ope thine eyes,
Milton was accused by the Catholics in his day of having been blinded as a punishment by God for his support of the regicide of King Charles I. Milton on the other hand believed his blindness was a sort of blessing by God, and that God helped him "see" better to write Paradise Lost. I believe the reader can see both perspectives in these scenes. Perhaps Milton himself was conflicted as well as to what his blindness was: punishment or blessing?
to remove thee I am come, [ 260 ] And send thee from the Garden forth to till The ground whence thou wast tak'n, fitter Soile.
Michael is basically calling Adam and Eve, "dirt."
all but a Rib Crooked by nature, bent, as now appears, [ 885 ] More to the part sinister from me drawn, Well if thrown out, as supernumerarie To my just number found. O why did God, Creator wise, that peopl'd highest Heav'n With Spirits Masculine, create at last [ 890 ] This noveltie on Earth, this fair defect Of Nature, and not fill the World at once With Men as Angels without Feminine, Or find some other way to generate Mankind?
How quickly Adam forgot how happy he was for having a companion. He wishes for death now to come, which it's odd that it hasn't, but I suppose the punishment of death is not necessarily immediate. Before this event Adam was presumably immortal and now he is mortal. Eve helped to ensure this, which is not to say he didn't appear eager to follow her transgression. Eve was the first woman and one could say that it is still from women not only are we born, but it is also they who bring us all death because without birth there wouldn't be death.
Accuse not Nature, she hath don her part; Do thou but thine, and be not diffident Of Wisdom, she deserts thee not, if thou Dismiss not her, when most thou needst her nigh, By attributing overmuch to things [ 565 ] Less excellent, as thou thy self perceav'st.
It seems odd to me when Milton uses allegorical characters in this story such as Sin and Nature.
That lay in wait; beyond this had bin force, And force upon free Will hath here no place.
And this is why God did not forcibly keep Satan out of the garden.
Was I to have never parted from thy side? As good have grown there still a liveless Rib.
Eve has a good point. She has her own free-will and exercised it. If she didn't have her own will then she would be no different than an appendage of Adam.
Passions, Anger, Hate
Another of the deadly sins: wrath. The only one we haven't yet seen from this trespass is sloth.
Carnal desire enflaming, hee on Eve Began to cast lascivious Eyes, she him As wantonly repaid; in Lust they burne:
Another deadly sin: lust. I would say that, at least Eve, was also envious of the Angels and their knowledge, and even envious of Adam for being the "higher" being. The only deadly sins missing at this point are wrath and sloth.
Nature from her seat Sighing through all her Works gave signs of woe
The allegorical characters don't seem to fit into this story. Here is it Nature, before it was Sin. In most ways Milton uses characters who are flesh and blood and not related to abstract concepts, and yet in a couple of places he has allegorical characters representing abstractions such as sin and nature.
Let us not then suspect our happie State Left so imperfet by the Maker wise, As not secure to single or combin'd. Fraile is our happiness, if this be so, [ 340 ] And Eden were no Eden thus expos'd.
Eve's argument is rather solid in terms of the truth of the text: God doesn't allow them perfect happiness and security. Even before the fall He allows Satan access to Eden and therefore tests Adam and Eve through fear and uncertainty.
Though pleasant, but thy words with Grace Divine [ 215 ] Imbu'd, bring to thir sweetness no satietie.
Once again, Adam seems just as curious as Eve about the world and no amount of time an angel spends talking about it can ever be enough. Adam and Eve need to actually experience the world and not just be told about it. This seems to foreshadow the tree as a method for obtaining that knowledge. After all, if the only truth you know is what others tell you, then what happens when the story is changed, or when someone tells you something else? I think the answer is you must seek your own truth.
Such restless revolution day by day Repeated, while the sedentarie Earth,
Adam is questioning (through Milton) why there is so much effort for the entire creation to revolve around the earth rather than for the earth simply to revolve? This same question was posed by Galileo and it seems a reasonable one to ask. Of course, no such question exists in Genesis. So this is an example of Milton taking liberties.
