---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And on the Tree of Life, The middle tree…"
description: "\"And on the Tree of Life, The middle tree and highest there that grew, Sat like a cormorant.\" — John Milton"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/john-milton-191_flower_and-on-the-tree-of-life-the-middle-tree_51698.png"
---

#  And on the Tree of Life, The middle tree and highest there…

![“And on the Tree of Life, The middle tree and highest there that grew, Sat like a cormorant.” quote by John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/john-milton-191_flower_and-on-the-tree-of-life-the-middle-tree_51698.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/john-milton-191_flower_and-on-the-tree-of-life-the-middle-tree_51698.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/john-milton-191_flower_and-on-the-tree-of-life-the-middle-tree_51698.png)

> “And on the Tree of Life, The middle tree and highest there that grew, Sat like a cormorant.”

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The verse likens a central, lofty tree to a cormorant, suggesting a lofty, perhaps solitary, perspective on life's hierarchy.

**In simple terms:** Life's hierarchy seen as a towering tree.

Key Takeaway

High positions can feel isolated.

Themes

hierarchy nature metaphor solitude aspiration perspective

Mood

thoughtful awe introspective

Type

poetic metaphorical

When to use this quote

- reflecting on personal growth
- analyzing social structures
- contemplating spiritual ascent

Key Concepts

tree of life cormorant symbolism middle and highest levels

Practical Applications

- poetic writing
- philosophical essays

Questions to Reflect On

- What does the 'middle tree' represent in your life?
- How does the cormorant imagery affect your view of ambition?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Grew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grew/) [Highest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highest/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Like Cormorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-cormorant-734288/) [Middle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle/) [Middle Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-tree-734287/) [Paradise lost book 2](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradise-lost-book-2/) [Paradise lost book 9](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradise-lost-book-9/) [Sat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sat/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Tree Highest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree-highest-734286/) [Tree Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree-life/) [Tree of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree-of-life/)

## Related quotes

> [Knowledge forbidden? Suspicious, reasonless. Why should their Lord Envy them that? Can it be sin to know, Can it be death? And do they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/knowledge-forbidden-suspicious-reasonless-why-should-their-lord-envy/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [God is thy law, thou mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/god-is-thy-law-thou-mine/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [With thee conversing I forget all time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/with-thee-conversing-i-forget-all-time/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [Now came still evening on; and twilight gray Had in her sober livery all things clad: Silence accompanied; for beast and bird, They to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/now-came-still-evening-on-and-twilight-gray-had-in-her-sober-livery/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [A grateful mind/ By owing owes not, but still pays, at once/ Indebted and discharg'd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/a-grateful-mind-by-owing-owes-not-but-still-pays-at-once-indebted-and-2/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [For contemplation he and valour formed; / For softness she and sweet attractive grace, / He for God only, she for God in him:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/for-contemplation-he-and-valour-formed-for-softness-she-and-sweet/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [Not to know me argues yourselves unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/not-to-know-me-argues-yourselves-unknown/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [Flowers of all hue, and without thorn the rose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/flowers-of-all-hue-and-without-thorn-the-rose/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [Now conscience wakes despair That slumber'd,-wakes the bitter memory Of what he was, what is, and what must be Worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/now-conscience-wakes-despair-that-slumber-d-wakes-the-bitter-memory/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [Hail, wedded love, mysterious law; true source of human happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/hail-wedded-love-mysterious-law-true-source-of-human-happiness/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [Live while ye may, Yet happy pair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/live-while-ye-may-yet-happy-pair/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [Sweet is the breath of morn, her rising sweet, With charm of earliest birds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/sweet-is-the-breath-of-morn-her-rising-sweet-with-charm-of-earliest/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [God is thy law, thou mine: to know no more Is woman's happiest knowledge and her praise. With thee conversing I forget all time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/god-is-thy-law-thou-mine-to-know-no-more-is-woman-s-happiest/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [Better to reign in hell than serve in heav'n.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/better-to-reign-in-hell-than-serve-in-heav-n/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [Ease would recant Vows made in pain, as violent and void.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/ease-would-recant-vows-made-in-pain-as-violent-and-void/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

