690

"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 ire
"For such a petty trespass; and not praise
"Rather your dauntless virtue, whom the pain
"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—nor 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 shall be as Gods,
"Knowing both good and evil, as they know.
"That ye shall be as Gods, since I as Man,
"Internal Man, is but proportion meet;
"I, of brute, human; ye, of human, Gods.
"So ye shall die perhaps, by putting off

"Human, to put on Gods; death to be wished,

66

700

710

Though threatened, which no worse than this can bring! "And what are Gods, that Man may not become

"As they, participating godlike food?

"The Gods are first, and that advantage use
"On our belief, that all from them proceeds:
"I question it; for this fair earth I see,
"Warmed by the sun, producing every kind;
"Them, nothing: if they all things, who inclosed

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 knoweldge hurt him, or this tree
"Impart against his will, if all be his !

"Or is it envy? and can envy dwell

720

"In heavenly breasts? These, these, and many more 730

66

'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:
Meanwhile the hour of noon drew on, and waked
An eager appetite, raised by the smell

So savoury 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.
"Thy praise he also, who forbids thy use,
"Conceals not from us, naming thee the tree

"Of knowledge-knowledge both of good and evil, —
"Forbids us then to taste! but his forbidding
"Commends thee more, while it infers the good

By thee communicated, and our want:

"For good unknown sure is not had; or, had
"And yet unknown, is as not had at all.
"In plain then, what forbids he but to know-
"Forbids us good-forbids us to be wise?
"Such prohibitions bind not. 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,
"And knows, and speaks, and reasons, and discerns,
"Irrational till then! For us alone

"Was death invented? or to us denied

"This intellectual food, for beasts reserved?

"For beasts it seems: yet that one beast which first

740

750

760

"Hath tasted envies not, but brings with joy "The good befallen him-author unsuspect-

Friendly to man-far from deceit or guile. "What fear I then? rather, what know to fear "Under this ignorance of good or evil"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,

770

"Of virtue to make wise! what hinders then
"To reach and feed at once both body and mind?"

780

So saying, her rash hand, in evil hour,
Forth reaching to the fruit, she plucked-she ate!
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
The guilty serpent; and well might; for Eve,
Intent now wholly on her taste, naught else
Regarded; such delight till then, as seemed,
In fruit she never tasted; whether true
Or fancied so, through expectation high

Of knowledge: nor was godhead from her thought.

790

Greedily she engorged without restraint,

And knew not eating death! Satiate at length,

And heightened as with wine, jocund and boon,
Thus to herself she pleasingly began:

"O Sovran, virtuous, precious of all trees "In Paradise! of operation blest

"To sapience, hitherto obscured, infamed; "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 :

"For, had the gift been theirs, it had not here

"Thus grown.

Experience, next, to thee I owe,

"Best guide! not following thee, I had remained "In ignorance; thou openest wisdom's way

"Hath tasted envies not, but brings with joy "The good befallen him-author unsuspect

Friendly to man-far from deceit or guile.

"What fear I then? rather, what know to fear
"Under this ignorance of good or evil—
"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 ate!
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
The guilty serpent; and well might; for Eve,
Intent now wholly on her taste, naught else
Regarded; such delight till then, as seemed,
In fruit she never tasted; whether true
Or fancied so, through expectation high

770

780

Of knowledge: nor was godhead from her thought.

790

Greedily she engorged without restraint,

And knew not eating death! Satiate at length,

And heightened as with wine, jocund and boon,
Thus to herself she pleasingly began :

"O Sovran, virtuous, precious of all trees "In Paradise! of operation blest

"To sapience, hitherto obscured, infamed; "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;
66 Though others envy what they cannot give :
"For, had the gift been theirs, it had not here
"Thus grown. Experience, next, to thee I owe,
"Best guide! not following thee, I had remained
"In ignorance; thou openest wisdom's way