The Libbard, and the Tyger, as the Moale Rising, the crumbl'd Earth above them threw In Hillocks; the swift Stag from under ground Bore up his branching head: scarse from his mould [ 470 ]
I didn't notice the animals coming up from the ground like this in Genesis. The image is striking. These creatures are being born for the first time from the earth, and they will return to the earth when they die.
BOOK 7 THE ARGUMENT Raphael at the request of Adam relates how and wherefore this world was first created; that God, after the expelling of Satan and his Angels out of Heaven, declar'd his pleasure to create another World and other Creatures to dwell therein; sends his Son with Glory and attendance of Angels to perform the work of Creation in six dayes: the Angels celebrate with Hymns the performance thereof, and his reascention into Heaven. DEscend from Heav'n Urania, by that name If rightly thou art call'd, whose Voice divine Following, above th' Olympian Hill I soare, Above the flight of Pegasean wing. The meaning, not the Name I call: for thou [ 5 ] Nor of the Muses nine, nor on the top Of old Olympus dwell'st, but Heav'nlie borne, Before the Hills appeerd, or Fountain flow'd, Thou with Eternal Wisdom didst converse, Wisdom thy Sister, and with her didst play [ 10 ] In presence of th' Almightie Father, pleas'd With thy Celestial Song. Up led by thee Into the Heav'n of Heav'ns I have presum'd, An Earthlie Guest, and drawn Empyreal Aire, Thy tempring; with like safetie guided down [ 15 ] Return me to my Native Element: Least from this flying Steed unrein'd, (as once Bellerophon, though from a lower Clime) Dismounted, on th' Aleian Field I fall Erroneous there to wander and forlorne. [ 20 ] Half yet remaines unsung, but narrower bound Within the visible Diurnal Spheare; Standing on Earth, not rapt above the Pole, More safe I Sing with mortal voice, unchang'd To hoarce or mute, though fall'n on evil dayes, [ 25 ] On evil dayes though fall'n, and evil tongues; In darkness, and with dangers compast round, And solitude; yet not alone, while thou Visit'st my slumbers Nightly, or when Morn Purples the East: still govern thou my Song, [ 30 ] Urania, and fit audience find, though few. But drive farr off the barbarous dissonance Of Bacchus and his Revellers, the Race Of that wilde Rout that tore the Thracian Bard In Rhodope, where Woods and Rocks had Eares [ 35 ] To rapture, till the savage clamor dround Both Harp and Voice; nor could the Muse defend Her Son. So fail not thou, who thee implores: For thou art Heav'nlie, shee an empty dreame. Say Goddess, what ensu'd when Raphael, [ 40 ] The affable Arch-Angel, had forewarn'd Adam by dire example to beware Apostasie, by what befell in Heaven To those Apostates, least the like befall In Paradise to Adam or his Race, [ 45 ] Charg'd not to touch the interdicted Tree, If they transgress, and slight that sole command, So easily obeyd amid the choice Of all tastes else to please thir appetite, Though wandring. He with his consorted Eve [ 50 ] The storie heard attentive, and was fill'd With admiration, and deep Muse to heare Of things so high and strange, things to thir thought So unimaginable as hate in Heav'n, And Warr so neer the Peace of God in bliss [ 55 ] With such confusion: but the evil soon Driv'n back redounded as a flood on those From whom it sprung, impossible to mix With Blessedness. Whence Adam soon repeal'd The doubts that in his heart arose: and now [ 60 ] Led on, yet sinless, with desire to know What neerer might concern him, how this World Of Heav'n and Earth conspicious first began, When, and whereof created, for what cause, What within Eden or without was done [ 65 ] Before his memorie, as one whose drouth Yet scarce allay'd still eyes the current streame, Whose liquid murmur heard new thirst excites, Proceeded thus to ask his Heav'nly Guest. Great things, and full of wonder in our eares, [ 70 ] Farr differing from this World, thou hast reveal'd Divine interpreter, by favour sent Down from the Empyrean to forewarne Us timely of what might else have