance.
Or Nature failed in me, and
left some part
Not proof enough such object
to sustain;
535
Or, from my side subducting,
took perhaps
More than enough; at least on
her bestowed
Too much of ornament, in
outward show
Elaborate, of inward less
exact.
For well I understand in the
prime end
540
Of Nature her the inferior,
in the mind
And inward faculties, which
most excel;
In outward also her
resembling less
His image who made both, and
less expressing
The character of that
dominion given
545
O'er other creatures: Yet when I approach
Her loveliness, so absolute
she seems
And in herself complete, so
well to know
Her own, that what she wills
to do or say,
Seems wisest, virtuousest,
discreetest, best:
550
All higher knowledge in her
presence falls
Degraded; Wisdom in discourse with her
Loses discountenanced, and
like Folly shows;
Authority and Reason on her
wait,
As one intended first, not
after made
555
Occasionally; and, to
consummate all,
Greatness of mind and
Nobleness their seat
Build in her loveliest, and
create an awe
About her, as a guard
angelick placed."
VIII.561-578 [Raphael to Adam, warning him to be
wary of Eve's attractions]
"Accuse not Nature, she
hath done her part;
Do thou but thine; and be not
diffident
Of Wisdom; she deserts thee
not, if thou
Dismiss not her, when most
thou needest her nigh,
By attributing overmuch to
things
565
Less excellent, as thou
thyself perceivest.
For, what admirest thou, what
transports thee so,
An outside? fair, no doubt,
and worthy well
Thy cherishing, thy
honouring, and thy love;
Not thy subjection: Weigh with her thyself;
570
Then value: Oft-times nothing profits more
Than self-esteem, grounded on
just and right
Well managed; of that skill
the more thou knowest,
The more she will acknowledge
thee her head,
And to realities yield all
her shows:
575
Made so adorn for thy delight
the more,
So awful, that with honour
thou mayest love
Thy mate, who sees when thou
art seen least wise."
VIII.633-643 [Raphael to
Adam]
"Be strong, live happy,
and love! But, first of all,
Him, whom to love is to obey,
and keep
His great command; take heed
lest passion sway
635
Thy judgement to do aught,
which else free will
Would not admit: thine, and
of all thy sons,
The weal or woe in thee is placed;
beware!
I in thy persevering shall
rejoice,
And all the Blest: Stand fast; to stand or fall
640
Free in thine own arbitrement
it lies.
Perfect within, no outward
aid require;
And all temptation to
transgress repel.
IX.25-33 [Milton]
Since first this subject for
heroic song
Pleas'd me long choosing, and
beginning late;
Not sedulous by nature to
indite
Wars, hitherto the only
argument
Heroic deem'd chief mastery
to dissect
With long and tedious havoc
fabled knights 30
In battles feign'd; the
better fortitude
Of patience and heroic
martyrdom
UnsungÉ
IX.343-363 [Adam to Eve]
"O Woman, best are all
things as the will
Of God ordained them: His
creating hand
Nothing imperfect or deficient
left
345
Of all that he created, much
less Man,
Or aught that might his happy
state secure,
Secure from outward force;
within himself
The danger lies, yet lies
within his power:
Against his will he can
receive no harm.
350
But God left free the will;
for what obeys
Reason, is free; and Reason
he made right,
But bid her well be ware, and
still erect;
Lest, by some fair-appearing
good surprised,
She dictate false; and
mis-inform the will
355
To do what God expressly hath
forbid.
Not then mistrust, but tender
love, enjoins,
That I should mind thee oft;
and mind thou me.
Firm we subsist, yet possible
to swerve;
Since Reason not impossibly
may meet
360
Some specious object by the
foe suborned,
And fall into deception
unaware,
Not keeping strictest watch,
as she was warned."
IX.651-654 [Eve to Satan as Serpent]
"Serpent, we might have
spared our coming hither,
Fruitless to me, though fruit
be here to excess,
The credit of whose virtue
rest with thee;
Wonderous indeed, if cause of
such effects.
650
But of this tree we may not
taste nor touch;
God so commanded, and left
that command
Sole daughter of his voice;
the rest, we live
Law to ourselves; our reason
is our law."
IX.679-732 [Satan as serpent to Eve]
"O sacred, wise, and
wisdom-giving Plant,
Mother of science! now I feel
thy power
680
Within me clear; not only to
discern
Things in their causes, but
to trace the ways
Of highest agents, deemed
however wise.
Queen of this universe! do
not believe
Those rigid threats of death:
ye shall not die:
685
How should you? by the fruit?
it gives you life
To knowledge; by the
threatener? look on me,
Me, who have touched and
tasted; yet both live,
And life more perfect have
attained than Fate
Meant me, by venturing higher
than my lot.
