The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems (158 page)

Read The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems Online

Authors: John Milton,Burton Raffel

Tags: #Fiction, #General, #Literary Collections, #Poetry, #Classics, #English; Irish; Scottish; Welsh, #English poetry

BOOK: The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems
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Her husband, how far urged
7667
his patience bears,

His virtue or weakness which way t’ assail,

Then with more cautious and instructed
7668
skill

Again transgresses, and again submits,

That
7669
wisest and best men full oft beguiled

With goodness, principled
7670
not to reject

The penitent, but ever to forgive,

Are drawn to wear out miserable days,

Entangled with a pois’nous bosom
7671
snake,

If not by quick destruction soon cut off,

As I by thee, to ages an example.

DAL. Yet hear me Samson. Not that I endeavor

To lessen or extenuate my offence,

But that on th’ other side if it be weighed

By itself, with aggravations
7672
not surcharged,
7673

Or else with just allowance counterpoised,
7674

I may, if possible, thy pardon find

The easier towards me, or thy hatred less.

First granting, as I do, it was a weakness

In me, but incident
7675
to all our sex,

Curiosity, inquisitive, importune
7676

Of secrets, then with like infirmity

To publish
7677
them, both common female faults.

Was it not weakness also to make known,

For
7678
importunity (that is, for naught),

Wherein consisted all thy strength and safety?

To what I did thou showd’st me first the way.

But I to enemies revealed, and should not.

Nor should’st thou have trusted that to woman’s frailty:

Ere I to thee, thou to thyself wast cruel.

Let weakness then with weakness come to parle,
7679

So near related, or the same of kind,

Thine forgive mine, that men may censure thine

The gentler, if severely thou exact not

More strength from me than in thyself was found.

And what if love, which thou interpret’st
7680
hate,

The jealousy of love, powerful of sway

In human hearts, nor less in mine towards thee,

Caused what I did? I saw thee mutable
7681

Of fancy,
7682
feared lest one day thou would’st leave me

As her at Timna,
7683
sought by all means therefore

How to endear, and hold thee to me firmest.

No better way I saw than by importuning

To learn thy secrets, get into my power

Thy key of strength and safety. Thou wilt say,

Why then revealed? I was assured by those

Who tempted me that nothing was designed
7684

Against thee but safe custody, and hold.
7685

That made for me.
7686
I knew that liberty

Would draw thee forth to perilous enterprises,

While I at home sat full of cares and fears,

Wailing thy absence in my widowed bed.

Here
7687
I should still enjoy thee day and night,

Mine and love’s prisoner, not the Philistines’,

Whole
7688
to myself, unhazarded
7689
abroad,

Fearless
7690
at home of partners
7691
in my love.

These reasons in love’s law have passed for good,

Though fond
7692
and reasonless to some, perhaps.

And love hath oft, well meaning, wrought much woe,

Yet always pity or pardon hath obtained.

Be not unlike all others, not austere
7693

As thou art strong, inflexible as steel.

If thou in strength all mortals dost exceed,

In uncompassionate anger do not so.

SAM. How cunningly the sorceress displays

Her own transgressions, to upbraid me mine!

That malice, not repentance, brought thee hither,

By this appears. I gave, thou say’st, th’ example,

I led the way. Bitter reproach, but true.

I to myself was false ere thou to me.

Such pardon therefore as I give my folly,

Take to thy wicked deed, which when thou see’st

Impartial, self-severe, inexorable,

Thou wilt renounce thy seeking, and much rather

Confess it feigned. Weakness is thy excuse,

And I believe it—weakness to resist

Philistian gold! If weakness may excuse,

What murderer, what traitor, parricide,

Incestuous, sacrilegious, but may plead it?

All wickedness is weakness: that plea therefore

With God or man will gain thee no remission.

But love constrain’d
7694
thee! Call it furious
7695
rage
7696

To satisfy thy lust. Love seeks to have love.

My love how could’st thou hope, who took’st the way

To raise in me inexpiable
7697
hate,

Knowing,
7698
as needs I must, by thee betrayed?

In vain thou striv’st to cover shame with shame,

Or by evasions thy crime uncover’st more.

DAL. Since thou determin’st
7699
weakness for no plea

In man or woman, though to thy own condemning,

Hear what assaults I had, what snares besides,

What sieges girt me round, ere I consented,

Which might have awed the best resolved of men,

The constantest t’ have yielded without blame.

