The vertue of that fruit, in thee first prov'd :
But say, where grows the tree, from hence how far?
For many are the trees of God that grow
In Paradise, and various, yet unknown
To us, in such abundance lies our choice,
As leaves a greater ftore of fruit untoucht,
Still hanging uncorruptible, till men.
Grow up to their provision, and more hands
Help to difburden nature of her bearth, -

To whom the wilic adder blithe and glad.
Emprefs, the way is readię,ɛand not long,
Beyond a row of myrtles, on a flat,

Fast by a fountain, zone small thicket past
Of blowing myrrh and balmez if thou accept }
My conduct, MI can bring thee thither foon: 1

Lead then, faid Eve. He leading swiftly rowl'd
In tangles, and made intricate seem strait,
To mifchief fwift, Hope elevates, and joy
Brightens his creft, las when a wandring fire,
Compact of unctuous vapor, which the night.
Condenfes, and the cold environs round,

Kindl'd through agitation to a flame,"

Which oft, they say, fome evil spirit attends,
Hovering and blazing with delufive light,
Misleads th'amaz'd night-wanderer from his way
To boggs and mires, and oft through pond or pool,
There (wallow'd up and loft, from fuccour far.
So glifter'd the dire snake, and into fraud
Led Eve our credulous mother, to the tree
Of prohibition, root of all our woe.; }

Which when she saw, thus to her guide the spake.

Serpent, we might have spar'd our coming hither, Fruitless to me, though fruit be here to excess,

The credit of whose vertue rest with thee,
Wondrous indeed, if cause of fuch effects,
But of this tree we may not tafte nor touch;
God fo commanded, and left that command
Sole daughter of his voice; the reft, we live
Law to ourselves, our reason is our law.

To whom the tempter guilefully repli'd.
Indeed hath God then faid that of the fruit
Of all these garden trees ye shall not eat,
Yet lords declar'd of all in earth or air?

To whom thus Eve yet finless. Of the fruit
Of each tree in the garden we may eat,
But of the fruit of this fair tree amidst

The garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat
Thereof, nor fhall ye touch it, left ye die.

She scarce had faid, though brief, when now more bold
The tempter, but with fhew of zeal and love
To man, and indignation at his wrong,
New part puts on, and as to paffion mov'd,
Fluctuats difturb'd, yet comely, and in act
Rais'd, as of fome great matter to begin.
As when of old fome orator renown'd
In Athens or free Rome, where eloquence
Flourish'd, fince mute, to fome great cause addreft,
Stood in himself collected, while each part,
Motion, each act won audience ere the tongue,
Sometimes in highth began, as no delay
Of preface brooking through his zeal of right.
So ftanding, moving, or to highth upgrown

The tempter all impassion'd thus began.
O facred, wife, and wifedom-giving plant,
Mother of science, now I feel thy power.
Within me cleere, not only to discern
Things in their caufes, but to trace the wayes
Of highest agents, deem'd however wife.
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 threatner, look on me,
Me who have touch'd and tafted, yet both live,
And life more perfect have attain'd than fate
Meant me, by ventring higher than my lot.
Shall that be shut to man, which to the beast
Is open? or will God incenfe his ire
For fuch a petty trefpafs, and not praise
Rather your dauntless virtue, whom the pain
Of death denounc't, whatever thing death be,
Deterr'd not from atchieving what might lead
To happier life, knowledge of good and evil;
Of good, how juft? of evil, if what is evil
Be real, why not known, fince easier shunn'd ?
God therefore cannot hurt ye, and be just;
Not juft, not God; not fear'd then, nor obey'd:
Your fear itfelf 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 cleere,
Yet are but dim, shall perfectly be then
Open'd and cleer'd, and ye shall be as gods,

Knowing both good and evil as they know.
That ye should be as gods, fince I as man,
Internal man, is but proportion meet,
I of brute human, ye of human gods.
So ye fhall die perhaps, by putting off
Human, to put on gods, death to be wisht,
Though threat'n'd, which no worse than this can bring,
And what are gods that man may not become
As they, participating god-like food?

The gods are first, and that advantage use
On our belief, that all from them proceeds;
I queftion it, for this fair earth I see,
Warm'd by the fun, producing every kind,
Them nothing if they all things, who enclos'd
Knowledge of good and evil in this tree,
That whofo eats thereof, forthwith attains
Wisdom without their leave? and wherein lies
Th'offence, that man fhould thus attain to know?
What can your knowledge hurt him, or this tree
Impart against his will if all be his ?
Or is it envie, or can envie dwell

In heav'nly breafts? thefe, thefe and many more
Caufes 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 easie entrance won:
Fixt on the fruit the gaz'd, which to behold
Might tempt alone, and in her ears the found
Yet rung of his persuasive words, impregn'd
With reason, to her feeming, and with truth;
Meanwhile the hour of noon drew on, and wak'd

An eager appetite, rais'd by the smell

So favorie of that fruit, which with desire,
Inclinable now grown to touch or tafte,
Sollicited her longing eye; yet first

Paufing a while, thus to herfelf the mus'd.

Great are thy virtues, doubtlefs, beft of fruits,
Though kept from man, and worthy to be admir'd,
Whofe tafte too long forborn, at first assay
Gave elocution to the mute, and taught
The tongue not made for speech to speak thy praise :
Thy praise he alfo who forbids thy ufe,
Conceales not from us, naming thee the tree
Of knowledge, knowledge both of good and evil;
Forbids us then to taste, but his forbidding
Commends the more, while it inferrs the good
By thee communicated, and our want ;

For good unknown, fure 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 wife?
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 eat'n and lives,
And knows, and speaks, and reasons, and discernes,
Irrational till then. For us alone

Was death invented? or to us deni'd

This intellectual food, for beafts referv'd?

For beafts it seems: yet that one beaft which first Hath tafted, envies not, but brings with joy