Season 3 Podcast 243, Milton’s Paradise Lost, Bk IX, Pt XXVI, “Temptation of Adam B”

Milton’s Paradise Lost Bk IX, Pt XXVI, “Temptation of Adam B”  Eve, beguiled by the serpent, has eaten of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Now she must persuade Adam to eat the forbidden fruit; otherwise, she will be expelled from the Garden of Eden and die alone; whereas, Adam will remain behind forever like a child.13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.To beguile means to delude or deceive through cunning.  The serpent beguiled Eve and Milton shows Eve beguiling Adam. The scope of Milton’s genius is expressed in his magnum opus Paradise Lost. Milton was a historical scholar; he was a biblical scholar, he was a literary scholar; he was a master of poetry, master storyteller, and a master at understanding human nature. He was blind when writing Paradise Lost, a testament to his massive memory.Milton brings Adam and Eve to life. He lifts them off the pages of the Bible and gives them flesh, blood, bones, brains, and feelings. He helps us relate to our first parents. In Milton’s epic they are human, not mythical characters. He transports us into the Garden with them and lets us experience the fall.  I saw a comic strip decades ago that etched itself into my mind. A spaceship just landed on a new planet in another Garden of Eden. To the astronaut’s horror the new Eve had just plucked the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and was just about to take a bite. The astronaut frantically ran toward Eve shouting, “Stop! Stop! For heaven’s sake, don’t eat the fruit.” What impressed me about the cartoon was that the astronaut with all the ignorance of a well-meaning liberal entirely destroyed God’s plan of happiness for his children on that planet. He did what Satan himself didn’t have the wisdom to do. He stopped the planet from being populated and he stopped mankind from progressing and from ever achieving their potential. It would have been in Satan’s interest never to have tempted Eve.Eve, who is now superior in knowledge uses the following argument to persuade Adam to also eat the forbidden fruit.Thou therefore also taste, that equal LotMay joined us, equal Joy, as equal Love;Least thou not tasting, different degreeDisjoyne us, and I then too late renounceDeity for thee, when Fate will not permit.Adam does not respond as Eve perhaps thought he would with her forceful argument.  For the first time Adam feels horror. We must remember that Adam had been tutored for many hours by Raphael about the dangers of eating the forbidden fruit. Eve, though she listened to parts, busied herself with tending the garden which she loved. Also, the relationship between Adam and Eve has now dramatically changed. Before, Adam was perceived as the superior intellect. Now Eve really is the superior intellect and is counselling Adam. Adam innocently was perfectly content to remain in ignorant bliss in the Garden of Eden forever. Eve, on the other hand, though she has fallen, feels none of the horror and none of the regret, showing that she hasn’t completely grasped the gravity of what she has done.Thus Eve with Countenance blithe her story told;But in her Cheek distemper flushing glowed.On the’ other side, Adam, soon as he heardThe fatal Trespass done by Eve, amazed,Astonished stood and Blank, while horror chillRan through his veins, and all his joints relaxed;From his slack hand the Garland wreathed for EveDown dropped, and all the faded Roses shed:Speechless he stood and pale, till thus at lengthFirst to himself he inward silence broke.