## More by John Milton

> [Love-quarrels oft in pleasing concord end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/love-quarrels-oft-in-pleasing-concord-end/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [What better can we do than prostrate fall before Him reverent, and there confess humbly our faults, and pardon beg with tears watering the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/what-better-can-we-do-than-prostrate-fall-before-him-reverent-and/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [And, when night Darkens the streets, then wander forth the sons Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/and-when-night-darkens-the-streets-then-wander-forth-the-sons-of/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [And, re-assembling our afflicted powers, consult how we may henceforth most offend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/and-re-assembling-our-afflicted-powers-consult-how-we-may-henceforth/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [Yet hold it more humane, more heav'nly, first, By winning words to conquer willing hearts, And make persuasion do the work of fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/yet-hold-it-more-humane-more-heav-nly-first-by-winning-words-to/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [O nightingale, that on yon bloomy spray Warblest at eve, when all the woods are still; Thou with fresh hope the lover's heart dost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/o-nightingale-that-on-yon-bloomy-spray-warblest-at-eve-when-all-the/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [The debt immense of endless gratitude, So burthensome, still paying, still to owe; Forgetful what from him I still receivd, And understood not that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/the-debt-immense-of-endless-gratitude-so-burthensome-still-paying/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [Knowledge forbidden? Suspicious, reasonless. Why should their Lord Envy them that? Can it be sin to know, Can it be death? And do they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/knowledge-forbidden-suspicious-reasonless-why-should-their-lord-envy/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [There is no truth sure enough to justify persecution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/there-is-no-truth-sure-enough-to-justify-persecution/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [These eyes, tho' clear To outward view of blemish or of spot, Bereft of light, their seeing have forgot, Nor to their idle orbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/these-eyes-tho-clear-to-outward-view-of-blemish-or-of-spot-bereft-of/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [New Presbyter is but Old Priest writ Large.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/new-presbyter-is-but-old-priest-writ-large/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [And what is faith, love, virtue unassayed Alone, without exterior help sustained?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/and-what-is-faith-love-virtue-unassayed-alone-without-exterior-help/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [This is servitude, To serve th'unwise, or him who hath rebelled Against his worthier, as thine now serve thee, Thyself not free, but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/this-is-servitude-to-serve-th-unwise-or-him-who-hath-rebelled-against/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [Let us seek Death, or he not found, supply With our own hands his office on ourselves; Why stand we longer shivering under fears,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/let-us-seek-death-or-he-not-found-supply-with-our-own-hands-his/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [They are the troublers, they are the dividers of unity, who neglect and don't permit others to unite those dissevered pieces which are yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/they-are-the-troublers-they-are-the-dividers-of-unity-who-neglect-and/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

[Explore all 966 John Milton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

## More Flower quotes

> [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/)

[Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/)

> [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/)

[Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/)

> [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Most girls get flowers or candy. I get a declaration of martial law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-shearin/most-girls-get-flowers-or-candy-i-get-a-declaration-of-martial-law/)

[Lisa Shearin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-shearin/)

> [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Spring training means flowers, people coming outdoors, sunshine, optimism and baseball. Spring training is a time to think about being young again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-banks/spring-training-means-flowers-people-coming-outdoors-sunshine/)

[Ernie Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-banks/)

> [Sometimes, sometimes it is really difficult to turn and walk away from someone you have loved and cherished for so long. You know deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kreger/sometimes-sometimes-it-is-really-difficult-to-turn-and-walk-away-from/)

[David Kreger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kreger/)

> [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/)

[Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/)

> [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/)

[Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/)

> [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-o-connell/my-days-the-blossom-of-my-youth-and-the-flower-of-my-manhood-have/)

[Daniel O'Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-o-connell/)

> [My life is a crystal teardrop. There are snowflakes falling in the teardrop and little figures trudging in slow motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-baez/my-life-is-a-crystal-teardrop-there-are-snowflakes-falling-in-the/)

[Joan Baez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-baez/)

> [“But any picture could deal with the problem of light. The problem with this picture is greater than that of reflective surfaces - it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/but-any-picture-could-deal-with-the-problem-of-light-the-problem-with/)

[Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/)

> [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/)

[anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/)

> [Sometimes it's about less is more. It's about the seed. Thinking about this gigantic tree that you think is so beautiful but it started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-durst/sometimes-it-s-about-less-is-more-it-s-about-the-seed-thinking-about/)

[Fred Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-durst/)

> [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/)

[Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/)

[Browse all 12,347 Flower quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "And on the Tree of Life, The middle tree and highest there that grew, Sat like a cormorant.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Milton"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/and-on-the-tree-of-life-the-middle-tree-and-highest-there-that-grew/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Flower"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/and-on-the-tree-of-life-the-middle-tree-and-highest-there-that-grew/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/john-milton-191_flower_and-on-the-tree-of-life-the-middle-tree_51698.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/john-milton-191_flower_and-on-the-tree-of-life-the-middle-tree_51698.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/john-milton-191_flower_and-on-the-tree-of-life-the-middle-tree_51698.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“And on the Tree of Life, The middle tree and highest there that grew, Sat like a cormorant.” — John Milton",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "John Milton",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "And on the Tree of Life,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/and-on-the-tree-of-life-the-middle-tree-and-highest-there-that-grew/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/and-on-the-tree-of-life-the-middle-tree-and-highest-there-that-grew/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
