Side 179 af 239

Not felt, nor shall be twice; for never more Mean I to try, what rash untried I sought, The pain of absence from thy sight. But strange Hath been the cause, and wonderful to hear. This tree is not, as we are told, a tree Of danger tasted, nor to evil unknown Opening the way, but of divine effect To open eyes, and make them gods who taste; And hath been tasted such. The serpent, wise, Or not restrained as we, or not obeying, Hath eaten of the fruit, and is become, Not dead, as we are threatened, but thenceforth Endued with human voice and human sense, Reasoning to admiration, and with me Persuasively hath so prevailed, that I Have also tasted, and have also found The effect to correspond; opener mine eyes Dim erst, dilated spirits, ampler heart, And growing up to Godhead; which for thee Chiefly I sought; without thee can despise. For bliss, as thou hast part, to me is bliss; Tedious, unshared with thee, and odious soon. Thou, therefore, also taste, that equal lot May join us-equal joy as equal love; Lest, thou not tasting, different degree Disjoin us, and I then too late renounce Deity for thee, when fate will not permit.

Thus Eve, with countenance blithe, her story told;

But in her cheek distemper flushing glowed.

On the other side, Adam, soon as he heard

The fatal trespass done by Eve, amazed,

Astonied stood and blank, while horror chill

Ran through his veins, and all his joints relaxed;

From his slack hand the garland, wreathed for Eve,

Down dropt, and all the faded roses shed;

Speechless he stood and pale; till thus, at length,

First to himself, he inward silence broke:

Oh, 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! How art thou lost! how on a sudden lost, Defaced, deflowered, and now to death devote! Rather, how hast thou yielded to transgress The strict forbiddance-how to violate The sacred fruit forbidden? Some cursed fraud Of enemy hath beguiled thee, yet unknown, And me with thee hath ruined; for with thee Certain my resolution is to die. How can I live without thee? How forego Thy sweet converse, and love so dearly joined, To live again in these wild woods forlorn? Should God create another Eve, and I Another rib afford, yet loss of thee Would never from my heart: no, no! I feel The link of nature draw me, flesh of flesh, Bone of my bone thou art, and from thy state Mine never shall be parted, bliss or woe.

So having said, as one from sad dismay

Recomforted, and after thoughts disturbed,

Submitting to what seemed remediless,

Thus, in calm mood, his words to Eve he turned:

Bold deed thou hast presumed, adventurous Eve,

And peril great provoked, who thus hast dared,

Had it been only coveting to eye

That sacred fruit, sacred to abstinence,

Much more to taste it, under ban to touch.

But past, who can recall, or done, undo?

Not God omnipotent, nor fate. Yet so

Perhaps thou shalt not die, perhaps the fact

Is not so heinous now, foretasted fruit,

Profaned first by the serpent, by him first