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Whom reason hath equaled, force hath made supreme Above His equals. Farewell happy fields◦ 250Where joy forever dwells! Hail horrors, hail 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◦ 255Can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heaven. 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 260Here for His envy, will not drive us hence. Here we may reign
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most famous speech of Paradise Lost, Kahn in Star Trek quotes this!
David Harris liked this
God and Nature bid the same When he◦ who rules is worthiest and excels Them whom he governs. This is servitude: To serve th’ unwise or him who hath rebelled 180Against his worthier as thine now serve thee, Thyself not free but to thyself enthralled, ◦ Yet lewdly dar’st our minist’ring upbraid.
What stood, recoiled O’er-wearied, through the faint Satanic host Defensive scarce or with pale fear surprised, Then first with fear surprised and sense of pain 395Fled ignominious, to such evil brought By sin of disobedience, till that hour Not liable to fear or flight or pain.◦
425What Heaven’s Lord had pow’rfullest to send Against us from about His throne and judged Sufficient to subdue us to His will, But proves not so! Then fallible it seems Of future we may deem Him though till now◦ 430Omniscient thought.
Sense of pleasure we may well 460Spare out of life perhaps and not repine◦ But live content, which is the calmest life. But pain is perfect misery, the worst Of evils, and, excessive, overturns All patience.
165My overshadowing Spirit◦ and might with Thee I send along:
necessity and chance Approach not Me, and what I will is fate.”
the golden compasses prepared◦ In God’s eternal store to circumscribe This universe and all created things.◦
“Let th’ Earth bring forth soul◦ living in her kind, Cattle and creeping things and beast of th’ earth Each in their kind. The Earth obeyed and straight, Op’ning her fertile womb, teemed at a birth 455Innumerous living creatures, perfect forms, Limbed and full-grown.
Thence to behold this new created world, 555Th’ addition of his empire, how it showed In prospect◦ from his throne, how good, how fair, Answering his great idea.
The Filial Pow’r arrived and sat Him down With his great Father (for He also went◦ Invisible, yet stayed—such privilege 590Hath omnipresence—
heav’n Is as the book of God before thee set Wherein to read his wondrous works and learn His seasons, hours or days or months or years. 70This to attain,◦ whether heav’n move or earth, 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 75Rather admire.
175Dream not of other worlds, what creatures there Live in what state, condition or degree, Contented that thus far hath been revealed Not of earth only but of highest Heav’n.
To whom thus Adam cleared of doubt replied: 180How fully hast thou satisfied me, pure Intelligence of Heav’n, angel serene, And freed from intricacies, taught to live The easiest way nor with perplexing thoughts To interrupt the sweet of life from which 185God hath bid dwell far off all anxious cares And not molest us, unless we ourselves Seek them with wand’ring thoughts and notions vain. But apt the mind or fancy is to rove Unchecked and of her roving is no end 190Till warned or by experience taught she learn That not to know at large of things remote From use, obscure and subtle, but to
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But if the sense of touch whereby mankind 580Is propagated seem such dear delight Beyond all other, think the same vouchsafed To cattle and each beast, which would not be To them made common and divulged if aught◦ Therein enjoyed were worthy to subdue 585The soul of Man or passion in him move.
Rose up a fountain by the Tree of Life. In with the river sunk and with it rose 75Satan involved in rising mist, then sought Where to lie hid.
allegorical meaning of the way sin gets into Paradise: through the fountain that waters the Tree of Life? Sin an inevitable part of sustaining life?
O Earth! how like to Heav’n if not preferred 100More justly, seat worthier of gods as built With second thoughts reforming what was old! For what god after better worse would build?
Earth BETTER than heaven?
nothing lovelier can be found In woman than to study household good And good works in her husband to promote.◦ 235Yet not so strictly hath our Lord imposed Labor as to debar us when we need Refreshment, whether food or talk between, Food of the mind or this sweet intercourse◦
God doesn't want us to work too hard (but they had work)
245Will keep from wilderness with ease as wide As we need walk till younger hands◦ ere long Assist us.
the idea that even in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had to work to garden it. Implies something about nature and gardening, like that nature has such inherent wildness that even in paradise it must be tamed (by humans). British garden ideals.
Also the idea is here that Adam and Eve have not yet had children, but know that they will someday have them.
solitude sometimes is best society 250And short retirement urges sweet return.
yes! in praise of solitude
virgin majesty
okay we know she's not a virgin...
that thou shouldst my firmness therefore doubt 280To God or thee because we have a foe May tempt it I expected not to hear.
Adam says she could be tempted. Eve is offended he would think that. Eve gets tempted. there is something going on here.
what is faith, love, virtue unassayed, Alone, without exterior help sustained?◦
what's virtue without something to be virtuous against?
