--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In Eden who sleeps happiest? The serpent." description: "\"In Eden who sleeps happiest? The serpent.\" — Derek Walcott" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/derek-walcott-2220_eden_in-eden-who-sleeps-happiest-the-serpent_2166229.jpg" --- # In Eden who sleeps happiest? The serpent. ![“In Eden who sleeps happiest? The serpent.” quote by Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/derek-walcott-2220_eden_in-eden-who-sleeps-happiest-the-serpent_2166229.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/derek-walcott-2220_eden_in-eden-who-sleeps-happiest-the-serpent_2166229.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/derek-walcott-2220_eden_in-eden-who-sleeps-happiest-the-serpent_2166229.jpg) > “In Eden who sleeps happiest? The serpent.” [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The serpent, symbol of temptation, finds contentment in Eden's loss, suggesting that those who cause disruption may be the happiest. **In simple terms:** Disruptors may seem happiest in chaos. Key Takeaway Recognize the cost of selfish joy. Themes temptation happiness power morality mythology Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - personal reflection - literary analysis - ethical debates Key Concepts existentialism symbolism Questions to Reflect On - What does true happiness require? - Can joy be ethical? A Different Perspective Happiness derived from others' loss is morally problematic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eden/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Serpent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serpent/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) ## Related quotes > [Another striding instance is recorded by the very intelligent traveler regarding a representation of the fall of our first parents, sculptured in the magnificent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/godfrey-higgins/another-striding-instance-is-recorded-by-the-very-intelligent/) [Godfrey Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/godfrey-higgins/) > [“I gasp, and I'm Eve in the Garden of Eden, and he's the serpent, and I cannot resist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-james/i-gasp-and-i-m-eve-in-the-garden-of-eden-and-he-s-the-serpent-and-i/) [E.L. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-james/) > [No one since the Garden of Eden - which the serpent forsook in order to run for higher office - has imputed to politicians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/no-one-since-the-garden-of-eden-which-the-serpent-forsook-in-order-to/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [Remember, the serpent is still living in the Garden of Eden. Only the heterosexual couple was expelled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-carpenter/remember-the-serpent-is-still-living-in-the-garden-of-eden-only-the/) [Edward Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-carpenter/) > [In the Garden of Eden Eve showed more courage than Adam.. when the serpent offered the forbidden fruit. She knew that there was something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-borgia/in-the-garden-of-eden-eve-showed-more-courage-than-adam-when-the/) [Cesare Borgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-borgia/) > [See yonder another King's garden, which the King waters with his bloody sweat-Gethsemane, whose bitter herbs are sweeter far to renewed souls than even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/see-yonder-another-king-s-garden-which-the-king-waters-with-his/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“No Eden valid without serpent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/no-eden-valid-without-serpent/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [One classic American landscape haunts all of American literature. It is a picture of Eden, perceived at the instant of history when corruption has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/one-classic-american-landscape-haunts-all-of-american-literature-it/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [“As we reread Genesis 2...we immediately understand WHAT is 'crafty' about the serpent's question in Genesis 3. God did NOT in fact say in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-provan/as-we-reread-genesis-2-we-immediately-understand-what-is-crafty-about/) Iain Provan > [“Intellectualism is a poor master over passion”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twe-stephens/intellectualism-is-a-poor-master-over-passion/) Twe Stephens > [LAOCOON, n. A famous piece of antique scripture representing a priest of that name and his two sons in the folds of two enormous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/laocoon-n-a-famous-piece-of-antique-scripture-representing-a-priest/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [An arrow may fly through the air and leave no trace; but an ill thought leaves a trail like a serpent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mackay/an-arrow-may-fly-through-the-air-and-leave-no-trace-but-an-ill/) [Charles Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mackay/) > [Let me explain: there are dragons, and then there are drakons. Drakons are several millennia older than dragons, andmuch larger. They look like giant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/let-me-explain-there-are-dragons-and-then-there-are-drakons-drakons/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“When you favour a woman, she will want to return the favour in so many means, but its better to rupidiate such offerings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/when-you-favour-a-woman-she-will-want-to-return-the-favour-in-so-many/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [The serpent, the king, the tiger, the stinging wasp, the small child, the dog owned by other people, and the fool: these seven ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanakya/the-serpent-the-king-the-tiger-the-stinging-wasp-the-small-child-the/) [Chanakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanakya/) ## More by Derek Walcott > [Memory that yearns to join the centre, a limb remembering the body from which it has been severed, like those bamboo thighs of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/memory-that-yearns-to-join-the-centre-a-limb-remembering-the-body/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [Peel your own image from the mirror. Sit. Feast on your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/peel-your-own-image-from-the-mirror-sit-feast-on-your-life/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [I don't feel I've arrived home until I get on the beach. All my life, the theater of the sea has been a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-don-t-feel-i-ve-arrived-home-until-i-get-on-the-beach-all-my-life/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“As human beings we’ve certainly suffered the loss of awe, the loss of sacredness, and the loss of the fact that we’re not here—…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/as-human-beings-we-ve-certainly-suffered-the-loss-of-awe-the-loss-of/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“I shall unlearn feeling, unlearn my gift. That is greater and harder than what passes there for