John Milton

“ Adam! misthought of her to thee so dear!"
To whom with healing words Adam replied: ⁠290
"Daughter of God and Man, immortal Eve!
—For such thou art, from sin and blame entire—
Not diffident of thee do I dissuade
Thy absence from my sight, but to avoid
The attempt itself, intended by our foe.
For he who tempts, though in vain, at least asperses
The tempted with dishonor foul, supposed
Not incorruptible of faith, not proof
Against temptation. ”

“ In female sex, the more to draw his love,
And render me more equal, and perhaps,
A thing not undesirable, sometime
Superior; for inferior who is free?
This may be well.—But what if God have seen,
And death ensue? then I shall be no more,
And Adam, wedded to another Eve,
Shall live with her enjoying, I extinct;
A death to think! Confirmed then I resolve, ⁠830
Adam shall share with me in bliss or woe. ”

“ Forbids us good, forbids us to be wise.
Such prohibitions bind not. But if death ⁠760
Bind us with after-band, 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,
And knows, and speaks, and reasons, and discerns,
Irrational till then. For us alone
Was death invented? ”

“ To whom mild answer Adam thus returned:
"Sole Eve, associate sole, to me beyond
Compare above all living creatures dear!
Well hast thou motioned, well thy thoughts employed,
How we might best fulfill the work which here ⁠230
God hath assigned us, nor of me shalt pass
Unpraised; for nothing lovelier can be found
In woman, than to study household good,
And good works in her husband to promote. ”

“ On the other side, Adam, soon as he heard
The fatal trespass done by Eve, amazed,
Astonied stood and blank, while horror chill ⁠890
Ran through his veins, and all his joints relaxed.
From his slack hand the garland wreathed for Eve
Down dropped, and all the faded roses shed.
Speechless he stood and pale, till thus at length
First to himself he inward silence broke:
"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! ”

“ Till Adam, though not less than Eve abashed,
At length gave utterance to these words constrained:
"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 honor void ”

“ Adam and Eve in the morning go forth to their labors, which Eve proposes to divide in several places, each laboring apart; Adam consents not, alleging the danger, lest that enemy, of whom they were forewarned, should attempt her found alone. Eve, loth to be thought not circumspect or firm enough, urges her, going apart, the rather desirous to make trial of her strength; Adam at last yields. The Serpent finds her alone; his subtle approach, first gazing, then speaking, with much flattery extolling Eve above all other creatures. ”

“ And thy fair fruit let hang, as to no end
Created! but henceforth my early care,
Not without song, each morning, and due praise, ⁠800
Shall tend thee, and the fertile burden ease
Of thy full branches, offered free to all;
Till, dieted by thee, I grow mature
In knowledge, as the Gods, who all things know.
Though others envy what they cannot give . . . . ”

“ So spake domestic Adam in his care
And matrimonial love; but Eve, who thought
Less attributed to her faith sincere, ⁠320
Thus her reply with accent sweet renewed:
"If this be our condition, thus to dwell
In narrow circuit straitened by a foe,
Subtle or violent, we not endued
Single with like defence, wherever met,
How are we happy, still in fear of harm?
But harm precedes not sin. Only our foe
Tempting affronts us with his foul esteem
Of our integrity: his foul esteem
Sticks no dishonor on our front, but turns ⁠330
Foul on himself ”

“ The wife, where danger or dishonor lurks,
Safest and seemliest by her husband stays,
Who guards her, or with her the worst endures."
To whom the virgin-majesty of Eve, ⁠270
As one who loves, and some unkindness meets,
With sweet austere composure thus replied:
"Offspring of Heaven and Earth, and all Earth's lord! ”

“ From nectar, drink of Gods. Adam the while,
Waiting desirous her return, had wove
Of choicest flowers a garland, to adorn ⁠840
Her tresses, and her rural labors crown,
As reapers oft are wont their harvest-queen. ”

“ Eve requires him to bring her to that tree, and finds it to be the Tree of Knowledge forbidden. The Serpent now grown bolder, with many wiles and arguments induces her at length to eat; she, pleased with the taste, deliberates a while whether to impart thereof to Adam or not, at last brings him of the fruit, relates what persuaded her to eat thereof. Adam at first amazed, but perceiving her lost, resolves through vehemence of love to perish with her; and extenuating the trespass eats also of the fruit. The effects thereof in them both; they seek to cover their nakedness ”

“ Is not so heinous now, foretasted fruit,
Profaned first by the Serpent, by him first ⁠930
Made common and unhallowed, ere our taste,
Nor yet on him found deadly; yet he lives;
Lives, as thou saidst, and gains to live, as Man,
Higher degree of life; inducement strong
To us, as likely tasting to attain
Proportional ascent; which cannot be
But to be Gods, or Angels, demi-gods. ”

“ Earth trembled from her entrails, as again ⁠1000
In pangs, and Nature gave a second groan;
Sky loured, and, muttering thunder, some sad drops
Wept at completing of the mortal sin
Original; while Adam took no thought,
Eating his fill, nor Eve to iterate
Her former trespass feared, the more to soothe
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 ”

“ So savory of that fruit, which with desire,
Inclinable now grown to touch or taste,
Solicited her longing eye; yet, first
Pausing awhile, thus to herself she mused:
"Great are thy virtues, doubtless, best of fruits,
Though kept from Man, and worthy to be admired;
Whose taste, too long forborne, at first assay
Gave elocution to the mute, and taught
The tongue not made for speech to speak thy praise. ”

“ Where universally admired. But here,
In this enclosure wild, these beasts among,
Beholders rude, and shallow to discern
Half what in thee is fair, one man except
Who sees thee?—and what is one?—who shouldst be seen
A Goddess among Gods, adored and served
By Angels numberless, thy daily train."
So glozed the Tempter, and his proem tuned:
Into the heart of Eve his words made way, ⁠550
Though at the voice much marvelling; at length,
Not unamazed, she thus in answer spake:
"What may this mean? language of Man pronounced
By tongue of brute, and human sense expressed! ”

“ She fair, divinely fair, fit love for Gods,
Not terrible, though terror be in love, ⁠490
And beauty, not approached by stronger hate,
Hate stronger under shew of love well feigned,
The way which to her ruin now I tend." ”

“ There sit not, and reproach us as unclean."
So counselled he, and both together went
Into the thickest wood; there soon they chose ⁠1100
The fig-tree; not that kind for fruit renowned,
But such as at this day, to Indians known,
In Malabar or Decan spreads her arms
Branching so broad and long, that in the ground
The bended twigs take root, and daughters grow
About the mother-tree, a pillared shade,
High overarched, and echoing walks between:
There oft the Indian herdsman, shunning heat
Shelters in cool, and tends his pasturing herds,
At loopholes cut through thickest shade. ”

“ The season, prime for sweetest sents and airs. ⁠200
Then commune, how that day they best may ply
Their growing work; for much their work outgrew
The hands' dispatch of two, gardening so wide,
And Eve first to her husband thus began:
"Adam, well may we labor still to dress
This garden, still to tend plant, herb, and flower,
Our pleasant task enjoined; but, till more hands
Aid us, the work under our labor grows,
Luxurious by restraint ”

“ His head the midst, well stored with subtle wiles;
Not yet in horrid shade or dismal den,
Nor nocent yet; but on the grassy herb,
Fearless unfeared, he slept. In at his mouth
The Devil entered, and his brutal sense,
In heart or head, possessing soon inspired
With act intelligential ”

“ Revenge, at first though sweet,
Bitter ere long back on itself recoils.—
Let it; ”

“ for thy stay, not free, absents thee more. ”