What did Adam mean when he said, "Greatly instructed I shall hence depart, Greatly in peace of thought." Choose the best answer. a) Life has taught him many lessons. B) Adam thinks he has learned all he needs and will die now. C) Adam has a peace in leaving Eden because of things he has learned. D) Because Adam ate from the tree of knowledge, he had peace.

The right answer is the C: Adam has a peace in leaving Eden because of things he has learned. This is part of a dialogue between Adam and the Archangel Michael. The Archangel has been telling him about what the future will bring (" [ ... ] and thence shall come, when this world's dissolution shall be ripe, with glory and power to judge [ ... ] so shall the world go on, to good malignant, to bad men benign [ ... ] " and so on), and he replies by saying "How soon hath thy prediction [ ... ] Beyond is all abyss, Eternity, whose end no eye can reach. Greatly instructed ... ". He, therefore, has been amply instructed and is ready to depart in peace. The Archangel finally states that Adam has attained the "sum of wisdom" and that he will not be loath to leave Paradise, since he will possess a Paradise "within thee, happier far."