Just wondering what ya'll thought...
There was a poor Soul that had wandered out of Paradise and come into the Kingdom of this World; where the Devil met with it, and said to it, "Whither dost thou go, thou Soul that art half blind?"
The Soul said,
I would see and speculate into the Creatures of the World, which the Creator hath made.
The Devil said,
How wilt thou see and speculate into them, when thou canst not know their Essence and Property? Thou wilt look upon their Outside only, as upon a graven Image, and canst not know them throughly.
The Soul said,
How may I come to know their Essence and Property?
The Devil said,
Thine Eyes would be opened to see them throughly, if thou didst but eat of that from whence the Creatures themselves are come to be good and evil. Thou wouldst then be as God Himself is, and know what the Creature is.
The Soul said,
I am now a noble and holy Creature; but if I should do so, the Creator hath said, that I should die.
The Devil said,
No, thou shouldst not die at all; but thy eyes would be opened, and thou shouldst be as God Himself is, and be Master of Good and Evil. Also, thou shouldst be mighty, powerful, and very great, as I am; all the Subtlety that is in the Creatures would be made known to thee.
The Soul said,
If I had the Knowledge of Nature and of the Creatures, I would then rule the whole World as I pleased.
The Devil said,
The whole Ground of that Knowledge lieth in thee. Do but turn thy Will and Desire from God or Goodness into Nature and the Creatures, and then there will arise in thee a Lust to taste; and so thou mayest eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and by that means come to know all Things.
The Soul said,
Well then, I will eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, that I may rule all Things by my own Power; and be of myself a Lord on Earth, and do what I will, as God Himself doeth.
The Devil said,
I am the Prince of this World; and if thou wouldst rule on Earth, thou must turn thy Lust towards my Image, or desire to be like me, that thou mayest get the Cunning, Wit, Reason, and Subtlety, that my Image hath.
There was a poor Soul that had wandered out of Paradise and come into the Kingdom of this World; where the Devil met with it, and said to it, "Whither dost thou go, thou Soul that art half blind?"
The Soul said,
I would see and speculate into the Creatures of the World, which the Creator hath made.
The Devil said,
How wilt thou see and speculate into them, when thou canst not know their Essence and Property? Thou wilt look upon their Outside only, as upon a graven Image, and canst not know them throughly.
The Soul said,
How may I come to know their Essence and Property?
The Devil said,
Thine Eyes would be opened to see them throughly, if thou didst but eat of that from whence the Creatures themselves are come to be good and evil. Thou wouldst then be as God Himself is, and know what the Creature is.
The Soul said,
I am now a noble and holy Creature; but if I should do so, the Creator hath said, that I should die.
The Devil said,
No, thou shouldst not die at all; but thy eyes would be opened, and thou shouldst be as God Himself is, and be Master of Good and Evil. Also, thou shouldst be mighty, powerful, and very great, as I am; all the Subtlety that is in the Creatures would be made known to thee.
The Soul said,
If I had the Knowledge of Nature and of the Creatures, I would then rule the whole World as I pleased.
The Devil said,
The whole Ground of that Knowledge lieth in thee. Do but turn thy Will and Desire from God or Goodness into Nature and the Creatures, and then there will arise in thee a Lust to taste; and so thou mayest eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and by that means come to know all Things.
The Soul said,
Well then, I will eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, that I may rule all Things by my own Power; and be of myself a Lord on Earth, and do what I will, as God Himself doeth.
The Devil said,
I am the Prince of this World; and if thou wouldst rule on Earth, thou must turn thy Lust towards my Image, or desire to be like me, that thou mayest get the Cunning, Wit, Reason, and Subtlety, that my Image hath.
