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That Man may know he dwells not in his own; An edifice too large for him to fill,
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, 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:
Pleased with thy words no less than thou with mine.”
The new joy of conaciousness.
“For Man to tell how human life began Is hard;
Straight toward Heaven my wondering eyes I turned, And gazed a while the ample sky;
But who I was, or where, or from what cause, Knew not; to speak I tried,
name
Tell me, how may I know him, how adore, From whom I have that thus I move and live, And feel that I am happier than I know.’
While thus I called, and strayed I knew not whither,
Surpassest far my naming;
By conversation with his like to help Or solace his defects.
A mirror.
rightly named,
Were they already named?
but of thyself; Expressing well the spirit within thee free, My image, not imparted to the brute;
Self-awareness.
unfelt before,
Love refines The thoughts, and heart enlarges; hath his seat In reason, and is judicious; is the scale By which to heavenly love thou mayest ascend, Not sunk in carnal pleasure; for which cause, Among the beasts no mate for thee was found.”
“Neither her outside formed so fair, nor aught In procreation common to all kinds, (Though higher of the genial bed by far, And with mysterious reverence I deem,) So much delights me, as those graceful acts, Those thousand decencies, that daily flow From all her words and actions mixed with love
“Let it suffice thee that thou knowest Us happy, and without love no happiness.
Easier than air with air, if Spirits embrace, Total they mix, union of pure with pure Desiring, nor restrained conveyance need, As flesh to mix with flesh, or soul with soul.
Be strong, live happy, and love!
Sin and her shadow Death,
Sin has to do with self-awareness; does the tree fear death? The snail, the dog? All of life can be viewed as one organism because there are no individual souls. Humans, who are self-aware, fear death because it is the dissolution of their Self.
Who aspires, must down as low As high he soared;
From dust:
Why is this significant? Certainly God didn't raise Man from the dust purely to spite Satan- this is only a narcissistic fantasy of his to think that God does anything for any reason other than his own glory. "From the dust" isn't an insult, for at the same time God says they are his greatest work.
when all things, that breathe, From the Earth’s great altar send up silent praise To the Creator, and his nostrils fill With grateful smell,
That space the Evil-one abstracted stood From his own evil, and for the time remained Stupidly good; of enmity disarmed, Of guile, of hate, of envy, of revenge: But the hot Hell that always in him burns, Though in mid Heaven, soon ended his delight, And tortures him now more, the more he sees Of pleasure, not for him ordained: then soon Fierce hate he recollects,
He is not content with what is in front of him- he desires More, to possess every good thing. This is, in part, what Evil is.
pleasure to destroy,
"It was a pleasure to burn." -Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
other joy To me is lost.
Not true- he just felt joy in watching Eve.
Which oft, they say, some evil Spirit attends, Hovering and blazing with delusive light, Misleads the amazed night-wanderer from his way
The Hobbit: when the dwarves are misled from off the path which Gandalf told them to stay firmly on.
but with show of zeal and love To Man,
He does love man, and yet he uses that love to destroy them. What is at the root of Satan's motivation?
“O sacred, wise, and wisdom-giving Plant, Mother of science! now I feel thy power 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: 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. Shall that be shut to Man, which to the Beast Is open? or will God incense his
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Of death denounced, whatever thing death be, 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; 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 Ye eat thereof, your eyes that seem so clear, Yet are but dim, shall perfectly be then Opened and cleared, and ye
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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 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 Causes import your need of this fair fruit. Goddess humane, reach then, and freely taste!”
This reminds me of psychedelic plants.
Gave elocution to the mute,
This seeming "Truth" is founded on a lie. Always return to the very bottom of a thing before casting in your lot.
then I shall be no more!
She knows what death is now
dilated spirits,
Acid?
How art thou lost!
adventurous Eve,
I wonder if all adventure stories are based on the parting of Eve from Adam and her confrontation with the Serpent?
But past who can recall, or done undo? Not God Omnipotent, nor Fate;
to lose thee were to lose myself.”
I felt this kind of loss whe Whitny left. It's probably not a parallel love, but I felt that intensity and loss of self.
one guilt, one crime,
It was essential to commit a crime against God- this is why it wa made a sin; for Gpd said that he wanted Man to ascend to Heaven. I do not know exactly what this means, but it feels significant.
This happy trial of thy love, which else So eminently never had been known?
There was never the possibility of their love ending before.
Appetite,
Dissatisfaction? The desire for More?
but neither self-condemning;
believing lies Against his Maker;
That thou art naked, who Hath told thee?
children thou shalt bring In sorrow forth;
to him appeased All, though all-knowing, what had passed with Man Recounted, mixing intercession sweet.
For Death from Sin no power can separate.
Because to be greater than intention is sin; and it is greater of Life to be aware of consciousness ceasing to exist.
The sun Had first his precept so to move, so shine, As might affect the earth with cold and heat Scarce tolerable; and from the north to call Decrepit winter;
Ovid claimed that it was, in part, the introduction of seasonal change which brought about impiety.
O voice, once heard Delightfully, Encrease and multiply; Now death to hear! for what can I encrease, 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?
Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay To mould me Man? did I solicit thee From darkness to promote me, or here place In this delicious garden?
