Paradise Lost Books III-IV: How Human Seems the Devil!
Any Christian worth his salt and light would think that a book which casts Satan as a pitiable creature should be avoided as an occultist's trap. Yet as Paradise Lost continues onward, Satan is still placed on a pedestal at the center of his own poetically-penned pity party; all his confusion, weeping, and desire to escape the torments of Hell shown in Books I and II are supplemented in Book IV, lines 73-103. Here, as he glimpses the Paradise of Eden and all that he lost the chance to take part in, the fallen angel reflects on two things: the first is the severity and reach of his torment, as he has essentially become his own Hell and fiery pain follows every step he takes. The second is on the utter hopelessness of his position, and how even he must admit that, if he were ever granted redemption, he would rebel and fall from Heaven for a second time. What should be made of this? Does Milton paint the devil as an unsung hero?
This was not the thought that struck me, especially not after the introduction of God, Jesus, and Heaven in Book III. The Lord Most High and his eternal kingdom are certainly wonderful and deserving of all praise, but Milton never delves into their thoughts and inner workings as he does with Satan. We see nothing more of God than what most of us have pictured of Him in our minds all our lives: all-wise, loving, omniscient, the picture of perfection. Why is this? Unfortunately, I realized through reading this that the wisdom of Romans 11:34 ("For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been His counselor?") is more than just a verse telling us not to question God's perfect plan.
The sad truth is that, with our sin nature, we are more alike Satan than we are God. Granted, we are made in the image of God and have His special favor over all of creation. Yet in mind and thought, at least, we understand Satan's plight. He is a fallen creation, and so are we. God does not express the doubts, the fear, or the tumultuous emotions that we sinful humans have the privilege to sort through. We cannot relate to God, for our sinful thoughts keep us from understanding the all-pure, all-wise mind of our Lord. But we can relate to Satan, for his story is painfully similar to our own.
For this I must applaud Milton's choices of introducing Satan into Paradise Lost before God and displaying Satan's pitiable story (though I am glad that Milton has not glossed over Satan's pure evil, as his remarks of hating Adam and Eve's happiness in lines 505-507 repulsed me). The devil is an exaggerated reflection of what we are-- and of what we are doomed to become without Jesus Christ.
P.S. I commented on Sophia and Michael's posts.
This was not the thought that struck me, especially not after the introduction of God, Jesus, and Heaven in Book III. The Lord Most High and his eternal kingdom are certainly wonderful and deserving of all praise, but Milton never delves into their thoughts and inner workings as he does with Satan. We see nothing more of God than what most of us have pictured of Him in our minds all our lives: all-wise, loving, omniscient, the picture of perfection. Why is this? Unfortunately, I realized through reading this that the wisdom of Romans 11:34 ("For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been His counselor?") is more than just a verse telling us not to question God's perfect plan.
The sad truth is that, with our sin nature, we are more alike Satan than we are God. Granted, we are made in the image of God and have His special favor over all of creation. Yet in mind and thought, at least, we understand Satan's plight. He is a fallen creation, and so are we. God does not express the doubts, the fear, or the tumultuous emotions that we sinful humans have the privilege to sort through. We cannot relate to God, for our sinful thoughts keep us from understanding the all-pure, all-wise mind of our Lord. But we can relate to Satan, for his story is painfully similar to our own.
For this I must applaud Milton's choices of introducing Satan into Paradise Lost before God and displaying Satan's pitiable story (though I am glad that Milton has not glossed over Satan's pure evil, as his remarks of hating Adam and Eve's happiness in lines 505-507 repulsed me). The devil is an exaggerated reflection of what we are-- and of what we are doomed to become without Jesus Christ.
P.S. I commented on Sophia and Michael's posts.
I have been through "Paradise Lost" a few times now and there is one thing you mentioned that I have never really thought about. Milton does go into great detail with Satan's character but not into God's. Perhaps this is to add to the mystery of God's nature. The prophet Isaiah gives God's message "My ways are higher than your ways". It would seem that Milton possibly details God less due to the fact that God can never fully be explained, whereas Satan is an open book. Milton knew the Bible well and it is very in-depth when Satan is concerned.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Michael, but I'd take it one step further and say that based on what Milton says when he "summons the Muse (the Holy Spirit)," it is very apparent that Milton doesn't want to impose ideas or thoughts onto God--to do so is a dangerous path to walk. Thus, Milton only states facts about God: He is just, loving, gracious, merciful, all-knowing, and sovereign over all. With Satan, Milton has more poetic freedom since Satan is full of sin, so Milton can put "human" attributes on Satan and no one would really think twice about it.
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