Final answer:
The speaker of the quote is Satan from John Milton's epic poem 'Paradise Lost,' who questions whether seeking knowledge is a sin and reflects on ignorance as a potentially blissful state.
Step-by-step explanation:
The speaker of the quote "Can it be sin to know, / Can it be death? And do they only stand / By ignorance, is that their happy state, / The proof of their obedience and their faith?" is John Milton's character Satan from his epic poem Paradise Lost. Here, Satan is contemplating the forbidden tree of knowledge and considering whether seeking knowledge is indeed sinful or leads to death, as opposed to the state of ignorance, which might be considered blissful. These thoughts reflect Satan's rebellious nature against what he perceives as arbitrary laws imposed by God on humankind.
In this context, the excerpt is exploring themes of knowledge, obedience, and the human condition, which are central to the poem. It delves into the idea that the pursuit of knowledge might be seen as a form of disobedience or a challenge to divine authority, a subject that has endlessly fascinated readers and scholars of Milton's work.