--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Presently a serpent sought them out…" description: "\"“Presently a serpent sought them out privately, and came to them walking upright, which was the way of serpents in those days. The serpent said the for..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/561/mark-twain-22_adam_presently-a-serpent-sought-them-out-priv_2217608.png" --- # Presently a serpent sought them out privately, and came to… ![“Presently a serpent sought them out privately, and came to them walking upright, which was the way of serpents in those days. The serpent said the forbidden fruit would store their vacant minds with knowledge. So they ate it, which was quite natural, for man is so made that he eagerly wants to…” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/561/mark-twain-22_adam_presently-a-serpent-sought-them-out-priv_2217608.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/561/mark-twain-22_adam_presently-a-serpent-sought-them-out-priv_2217608.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/561/mark-twain-22_adam_presently-a-serpent-sought-them-out-priv_2217608.png) > ““Presently a serpent sought them out privately, and came to them walking upright, which was the way of serpents in those days. The serpent said the forbidden fruit would store their vacant minds with knowledge. So they ate it, which was quite natural, for man is so made that he eagerly wants to know; whereas the priest, like God, whose imitator and representative he is, has made it his business from the beginning to keep him from knowing any useful thing.”” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The desire for forbidden knowledge drives humans, while authority figures often suppress it. **In simple terms:** People crave hidden knowledge; leaders may block it. Key Takeaway Question and seek truth, but beware manipulation. Themes knowledge authority curiosity Mood skeptical inquisitive Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - education reform - media literacy - scientific inquiry - personal growth Key Concepts philosophy psychology mythology Questions to Reflect On - What truths are you tempted to uncover? - Who benefits from keeping knowledge hidden? A Different Perspective Blind pursuit can lead to danger or misinformation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adam/) [Days Serpent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/days-serpent-4936689/) [Forbidden fruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forbidden-fruit/) [Serpent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serpent/) [Serpent Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serpent-said-4936687/) [Serpent Sought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serpent-sought-4936688/) [Serpents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serpents/) ## Related quotes > [Adam did not want the apple for the apple's sake; he wanted it because it was forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/adam-did-not-want-the-apple-for-the-apple-s-sake-he-wanted-it-because/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“I will protect you all the days of my life. You will be the mother of all who live and the giver of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tosca-lee/i-will-protect-you-all-the-days-of-my-life-you-will-be-the-mother-of/) [Tosca Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tosca-lee/) > [The very serpents bite their tails; the bees forget to sting, For a language so celestial setteth up a wondering. And the touch of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/the-very-serpents-bite-their-tails-the-bees-forget-to-sting-for-a/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) > [Those base men who speak of the secret faults of others destroy themselves like serpents that stray onto anthills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanakya/those-base-men-who-speak-of-the-secret-faults-of-others-destroy/) [Chanakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanakya/) > [...those serpents! There's no pleasing them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/those-serpents-there-s-no-pleasing-them/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [The gods have sent medicines for the venom of serpents, but there is no medicine for a bad woman. She is more noxious than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/the-gods-have-sent-medicines-for-the-venom-of-serpents-but-there-is/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [Where there is the tree of knowledge, there is always Paradise: so say the most ancient and most modern serpents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/where-there-is-the-tree-of-knowledge-there-is-always-paradise-so-say/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [All men possess in their bodies a poison which acts upon serpents; and the human saliva, it is said, makes them take to flight,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-elder/all-men-possess-in-their-bodies-a-poison-which-acts-upon-serpents-and/) [Pliny the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-elder/) > [Among all the kinds of serpents, there is none comparable to the Dragon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-topsell/among-all-the-kinds-of-serpents-there-is-none-comparable-to-the-dragon/) [Edward Topsell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-topsell/) > [Those who give you a serpent when you ask for a fish, may have nothing but serpents to give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/those-who-give-you-a-serpent-when-you-ask-for-a-fish-may-have-nothing/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Red serpents, fiery forms, and yelling hags, Fit company for mad adventurers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-freneau/red-serpents-fiery-forms-and-yelling-hags-fit-company-for-mad/) [Philip Freneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-freneau/) > [“I hate and fear snakes, because if you look into the eyes of any snake you will see that it knows all and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/i-hate-and-fear-snakes-because-if-you-look-into-the-eyes-of-any-snake/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [I have seen some who did not know when to turn aside their eyes in meeting yours. A truly confident and magnanimous spirit is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-have-seen-some-who-did-not-know-when-to-turn-aside-their-eyes-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [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/) > [“People are so like their first mother Eve: what they are given doesn't take their fancy. The serpent is forever enticing them to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pushkin/people-are-so-like-their-first-mother-eve-what-they-are-given-doesn-t/) [Alexander Pushkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pushkin/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More Adam quotes > [Women rule the world. It's not really worth fighting because they know what they're doing. Ask Napoleon. Ask Adam. Ask Richard Burton or Richie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/women-rule-the-world-it-s-not-really-worth-fighting-because-they-know/) [Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/) > [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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-k-judd/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Adam Clayton Powell's entire political career has to be looked at in the entire context of the American history and the history of, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/adam-clayton-powell-s-entire-political-career-has-to-be-looked-at-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“Adam could imagine what he looked like: a debauched nerd.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-cullinan/adam-could-imagine-what-he-looked-like-a-debauched-nerd/) [Heidi Cullinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-cullinan/) > [Adam Berenson knows how to compose, organize an ensemble, do musical research, play solo and trio piano, write for musical journals, and enlist others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bley/adam-berenson-knows-how-to-compose-organize-an-ensemble-do-musical/) [Paul Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bley/) > [“Finally, someone had seen him. And what had he done? Let her get away. Undermined by his disgusting human anatomy. It had just been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/finally-someone-had-seen-him-and-what-had-he-done-let-her-get-away/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“I’d think there are degrees of greatness,” Adam said. “I don’t think so,” said Samuel. “That would be like saying there is a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-d-think-there-are-degrees-of-greatness-adam-said-i-don-t-think-so/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [An ineffably holy God, who has the utmost abhorrence of sin, was never invented by any of Adam's descendents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/an-ineffably-holy-god-who-has-the-utmost-abhorrence-of-sin-was-never/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [“think Adam is looking to break Kenji’s neck at this point.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/think-adam-is-looking-to-break-kenji-s-neck-at-this-point/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“Adam's lips are set in a grime line. I can't tell if he's about to cry or about to punch the guard. For his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/adam-s-lips-are-set-in-a-grime-line-i-can-t-tell-if-he-s-about-to-cry/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [And as regards Adam and Eve we must maintain that before the fall they were virgins in Paradise: but after they sinned, and were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/and-as-regards-adam-and-eve-we-must-maintain-that-before-the-fall/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [Adam became so proud that he wished to become God and died for his pride; the Son of God humbled Himself unto death, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/adam-became-so-proud-that-he-wished-to-become-god-and-died-for-his/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [Oh, Adam was a gardener, and God who made him sees That half a proper gardener's work is done upon his knees, So when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/oh-adam-was-a-gardener-and-god-who-made-him-sees-that-half-a-proper/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [“Barışı elde etmek için çabalayan her adam olağanüstü bir adamdır!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/bar-elde-etmek-i-in-abalayan-her-adam-ola-an-st-bir-adamd-r/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) [Browse all 1,360 Adam quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adam/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Presently a serpent sought them out privately, and came to them walking upright, which was the way of serpents in those days. 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