690
Shall that be shut to Man,
which to the Beast
Is open? or will God incense
his ire
For such a petty trespass?
and not praise
Rather your dauntless virtue,
whom the pain
Of death denounced, whatever
thing death be,
695
Deterred not from achieving
what might lead
To happier life, knowledge of
good and evil;
Of good, how just? of evil,
if what is evil
Be real, why not known, since
easier shunned?
God therefore cannot hurt ye,
and be just;
700
Not just, not God; not feared
then, nor obeyed:
Your fear itself of death
removes the fear.
Why then was this
forbid? Why, but to awe;
Why, but to keep ye low and
ignorant,
His worshippers? He knows that in the day
705
Ye eat thereof, your eyes
that seem so clear,
Yet are but dim, shall
perfectly be then
Opened and cleared, and ye
shall be as Gods,
Knowing both good and evil,
as they know.
That ye shall be as Gods,
since I as Man,
710
Internal Man, is but
proportion meet;
I, of brute, human; ye, of
human, Gods.
So ye shall die perhaps, by
putting off
Human, to put on Gods; death
to be wished,
Though threatened, which no
worse than this can bring. 715
And what are Gods, that Man
may not become
As they, participating
God-like food?
The Gods are first, and that
advantage use
On our belief, that all from
them proceeds:
I question it; for this fair
earth I see,
720
Warmed by the sun, producing
every kind;
Them, nothing: if they all
things, who enclosed
Knowledge of good and evil in
this tree,
That whoso eats thereof,
forthwith attains
Wisdom without their leave?
and wherein lies
725
The offence, that Man should
thus attain to know?
What can your knowledge hurt
him, or this tree
Impart against his will, if
all be his?
Or is it envy? and can envy
dwell
In heavenly breasts? These, these, and many more 730
Causes import your need of
this fair fruit.
Goddess humane, reach then,
and freely taste!"
IX.887-916 [Adam]
On the other side Adam, soon
as he heard
The fatal trespass done by
Eve, amazed,
Astonied stood and blank,
while horrour chill
890
Ran through his veins, and
all his joints relaxed;
From his slack hand the
garland wreathed for Eve
Down dropt, and all the faded
roses shed:
Speechless he stood and pale,
till thus at length
First to himself he inward
silence broke.
895
"O fairest of Creation,
last and best
Of all God's works, Creature
in whom excelled
Whatever can to sight or
thought be formed,
Holy, divine, good, amiable,
or sweet!
How art thou lost! how on a
sudden lost,
900
Defaced, deflowered, and now
to death devote!
Rather, how hast thou yielded
to transgress
The strict forbiddance, how
to violate
The sacred fruit forbidden! Some cursed fraud
Of enemy hath beguiled thee,
yet unknown,
905
And me with thee hath ruined;
for with thee
Certain my resolution is to
die:
How can I live without thee!
how forego
Thy sweet converse, and love
so dearly joined,
To live again in these wild
woods forlorn!
910
Should God create another
Eve, and I
Another rib afford, yet loss
of thee
Would never from my heart:
no, no!I feel
The link of Nature draw me:
flesh of flesh,
Bone of my bone thou art, and
from thy state
915
Mine never shall be parted,
bliss or woe."
IX.1004-1016 [Adam and Eve]
Éwhile Adam took no thought,
Eating his fill; nor Eve to
iterate
1005
Her former trespass feared, the
more to sooth
Him with her loved society;
that now,
As with new wine intoxicated
both,
They swim in mirth, and fancy
that they feel
Divinity within them breeding
wings,
1010
Wherewith to scorn the
earth: But that false fruit
Far other operation first
displayed,
Carnal desire inflaming; he
on Eve
Began to cast lascivious
eyes; she him
As wantonly repaid; in lust
they burn:
1015
Till Adam thus 'gan Eve to
dalliance move.
IX.1067-1080 [Adam to Eve]
"O Eve, in evil hour
thou didst give ear
To that false worm, of
whomsoever taught
To counterfeit Man's voice;
true in our fall,
False in our promised rising;
since our eyes
1070
Opened we find indeed, and
find we know
Both good and evil; good
lost, and evil got;
Bad fruit of knowledge, if
this be to know;
Which leaves us naked thus,
of honour void,
Of innocence, of faith, of
purity,
1075
Our wonted ornaments now
soiled and stained,
And in our faces evident the
signs
Of foul concupiscence; whence
evil store;
Even shame, the last of
evils; of the first
Be sure then.--"
IX.1144-1161 [Eve to Adam]
"What words have passed
thy lips, Adam severe!
Imputest thou that to my
default, or will
1145
Of wandering, as thou callest
it, which who knows
But might as ill have
happened thou being by,
Or to thyself perhaps? Hadst thou been there,
Or here the attempt, thou
couldst not have discerned
Fraud in the Serpent,
speaking as he spake;
1150
No ground of enmity between
us known,
Why he should mean me ill, or
seek to harm.
