Humanities 3 VI. The Last Epic
Lecture 29 Repentance and Humility
Outline Recapping: The Aim of Paradise Lost Essential Tensions Three Choices Adam s Fall Patience and Heroic Martyrdom
The Aim of Paradise Lost To justify the ways of God to man --that is, to teach Milton s fellow citizens the correct way to think of God s plan for creation and of their place in that plan Milton elaborates the Biblical account of Genesis, emphasizing (a) human beings responsibility for sin (b) the difference between their pre- and post-lapsarian state (c) the hierarchical relation between man and woman (d) the sacrifice of the Son and the life to which human beings are condemned as a consequence of the Fall (= the effects of original sin ) Fundamental to (a)-(c) is the relation between freedom and obedience, and between reason and passion.
Essential Tensions Reason (logos) Freedom Obedience Love/Passion (eros)
God: Free to Fall (3.80-134) Only begotten Son, seest thou what rage Transports our Adversary? whom no bounds Prescrib'd, no bars of Hell, nor all the chains Heap'd on him there, nor yet the main abyss Wide interrupt, can hold; so bent he seems On desperate revenge, that shall redound Upon his own rebellious head. And now, Through all restraint broke loose, he wings his way Not far off Heaven, in the precincts of light, Directly towards the new created world, And man there plac'd, with purpose to assay If him by force he can destroy, or, worse, By some false guile pervert; and shall pervert; For man will hearken to his glozing lies, And easily transgress the sole command, Sole pledge of his obedience: So will fall He and his faithless progeny: Whose fault? Whose but his own? ingrate, he had of me All he could have; I made him just and right, Sufficient to have stood, though free to fall. Such I created all the ethereal Powers And Spirits, both them who stood, and them who fail'd; Freely they stood who stood, and fell who fell. Not free, what proof could they have given sincere Of true allegiance, constant faith or love, Where only what they needs must do appear'd, Not what they would? what praise could they receive? What pleasure I from such obedience paid, When will and reason (reason also is choice) Useless and vain, of freedom both despoil'd, Made passive both, had serv'd necessity, Not me? they therefore, as to right belong'd, So were created, nor can justly accuse Their Maker, or their making, or their fate, As if predestination over-rul'd Their will dispos'd by absolute decree Or high foreknowledge; they themselves decreed Their own revolt, not I; if I foreknew, Foreknowledge had no influence on their fault, Which had no less proved certain unforeknown. So without least impulse or shadow of fate, Or aught by me immutably foreseen, They trespass, authors to themselves in all Both what they judge, and what they choose; for so I form'd them free: and free they must remain, Till they enthrall themselves; I else must change Their nature, and revoke the high decree Unchangeable, eternal, which ordain'd Their freedom: they themselves ordain'd their fall.
Raphael to Adam (8.632-43) Be strong, live happy, and love, but, first of all Him whom to love is to obey, and keep His great command; take heed lest Passion sway Thy Judgement to do aught, which else free Will Would not admit: thine and of all thy Sons The weal or woe in thee is plac t; beware. I in thy persevering shall rejoice, And all the Blest: stand fast; to stand or fall Free in thine own Arbitrement it lies. Perfect within, no outward aid require; And all temptation to transgress repel. (cf. 8.172-4)
Adam to Eve (9.343-356) O Woman, best are all things as the will Of God ordain d them: His creating hand Nothing imperfect or deficient left Of all that he created, much less Man, Or aught that might his happy state secure, Secure from outward force; within himself The danger lies, yet lies within his power: Against his will he can receive no harm. But God left free the Will; for what obeys Reason, is free; and Reason he made right, But bid her well be ware, and still erect; Lest, by some fair-appearing good surprised, She dictate false; and misinform the will To do what God expressly hath forbid.
Obedience, Freedom, Reason The ultimate basis of law is God s command Obedience to God presupposes freedom of the will Thus, one has a choice to obey or disobey The proper use of one s freedom presupposes reason ( God left free the Will; for what obeys / Reason, is free; and Reason he made right ) Through reason, one knows what is right: one recognizes God as a sovereign authority who ought to be obeyed
Divine Providence Satan, Eve and Adam all fall because they make the wrong choices: Passion sway[s] [the]/ Judgement to do aught, which else free Will/ Would not admit. In giving them free will, God has allowed sin to enter creation Because of his omniscience, God knows that this will happen His providence nonetheless judges the overall result good (the fortunate fall )
Satan s Choice Free will Reason true good false good Follow God s command Resist God, be a law unto himself (passion of pride, ambition)
The Serpent s Seduction Appeals first to Eve s beauty (9.532-558) Then to her reason: the fruit has given him the power of speech Eve resists (9.647-654) Satan s key speech (9.679-732) Eve relents (9.744-779)
Eve to the Serpent (9.650-54) Wondrous indeed, if cause of such effects. But of this tree we may not taste nor touch; God so commanded, and left that command Sole daughter of his voice; the rest, we live Law to ourselves; our reason is our law.
The Serpent to Eve (9.679-732) O sacred, Wise, and Wisdom-giving Plant, Mother of Science, Now I feel thy Power Within me clear, not only to discern Things in their Causes, but to trace the ways Of highest Agents, deem d however wise. Queen of this universe, do not believe Those rigid threats of Death; ye shall not Die: How should ye? by the Fruit? it gives you Life To Knowledge.
Eve to herself (9.750-760) Thy praise he also who forbids thy use, Conceals not from us, naming thee the Tree Of Knowledge, knowledge both of good and evil; Forbids us then to taste, but his forbidding Commends thee more, while it infers the good By thee communicated, and our want: For good unknown sure is not had, or had And yet unknown, is as not had at all. In plain then, what forbids he but to know, Forbids us good, forbids us to be wise? Such prohibitions bind not.
Eve s Choice Free will Reason true good false good Follow God s command (and Adam s) Eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge, thereby asserting her independence from God and Adam (passion of pride: 9.816-33)
Should Eve Share Her Secret? But to Adam in what sort Shall I appear? shall I to him make known As yet my change, and give him to partake Full happiness with mee, or rather not, But keep the odds of Knowledge in my power Without Copartner? so to add what wants In Female Sex, the more to draw his Love, And render me more equal, and perhaps, A thing not undesirable, sometime Superior; for inferior who is free? (9.816-825)
Adam s Choice Free will Reason true good false good Follow God s command Eat the fruit and fall with Eve (passion of love: 9.908-16, 955-9, 997-999)
Consequences The first effect of Adams eating the fruit is lust Then shame--before their bodies and their transgression: innocence is lost Then recriminations (of disobedience and ingratitude): Thus it shall befall/him who to worth in Women overtrusting/lets her Will rule; restraint she will not brook/and left to herself, if evil thence ensue/she first his weak indulgence will accuse. (9.1182ff)
Patience and Heroic Martyrdom (9.25-33) Paradise has been destroyed, a highway to hell is build In desperation, Eve proposes that she and Adam die, so as not to pass on the curse of sin to their progeny Adam rejects this: only if they endure life patiently and accept God s just yoke/laid on our necks will Satan be avenged (10.1013-46, 1078-96)