Page:The Complete Poetical Works of John Milton.djvu/245

 BOOK NINTH

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��The Tempter, all impassioned, thus be- gan:

' O sacred, wise, and wisdom-giving Plant, Mother of science ! now I feel thy power Within me clear, not only to discern 681 Things in their causes, but to trace the ways Of highest agents, deemed however wise. Queen of this Universe ! do not believe Those rigid threats of death. Ye shall not

die. How should ye ? By the Fruit ? it gives '

you life To knowledge. By the Threatener ? look

on me, Me who have touched and tasted, yet both

live, And life more perfet have attained than

Fate 689

Meant me, by ventring 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 ? 699

God, therefore, cannot hurt ye, and be just ; Sot just, not God; not 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 worshipers ? He knows that in the

day Ye eat thereof your eyes, that seem so

clear,

Yet are but dim, shall perfetly be then Opened and cleared, and ye shall be as

Gods,

Knowing both good and evil, as they know. That ye should be as Gods, since I as

Man, 710

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, 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, 720 Warmed by the Sun, producing every kind; Them nothing. If they all things, who

enclosed

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 knowledge hurt him, or

this Tree

Impart against his will, if all be his ? Or is it envy ? and can envy dwell In Heavenly breasts? These, these and

many more 730

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, im-

pregned

With reason, to her seeming, and with truth. Meanwhile the hour of noon drew on, and

waked

An eager appetite, raised by the smell 740 So savoury of that Fruit, which with desire, Inclinable now grown to touch or taste, Solicited her longing eye; yet first, Pausing a while, 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.

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