Paradise Lost

by John Milton

He sought them both, but wished his hap might find Eve separate; he wished, but not with hope Of what so seldom chanced; when to his wish, Beyond his hope, Eve separate he spies, 425 Veiled in a cloud of fragrance, where she stood, Half spied, so thick the roses blushing round About her glowed, oft stooping to support Each flower of slender stalk, whose head, though gay Carnation, purple, azure, or specked with gold, 430 Hung drooping unsustained; them she upstays Gently with myrtle band, mindless the while Herself, though fairest unsupported flower, From her best prop so far, and storm so nigh.

Adjoined, from each thing met conceives delight;

Such pleasure took the Serpent to behold This flowery plat, the sweet recess of Eve Thus early, thus alone: Her heavenly form Angelick, but more soft, and feminine, Her graceful innocence, her every air 460 Of gesture, or least action, overawed His malice, and with rapine sweet bereaved His fierceness of the fierce intent it brought:

That space the Evil-one abstracted stood From his own evil, and for the time remained 465 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 470 Of pleasure, not for him ordained:

hate, not love; nor hope Of Paradise for Hell, hope here to taste Of pleasure; but all pleasure to destroy, Save what is in destroying; other joy To me is lost.

Then, let me not let pass 480 Occasion which now smiles; behold alone The woman, opportune to all attempts, Her husband, for I view far round, not nigh, Whose higher intellectual more I shun, And strength, of courage haughty, and of limb 485 Heroick built, though of terrestrial mould; Foe not informidable! exempt from wound, I not; so much hath Hell debased, and pain Enfeebled me, to what I was in Heaven.

The way which to her ruin now I tend. So spake the enemy of mankind, enclosed 495 In serpent, inmate bad! and toward Eve Addressed his way: not with indented wave, Prone on the ground, as since; but on his rear, Circular base of rising folds, that towered Fold above fold, a surging maze! his head 500 Crested aloft, and carbuncle his eyes; With burnished neck of verdant gold, erect Amidst his circling spires, that on the grass Floated redundant: pleasing was his shape And lovely; never since of serpent-kind 505 Lovelier,

The eye of Eve to mark his play; he, glad Of her attention gained, with serpent-tongue 530 Organick, or impulse of vocal air, His fraudulent temptation thus began.

Wonder not, sovran Mistress, if perhaps Thou canst, who art sole wonder! much less arm Thy looks, the Heaven of mildness, with disdain, 535 Displeased that I approach thee thus, and gaze Insatiate; I thus single; nor have feared Thy awful brow, more awful thus retired. Fairest resemblance of thy Maker fair, Thee all things living gaze on, all things thine 540 By gift, and thy celestial beauty adore With ravishment beheld! there best beheld, Where universally admired; but here In this enclosure wild, these beasts among, Beholders rude, and shallow to discern 545 Half what in thee is fair, one man except, Who sees thee? and what is one? who should be seen

A Goddess among Gods, adored and served By Angels numberless, thy daily train. So glozed the Tempter, and his proem tuned: 550 Into...

she thus in answer spake. What may this mean? language of man pronounced By tongue of brute, and human sense expressed? 555 The first, at least, of these I thought denied To beasts; whom God, on their creation-day, Created mute to all articulate sound: The latter I demur; for in their looks Much reason, and in their actions, oft appears.

Thee, Serpent, subtlest beast of all the field I knew, but not with human voice endued; Redouble then this miracle, and say,

How camest thou speakable of mute, and how To me so friendly grown above the rest 565 Of brutal kind, that daily are in sight? Say, ...

I was at first as other beasts that graze The trodden herb, of abject thoughts and low, As was my food; nor aught but food discerned Or sex, and apprehended nothing high:

I chanced A goodly tree far distant to behold Loaden with fruit of fairest colours mixed, Ruddy and gold: I nearer drew to gaze;

Of tasting those fair apples, I resolved Not to defer; hunger and thirst at once, Powerful persuaders, quickened at the scent Of that alluring fruit, urged me so keen.

About the mossy trunk I wound me soon; 590 For, high from ground, the branches would require Thy utmost reach or Adam’s: Round the tree All other beasts that saw, with like desire Longing and envying stood, but could not reach.

where plenty hung 595 Tempting so nigh, to pluck and eat my fill I spared not; for, such pleasure till that hour, At feed or fountain...

I might perceive Strange alteration in me, to degree 600 Of reason in my inward powers; and speech Wanted not lon...

Thenceforth to speculations high or deep I turned my thoughts, and with capacious mind Considered all things visible in Heaven, 605 Or Earth, or Middle; all things fair and good: But all that fair and good in thy divine Semblance, and in thy beauty’s heavenly ray, United I beheld; no fair to thine Equivalent or second! which compelled 610 Me thus, though importune pe...