It was not gold, as to my charge thou lay’st,

That wrought
7700
with me. Thou know’st the magistrates
7701

And princes of my country came in person,

Solicited, commanded, threatened, urged,

Adjured
7702
by all the bonds of civil duty

And of religion, pressed
7703
how just it was,

How honorable, how glorious to entrap

A common
7704
enemy, who had destroyed

Such numbers of our nation. And the priest

Was not behind,
7705
but ever at my ear,

Preaching how meritorious with the gods

It would be to ensnare an irreligious

Dishonorer of Dagon. What had I

T’ oppose against such powerful arguments?

Only my love of thee held long debate,

And combated in silence all these reasons

With hard contest.
7706
At length that grounded
7707
maxim,

So rife
7708
and celebrated in the mouths

Of wisest men, that to the public good

Private respects
7709
must yield, with grave authority

Took full possession of me, and prevailed,

Virtue, as I thought—truth—duty so enjoining.
7710

SAM. I thought where all thy circling wiles would end!

In feigned religion, smooth hypocrisy.

But had thy love, still odiously
7711
pretended,

Been, as it ought, sincere, it would have taught thee

Far other reasonings, brought forth other deeds.

I before
7712
all the daughters of my tribe

And of my nation chose thee from among

My enemies, loved thee, as too well thou knew’st—

Too well—unbosomed all my secrets to thee,

Not out of levity,
7713
but over-pow’red

By thy request, who
7714
could deny thee nothing,

Yet now am judged an enemy. Why then

Didst thou at first receive me for thy husband,

Then, as since then, thy country’s foe professed?
7715

Being once a wife, for me thou wast to leave

Parents and country, nor was I their
7716
subject,
7717

Nor under their protection, but my own,

Thou mine,
7718
not theirs. If aught against my life

Thy country sought of thee, it sought unjustly,

Against the law of Nature, law of nations,

No more thy country, but an impious crew

Of men conspiring to uphold their state

By worse than hostile deeds, violating the ends

For which our country is a name so dear,

Not therefore to be obeyed. But zeal moved thee!

To please thy gods thou didst it—gods unable

To acquit
7719
themselves and prosecute their foes.

But by ungodly deeds, the contradiction

Of their own deity, gods cannot be—

Less therefore to be pleased, obeyed, or feared.

These false pretexts and varnished colors failing,

Bare in thy guilt how foul must thou appear!

DAL. In argument with men a woman ever

Goes by the worse,
7720
whatever be her cause.

SAM. For want of words no doubt, or lack of breath!

Witness when I was worried with
7721
thy peals.
7722

DAL. I was a fool, too rash, and quite mistaken

In what I thought would have succeeded best.

Let me obtain forgiveness of thee, Samson!

Afford
7723
me place
7724
to show what recompense

Towards thee I intend for what I have misdone,

Misguided. Only what remains past cure

Bear not too sensibly,
7725
nor still insist

T’ afflict thyself in vain. Though sight be lost,

Life yet hath many solaces, enjoyed

Where other senses want
7726
not their delights,

At home in leisure and domestic ease,

Exempt from many a care and chance
7727
to which

Eye-sight exposes, daily, men abroad.
7728

I to the lords will intercede, not doubting

Their favorable ear,
7729
that I may fetch thee

From forth this loathsome prison-house, t’ abide

With me, where my redoubled love and care,

With nursing diligence (to me glad office),
7730

May ever tend about thee to
7731
old age

With all things grateful
7732
cheered, and so supplied

That what by me thou hast lost thou least shalt miss.

SAM. No, no, of my condition take no care!

It fits not.
7733
Thou and I long since are twain,
7734

Nor think me so unwary or accurst

To bring my feet again into the snare

Where once I have been caught. I know thy trains,
7735

Though dearly to my cost! Thy ginns,
7736
and toils.
7737

Thy fair enchanted cup, and warbling charms

No more on me have power, their force is nulled.
7738

So much of adders’ wisdom
7739
I have learned

To fence my ear against thy sorceries.

If in my flower of youth and strength, when all men

Loved, honored, feared me, thou alone could hate me,

Thy husband, slight
7740
me, sell
7741
me, and forego
7742
me,

How would’st thou use me now, blind, and thereby

Deceiveable, in most things as a child

Helpless, thence easily contemned,
7743
and scorned,

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