life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-shall-unlearn-feeling-unlearn-my-gift-that-is-greater-and-harder/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The greatest writers have been, at heart, parochial, provincial in their rootedness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-greatest-writers-have-been-at-heart-parochial-provincial-in-their/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The time will come when, with elation you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror and each will smile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-time-will-come-when-with-elation-you-will-greet-yourself-arriving/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [Break a vase, and the love that reassembles the fragments is stronger than that love which took its symmetry for granted when it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/break-a-vase-and-the-love-that-reassembles-the-fragments-is-stronger/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [My mother, who is nearly ninety now, still talks continually about my father. All my life, I've been aware of her grief about his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-mother-who-is-nearly-ninety-now-still-talks-continually-about-my/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [My family background really only consists of my mother. She was a widow. My father died quite young; he must have been thirty-one. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-family-background-really-only-consists-of-my-mother-she-was-a/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“I am the man my father loved and was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-am-the-man-my-father-loved-and-was/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [Like any art, what is the most imprisoning thing is also the most delivering thing. If an actor knows he only has 12 syllables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/like-any-art-what-is-the-most-imprisoning-thing-is-also-the-most/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The thing that is believed is a reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-thing-that-is-believed-is-a-reality/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The history of the world - by which, of course, we mean Europe - is a record of intertribal lacerations, of ethnic cleansings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-history-of-the-world-by-which-of-course-we-mean-europe-is-a/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The English language is nobody's special property. It is the property of the imagination: it is the property of the language itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-english-language-is-nobody-s-special-property-it-is-the-property/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) [Explore all 177 Derek Walcott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) ## More Eden quotes > [Leo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Eden. Every year, you look at their numbers - score goals, assists, minutes - to see they play very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro/leo-cristiano-ronaldo-neymar-eden-every-year-you-look-at-their/) [Pedro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) Daniel K Judd > [No bird has ever uttered note That was not in some first bird's throat; Since Eden's freshness and man's fall No rose has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/no-bird-has-ever-uttered-note-that-was-not-in-some-first-bird-s/) [Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/) > [“Ô, Wanderess, Wanderess When did you feel your most euphoric kiss? Was I the source of your greatest bliss?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/wanderess-wanderess-when-did-you-feel-your-most-euphoric-kiss-was-i/) [Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/) > [“Adam and Eve used to walk with Me in the garden, before their expulsion from Eden. I want you to walk with Me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-young/adam-and-eve-used-to-walk-with-me-in-the-garden-before-their/) [Sarah Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-young/) > [Hayatın birliğini tecrübe eden kişi bütün canlıları kendinde, kendini de bütün canlılarda görür ve herşeye tarafsız bir gözle bakar. / He who experiences the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/hayat-n-birli-ini-tecr-be-eden-ki-i-b-t-n-canl-lar-kendinde-kendini/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [O thou beautiful And unimaginable ether! and Ye multiplying masses of increased And still increasing lights! what are ye? what Is this blue wilderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/o-thou-beautiful-and-unimaginable-ether-and-ye-multiplying-masses-of/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“What brings you to our gorgeous, God-given paradise, our Eden of monsters and half-men?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-yocum/what-brings-you-to-our-gorgeous-god-given-paradise-our-eden-of/) [Nathan Yocum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-yocum/) > [My parents preferred me not to be at the same club as Eden to avoid comparisons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thorgan-hazard/my-parents-preferred-me-not-to-be-at-the-same-club-as-eden-to-avoid/) [Thorgan Hazard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thorgan-hazard/) > [“I do love you Eden, with all that I am. I don't believe there has been a more perfect love to ever exist in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-higginson/i-do-love-you-eden-with-all-that-i-am-i-don-t-believe-there-has-been/) [Rachel Higginson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-higginson/) > [Eden is the type of player who can make a big difference when he comes on, even for 20 minutes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianfranco-zola/eden-is-the-type-of-player-who-can-make-a-big-difference-when-he/) [Gianfranco Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianfranco-zola/) > [“I stood like Adam in his lonely garden On that first morning, shaken out of sleep, Rubbing his eyes, listening, parting the leaves, Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/i-stood-like-adam-in-his-lonely-garden-on-that-first-morning-shaken/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [The plough of Time breaks up our Eden-land, And tramples down its fruitful flowery prime. Yet thro' the dust of ages living shoots O'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-massey/the-plough-of-time-breaks-up-our-eden-land-and-tramples-down-its/) [Gerald Massey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-massey/) > [Be patient, my friends; time rolls rapidly away; our longing has its end. The hour will strike, who knows how soon?- when the maternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-wilhelm-krummacher/be-patient-my-friends-time-rolls-rapidly-away-our-longing-has-its-end/) Friedrich Wilhelm Krummacher > [“She picked up a handheld grenade launcher, cradling it like a baby.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-derting/she-picked-up-a-handheld-grenade-launcher-cradling-it-like-a-baby/) [Kimberly Derting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-derting/) [Browse all 434 Eden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eden/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In Eden who sleeps happiest? 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