bin our loss, Unknown, which human knowledg could not reach: [ 75 ] For which to the infinitly Good we owe Immortal thanks, and his admonishment Receave with solemne purpose to observe Immutably his sovran will, the end Of what we are. But since thou hast voutsaf't [ 80 ] Gently for our instruction to impart Things above Earthly thought, which yet concernd Our knowing, as to highest wisdom seemd, Deign to descend now lower, and relate What may no less perhaps availe us known, [ 85 ] How first began this Heav'n which we behold Distant so high, with moving Fires adornd Innumerable, and this which yeelds or fills All space, the ambient Aire, wide interfus'd Imbracing round this florid Earth, what cause [ 90 ] Mov'd the Creator in his holy Rest Through all Eternitie so late to build In Chaos, and the work begun, how soon Absolv'd, if unforbid thou maist unfould What wee, not to explore the secrets aske [ 95 ] Of his Eternal Empire, but the more To magnifie his works, the more we know. And the great Light of Day yet wants to run Much of his Race though steep, suspens in Heav'n Held by thy voice, thy potent voice he heares, [ 100 ] And longer will delay to heare thee tell His Generation, and the rising Birth Of Nature from the unapparent Deep: Or if the Starr of Eevning and the Moon Haste to thy audience, Night with her will bring [ 105 ] Silence, and Sleep listning to thee will watch, Or we can bid his absence, till thy Song End, and dismiss thee ere the Morning shine. Thus Adam his illustrious Guest besought: And thus the Godlike Angel answerd milde. [ 110 ] This also thy request with caution askt Obtaine: though to recount Almightie works What words or tongue of Seraph can suffice, Or heart of man suffice to comprehend? Yet what thou canst attain, which best may serve [ 115 ] To glorifie the Maker, and inferr Thee also happier, shall not be withheld Thy hearing, such Commission from above I have receav'd, to answer thy desire Of knowledge within bounds; beyond abstain [ 120 ] To ask, nor let thine own inventions hope Things not reveal'd,
This also reminds me of the ancient Greek priests at the various temples. They were to keep their knowledge "mysterious," which translates roughly to "secret," but that root too is from "muo" which meant "closed mouth." Only the initiated priests of Ancient Greece were allowed the knowledge of the various sects and this "mysterion" stratified the society. I would say the angels and humans too are stratified in Milton's story in much the same way. The interesting thing is Raphael says Adam can't understand some things, but if he can't understand them then why not satisfy his curiosity? I would say it's the mystery itself that keeps the power structure the way it is. If angels knew as much as God, then how would they differ? And if humans knew as much as angels, then how would THEY differ? This is what makes knowledge so alluring and powerful. The power itself is from the mystery of the unknown.
Dawning through Heav'n: forth rush'd with whirl-wind sound The Chariot of Paternal Deitie, [ 750 ] Flashing thick flames, Wheele within Wheele, undrawn, It self instinct with Spirit, but convoyd By four Cherubic shapes, four Faces each Had wondrous, as with Starrs thir bodies all And Wings were set with Eyes, with Eyes the wheels [ 755 ] Of Beril, and careering Fires between; Over thir heads a chrystal Firmament, Whereon a Saphir Throne, inlaid with pure Amber, and colours of the showrie Arch.
I appreciate how Milton found a description of a war chariot of God in Ezekiel and managed to use that in this section.
That they may have thir wish, to trie with mee In Battel which the stronger proves, they all, Or I alone against them, since by strength [ 820 ] They measure all, of other excellence Not emulous, nor care who them excells; Nor other strife with them do I voutsafe.
I would say Milton is taking quite some liberty here with having Jesus stand as an epic hero in the classic sense of a warrior. He was pretty much the complete opposite of that as portrayed in the New Testament.
