The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems (106 page)

711

      

Internal man, is but proportion meet—
⁵⁰⁰⁹

712

      

I of brute, human; ye of human, gods.

713

      

So ye shall die, perhaps, by putting off

714

      

Human, to put on gods—death to be wished,

715

      

Though threat’ned, which no worse than this can bring.

716

      

And what are gods, that man may not become

717

      

As they, participating
⁵⁰¹⁰
godlike food?

718

      

The gods are first, and that advantage use
⁵⁰¹¹

719

      

On our belief that all from them proceeds.

720

      

I question it, for this fair earth I see,

721

      

Warmed by the sun, producing every kind,

722

      

Them
⁵⁰¹²
nothing. If they all things, who enclosed

723

      

Knowledge of good and evil in this tree,

724

      

That whoso eats thereof, forthwith attains

725

      

Wisdom without their leave? And wherein lies

726

      

Th’ offence, that man should thus attain to know?

727

      

What can your knowledge hurt Him, or this tree

728

      

Impart against His will, if all be His?

729

      

Or is it envy? and can envy dwell

730

      

In Heav’nly breasts? These, these, and many more

731

      

Causes
⁵⁰¹³
import
⁵⁰¹⁴
your need of this fair fruit.

732

      

Goddess humane, reach then, and freely taste!

733

      

   
He ended, and his words replete
⁵⁰¹⁵
with guile

734

      

Into her heart too easy entrance won.

735

      

Fixed on the fruit she gazed, which to behold

736

      

Might tempt alone,
⁵⁰¹⁶
and in her ears the sound

737

      

Yet rung of his persuasive words, impregned
⁵⁰¹⁷

738

      

With reason (to her seeming) and with truth.

739

      

Meanwhile the hour of noon drew on, and waked

740

      

An eager appetite, raised by the smell

741

      

So savory of that fruit, which with desire,

742

      

Inclinable
⁵⁰¹⁸
now grown to touch or taste,

743

      

Solicited
⁵⁰¹⁹
her longing eye. Yet first

744

      

Pausing a while, thus to herself she mused:

745

      

   
“Great are thy virtues, doubtless, best of fruits,

746

      

Though kept from man, and worthy to be admired,

747

      

Whose taste, too long forborn, at first assay
⁵⁰²⁰

748

      

Gave elocution
⁵⁰²¹
to the mute, and taught

749

      

The tongue not made for speech to speak thy praise.

750

      

Thy praise He also, who forbids thy use,

751

      

Conceals not from us, naming thee the Tree

752

      

Of Knowledge, knowledge both of good and evil,

753

      

Forbids us then to taste! But His forbidding

754

      

Commends thee more, while it infers the good

755

      

By thee communicated, and our want.
⁵⁰²²

756

      

For good unknown sure is not had or, had

757

      

And yet unknown, is as not had at all.

758

      

In plain
⁵⁰²³
then, what forbids He but to know,

759

      

Forbids us good, forbids us to be wise?

760

      

Such prohibitions bind not. But if death

761

      

Bind us with after-bands, what profits then

762

      

Our inward freedom? In the day we eat

763

      

Of this fair fruit, our doom is, we shall die!

764

      

How dies the serpent? He hath eaten and lives,

765

      

And knows, and speaks, and reasons, and discerns,

766

      

Irrational
⁵⁰²⁴
till then. For us alone

767

      

Was death invented? Or to us denied

768

      

This intellectual food, for beasts reserved?

769

      

For beasts it seems. Yet that one beast which first

770

      

Hath tasted envies not, but brings with joy

771

      

The good befall’n him, author unsuspect,
⁵⁰²⁵

772

      

Friendly to man, far from deceit or guile.

773

      

What fear I then? Rather, what know to fear

774

      

Under this ignorance of good and evil,

775

      

Of God or death, of law or penalty?

776

      

Here grows the cure of all, this fruit divine,

777

      

Fair to the eye, inviting to the taste,

778

      

Of virtue to make wise. What hinders then

779

      

To reach, and feed at once both body and mind?”

780

      

   
So saying, her rash hand in evil hour

781

      

Forth reaching to the fruit, she plucked, she ate!
⁵⁰²⁶

782

      

Earth felt the wound, and Nature from her seat,

783

      

Sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe,

784

      

That all was lost. Back to the thicket slunk

785

      

The guilty
⁵⁰²⁷
serpent, and well might, for Eve,

786

      

Intent now wholly on her taste, nought else

787

      

Regarded.
⁵⁰²⁸
Such delight till then, as seemed,

788

      

In fruit she never tasted, whether true

789

      

Or fancied so, through expectation high

790

      

Of knowledge, nor was godhead from her thought.

791

      

Greedily she ingorged without restraint,

792

      

And knew not eating death. Satiate at length,

793

      

And heightened as with wine, jocund and boon,
⁵⁰²⁹

794

      

Thus to herself she pleasingly began:

795

      

   
“O sov’reign, virtuous, precious of all trees

796

      

In Paradise! Of operation
⁵⁰³⁰
blest

797

      

To sapience,
⁵⁰³¹
hitherto obscured,
⁵⁰³²
infamed,
⁵⁰³³

798

      

And thy fair fruit let
⁵⁰³⁴
hang, as to no end
⁵⁰³⁵

799

      

Created. But henceforth my early care,

800

      

Not without song, each morning, and due praise,

801

      

Shall tend thee, and the fertile burden ease

802

      

Of thy full branches offered free to all,