His creating hand 345Nothing imperfect or deficient left Of all that He created, much less Man Or aught that might his happy state secure, Secure◦ from outward force.
Adam's logic proves false because Eve was not secure.
God left free the will, for what obeys Reason is free, and reason he made right
So glozed the Tempter and his proem tuned.◦
of abject thoughts and low, As was my food, nor aught but food discerned, Or sex, and apprehended nothing high.
kinda like Adam and Eve... only appreciating food and sex
high from ground the branches would require Thy utmost reach or Adam’s.
no "accidentally" eating this fruit
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 bearth.
more assumptions about man's relationship to nature. Man relieves the earth of her burdens of fruit.
where eloquence Flourished (since mute)
burn on all the orators of Milton's day
O sacred, wise, and wisdom-giving plant, 680Mother of science, now I feel thy pow’r
corrupting knowledge the mother of science? science just means "knowledge" here, I think.
Look on me! Me who have touched and tasted yet both live And life more perfect have attained than fate
maybe Milton is using "science" to describe this argument. I tried it and I'm fine! experimentation.
Or to us denied This intellectual food for beasts reserved?
what would happen if Satan ate the fruit?
Shall I to him make known◦ As yet my change and give him to partake Full happiness with me? Or rather not, 820But keep the odds of knowledge in my pow’r Without copartner so to add what wants In female sex, the more to draw his love◦ And render me more equal
Eve contemplates withholding the fruit so she can be at least "more equal" to Adam
But past who can recall or done undo? Not God omnipotent nor fate. Yet so◦ Perhaps thou shalt not die.
no one can change the past, not even God
There they their fill of love and love’s disport Took largely, of their mutual guilt the seal, The solace of their sin,
why seal their sin with sex? is sex bad now?
Of what value are faith, love, and virtue if they remain alone and are not put to the test by what is outside them?
Was she thy God that her thou didst obey Before His voice? Or was she made thy guide Superior, or but equal, that to her Thou didst resign thy manhood and the place Wherein God set thee ’bove her, made of thee 150And for thee, whose◦ perfection far excelled 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, 155Unseemly to bear rule, which was thy part And person hadst thou known thyself aright.◦
what a weird thing for God to say, "oh, is Eve your God now?"
let us try 255Advent’rous work yet to thy pow’r and mine Not unagreeable: to found a path Over this main from Hell to that new world
allegorical meaning: death and sin create a highway to earth for evil/rebelliousness. or is that stretching the allegory too far?
They, fondly thinking to allay 565Their appetite with gust,◦ instead of fruit Chewed bitter ashes which th’ offended taste With spattering noise rejected.
so they are immortal but still have an appetite? they think they can fulfill it just with taste?
Did I request Thee, Maker, from my clay To mold me Man? Did I solicit Thee
745From darkness to promote me or here place 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 750All I received, unable to perform Thy terms too hard by which I was to hold The good I sought not.
I never asked to be made and put in this garden. So it's just that I should be reduced to dust.
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.◦
since God made you by choice, he can dictate the terms of your existence
Adam, by sad experiment I know How little weight my words with thee can find, Found so erroneous, thence by just event 970Found so unfortunate.
her words actually had a good weight with him
All thy request for Man, accepted Son, Obtain: all thy request was my decree. But longer in that Paradise to dwell The law I gave to nature him forbids: 50Those pure immortal elements that know No gross,◦ no unharmonious mixture foul Eject him tainted now and purge him off As a distemper gross to air as gross◦
their bodies have changed .
◦ I will not hide My judgments, how with mankind I proceed 70As how with peccant◦ angels late they saw And in their◦ state, though firm, stood more confirmed.
Mahanaïm
place in Genesis 32:2 where Jacob has a vision of angels. lit. "two camps" (meaning his and God's)
530There is, said Michael, if thou well observe The rule of not too much by temp’rance taught In what thou eat’st and drink’st, seeking from thence Due nourishment, not gluttonous delight, Till many years over thy head return.
665Of middle age one rising, eminent◦ In wise deport, spake much of right and wrong, Of justice, of religion, truth and peace, And judgment from above. Him old and young Exploded◦ and had seized with violent hands 670Had not a cloud descending snatched him thence Unseen amid the throng.
Enoch enraging people w his preaching
700But he the sev’nth from thee, whom thou beheld’st, The only righteous in a world perverse And therefore hated, therefore so beset With foes for daring single to be just And utter odious truth that God would come 705To judge them with his saints, him the Most High, Rapt in a balmy cloud with wingèd steeds, Did, as thou saw’st, receive to walk with God High in salvation and the climes of bliss Exempt from death, to show thee what reward 710Awaits the good, the rest what punishment,◦ Which now direct thine eyes and soon behold.
on Enoch
