Paradise Lost

by John Milton

ingrate, In place thyself so high above thy peers.

strange to us it seemed At first that angel should with angel war And in fierce hosting meet, who wont to meet So oft in festivals of joy and love Unanimous,° as sons of one great sire Hymning the eternal Father.

[400] Invulnerable, impenetrably armed; Such high advantages their innocence Gave them above their foes not to have sinned, Not to have disobeyed; in fight they stood Unwearied, unobnoxious° to be pained [405] By wound,

Had not the almighty Father, where he sits Shrined in his sanctuary of Heaven secure Consulting on the sum of things, foreseen This tumult and permitted all,

Hell at last [875] Yawning received them whole and on them closed, Hell, their fit habitation, fraught with fire Unquenchable, the house of woe and pain.

the deep fall Of those too high aspiring who rebelled [900] With Satan, he who envies now thy state, Who now is plotting how he may seduce Thee also from obedience, that, with him Bereaved of happiness, thou mayst partake His punishment, eternal misery, [905] Which would be all his solace and revenge, As a despite done against the most high, Thee once to gain companion of his woe.

The serpent, subtlest beast of all the field, Of huge extent sometimes, with brazen eyes And hairy mane terrific, though to thee Not noxious but obedient at thy call

R2304102327 The character of the serpent in José's "Dusk" may have been drawn from here.

And of the sixth day yet remained; [505] There wanted yet the master work, the end Of all yet done: a creature who, not prone And brute as other creatures but endued With sanctity of reason, might erect His stature and, upright with front° serene, [510] Govern the rest, self-knowing, and from thence Magnanimous to correspond with Heaven, But grateful to acknowledge whence his good Descends, thither with heart and voice and eyes Directed in devotion, to adore [515] And worship God supreme, who made him chief Of all his works.

in the day thou eat’st, thou diest; [545] Death is the penalty imposed; beware, And govern well thy appetite, lest Sin Surprise thee, and her black attendant Death.

stars Numerous and every star perhaps a world Of destined habitation

Earth, with her nether ocean circumfused, [625] Their pleasant dwelling place.

male and female light, Which two great sexes animate the world,

Solicit° not thy thoughts with matters hid; Leave them to God above; him serve and fear. Of other creatures as him pleases best, [170] Wherever placed, let him dispose; joy thou 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; [175] Dream not of other worlds, what creatures there Live, in what state, condition, or degree,

Manlike but different sex, so lovely fair That what seemed fair in all the world seemed now Mean, or in her summed up, in her contained, And in her looks, which from that time infused [475] Sweetness into my heart unfelt before, And into all things from her air inspired° The spirit of love and amorous delight.

Celestial rosy red, love’s proper hue,

Be strong, live happy, and love, but first of all Him whom to love is to obey,

Terrestrial heaven, danced round by other heavens That shine, yet bear their bright officious lamps, [105] Light above light, for thee alone, as seems, In thee concentering all their precious beams Of sacred influence

For only in destroying I find ease [130] To my relentless thoughts, and him destroyed Or won to what may work his utter loss, For whom all this was made, all this will soon Follow, as to him linked in weal or woe— In woe then, that destruction wide may range.

nothing lovelier can be found In woman than to study household good And good works in her husband to promote

solitude sometimes is best society, [250] And short retirement urges sweet return.

“O woman, best are all things as the will Of God ordained them;

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] Heroic built though of terrestrial mold: Foe not informidable, exempt from wound, I not, so much hath hell debased and pain Enfeebled me to° what I was in Heaven. She fair, divinely fair, fit love for gods, Not terrible, though terror° be in love And beauty, not° approached by stronger hate, Hate stronger, under show of love well feigned, The way which to her ruin now I tend.”

R12304142308 Milton paints the contrast of male and female.

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 height began,

Confirmed then I resolve Adam shall share with me in bliss or woe. So dear I love him that with him all deaths I could endure, without him live no life.”

last and best

R12304150832 save the best for last?

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° Mine never shall be parted, bliss or woe.”

On my experience, Adam, freely taste And fear of death deliver to the winds

Such of late Columbus found the American so girt With feathered cincture,° naked else and wild Among the trees on isles and woody shores.

Hadst thou been firm and fixed in thy dissent, Neither had I transgressed nor thou with me.”

Thus it shall befall Him who, to worth in women overtrusting, Lets her will rule; restraint she will not brook, [1185] And, left to herself, if evil thence ensue, She first his weak indulgence will accuse.”

The new created world, which fame in Heaven Long had foretold, a fabric° wonderful Of absolute perfection, therein man Placed in a Paradise, by our exile [485] Made happy. Him by fraud I have seduced From his creator and, the more to increase Your wonder, with an apple

contrary he hears On all sides, from innumerable tongues, A dismal universal hiss, the sound Of public scorn

For what can I increase Or multiply but curses on my head?

thus afflicted when sad Eve beheld, Desolate where she sat, approaching nigh, Soft words to his fierce passion she assayed,° But her with stern regard he thus repelled: “Out of my sight, thou serpent

innumerable Disturbances on earth through female snares And straight conjunction with this sex; for either He never shall find out fit mate but such [900] As some misfortune brings him, or mistake, Or whom he wishes most shall seldom gain Through her perverseness, but shall see her gained By a far worse, or, if she love, withheld By parents, or his happiest choice too late [905] Shall meet, already linked and wedlock-bound To a fell° adversary, his hate or shame, Which infinite calamity shall cause To human life and household peace confound

let us no more contend, nor blame Each other, blamed enough elsewhere, but strive In offices° of love how we may lighten Each other’s burden in our share of woe,

with labor I must earn [1055] My bread. What harm? Idleness had been worse; My labor will sustain me,

some new trouble

Nor love thy life nor hate, but what thou liv’st Live well—how

“Judge not what is best By pleasure, though to nature seeming meet,° [605] Created as thou art to nobler end Holy and pure, conformity divine.

In triumph and luxurious wealth are they First seen in acts of prowess eminent [790] And great exploits but of true virtue void,

The End of the Eleventh Book.

R12304280355 This interview between Adam and is it Michael ? vividly reminds me of Nephi's interview with perhaps a different angel about his father's drem.

one shall rise [25] Of proud ambitious heart, who, not content With fair equality, fraternal state, Will arrogate dominion undeserved Over his brethren and quite dispossess Concord and law of nature from the earth, [30] Hunting (and men not beasts shall be his game) With war and hostile snare such as refuse Subjection to his empire tyrannous.

but man over men [70] He made not lord, such title to himself Reserving, human left from human free.

they seize The scepter and regard not David’s sons, Then lose it to a stranger, that the true Anointed king, Messiah, might be born [360] Barred of his right;

A virgin is his mother, but his sire The power of the most high

more wonderful Than that which by creation first brought forth Light out of darkness!

truth shall retire Bestuck with slanderous darts, and works of faith Rarely be found.

his example whom I now Acknowledge my redeemer ever blessed.”

then wilt thou not be loath To leave this Paradise but shalt possess A paradise within thee, happier far.