The Annotated Milton: Complete English Poems (158 page)

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,