Seek knowledge in virtue and obedience,
Oh man!
And to you this fruit is granted,
Your intellect will be bright indeed,
All which you ought to know,
Is yours but for the asking.

Paradise will be your home,
It's yours!
Why would you crave anything more?
For here you will be always happy,
All your days will be blissful,
There is nothing more to be desired.

You have but one command to obey,
One restriction!
This alone you ought never to do--
To demand more than you have,
Do not take that which isn't yours
For it has not been granted to you.

You may be highest of all creation,
Dear man!
You are certainly placed first on earth,
The prince of this great firmament,
Above all the other animals you rule,
But surely not higher than your King above.

Still you are drawn to insist upon more,
Poor wretch!
You cannot resist the deep hunger,
Which claws at you and drive you,
To control---to gain knowledge of all things,
For the forbidden fruit is sweetest of all.

Brashly did you pluck the apple for yourself,
You've eaten!
Its taste is first quite sweet indeed,
But now it has become more bitter--
Forbidden knowledge cannot enlighten,
And in grasping it you've let slip paradise.