Serpent, thy overpraising leaves in doubt The virtue of that fruit, in thee first proved: But say, where grows the tree? from hence how far? For many are the trees of God that grow In Paradise, and various, yet unknown 620 To us; in such abundance lies our choice, As leaves a greater store of fruit untouched, Still hanging incorruptible, till men Grow up to their provision, and more hands Help to disburden Nature of her birth.

Beyond a row of myrtles, on a flat, Fast by a fountain, one small thicket past Of blowing myrrh and balm:

if thou accept 630 My conduct, I can bring thee thither soon Lead then, said Eve. He, leading, swiftly rolled In tangles, and made intricate seem straight, To mischief swift.

So glistered the dire Snake, and into fraud Led Eve, our credulous mother, to the tree 645 Of prohibition, root of all our woe; Which when she saw, thus to her guide she spake.

Serpent, we might have spared our coming hither, Fruitless to me, though fruit be here to excess,

Wonderous indeed, if cause of such effects. 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.

To whom the Tempter guilefully replied. Indeed! hath God then said that of the fruit Of all these garden-trees ye shall not eat, Yet Lords declared of all in earth or air?

To whom thus Eve, yet sinless. Of the fruit 660 Of each tree in the garden we may eat; But of the fruit of this fair tree amidst The garden, God hath said, Ye shall not e...

now more bold 665 The Tempter, but with show of zeal and love To Man, and indignation at his wrong, New part puts on; and, as to passion moved, Fluctuates disturbed, yet comely and in act Raised, as of some great matter to begin. 670 As when of old some orator renowned, In Athens or free Rome, where eloquence Flourished, since mute! to some great cause addressed, Stood in himself collected; while each part, Motion, each act, won audience ere the tongue; 675 Sometimes in highth began, as no delay Of ...

O sacred, wise, and wisdom-giving Plant, 680 Mother of science! now I feel thy power Within me clear; not only to discern Things in their causes, but to trace the...

Queen of this universe! do not believe 685 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 ha...

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 vir...

whatever thing death be, Deterred not from achieving what might l...

knowledge of good and evil; Of good, how just? of evil, if what is evil Be real, why not k...

God therefore cannot hurt ye, and be just; Not just, not God; not feared then, nor obeyed: Your fear its...

Why then was this forbid? Why, but to awe; Why, but to keep ye low and ignora...

He knows that in the day Ye eat thereof, your eyes that seem so clear, Yet are but dim, shall perfect...

ye shall be as Gods, Knowing both good and evil, as they know. 710 That ye shall be as Gods, since I as Man, Internal Man, is but proportion meet...

So ye shall die perhaps, by putting off Human, to put on Gods; death to be wished, 715 Though threatened, whi...

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...

if they all things, who enclosed Knowledge of good and evil in this tree, That whoso eats thereof, forthwith attains 725 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 730 In heavenly breasts?

These, these, and many more Causes import your need of this fair fruit. Goddess humane, reach then, and freely taste! He ended; and his words, replete with guile, Into her heart too easy entrance won:

Fixed on the fruit she gazed, which to behold Might tempt alone; and in her ears the sound Yet rung of his persuasive words, impregned With reason, to her seeming, and with truth: Mean while the hour of noon drew on, and waked 740 An eager appetite, raised by the smell So savoury...

Pausing a while, thus to herself she mused. 745 Great are thy virtues, doubtless, best of fruits, Though kept from man, and worthy to be admired; Whose taste, too long forborn, at first assay Gave elocution to the mute, and taught The tongue not made for speech to speak thy praise: 750 Thy praise he also, who forbids thy use,

his forbidding Commends thee more, while it infers the good 755 By thee communicated, and our want: For good unknown sure is not had; or, had And yet unknown, is as not had at all.

what forbids he but to know, Forbids us good, forbids us to be wise?

But, if death Bind us with after-bands, what profits then Our inward freedom? In the day we eat Of this fair fruit, our doom is, we shall die! How dies the Serpent? he hath eaten and lives, 765 And knows, and speaks, and reasons, and discerns, Irrational till then. For us alone Was d...

Under this ignorance of good and evil, 775 Of God or death, of law or penalty? Here grows the cure of all, this fruit divine, Fair to the eye, inviting to the taste, Of virtue to make wise: What hinders then To reach, and feed at once both body and mind?

So saying, her rash hand in evil hour Forth reaching to the fruit, she plucked, she eat! Earth felt the wound; and Nature from her seat, Sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe, That all was lost.

Back to the thicket slunk 785 The guilty Serpent; and well might; for Eve, Intent now wholly on her taste, nought else Regarded; such delight till then, as seemed, In fruit she never tasted, whether true Or fancied so, through expectation high 790 Of knowledge; not was Godhead from her ...