Was I to have never parted
from thy side?
As good have grown there
still a lifeless rib.
Being as I am, why didst not
thou, the head,
1155
Command me absolutely not to
go,
Going into such danger, as
thou saidst?
Too facile then, thou didst
not much gainsay;
Nay, didst permit, approve,
and fair dismiss.
Hadst thou been firm and
fixed in thy dissent, 1160
Neither had I transgressed,
nor thou with me."
IX.1171-1186 [Adam to Eve]
"I warned thee, I
admonished thee, foretold
The danger, and the lurking
enemy
That lay in wait; beyond
this, had been force;
And force upon free will hath
here no place.
But confidence then bore thee
on; secure
1175
Either to meet no danger, or
to find
Matter of glorious trial; and
perhaps
I also erred, in overmuch
admiring
What seemed in thee so
perfect, that I thought
No evil durst attempt thee;
but I rue
1180
The error now, which is
become my crime,
And thou the accuser. Thus it shall befall
Him, who, to worth in women
overtrusting,
Lets her will rule: restraint
she will not brook;
And, left to herself, if evil
thence ensue,
1185
She first his weak indulgence
will accuse."
X.137-156 [Adam, God]
"This Woman, whom thou
madest to be my help,
And gavest me as thy perfect
gift, so good,
So fit, so acceptable, so divine,
That from her hand I could
suspect no ill,
140
And what she did, whatever in
itself,
Her doing seemed to justify
the deed;
She gave me of the tree, and
I did eat."
To
whom the Sovran Presence thus replied.
"Was she thy God, that
her thou didst obey
145
Before his voice? or was she
made thy guide,
Superiour, or but equal, that
to her
Thou didst resign thy
manhood, and the place
Wherein God set thee above
her made of thee,
And for thee, whose
perfection far excelled
150
Hers in all real
dignity? Adorned
She was indeed, and lovely,
to attract
Thy love, not thy subjection;
and her gifts
Were such, as under
government well seemed;
Unseemly to bear rule; which
was thy part
155
And person, hadst thou known
thyself arightÉ"
X.720-768 [Adam]
"O miserable of
happy! Is this the end
720
Of this new glorious world,
and me so late
The glory of that glory, who
now become
Accursed, of blessed? hide me
from the face
Of God, whom to behold was
then my highth
Of happiness!--Yet well, if
here would end
725
The misery; I deserved it,
and would bear
My own deservings; but this
will not serve:
All that I eat or drink, or
shall beget,
Is propagated curse. O voice, once heard
Delightfully, Increase and
multiply;
730
Now death to hear! for what
can I increase,
Or multiply, but curses on my
head?
Who of all ages to succeed,
but, feeling
The evil on him brought by
me, will curse
My head? Ill fare our ancestor impure,
735
For this we may thank Adam!
but his thanks
Shall be the execration: so,
besides
Mine own that bide upon me,
all from me
Shall with a fierce reflux on
me rebound;
On me, as on their natural
center, 'light
740
Heavy, though in their
place. O fleeting joys
Of Paradise, dear bought with
lasting woes!
Did I request thee, Maker,
from my clay
To mould me Man? did I
solicit thee
From darkness to promote me,
or here place
745
In this delicious
garden? As my will
Concurred not to my being, it
were but right
And equal to reduce me to my
dust;
Desirous to resign and render
back
All I received; unable to
perform
750
Thy terms too hard, by which
I was to hold
The good I sought not. To the loss of that,
Sufficient penalty, why hast
thou added
The sense of endless
woes? Inexplicable
Thy Justice seems; yet to say
truth, too late, 755
I thus contest; then should
have been refus'd
Those terms whatever, when
they were propos'd:
Thou didst accept them; wilt
thou enjoy the good,
Then cavil the conditions?
and though God
Made thee without thy leave,
what if thy Son 760
Prove disobedient, and
reprov'd, retort,
'Wherefore didst thou thou
beget me? I sought it not':
Wouldst thou admit for his
contempt of thee
That proud excuse? yet him
not thy election,
But Natural necessity begot. 765
God made thee of choice his
own, and of his own
To serve him, thy reward was
of his grace,
Thy punishment then justly is
at his Will."
