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And should I at your harmless innocence Melt, as I do, yet public reason just, Honour and empire with revenge enlarged, By conquering this new world, compels me now To do what else though damned I should abhor. Meaning- In this surprising passage, Satan has arrived in terrestrial paradise. He's stunned by the sight of Adam and Eve--he's never seen a human being before. Moreover, Satan finds the Garden of Eden, and Adam and Eve themselves, to be extremely beautiful. As he stares, Satan goes through inner torment: he realizes that, were he still an obedient angel, he would love the humans' world and try to nurture it, enjoying their beauty and innocence. Yet Satan refuses to allow his own sympathies to change his will. Instead, he resolves to do what he was sent to do: corrupt mankind and destroy this beautiful world. The passage shows Satan in a somewhat sympathetic light: he's committed to evil yet instinctively still longs for good, and laments what his past actions have brought about. In his pride, however, he feels that he has no choice but to harden his heart and go on with his hateful plan. Milton thus suggests that evil isn't liberation from God's authority; rather, it's a prison of its own. Satan gets no pleasure from undermining paradise--it's a bitter burden for him.