Which to our eyes discoverd new and strange, A triple mounted row of Pillars laid On Wheels (for like to Pillars most they seem'd Or hollow'd bodies made of Oak or Firr With branches lopt, in Wood or Mountain fell'd) [ 575 ] Brass, Iron, Stonie mould, had not thir mouthes With hideous orifice gap't on us wide
Up until this point, I haven't noticed a change in perspective as I do here. Until this point, I believe the entire epic has been written in 3rd person. Here it becomes 1st person. How strange.
If ye be found obedient,
They simply have to do the one thing Satan did not: remain obedient. Well, we know how that goes...
sudden mind arose In Adam, not to let th' occasion pass Given him by this great Conference to know Of things above his World, and of thir being [ 455 ] Who dwell in Heav'n, whose excellence he saw Transcend his own so farr, whose radiant forms Divine effulgence, whose high Power so far Exceeded human
This seems to be a foreshadowing of Adam's own curiosity of the Tree of Knowledge. Here we see Adam desiring to know more of where Raphael came from. It's not too far of a step for him to give in later and eat from the tree.
relates at Adams request who that enemy is, and how he came to be so, beginning from his first revolt in Heaven, and the occasion thereof
As an interesting observation, Raphael directs all the history of Satan to Adam and not to Eve. Who could blame Eve for falling for the ploy when she wasn't even given the whole explanation?
For never can true reconcilement grow Where wounds of deadly hate have peirc'd so deep: Which would but lead me to a worse relapse [ 100 ] And heavier fall: so should I purchase deare Short intermission bought with double smart. This knows my punisher
This explains why God doesn't forgive Satan, and why Satan doesn't even seek forgiveness.
For which both Heav'n and Earth shall high extoll Thy praises, with th' innumerable sound O
Here again because God wants to hear His praises from lesser beings he sounds insecure. This is an interpretation with a post-modern lens, but that's what it sounds like as I read it.
Through Heav'n and Earth, so shall my glorie excel, But Mercy first and last shall brightest shine.
Although I'm looking at this through a modern lens, I see God as being insecure to some extent here. He is intent on having his creatures worship him so his glory shall "excel." He is not satisfied with his own divinity and omnipotence and needs others to acknowledge those attributes for him to be satisfied.
Before mine eyes in opposition sits Grim Death my Son and foe, who sets them on, And me his Parent would full soon devour [ 805 ] For want of other prey, but that he knows His end with mine involvd;
As I mentioned before it seems that death came from original sin and if sin is vanquished (sin is the one speaking here) then so is death.
I fled, and cry'd out Death; Hell trembl'd at the hideous Name, and sigh'd From all her Caves, and back resounded Death.
With the knowledge of good and evil also came death. Eve was able to become pregnant after eating from the tree, and with that ability to give life also came the curse of death. The same thing is happening here, but Milton places these events prior to the events in the garden.
Pregnant by thee
Impregnated his own daughter.
O Father, what intends thy hand, she cry'd, Against thy only Son? What fury O Son, Possesses thee to bend that mortal Dart Against thy Fathers head?
Quite a different relationship between Satan and his "son" than God and his son.
As at th' Olympian Games or Pythian fields;
The victory of Apollo over the Python seems to suggest a victory of God over the snake. Although, this doesn't completely work out since Satan does, for the most part, succeed in his quest.
till at last Satan, whom now transcendent glory rais'd Above his fellows, with Monarchal pride Conscious of highest worth, unmov'd thus spake.
Satan sounds heroic here.This reminds me of when Agamemnon searches for someone among the Achaeans to lead them into battle and Patroclus assumes the task and wears Achille's armor into battle.
for so the popular vote Inclines, here to continue, and build up here A growing Empire; doubtless; while we dream
Satan is looking for a popular vote to decide what to do next rather than leading forward with his own will. This is not how a king rules, nor a hero, but an elected official who is decidedly un-heroic.
What fear we then? what doubt we to incense His utmost ire?
Moloch argues they don't have any more to lose, so they might as well wage open war once again.
From this descent Celestial vertues rising, will appear [ 15 ] More glorious and more dread then from no fall,
The farther he fell, the higher can he rise. This is Satan's acknowledgement of his fall and his spin on his failure.