X.873-895 [Adam to Eve]
"ÉBut for thee
I had persisted happy; had
not thy pride
And wandering vanity, when
least was safe, 875
Rejected my forewarning, and
disdained
Not to be trusted; longing to
be seen,
Though by the Devil himself;
him overweening
To over-reach; but, with the
serpent meeting,
Fooled and beguiled; by him
thou, I by thee 880
To trust thee from my side;
imagined wise,
Constant, mature, proof
against all assaults;
And understood not all was
but a show,
Rather than solid virtue; all
but a rib
Crooked by nature, bent, as
now appears, 885
More to the part sinister,
from me drawn;
Well if thrown out, as
supernumerary
To my just number found. O! why did God,
Creator wise, that peopled
highest Heaven
With Spirits masculine,
create at last 890
This novelty on earth, this
fair defect
Of nature, and not fill the
world at once
With Men, as Angels, without
feminine;
Or find some other way to
generate
Mankind?É" 895
X.923-936 [Eve to Adam]
"While yet we live,
scarce one short hour perhaps,
Between us two let there be
peace; both joining,
As joined in injuries, one
enmity 925
Against a foe by doom express
assigned us,
That cruel Serpent: On me exercise not
Thy hatred for this misery
befallen;
On me already lost, me than
thyself
More miserable! Both have sinned;but thou 930
Against God only; I against
God and thee;
And to the place of judgement
will return,
There with my cries importune
Heaven; that all
The sentence, from thy head
removed, may light
On me, sole cause to thee of
all this woe; 935
Me, me only, just object of
his ire!"
X.952-965 [Adam to Eve]
"ÉIf prayers
Could alter high decrees, I
to that place
Would speed before thee, and
be louder heard,
That on my head all might be
visited; 955
Thy frailty and infirmer sex
forgiven,
To me committed, and by me
exposed.
But rise;--let us no more
contend, nor blame
Each other, blamed enough
elsewhere; but strive
In offices of love, how we
may lighten 960
Each other's burden, in our
share of woe;
Since this day's death
denounced, if aught I see,
Will prove no sudden, but a
slow-paced evil;
A long day's dying, to
augment our pain;
And to our seed (O hapless
seed!) derived." 965
X.992-1006 [Eve to Adam]
"But if thou judge it
hard and difficult,
Conversing, looking, loving,
to abstain
From love's due rights,
nuptial embraces sweet;
And with desire to languish
without hope, 995
Before the present object
languishing
With like desire; which would
be misery
And torment less than none of
what we dread;
Then, both ourselves and seed
at once to free
From what we fear for both,
let us make short, 1000
Let us seek Death; or, he not
found, supply
With our own hands his office
on ourselves:
Why stand we longer shivering
under fears,
That show no end but death,
and have the power,
Of many ways to die the
shortest choosing, 1005
Destruction with destruction
to destroy?"
X.1013-1046 [Adam to Eve]
"Eve, thy contempt of
life and pleasure seems
To argue in thee something
more sublime
And excellent, than what thy
mind contemns; 1015
But self-destruction
therefore sought, refutes
That excellence thought in
thee; and implies,
Not thy contempt, but anguish
and regret
For loss of life and pleasure
overloved.
Or if thou covet death, as
utmost end 1020
Of misery, so thinking to
evade
The penalty pronounced; doubt
not but God
Hath wiselier armed his
vengeful ire, than so
To be forestalled; much more
I fear lest death,
So snatched, will not exempt
us from the pain 1025
We are by doom to pay;
rather, such acts
Of contumacy will provoke the
Highest
To make death in us
live: Then let us seek
Some safer resolution, which
methinks
I have in view, calling to
mind with heed 1030
Part of our sentence, that
thy seed shall bruise
The Serpent's head; piteous
amends! unless
Be meant, whom I conjecture,
our grand foe,
Satan; who, in the serpent,
hath contrived
Against us this deceit: To crush his head 1035
Would be revenge indeed!
which will be lost
By death brought on
ourselves, or childless days
Resolved, as thou proposest;
so our foe
Shal 'scape his punishment
ordained, and we
Instead shall double ours
upon our heads. 1040
No more be mentioned then of
violence
Against ourselves; and wilful
barrenness,
That cuts us off from hope;
and savours only
Rancour and pride, impatience
and despite,
Reluctance against God and
his just yoke 1045
Laid on our necks."
X.1078-1096 [Adam to Eve]
"É Such fire to use,
And what may else be remedy
or cure
To evils which our own
misdeeds have wrought, 1080
He will instruct us praying,
and of grace
Beseeching him; so as we need
not fear
To pass commodiously this
life, sustained
By him with many comforts,
till we end
In dust, our final rest and
native home. 1085
What better can we do, than,
to the place
Repairing where he judg'd us,
prostrate fall
Before him reverent; and
there confess
Humbly our faults, and pardon
beg; with tears
Watering the ground, and with
our sighs the air 1090
Frequenting, sent from hearts
contrite, in sign
Of sorrow unfeigned, and
humiliation meek
Undoubtedly he will relent
and turn
From his displeasure; in
whose look serene,
When angry most he seem'd and
most severe 1095
What else but favour, grace,
and mercy shone?"